News & Announcements - Kennewick Lions Football

Offense and Defense Shine Under the Space Needle

Result: 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FINAL

Kennewick 7 13 9 7 37

Cleveland 0 6 0 0 6

Scoring:

1^st Quarter

8:57 – KHS AJ Templeton to Blake Loftus 39-yard Pass (Emilio Ramos Kick)

2^nd Quarter

10:54 – CHS Chris Sheckles 6-yard run (conversion failed)

7:36 – KHS Templeton to Loftus 20-yard Pass (Kick Failed)

5:05 – KHS Kyle Benton Punt Block recovered for TD ( Andrew Fridley 2pt conversion good)

3^rd Quarter

7:50 – KHS Templeton 1-yard Run (Ramos Kick)

2:36 – KHS Safety

4^th Quarter

10:35 – KHS Templeton to Austin Albertin 9-yard Pass (Ramos Kick)

Recap:

On a sunny Seattle day at the base of the Space Needle, the Kennewick Lions overmatched the Cleveland Eagles 37-6. The Lions offense got on track early behind the arm of Sophomore QB AJ Templeton. In the first quarter Templeton hooked up with senior receiver Blake Loftus for a 39-yard TD pass. The same pair would connect later on a 20-yard TD score to put the Lions up for good. Templeton finished 12-20 for 195-yards and 3TD, Loftus had 8 catches on the day for 149-yards and 2TD. The Lions defense proved a stout test for the Eagles, limiting their run-heavy offense to 105-yards on 35 carries. Austin Albertin had an interception for the lions. Junior Kyle Benton blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for a score.

Walla Walla v Kennewick Preview - Union Bulliten

Walla Walla High School’s football team will go after its third straight win Friday, when the Blue Devils host Kennewick in a Mid-Columbia Conference matchup at Borleske Stadium.

The Blue Devils (2-1 overall, 1-0 in the league) entered this season with the ambition to win at least three quarters of their games, and a victory Friday would get them back on track as they begin the middle third of their schedule.

“There’s a very nice sense of confidence right now and a true workman-like attitude,” Wa-Hi coach Eric Hisaw said. “We are focusing on this next three-game stretch, and our goal is to finish it 3-0. But the most important game on the entire schedule is Kennewick.”

Wa-Hi looks to build off a thrilling, 50-48, victory last week at Hanford. The Blue Devils mounted several big leads, but the Falcons threatened to come all the way back until Wa-Hi made a decisive defensive stand in the closing minutes.

“What sticks out in my mind after the win is that we had to truly play 48 minutes to win the game,” Hisaw said. “We didn’t play well for the entire game, but we played every minute and had to really buckle down at key moments to get a win.

“I loved our kids’ attitude and resiliency on the field and sideline.”

As the season unfolds with a new chapter or episode each week, the Hanford game could very well be remembered as pivotal.

“They never got down or negative,” Hisaw said of his team. “They just kept playing, and you could feel their confidence. We will take a lot from this game in terms of situational pressure we were in. You can’t simulate being ahead by two points, having to play defense from darn near midfield, with 4-6 minutes to play. Nor when you get the ball back after making a fourth-down stand, and having to get a first down to seal the win.

“Our kids were terrific under pressure.”

The Blue Devils suffered a few injuries at Hanford. Senior Miguel Baza and junior Mason Knowles have practiced this week and will be active Friday, but senior lineman Adam Boggs will remain sidelined — a tough loss for Wa-Hi’s inexperienced line.

“(Boggs is) a huge hole to fill,” Hisaw said. “He’s been so great for us on both the offensive and defensive lines.”

The Blue Devils face another big challenge in the well-tested Kennewick team. The Lions started the season by battling Prosser (last year’s Class 2A state champions), crushed Cleveland the following week, and then faced unbeaten Richland, losing the first and third games.

The Lions are prepared.

“Kennewick is coming in at 1-2, but it’s very, very misleading,” Hisaw said. “They lost to Prosser, No. 1-ranked in the 2A, and then Richland, No. 3 ranked in 4A. They are always very physical up front on both sides of the ball, and play extremely hard. They have more youth than they did last year, but they are also very athletic. They are in a different defense than we’ve seen all year as well, and they’ve changed their offense a bit.”

