3 takeaways from Chiawana vs. Kamiakin: Riverhawks dominate with defense in shutout

Chiawana forces five turnovers, blocks a punt and holds host Braves to 135 yards in a 44-0 victory at Lampson Stadium

Chiawana's defense forced five first-half turnovers and held Kamiakin to 135 yards in a 44-0 victory. / Photo by Tommy Wolf/Lit Media

To say Chiawana was a little humbled - and motivated - after its season-opening showing last weekend in Idaho would be an understatement.

The Riverhawks were certainly ready for 4A Mid-Columbia Conference rival and fifth-ranked Kamiakin on Thursday night.

Senior Braxton Feldmann rolled up a game-high 183 rushing yards on 25 carries, junior Gage Williams accounted for three touchdowns (two rushing, one passing) and the Chiawana defense forced five turnovers and held the Braves to 135 yards in a convincing 44-0 win Thursday night at Lampson Stadium.

Unlike the previous two encounters that were settled in overtime, this game was decided in the opening quarter as Chiawana broke out to a 16-0 lead after Cooper MacPherson blocked a punt that resulted in a safety.

It was Chiawana's first shutout in the series since a 42-0 victory in 2018.

Here are three takeaways from the Chiawana-Kamiakin game:

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Chiawana's Braxton Feldmann rushed for a game-high 183 yards in Riverhawks' 44-0 win over Kamiakin on Thursday. / Photo by Tommy Wolf/Lit Media

PERFECT MOMENT FOR REDEMPTION

Admittedly outclassed, Chiawana lost to Idaho powerhouse Rocky Mountain, 42-8, in Boise last Friday - giving up 502 yards of offense.

"With Rocky Mountain, we learned what real football is," Riverhawks caoch Scott Bond said. "They were big, strong and fast."

Needless to say, a rivalry game on a short week came at the right time.

Bond didn't hide the string of mistakes made in the season opener from his players. In fact, they were "blown up" in the film room, and immediately coaches challenged them quickly to fix them.

Offense controlled the clock with 410 yards, led by Feldmann's big night (214 total yards). And Kamiakin only threatened to score once to start the second half, driving to the Riverhawks' 11-yard line before the Braves were turned over on downs.

"The kids responded well this week," Bond said.

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CHIAWANA'S PIT-BULL DEFENSE SHINES

It only took one play for the Riverhawks to set the tone for the night.

Starting at its own 20-yard line, Kamiakin went right to running Riley Stevens on a handoff, who was not only met by a swarming pack of Riverhawks' defenders, but they stripped the ball from him. Linebacker Taytan Cissne grabbed it, returning it 19 yards for a touchdown - and quick 7-0 Chiawana lead just 13 seconds into the game.

After that, Chiawana defenders took turns terrorizing the Kamiakin offense by forcing turnovers on four consecutive Kamiakin drives to start the game, including three consecutive Trent Woodhouse interceptions (Tristan Breier, Sawyer Sommerville, Brooks Zaro). The Braves' quarterback was also sacked three times.

"Our defense does set the tone," Bond said. "That is what we've shown we do."

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'SNOWBALL' EFFECT ROLLS UP BRAVES

Even after facing it on an annual basis, even after being reminded of how active Chiawana's defense is during offseason scrimmages - Kamiakin coach Scott Biglin admits the Riverhawks are difficult to prepare for.

"They do a lot of moving, and we could not run it. We made some bad (passing) reads, and when we did make the right read, we dropped it," Biglin said.

"We were not ready to go ... and got caught up in a snowball effect."

Woodhouse was neutralized as a runner, and had a bad night passing - 8-for-24 for 104 yards and four turnovers.

"I feel we are a really good football team," Biglin said. "We did not play the way I thought we would play."

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