KENNEWICK -- On offense, on defense -- there might be a whisker's difference between the Kamiakin Braves and Kennewick Lions.

On special teams, though, there is a vast gulf. At least there was Saturday.

Two blocked punts and a fumbled return led to a Braves' scoring burst late in the first half, and another muffed punt return opened the door to a clinching score in Kamiakin's 22-14 win over the Lions in a 3A state quarterfinal at Lampson Stadium.

Zach Umemoto ran for 118 yards on 30 tough carries for Kamiakin, and Drew Oord scored a pair of touchdowns, including an 8-yard return of his own punt block.

That play proved a key turning point in the game.

"It's a game of momentum," said Kamiakin coach Scott Biglin, who has guided the Braves to back-to-back semifinal appearances in his three years.

Kamiakin (12-0) will face a familiar foe next Saturday back at Lampson when unbeaten and top-ranked Bellevue (12-0) comes to town (time TBD). The Wolverines have won eight of the last 10 3A state titles and three in a row, including last year's 38-0 rout of Kamiakin in the championship game.

"Everybody's excited," said Oord, a starter on last year's team. "We knew we have to practice hard this week to get ready for them. But for now, we want to redeem ourselves and show that we belong with them."

It was no surprise that points were at a premium with two dominating defenses on the field, and it was Kennewick (10-2) that struck first.

After threatening on their first drive but coming up empty from inside the 10, the Lions hit the big plays late in the first quarter.

Grant Woods, who broke off a 47-yard run on the first drive, bounced outside for 46 more to move Kennewick to the 26. From there, Brock Schuh went up strong to win a jump ball at the goal line for a 26-yard scoring pass from Bryce Leavitt and a 7-0 lead.

After Kamiakin stalled at midfield on its next possession, the Braves forced a three-and-out, thanks to a sack and another stop from Kevin Graeger.

Devven Ramos was back near the Lions' 10 to punt, but Oord crashed through the middle and stuffed the kick. The ball took a lollipop hop right into Oord's arms, and it was an easy score.

KENNEWICK -- Grant Woods was in eighth grade when the Kennewick football team last won a state playoff game.

He's hoping the Lions' latest win, a 39-6 victory over Southridge in the first round of the 3A state playoffs, will leave as big an impression on future Kennewick players as the 2007 team did on him.

"To be a part of the team doing it now is awesome," Woods said. "There's got to be some eighth graders out there watching."

The senior running back gave them something to cheer about Saturday at Lampson Stadium, rushing 26 times for 158 yards and two touchdowns, and taking a screen pass 65 yards for another score to help lift Kennewick into the 3A quarterfinals next Saturday against Kamiakin.

That's the same Braves team that beat them 14-6 back in Week 4, still the Lions' ony loss.

"That's pretty neat. We get a quarterfinal rematch," Woods said. "It's going to be a big game."

Before the Lions even thought about that game, however, they had to take care of business against a Southridge squad loaded with weapons.

The Lions got to it quickly, as quarterback Bryce Leavitt threw a simple screen pass to Woods just a minute and 20 seconds into the game and watched the CBBN 3A scoring leader cruise down the left sideline for a 65-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

The Suns answered back with a 12-play drive that ended with a 46-yard field goal by Chandler Mertens that cut the lead to 7-3.

That's when Leavitt and Woods, behind a punishing front five, started to take over. The two combined for 282 yards and three scores on the ground, but Leavitt set the tone with a mad scramble on third and 1 from the Kennewick 40-yard line. The 6-foot-4 senior zig-zagged back and forth across the field until, before it was over, he had a 41-yard gain.

That set up a 1-yard sneak by Leavitt that pushed the lead to 13-3.

Two weeks ago, Kennewick football coach Bill Templeton was grateful for the gift of technology as he watched via internet from a hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as his Lions recorded their third shutout of the year against the Pasco Bulldogs 35-0.

What brought him to that faraway place was the gift of love.

A trip that long is never easy, but the Templetons are looking forward to a profoundly adventurous journey of adding to their already rich family of four (they had two children before the adoption: Hannah and Atticus). Templeton and his wife Kelli Jo were there to put the final touches on their adoption of two Ethiopian boys.

"Ten or fifteen years ago, I was listening to a sermon on the radio. It talked about King David and his best friend Jonathan's son. When Jonathan passed away, David adopted his son," Templeton said.

"The sermon was about how adoption is a beautiful metaphor for how God adopts us into His family."

The process began almost two years ago in February at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Portland, where Templeton and his wife met the two boys — seven-year-old Gezahegne and four-year-old Endale — for the first time. They spent some time with each other and decided to push ahead with the adoption.

It's an expensive process — Templeton had heard it could be as much as $50,000 to adopt both boys — and it takes a lot of patience ("It's been a long journey," he said). However, he credited the generosity of friends, the church and the local community for their many levels of support.

"Most of it is plane tickets," Templeton said. "It ended up being closer to about $35,000."

Two years later, Bill and Kelli Jo couldn't be happier with their decision.

"We've been blessed," Tempoleton said.

It sounds like the boys are starting to adapt to their new home and city. For starters, they've both taken 'American' names. Gezahegne, now 9, is now called Silas. His brother Endale, now 6, is known as Jonathan.

"They probably know about 40 or 50 English words each," Bill said. "Their first experience with American football was our playoff win over Mt. Spokane."

Templeton loves telling his Kennewick players that it's not where you start, it's where you finish. A win Saturday against Kamiakin puts the Lions in the state semifinals for the first time since 1992.

But by graciously allowing Silas and Jonathan into their lives, the Templetons have shown others the true meaning of family and how, sometimes, long journeys are worth every single step.