[quote style=”2″]Bulldogs Improve to 3-0 on the Season[/quote]
The Hermiston Bulldogs combined a strong ground game along with a pair of touchdown passes from Chase Knutz to Carson Morter to hold off the Springfield Millers, 28-21, Friday night at Kennison Field.
Hermiston raced out to a 21-0 lead and had to overcome sloppy execution and several turnovers in the second half to wrap up their third win of the season. The win avenges a 49-28 loss to the Millers a year ago.
The Bulldogs scored on their first possession of the game after Morter intercepted a Trever Watson pass and gave Hermiston the ball on Springfield’s 38 yard line. Several plays later, Knutz and Morter connected on their first touchdown combination of the game to put Hermiston up, 7-0 with just under 10 minutes left in the first quarter.
Morter, who scored a pair of touchdowns and had four interceptions a week ago, proved he was human when he fumbled what would have been a touchdown. Springfield recovered the ball in the end zone, but was unable to put together a sustained drive and punted the ball back to the Bulldogs. Knutz wasted little time in hitting Morter on a short screen pass and the senior receiver raced 60 yards to put Hermiston up by two touchdowns.
The Bulldogs extended their lead to 21-0 when Knutz hit Cole Smith on a 3-yard touchdown pass just seconds into the second quarter.
The Millers finally broke through when Watson connected with senior running back Thamadi Ah-Sam on a 3-yard touchdown pass to make it a 21-7 game.
In the third quarter, Springfield cut the Hermiston lead to 14 when Watson found Gabe Wolfe in the end zone on another 3-yard scoring pass. The Bulldogs had been driving down the field when Daniel Wilson intercepted a Knutz pass about midway through the third quarter. The Springfield drive was extended when the Millers converted a fake field-goal attempt into a first down that led to the score.
The second half was marred by a myriad of penalties and turnovers for both teams, who each had touchdowns called back due to penalties. Springfield racked up 20 penalties for nearly 200 yards, while Hermiston had 18 penalties for more than 130 yards.
The Bulldogs extended their lead to 28-14 when Sam Colbray ran untouched into the end zone from a yard out early in the fourth. The Millers put the final points on the board when Watson hit Braydon Haas on a 36-yard score.
The Millers twice had the ball with a chance to score the game-tying touchdown, including having the ball with just over 2 minutes left, but Hermiston’s defense was up to the challenge.
Knutz finished the night with 17-for-27 for 223 yards and 3 touchdowns. Corey Adams had 142 yards rushing on 23 carries. Morter led all receives with 6 catches for 135 yards and two scores.
The 3-0 Bulldogs will host the 1-3 Lewiston Bengals next Friday at Kennison Field.
