Bulldogs Hold Off Mountain View, 35-21

The Hermiston Bulldogs used the arm of Andrew James, the legs of Jonathan Hinkle and the arms of Dayshaun Neal to hold off the Mountain View Cougars Friday night to notch their first win of the season, 35-21, at Kennison Field.

The Bulldogs got on the board in the first quarter after a run by quarterback James set up his 10-yard touchdown pass to receiver Tucker Salinas to put Hermiston up 7-0 about midway through the first.

Five minutes later, the sophomore quarterback found Neal for a 22-yard touchdown pass to put Hermiston up 13-0. The Cougars scored on a 12-yard run to cut the Hermiston lead to 13-7 before Hinkle returned an interception 38 yards for the score. John Henry Line ran the ball in for a 2-point conversion to put Hermiston up 21-7 at halftime.

The Bulldogs were able to move the ball on Mountain View throughout much of the night, piling up 211 yards on the ground and 424 overall yards.

Hermiston added two more touchdowns in the third quarter on a 3-yard run by Hinkle and a 17-yard touchdown pass from James to Neal to make it 35-7 after three quarters.

Mountain View tacked on a pair of fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns to make the final score 35-21.

James finished the night with 213 yards passing and three touchdown passes. Neal collected six receptions for 110 yards and two scores, while Hinkle carried the ball 20 times for 110 yards and two scores.

The 1-2 Bulldogs will host Summit next Friday before heading back on the road to take on Hood River Valley on Sept. 30.