PHOTO BY MEGAN KANE
The first three minutes of Friday night’s showdown for the Columbia River Conference title had all the makings of a classic shootout with both teams scoring twice early on.
Less than 3 minutes into the game, the score was tied at 14, with Hermiston and Pendleton’s offenses striking fast and furiously. Then came the final 45 minutes when the Bulldogs scored 49 unanswered points to win the game, 63-14, and the CRC title.
The No. 3 ranked Hermiston Bulldogs scored first when Cory Adams broke away for a 47-yard touchdown run, but the Buckaroos answered right back when Kai Quinn scored on a 58-yard run. Hermiston took all of two plays to regain the lead on a 50-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Chase Knutz to Ethan Snow.
Pendleton (5-4, 2-1), however, did Hermiston one better when Levi Winterton scored on the first play from scrimmage to tie the game at 14. That was it for Pendleton’s offense as the Bulldogs’ defense shut them out the rest of the way.
The first sustained drive of the game came when Hermiston got the ball back, ate up 64 yards on 11 plays and found the end zone when Sam Colbray scored the first of his four touchdowns on the game – this one on a 3-yard run to put Hermiston up 21-14.
Hermiston was up 34-14 at the end of the first quarter and never looked back. When it was all said and done, Hermiston had tallied 63 points, 31 first downs and a whopping 596 total yards. Colbray had 124 yards to go with his four touchdowns. Adams led all rushers with 138 yards on 11 carries and two scores. Snow had a big night with 8 receptions for 155 yards and three touchdowns. Knutz 17-for-26 for 336 yards in the air and three touchdowns.
The win improves Hermiston’s record to 8-1 and 3-0 in the CRC. They will have a home playoff game next week, but won’t know their opponent until later in the week.
