4 Washington high school football games you should not have missed from Week 6 (10/6/2023)
KENNEWICK, Wash. - It looked like a play drawn up on a sandlot. Or in the street in a game of touch football.
But it’s something the Kennewick Lions practice every Thursday at the end of practice.
"Every Thursday we run three plays — not against anyone out on the field — where if we ever come up in a situation like we had, we know what to do,” said Lions coach Randy Affholter, whose team pulled out a last-second 36-29 Mid-Columbia Conference victory over visiting Richland on Friday night at Lampson Stadium.
* WEEK 6 WASHINGTON SCOREBOARD
Let’s set the scene:
The Bombers, trailing 28-14, rallied to score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter — the last coming on a John Symons 1-yard plunge with just 21.8 seconds remaining.
That made the score 28-27 Kennewick, and everyone in Lampson was anticipating an overtime scenario.
But Bombers coach Mike Neidhold decided it was time to go for the two-point conversion.
Richland quarterback Josh Woodard — who passed for 398 yards and three touchdown passes against the top defense in the MCC — fired a bullet into the end zone which Colson Mackey caught in the back to give Richland a 29-28 lead.
“We can’t stop anybody on defense,” Neidhold said. “We had to go for 2. I’m a kind of a gambler in that regards, too.”
On the precipice of losing their second consecutive MCC contest, the Lions didn’t panic.
Alex Roberts returned the kickoff to the 29-yard line
And what happened next will be talked about for a long time.
Lions quarterback Ambrose Driver took the snap in the shotgun formation and fired a 7-yard pass to David Wacenske running a quick slant route. The senior was Driver’s top target all night, finishing with eight catches for 56 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Bombers also knew Wacenske would get the ball, and as he ran across the field from his left end spot to his right, he quickly pitched the ball to Kyler Witkowsk, who was running full speed from his right end spot and going left.
It was the perfect pitch that Witkowski caught in stride. It caught the Richland defense — who was caught off guard and concentrating on stopping Wacenske — going the wrong way.
Witkowski took the ball and ran the remaining 64 yards untouched for the score with 5.8 seconds remaining in the game for the stunning victory.
"Witkowski is really fast," Wacenske said. "If we hadn’t gotten (the TD) on the first play, we were ready to run that second play we do every Thursday."
Affholter will take the win.
“My dad always told me ‘When you’re good, you’re lucky. And when you’re lucky, you’re good,'" Affholter said.
They were on Friday night.
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LYNDEN CHRISTIAN STUNS NOOKSACK VALLEY
Greg Terpstra had a few determined seniors who weighed heavily into the 1A Northwest Conference blockbuster outcome Friday night.
In fact, he called them "rock stars."
And they have the Lyncs on the verge of another league title.
Eighth-ranked Lynden Christian marched 60 yards in the final four minutes, capped by Kayden Stuit's short touchdown run with 25 seconds to go, to trip up No. 5 Nooksack Valley, 21-20, in Everson.
It was the Lyncs' seventh consecutive win over the Pioneers.
"I have seniors who wanted it so bad," Terpstra said. "They checked to their own plays and carried the day. They are rock stars."
On that final drive, Lynden Christian converted a couple of fourth downs to reach the Pioneers' 1 - and asked their 6-foot-4, 215-pound tight end to go get a touchdown.
"We have a short-yardage wishbone set for him," Terpstra said. "He is kind of a dude."
Jorgen Vigre's field goal midway through the third quarter gave Nooksack Valley a 20-7 lead, but the Lyncs cut into it on Dawson Bouma's 30-yard touchdown reception from Jeremiah Wright early in the fourth quarter.
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MOUNT SPOKANE SURVIVES TOUGH TEST
After back-to-back wins that weren't decided until well into the second half, Mount Spokane coach Terry Cloer said he'd like to see his team get off to quicker starts down the stretch.
But on the other hand, he also pointed to his team's resolve in getting the job done.
Sparked by defensive back Devonn Khaleel's blocked field goal late in the third quarter that triggered two quick Wildcats' touchdowns, ninth-ranked Mount Spokane finally put away Central Valley, 23-13, in Spokane Valley.
The Wildcats capped the ensuring 60-yard drive with a Matteo Saccomanno 4-yard touchdown run for a 16-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.
"To get that first touchdown to make it a two-score game was nice, and it gave us a cushion," Cloer said.
Six minutes later, Mount Spokane tacked on a decisive score on Brayten Ayers' 46-yard touchdown run for a 23-7 lead.
"Adversity is good," Cloer said. "We need these challenges for down the road."
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ARLINGTON RUNS GAUNTLET FOR 3A WESCO NORTH TITLE
You won't see many better three-week stretches than what eighth-ranked Arlington finished up Friday night in clinching the 3A Wesco North Division crown.
After previously handling Ferndale and Stanwood, the Eagles capped the span with a 42-14 victory over Marysville-Pilchuck.
Leyton Martin tossed three touchdown passes to cap 28 unanswered points in the first half, and Kobi Spady had a defensive touchdown (interception) and special-teams score (fumble recovery in end zone off mishandled punt) in the second half to complete the scoring.
"To win the Wesco North title outright, we are very excited and happy," Arlington coach Greg Dailer said.
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(Featured photo by Erik Smith)
