Week 2 was almost a mirror image of week 1 for Hermiston – at least in the first half – as the Bulldogs tallied a 42-0 lead at halftime and held on for a 49-22 road victory over Hillsboro tonight.
Last week at home against Rex Putnam, the Bulldogs scored at the half-time buzzer to take a 41-0 lead and went on to a 48-7 win. Tonight, Hermiston scored on a Chase Knutz touchdown pass to Cole Smith as the second quarter expired. The win improves the Bulldogs to 2-0, the first time they opened the season with two straight wins since 2009.
The Bulldogs scored on their first possession on a 23-yard pass from Knutz to Ramon Contreras. Two possessions later, Costa Rodriguez scored on a 1-yard run to make it 13-0. Following an interception by Contreras, Rodriguez ran the ball in from 26 yards out to push the lead to 20-0. Following a 25-yard field goal by Luis Medina in the second quarter, Sam Colbray scored on a 3-yard touchdown to give Hermiston a 29-0 lead.
With the ball at their own 45 yard line, Hermiston’s Michael Gossler picked off a pass from Matt Jones and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown.
Leading 36-0 with just seconds to go in the half, Knutz hit Smith as the half expired.
Then came the second half when things began to bog down for the Bulldogs. On the third play of the third quarter, Hillsboro’s T.J. Cavender intercepted a Knutz pass and ran it back 42 yards to finally get the Spartans on the scoreboard. Hermiston bounced right back on a 9-yard pass from Knutz to Smith to give the Bulldogs a 49-7 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Spartans scored on a 30-yard play to cut the Hermiston lead to 49-14. With just 45 seconds to go and with the ball in their possession, Hermiston, trying to run the clock out, fumbled the snap and Hillsboro recovered and scored on the very next play on a 36-yard pass play. A two-point conversion made the final score 49-22.
The Hermiston defense was almost perfect in the first half as they held the Spartans to minus-7 rushing yards and just 74 total yards.
Hermiston will face a big test next week when they host defending state champs and current No. 1 Sherwood, who notched an impressive 48-0 road win tonight at West Albany.
