Another week in the Mid-Columbia Conference, another big contest.

Actually, make that two. And they all involve Class 3A teams.

Kennewick visits Sageview at 7 p.m., Friday, at Edgar Brown Stadium. Meanwhile, Southridge visits Hermiston at 7 p.m. Friday.

It’s starting to look like the MCC’s 3A teams — as a whole — might be the strength of this conference.

Hermiston, Sageview, and Southridge are all off to 2-0 starts in MCC play. And had not Richland stunned Kennewick on Saturday, all four of those 3A schools would have 2-0 starts.

Because of that loss to the Bombers — the fact that Richland won comes as no surprise, but the score raised some eyebrows — Kennewick is looking to bounce back against a solid Sageview squad.

The Lobos looked outstanding last Friday in a 41-7 win over host Pasco.

Meanwhile, Southridge is starting to pop up in everyone’s state 3A top 10 polls.

The Suns took care of Kamiakin 27-14 last Friday at Lampson, using their tough rushing game and keeping the Braves out of the end zone for the most part.

And no one was sure what David Faaeteete had down in Hermiston before the season began. But quarterback Brayden Medelez has been a threat with his legs and throwing arm as the Bulldogs are 3-1 on the season.

Expect shootouts in both contests.

Richland steps up in Week 4

I was in Seattle this past weekend for the Seattle Mariners’ final two home games.

So when my good friend David Schick texted me that Richland won 21-0, I was surprised.

“We got back to basics,” said Richland coach Josh Jelinek. “We stripped away some of the frills. Held our kids and selves accountable to a higher standard.”

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Jelinek believes it let his kids play more freely.

Remember, this game was supposed to be played Friday (as well as the Hermiston at Hanford contest). But a big fire along Interstate 82 near Benton City, coupled with high winds, caused the air quality in the city of Richland to become terrible.

The Richland School District made the call late Friday afternoon to postpone both games — Richland’s until 5 p.m. Saturday, and Hanford’s to 5 p.m. on Monday of this week.

“I won’t lie,” said Jelinek. “I think the fire delay really gave some of us time to reflect on what’s important and that football is fun!”

Up to that point, football hadn’t been fun for the Bombers, who started out the season 0-3 with losses to Moses Lake, Graham-Kapowsin and Sageview.

Against Kennewick, the game was scoreless through three quarters.

But in the final quarter, the Bombers scored three touchdowns — a Justin Volmer 1-yard run; a 32-yard pass from Jackson Woodard to Pierson Bryant; and a 4-yard run by Micah Mayer.

Just as impressive was Richland’s defense, which held Kennewick’s offense to just 106 total yards of offense and forcing three turnovers.

Kennewick coach Randy Affholter was matter-of-fact about the loss.

“They played a lot better than us,” said Affholter. “They deserved to win.”

Jelinek is confident the Lions will bounce back.

“That’s a great Kennewick team,” said Jelinek. “I wouldn’t want to be Sageview this week. I am sure they will come out swinging.”

Hanford situation is strange

With Hanford having to move its home game from Friday to Monday night this week, Joe Powers’ Falcons are heading into new territory.

The Falcons lost 37-22 to visiting Hermiston, and now they are preparing for a home game at Fran Rish Stadium against Chiawana. The contest is set for 7 p.m., Thursday.

That means Powers and his staff had two days between games to get ready for the Riverhawks.

“I have never seen this before either,” said Powers, “and we are navigating the path forward to the best of our ability! I don’t know there is a right way to prepare for something like this.”

Powers said there has been a lot of non-contact drills to manage the bumps and bruises that come from a normal varsity football game.

“We obviously aren’t doing much hitting (Tuesday or Wednesday),” Powers continued. “But lots of film, mental reps, walkthroughs and making sure we can clean up the mistakes we made Monday as much as possible.”

Powers says the Falcons will be ready to meet the Riverhawks.

“We are embracing the challenge and making to most of the opportunity,” said Powers. “Our kids deserve some recognition and respect for taking this challenge head on, regardless of what happens.”

10 outstanding performances in Week 4

Here are 10 players who caught my eye last week:

• WR Jaysen Beasley, Sageview. He is tall and quick; runs impeccable pass routes, and has a great set of hands. He caught 7 passes for 118 yards and scored three touchdowns in the Lobos’ 41-7 win over Pasco. Beasley has 12 touchdowns already this season.

• WR-DB Pierson Bryant, Richland. Has become Jackson Woodard’s go-to passing target. Caught 6 passes for 95 yards and a score. Added an interception and 3 tackles.

• QB Lincoln Heinrich, Walla Walla. Has a strong arm and distributes the ball evenly to all of his receivers. In a 38-19 loss to Chiawana, he had 291 passing yards and two TD passes.

• RB-DB Tayton Jackman, Southridge. He rushed for 164 yards and two touchdowns in the Suns’ 27-14 win over Kamiakin. Jackman hits like a truck from his defensive position too.

• WR-DB Michael Kori, Kamiakin. One week after the Braves lost standout Mason Severson to injury, Kori (headed to the University of Idaho to play DB) stepped in a wide receiver and caught 4 passes for 113 yards and two TDs.

• RB-LB Jacob Korotkov, Southridge. Complemented his teammate Jackman by rushing for 105 yards and two touchdowns. One of the Suns’ leaders on the defensive side of the ball.

• WR-DB Zaiden Martinez, Chiawana. He was outstanding on both sides of the ball in the Riverhawks 38-19 win over Walla Walla last Thursday. Martinez caught 5 passes for 109 yards. On defense, he made 3 tackles — one in which he tackled a Wa-Hi receiver, lifted him up and ripped the ball out of his hand to force a fumble (which he recovered himself). He finished the game by returning an interception back 49 yards for a score.

• DL AJ Olsen, Sageview. He helped lead the Lobos with 6 tackles (2 for loss). But he was dynamite on the Sageview kickoff team, where he had four of his tackles.

• QB Emmett Osterdock, Chiawana. Had 296 yards and two TD passes for Riverhawks in win over Wa-Hi. Never lost his calm when Chiawana was down 19-7 early in the third quarter. He spread the ball around to six different receivers.

• DL Peter Smith, Kennewick. He is a force on the defensive line, and despite the Lions losing to Richland, Smith had 10 tackles (2 for loss) and a quarterback sack.

Honorable mention: Toupou Boyd, Hermiston; Gavin Cronrath, Kamiakin; Alex Flores, Sageview; Eli Henderson, Sageview; Brayden Medelez, Hermiston; Auksen Paulsen, Hanford; Kalama Roberson, Walla Walla; Justin Volmer, Richland.