This Saturday at 5:00 PM, the #5 Kennewick Lions (10-1) will play the #4 Eastside Catholic Crusaders (8-2) at Memorial Stadium in what could be one of the most exciting games of the WIAA 3A Quarterfinals.
First, let’s talk about Kennewick. They had a strong regular season, as they finished 8-1 in their 9 regular season games, which was good enough for 2nd in the Mid-Columbia Division, behind the 8-1 Chiawana Riverhawks, who own the tiebreaker after beating Kennewick 19-9 during the regular season.
In Washington, they are ranked 11th overall by Max Preps. They have a strong offense which averaged 40.64 points per game, and their defense is also quite good, averaging 11.64 points allowed per game. On paper, this team looks like a tough matchup for any team to play, with their great offense and just as good defense.
Eastside Catholic, however, looks like a good match for them. They finished 7-2 in the regular season, with one of those losses coming out of state in California. They managed to finish 2nd in the 3A Metro Mountain Division, behind undefeated O’Dea, who they lost to earlier in the season. They are ranked 6th overall in the state, 5 spots ahead of Kennewick.
Their offense isn’t quite as strong as Kennewick’s, as they averaged 34.1 points per game during the season. However, their defense makes up for it, as they averaged 6.6 points allowed per game, which gives them the No. 1 defense in the Metro Mountain Division. Their quarterback, Jake Tiryakioglu, has been quite good this year, throwing for 1699 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions in the 10 games he’s played in this year. They pair their solid passing game with a good running game that averages a healthy 130 yards per game.
Overall, Eastside Catholic look like a great match for Kennewick, and this looks like the type of game that could go down to the wire.
Featured Image Credit: Kennewick Lions Athletics