Kennewick quarterback A.J. Templeton has thrown for 361 yards and three touchdowns on 31-of-62 passing.

Receiver Blake Loftus has totaled 204 yards on 14 catches.

The Lions’ production thus far may seem paltry compared to the Blue Devils’ high-octane offense, but Hisaw warned that counting Kennewick out will only set the stage for an upset.

“We will have to tackle much better than we did last week, and we have to stop the run better,” Hisaw said. “They will be coming in here after beating us last year, knowing that they can compete with us because they have in the past.

“If we don’t match or exceed their physicality on Friday night, it will be a long one for us.”

Templeton, Kennewick knock off Walla Walla in OT

Tri-City Herald

AJ Templeton rushed for 121 yards and five touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime, as the Kennewick Lions rallied from a 21-point deficit at the half to beat the host Walla Walla Blue Devils 41-40 in a Mid-Columbia Conference matchup Friday night.

The Lions opened the game with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Templeton to Austin Albertin, but the Blue Devils (2-2, 1-1 MCC) answered with four consecutive touchdown runs by Mitch Lesmeister for a commanding 28-7 halftime lead.

Templeton scored on a 6-yard run in the third, then reeled off three consecutive touchdown runs to open the fourth quarter and give the Lions (2-2, 1-1) a 34-28 lead.

Lesmeister connected with Sam Hoe for a 13-yard touchdown late in the fourth to tie the score at 34, but with a failed PAT kick, the game went to overtime.

Wa-Hi scored first in overtime on a 6-yard run by Brennan Barberich, but a failed 2-point conversion attempt left the Blue Devils with a 40-34 lead.

Templeton tied the score with a 1-yard run, and Emilio Ramos made good on the PAT kick to seal the win.

Templeton also threw for 118 yards, while Ronny Loomis chewed up 190 yards on 19 carries.

Lesmeister ran for 210 yards and threw for 72.

Kennewick	7	0	7	20 7	—	41
Walla Walla	12	16	0	6 6	—	40

SCORING PLAYS

K—Austin Albertin 19 pass from AJ Templeton (Emilio Ramos kick)

W—Mitch Lesmeister 8 run (run failed)

W—Lesmeister 49 run (run failed)

W—Lesmeister 57 run (Brennan Barberich run)

W—Lesmeister 1 run (Lesmeister run)

K—Templeton 6 run (Ramos kick)

K—Templeton 3 run (Ramos kick)

K—Templeton 5 run (Ramos kick)

K—Templeton 3 run (kick failed)

W—Sam Hoe 13 pass from Lesmeister (kick failed)

W—Barberich 6 run (run failed)

K—Templeton 1 run (Ramos kick)

STATISTICS

RUSHING — K, Ronny Loomis 19-190, Templeton 32-121, Isaac Ruiz 5-12, Blake Loftus 1-5. W, Lesmeister 17-210, Barberich 8-43, Hoe 13-18, Isaiah Moss 1-2.

PASSING — K, Templeton 13-23-2-118. W, Lesmeister 6-22-2-72.

RECEIVING — W, Hoe 2-37, Carter Davis 3-30.

Lions Lose Hard Fought Game to Suns 31-21

By Jeff Morrow

Special to the Herald

While most of the Mid-Columbia Conference football world was concentrating on the Richland-Chiawana showdown in Pasco, the Southridge Suns quietly went about their business Friday night with a 31-21 victory over the host Kennewick Lions.

And with that victory comes a postseason berth for a Southridge team that was forced to a short learning curve this year.

The Suns (5-3, 4-2 MCC) will play Kamiakin next Thursday in the final regular-season game. The winner of that contest gets the No. 1 district 3A seed and will host a first-round regional game. The loser will play the Greater Spokane League’s No. 2 team on Tuesday, Nov. 1, with the winner of that game playing a regional contest the following Saturday at the KingCo No. 1 team.

