Chiawana shuts out Lewis and Clark 24-0

PASCO – The Chiawana Riverhawks took an important – and often overlooked – first step in defense of their 2013 State 4A football championship. 

They got back to state. 

Austin Urlacher ran for 234 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, and the Riverhawks defense made a big statement, too, holding a potentially explosive Lewis and Clark team to just 149 yards from scrimmage in a 24-0 win Friday night at Edgar Brown Stadium. 

The third-ranked Riverhawks proved they can beat a good team when they’re not quite at their best. The Hawks got off to a slow start, going three-and-out on their first drive and then fumbling away a punt return on their own 38. 

But the defense bailed them out, as Isaiah Richie, returning from an injury that kept him out the last two games, intercepted Cameron Duncan’s pass in the end zone to get the ball back at the 20. 

On the next play from scrimmage, Urlacher burst through a hole between right guard and right tackle and sprinted 76 yards to the Tigers 5. After an illegal motion penalty, Urlacher scored from 9 yards out to put the first points on the board. 

Lewis and Clark came out strong in the second quarter, mounting a 12-play drive deep into Chiawana territory.

But the drive stalled at the 22, ending with a pair of incompletions. 

The Riverhawks scored on their next possession, a nine-play, 78-yard drive capped by a 38-yard TD pass from Logan Ellsworth to Dre Dorton on fourth-and-5 for a 14-0 lead.

The Riverhawks got a break when Josh Wilson covered a short kickoff to open the second half, taking advantage of LC’s sleepy coverage, to give Chiawana a short field. Urlacher scored on a 25-yard run two plays later to make it 21-0.

Wilson also recovered one of five Tigers fumbles on the day. 

“Wilson really picked it up on defense,” said Dorton, who caught three passes for 60 yards and also intercepted a pass.