KENNEWICK –Earlier this week, Kennewick coach Randy Affholter said his Lions football team needed an 11- or 12-minute drive to keep the football out of the explosive hands of the Kamiakin hands.

Well, he finally got one, and it helped Kennewick win its crosstown showdown over Kamiakin on Friday night, as the Lions came away with a 22-17 win at Lampson Stadium.

“(Kamiakin coach) Scott (Biglin) and his crew does such a great job with the Spread and other offensive sets,” said Affholter. “I believe one way of getting out of that is to have a long drive.”

That happened late in the third quarter.

• PHOTO GALLERY FROM FRIDAY'S GAME

Kamiakin held a 17-16 lead, when the Lions got the football at their own 14 yard-line with 2:06 left in the quarter.

Seventeen plays later, Kennewick finished the 86-yard drive when quarterback Bradley Parker made a beautiful fake handoff to Carter Bendewald going one way, and the senior QB sprinted into the end zone for the final go-ahead score from 2 yards out.

“Bradley did a great job tonight just ballhandling for us,” said Affholter.

The entire series chewed up 10 minutes and 13 seconds.

All but one of those plays in that series were runs, and most of them were to the left side behind linemen Mayes Mayovsky and Zeke Szendre, as well as big 6-foot-10 tight end Cooper Larson.

Now trailing 22-17, that left the Braves just 3:53 to do something to answer in a game that saw the lead change six times.

Kamiakin’s offense ran out of gas at midfield, and the Lions got the ball back with exactly 1 minute to play, and they ran out the clock.

It was, said Affholter, an incredibly physical game.

“Guys were dragging themselves off the field and then kept playing,” said Affholter.

Other players kept suffering leg cramps, stopping the game.

But the worst injury happened to junior standout Mason Severson. The Kamiakin star returned a free Kennewick kick to midfield when he got tackled and hurt.

Biglin said after the game that Severson suffered a broken leg and is likely done for the season.

The game was delayed for 30 minutes as an ambulance came out on the field, and EMTs worked to stabilize him. After the ambulance left, both teams gathered together at midfield and said a prayer for Severson.

Even without one of his stars, as well as some other injured starters, Biglin and his staff kept bringing out young players with little varsity experience in a next-man-up operation.

But the bottom line was the Braves had a tough time getting into the end zone.

Kennewick’s tough defense stopped Kamiakin four times in the Red Zone, including twice in goal line stands and a third time with an interception by the Lions’ Jorge Martinez at the 5.

“We’ve got to score,” said Biglin. “I think that was 21 points that we lost for sure there.”

Affholter agreed.

“That was huge,” he said. “The field shrinks when you get down that close. But we made a decision that we would defend every blade of grass down to the end zone.”

A sense of parity is taking shape in the MCC after three weeks, and no one is really out of it.

Biglin told his players after the game that he was proud of them.

“I reminded them that our 2016 state championship team, we had two losses,” said Biglin. “That was a good football team that we played.”

Notes: Bendewald finished rushing 17 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns for Kennewick. … Kamiakin QB Gavin Cronrath had 202 yards passing, including an 86-yard TD pass to Damien Zoladz to open the third quarter. … Braves sophomore linebacker Toren Woodhouse led his team defensively with 10 tackles, 1 for loss. Junior linebacker Brady Broders added 8 tackles and two pass breakups. … The officials were busy in this game. The two teams combined for 23 penalties for 205 yards.

In other games Friday, Sageview defeated Richland 33-28 for its first ever MCC victory. Hermiston also took down visiting Pasco 27-21 in the other MCC contest.

That means that all five Class 3A teams beat the five Class 4A squads this week in MCC play. That is the first time that has ever happened.