Southridge coach Keith Munson didn’t want his team thinking about their game against the Lions as a playoff-type contest.

“I didn’t want them to concern themselves with that,” said Munson. “I wanted them to think of this as a rivalry game that they wanted to win.”

But Suns running back Zayid Al-Ghani said he and his teammates considered this a playoff game.

“Every game right now is a big game,” said Al-Ghani, who rushed for 149 yards on 33 carries. “What we do is practice day-by-day, go over film day-by-day.”

It’s a process preached from Day One by Munson, who came in from New Mexico as the new Southridge coach in May — late by high school standards.

“Coach came in with energy,” said Al-Ghani. “He came in with rules, and we followed them.”

Suns quarterback Mason Martin agreed.

“We had that determination factor,” said Martin. “We were ready to learn every play.”

Martin’s football education looked complete after the Suns spotted Kennewick a 14-0 lead.

The Lions had jumped out to a that lead on their first two offensive series, as Ronny Loomis scored on an 18-yard run, and then quarterback AJ Templeton rushed in from 48 yards.

“They continued to compete,” Kennewick coach Bill Templeton said of his Lions, who were still in the game until the final minute. “I couldn’t be more proud of our kids.”

But Martin led Southridge in the second quarter, connecting twice with Gavin Willingham on TD passes of 5 and 24 yards to knot the game at 14-14 at halftime.

“We didn’t panic,” said Martin, who finished with 129 yards passing and 50 yards rushing. “We just really snapped out of it.”

Twice.

The Lions re-took the lead, 21-14, when AJ Templeton hit Isaiah Thornton on a 3-yard TD pass early in the third quarter.

But the Southridge defense pitched a shutout the rest of the way, even stopping the Lions on a 4th-and-1 just 15 yards from the end zone.

“They made a nice fourth-down stand there,” said Bill Templeton. “It shows you football is a game of inches.”

And Martin got hot in the fourth quarter, connecting on two more TD passes — both to Brycen Kelly — of 59 and 19 yards. The latter score gave the Suns the lead for good with 3:58 to play. And that gave Martin four touchdown passes on the night.

“Our play-action worked well tonight,” said Munson.

Kicker Hunter Spiva added a 44-yard field goal for the final score.

Defensively, lineman Eric Stayrook led Southridge with seven tackles, including two for loss and a sack. Linebacker Gavin Willingham added eight tackles, while linebacker Jordan Walter had five tackles.

The Lions were led by linebacker Andrew Fridley, who had 11 tackles (one for loss), and linebacker Emilio Ramos with six tackles and a sack.

The Lions fall to 1-5 MCC, 2-6 overall, and play at Pasco next Friday.

Southridge	0	14	0	17	—	31
Kennewick	14	0	7	0	—	21

SCORING PLAYS

K – Ronny Loomis 18 run (Emilio Ramos kick)

K – AJ Templeton 48 run (Ramos kick)

S – Gavin Willingham 5 pass from Mason Martin (Hunter Spiva kick)

S – Willingham 24 pass from Martin (Spiva kick)

K – Isaiah Thornton 3 pass from Templeton (Ramos kick)

S – Brycen Kelly 59 pass from Martin (Spiva kick)

S – Kelly 19 pass from Martin (Spiva kick)

S – FG 44 Spiva

STATISTICS

RUSHING: South, Zayid Al-Ghani 33-149, Martin 8-50. Kenn, Templeton 21-118, Loomis 18-102, Keyshawn Owens 2-20, Jacob Schuldheisz 1-minus 4.

PASSING: South, Martin 10-15-0-129. Kenn, Templeton 4-15-0-65.

RECEIVING: South, Kelly 3-76, Willingham 2-29, Russell Masterson 3-18, Samuel Kori 2-6. Kenn, Tucker Newman 1-49, Loomis 1-8, Austin Albertin 1-5, Thornton 1-3.

FIRST DOWNS – South 14, Kenn 13. PENALTIES-YARDS – South 2-12, Kenn 5-32. FUMBLES-LOST – South 0-0, Kenn 4-0.