SPOKANE -- All eyes were on quarterbacks Matt Mendenhall and Conner Johnson when Southridge traveled to University for a 3A state play-in football game Friday.

In the end, the Titans secondary couldn't keep track of the Suns receivers and Mendenhall took advantage.

The CBBN's leading 3A passer with 1,964 yards threw for 343 yards and two touchdowns and ran 15 yards for the winning score as Southridge (7-3) rallied for a 31-27 victory Friday night and a state berth..

His counterpart at U-Hi, Johnson, didn't do badly either.

In the final game of his high school career, Johnson rushed for 188 yards and two TDs, passed for 187 and the other two. But several drops by his normally sure-handed receivers in the first half conspired against U-Hi.

Still, Johnson rallied the Titans (5-5) from 10-0 behind to a 20-10 lead after three quarters.

But there was no stopping Mendenhall. His passes weren't always pretty, but effective. Several times it seemed he just fired the ball up for grabs and it was his receivers who grabbed it.

And when the Titans took a 27-24 lead with 2 minutes, 45 seconds left in the game, Mendenhall carved up the home team through the air, covering 68 yards in just 40 seconds to lead for good.

U-Hi made a last-ditch effort to pull out a win going from its 26 to the Southridge 21 in a little over a minute, only to run out of downs.

Southridge broke a scoreless tie in the second quarter following a Titan fumble at midfield. A 33-yard Mendenhall completion set up a field goal.

Southridge receivers Josh Richards (12 catches, 152 yards) and Paul Hamada (6 for 107) did most of the damage.

KENNEWICK -- The Southridge Suns did just about everything right Friday, while defeating West Valley 33-14 in a CBBN 3A game at Lampson Stadium.

The Suns played well offensively and defensively, they remained healthy and they got a win heading into the playoffs next week.

"Our biggest accomplishment was to keep the momentum going into the playoffs," Southridge's Matt Mendenhall said.

The Suns play at University High at 7 p.m. Friday in the regional playoffs. The winner will advance to the state playoffs the following week.

On Friday, Mendenhall threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns. He also recovered a fumble and returned it 45 yards to set up another score. It was one of three fumbles the Suns recovered.

"We were just trying to strip the ball," Mendenhall said. "That has been an emphasis of ours for a while, but we haven't had many fumble recoveries. We played hard defensively."

West Valley, which will play in a non-advancing crossover game against Sunnyside on Thursday, fumbled on its fourth play of the game.

KENNEWICK -- Coming off a pair of lackluster performances in the running game, the Southridge Suns had one thing on their mind Friday night with the Pasco Bulldogs paying a visit to Lampson Stadium.

Well, two actually.

The first was get the win, putting a festive cap on Homecoming and doing their part to lock up a playoff berth. The second was get Chris Haueter and the ground game back on track with the postseason just over the horizon.

Check and check.

Haueter ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns -- the first a 70-yard flash in the second quarter -- and the Suns racked up 225 yards on the ground in a 41-0 CBBN 3A win over the Bulldogs.

"We wanted to get Chris going and show everyone what Southridge football is all about," said senior lineman Sam Barnes. "We want to be more dynamic in everything we do."

The Suns (5-2, 4-1) kept pace with Kennewick for second place in league, with next week's showdown between the city rivals looming. Southridge's win, combined with the Lions' 34-6 win over West Valley, clinched playoff berths for both teams behind first-place Kamiakin.

Southridge didn't make any bones about its offense, using fullback Tanner Gottschalk more than ever in a two-back set.

"I was really happy about that. It's what I started with. I love two-back -- it feels safe," said Haueter, who has led the league in rushing from Week 1 but saw the rest of the field close in with back-to-back 43-yard games. His season total sits unofficially at 875 yards.