There were fireworks in the air and on the field Friday night as the Hermiston Bulldogs throttled Ridgeview, 54-0, in Hermiston.
Homecoming night for Hermiston featured a massive fireworks show at halftime that matched the firepower of the Bulldogs offense. Sophomore quarterback Andrew James was nearly flawless on the night, going 15-for-17 passing for 243 yards and six touchdown passes. Dayshawn Neal was a favorite target for James, catching six passes for 157 yards and four touchdowns.
Hermiston got off to a fast start when James hit Jerry Ramirez on a 12-yard touchdown pass early in the game. Jonathan Hinkle followed that up with a 6-yard touchdown run. The Bulldogs made it 21-0 in the first quarter when James connected with Neal for the first of their four TD hookups.
Hermiston picked up where it left off in the second quarter with James connecting with Ramirez on a 6-yard score and twice with Neal, including a 71-yard-touchdown pass to give Hermiston a 41-0 lead at halftime.
James threw his fourth TD pass to Neal in the third quarter and Peter Earl wrapped up the Hermiston scoring with a 4-yard run in the fourth quarter.
With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 3-3 overall and 3-1 in the Oregon 5A Special District 1. Hermiston will travel to take on Bend next Friday.
