Richland football enters the 2026 season with an established quarterback, size and experience in the trenches, and a clear idea of what it takes to be the best in the state.
The Bombers won eight games in 2025, including a home playoff victory, before their season ended against the eventual state champions of Sumner.
For head coach Josh Jelinek, now entering his third season leading the program, the final game provided a straightforward offseason evaluation.
“We just got flat-out muscled and out-toughed,” Jelinek said on Episode 10 of The Sports Council. “That hurt. That’s something that we can control. This off season, we’ve had lots of weight room time and emphasizing toughness in our program.”
Woodard Returns After Leading the MCC in Passing
The biggest known commodity for the Bombers is at quarterback.
Jackson Woodard returns for his third season as Richland’s starter after earning first-team All-Mid-Columbia Conference honors as a junior.
Through the MCC’s nine-game 2025 regular-season statistical period, Woodard completed 121 of 207 passes for a conference-leading 1,595 yards and 20 touchdowns against just five interceptions.
Those figures do not include Richland’s postseason games.
Woodard accounted for virtually all of a Richland passing attack that averaged 177 yards per game during that stretch. The Bombers finished with 2,460 yards of total offense and averaged 30.2 points per game.
Jelinek believes Woodard’s senior season could also become a historic one.
“He’s already got two all-conference titles under his belt as a quarterback and going for that third and eyeballing every single record in our program history,” Jelinek said. “He’s well within reach of breaking every quarterback record we have.”
Woodard, however, enters 2026 with a substantially different group around him.
First-team All-MCC receiver Brody Bocek graduated after leading Richland with 40 catches for 601 yards and seven touchdowns during the nine-game regular-season statistical period. Kiyen Williams recorded 25 receptions for 364 yards and seven touchdowns, while Hayden Galloway added 20 catches for 258 yards and three touchdowns.
That leaves Woodard developing chemistry with a new group of targets.
“I have a whole new receiver crew, so just getting it right with them and just making sure our timing’s down,” Woodard said of his offseason emphasis.
Jelinek said the offense may look different as those roles develop.
“We have to take our more proven commodities, our running backs, our tight ends, our offensive line, and lean on them a little bit to get us jump-started,” Jelinek said.
One player expected to take a larger role is Pierson Bryant.
“He’s kind of our number one guy right this second,” Jelinek said. “He’s a ball hawk. He’s tenacious. He’s tough.”
Strength Starts With the Defense
Richland’s 2025 numbers show why defense remains a significant part of the program’s newly discovered identity.
The Bombers ranked third in the MCC in total defense during the nine-game statistical period, allowing 208.2 yards per game. Richland surrendered only 95 points, an average of 10.6 per game, while allowing 88.9 rushing yards per contest.
Opponents converted just 27.65 percent of their third-down attempts.
The Bombers nevertheless have significant production to replace.
Hayden Galloway was a first-team All-MCC defensive back and recorded eight interceptions during the regular-season statistical period. Matthew Stanfield earned first-team honors on the defensive line, while Sylen Kiesel-Kauhane was a second-team All-MCC linebacker.
Kiesel-Kauhane, now at CWU, recorded 41.5 tackles, while Stanfield was credited with 10.5 tackles for loss and five sacks.
Richland will also have a new defensive coordinator after RJ Kiesel-Kauhane stepped away from the program. Jacob Stanfield takes over the defense, and Jelinek expects his background in defensive-line play to fit what Richland wants to become.
“I think that brings a brand of run-stopping toughness that we might need,” Jelinek said.
Joel Arreguin is expected to take on a larger leadership role at middle linebacker, with Bunnage alongside him.
Bunnage played extensively as a sophomore and is one of the players Jelinek expects to become much more visible in 2026.
“Finn Bunnage is going to be a great two-way player for us,” Jelinek said. “Young kid, junior, played a lot as a sophomore, but he’s going to take the stage this year, I think, on both sides of the ball.”
Bunnage said improving his speed became a specific offseason priority after receiving similar feedback at multiple camps.
“They all kind of said the same thing for me — my speed is not the best,” Bunnage said. “So I was doing everything I could every day, working out, trying to get the fastest I possibly can.”
He believes the defensive front could become one of Richland’s defining strengths.
“We have a really good box this year,” Bunnage said. “Really good O-line, D-line. We have a really good linebacker crew. I think it’s going to be a great season.”
Size and Experience in the Trenches
That optimism is supported by something immediately noticeable on Richland’s roster: size.
Jelinek said the Bombers have approximately seven players weighing 270 pounds or more.
“We’ve never had that,” Jelinek said. “I’ve been here for 15 years. I’ve never seen that kind of size before.”
The coach was also quick to distinguish between simply having size and having players capable of using it.
“They’re weight-room guys,” Jelinek said. “They’re guys that have lifted and are strong and fast, and they know the systems. They’ve been two- and three-year starters.”
Tyrie Lopez is expected to be a major piece on both lines, while Fletcher Owens returns at center after earning second-team All-MCC honors as a junior in 2025. Jevon Golden also returns after receiving honorable mention on the offensive line.
Jelinek described Owens as the “quarterback of the offensive line” because of his understanding of Richland’s blocking assignments and schemes.
Lopez, meanwhile, represents the type of size and athleticism Jelinek believes can change the Bombers at the line of scrimmage.
“You watch Tyrie move and you’re like, ‘This 300-pounder should not be able to move like that,’” Jelinek said.
New Names Taking Bigger Roles
Richland’s challenge isn’t necessarily finding players who have been on the field. It is finding out which of those players are ready to become the program’s primary playmakers.
Jelinek repeatedly identified three names: Bryant, Bunnage and Lopez.
All three have varsity experience. Their responsibilities change in 2026.
“They’ve kind of played a lot for us, but they were always in those casted roles,” Jelinek said. “Now they’re going to be the guy. Now they’re going to be the stars of the show and the leaders in our locker room and on the grass.”
His prediction was even simpler:
“Everybody’s going to know those guys by October.”
Richland Wants an Early Measuring Stick
The Bombers will get an opportunity to measure themselves quickly.
Richland opens the season at Moses Lake on September 4th before hosting Graham-Kapowsin in Week 2 on September 11th, two opponents Jelinek deliberately pursued when MCC realignment created nonconference openings.
“We want to play the best and we want to play early and know what we’ve got to do to fix it in conference play and get us set up for a long, successful run in the state bracket,” Jelinek said.
Graham-Kapowsin, in particular, represents the type of program Richland wants to measure itself against: always in talks of being a state contender.
“We want to be mentioned in that category, too,” Jelinek said. “And we don’t get mentioned in that category until we beat those guys.”
It makes Richland’s offseason emphasis immediately relevant.
The Bombers already know they can win games. They have an experienced quarterback who led the MCC in passing, a defense that statistically ranked among the conference’s best and veteran size along the line.
The question entering 2026 is whether those pieces can turn last season’s postseason experience into a deeper run.
Woodard believes Richland’s approach will be evident quickly.
“We’re going to play fast,” Woodard said. “We’re going to play hard, and we’re going to talk with our shoulder pads and helmets.”