The Hermiston Bulldogs opened Columbia River Conference play Friday night with a dominating 51-0 road victory over The Dalles Eagle-Indians.
The Bulldogs scored touchdowns on their first four possessions and were never threatened as they notched their first shut out of the season.
On their opening drive, Hermiston drove 85 yards down the field and scored on a 28-yard pass from Chase Knutz to Ramon Contreras to go up 6-0. It was the start of great night for Contreras on both sides of the ball. The senior had four interceptions to go with his strong offensive performance.
On their second series, Hermiston converted a fourth-down play to make it first and goal, where senior running back Trenton Anteau went over the top for a touchdown. A 2-point conversion attempt failed.
Up 12-0, Hermiston came right back on their next possession and scored on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Knutz to Cole Smith to give the Bulldogs a 19-0 lead.
Anteau scored his second touchdown of the game early in the second quarter when he ran for 39 yards into the end zone.
The Bulldogs pushed the lead 34-0 on an acrobatic catch by sophomore receiver Ethan Snow, who was falling to his knees on the goal line as he made the catch.
Hermiston continued to roll in the third quarter. A nine-play drive that ate up close to five minutes was capped off by a 7-yard run by Anteau to give the Bulldogs a 41-0 lead.
A bit of trickery set up another Hermiston score. Contreras took the snap on a fake punt and ran it back 59 yards to The Dalles’ 28-yard line. A few plays later, senior running back Hector Rangel scored his first touchdown of the season on a 12-yard run late in the third quarter.
Hermiston capped off the night’s scoring on a 30-yard field goal by Luis Medina to make it 51-0. The Dalles’ quarterback Chaise Schroll threw five interceptions on the night. Knutz connected on 21 passes on 28 attempts for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Anteau carried the load on the ground for Hermiston with 83 yards and three scores on 14 carries. Hermiston totaled 200 yards on the ground.
The Bulldogs (4-1 overall and 1-0 in the CRC) are back on the road next week when they take on Springfield.
