The Dalles played Hermiston to a near standstill in the second half of Friday night’s Columbia River Conference matchup. Unfortunately for the Riverhawks, there was the first half in which the Bulldogs scored virtually at will and cruised to an astounding 75-6 win.
The Bulldogs scored on the first play of their first three offensive possessions. Less than five minutes into the first quarter, Hermiston had a commanding 27-0 lead and never looked back.
After forcing the Riverhawks to punt on the first series of the game, Hermiston’s Cory Adams opened the scoring for the Bulldogs on a touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage. On the first play of their next series, quarterback Chase Knutz hit Ethan Snow on a 47-yard pass to make it 14-0.
With their backs already to the wall less than halfway through the first quarter, the Riverhawks gambled on a fourth down with a fake punt that didn’t work, giving Hermiston the ball at The Dalles’ 28 yard line. The Bulldogs had better luck on their own fourth down play later in the drive when Knutz found Carson Morter in the end zone to give Hermiston a 33-0 lead.
Hermiston struck again on their next possession – again on the first play from scrimmage – when Knutz connected with Snow on a 25-yard touchdown pass to push the Hermiston lead to 40-0 with more than 3 minutes still left in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs scored again, 22 seconds into the second quarter, when Knutz threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Snow to make it 47-0. By the time halftime arrived, Hermiston had a 68-0 lead and extended it to 75-0 early in the second half. By that time, with a lead of at least 45 points, the clock ran continuously in the second half. The Dalles managed to get on the board on the final play of the game to prevent being shut out.
Knutz had a game to remember for the Bulldogs, going 13-for-16 for 298 yards and seven touchdown passes. Snow had 4 receptions for 140 yards and 3 scores.
The win improves Hermiston’s record to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in the CRC. The Dalles falls to 0-7 and 0-1 on the year. The fourth-ranked Bulldogs travel to Hood River next week to take on the 2-5 Eagles.
