After trailing most of the game, the Hermiston Bulldogs tied the score at 35 in the waning seconds of their playoff matchup against the Dallas Dragons, only to lose in overtime, 41-35, Friday night at Kennison Field.
Taking the ball first in overtime, the Dragons scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by senior running back David Rebischke, but a missed extra point gave Hermiston a shot to win it on their own overtime possession. The Dragons, however, intercepted Chase Knutz for the fifth time in the game to seal the win and will now face West Albany in the 5A quarterfinals.
The Dragons were in control for most of the game and had a chance to go up by two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter, but a fumble at the goal line gave Hermiston new life. A couple of possessions later, trailing 35-28, Hermiston marched 40 yards down the field and tied the game on fourth-and-six pass to Ethan Snow for a 9-yard touchdown to send the game into overtime.
The Dragons got off to a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The first score came on an 83-yard drive that was capped off by a 10-yard run by running back Tim Smothers. Hermiston was driving into Dallas territory when Ryan Spencer intercepted a Knutz pass and ran it back for the Dragons’ second score of the game.
The Bulldogs got on the board on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Knutz to Ramon Contreras. Dallas, however, took the kickoff and ran it back to Hermiston’s 9 yard line and scored a play later on a touchdown run by Rebischke.
Hermiston cut the lead to 7 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Sam Shields-Colbray to make it 21-14 in favor of Dallas at the end of the first quarter. The see-saw battle continued early in the second quarter when Dallas scored on a 15-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-14.
Hermiston came back late in the second quarter, scoring on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Knutz to Contreras to make it a 7-point game once again going into halftime.
The Dragons, who ran the ball for a whopping 414 yards on the night, scored on a muffed play when Caleb Naughton fumbled in the end zone, but Smothers recovered it for the Dallas touchdown.
Trailing by 14, Hermiston began an 80-yard drive that was powered primarily by the running of Trenton Anteau. The senior running back carried the bulk of the load on the drive and junior running back Cory Adams scored on a 1-yard touchdown to cut the Dallas lead to 35-28.
The Dragons were knocking at the door with the ball on the Hermiston 1, poised to go up by two touchdowns, but Anteau recovered a fumble on the goal line to give Hermiston the ball. The Bulldogs took advantage of the good fortune shortly after when Knutz hit Snow on a fade route to tie it at 35 with just 44 seconds left in the game.
The overtime loss ends Hermiston’s season with a 6-4 record and a Columbia River Conference title.
