Hanford eliminates EV

RICHLAND – After scoring the first 21 points of the game, it looked like the East Valley Knights were going to roll over Hanford and move on to the State 3A football playoffs.

But the Falcons regrouped after a horrible start and scored the final 24 points of the game on their way to a 24-21 victory over the Knights in a regional playoffs at Fran Rish Stadium.

It is Hanford’s first playoff victory since 1993.

The surprising win puts the Falcons (4-6) in the state playoffs for the first time in 16 years where they will host Mt. Spokane (9-1), which beat Sunnyside 47-7 in its regional game Friday night. Mt. Spokane beat East Valley during the Greater Spokane League season.

Mt. Spokane beat Hanford 42-39 in the regional playoffs last season at Fran Rish. The Falcons have not won a state playoff game since 1985 – the year they made it all the way to the semifinals.

“We just have to come out and play hard,” Hanford senior running back Cameron Wagar said.

For the first 23 minutes Friday, Hanford looked like it had a hangover from its 50-17 loss to Davis the previous week. The Falcons turned the ball over on their first three possessions, leading to 21 East Valley points.

“We knew we had to come out and put the pedal to the metal,” said East Valley quarterback Jackson Romney, who completed 11 of 19 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown.

The Falcons slowly worked their way back, and with 4 minutes to go in the game, took their first lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Wagar – his second of the night.

Now all Hanford had to do was stop East Valley’s Aaron Awbery, something that had been a tall task.

The Knights, who rode on the legs of Awbery all night, turned to their star running back again on their final drive. He helped get them to the Hanford 19-yard line, but on fourth-and-1, he was stood up by two Falcons defenders. It was only the second time on 37 carries that he did not gain at least 1 yard.

“It’s a no-brainer,” Romney said about handing the ball to Awbery in that situation.

Awbery finished with 213 yards on 37 carries and scored two touchdowns.

“It just worked out perfectly,” said Wagar, who was in on the final stop of Awbery.

Wagar, the Falcons’ leading rusher, keyed the comeback in the second half and finished with 124 yards on the ground on 15 carries.

Oram said the key was Shawn VanDeMark’s 33-yard touchdown catch from Brenton Griffin late in the first half that started the whole comeback.

“We just needed a score,” Oram said. “I figured if it was 21-7 at halftime it was a ballgame.”