A week ago, the Hermiston Bulldogs withstood a late-game comeback attempt by the Pendleton Buckaroos at Kennison Field. Last night, the Bulldogs were in the same position to hold off a comeback by the hosts, the St. Helens Lions, but couldn’t stop them from ending Hermiston’s season in the first round of the Oregon 5A state playoffs.
Leading 7-6 late in the game, the Bulldogs tried to extend their season, but St. Helens’ Levi Norton found Ben Eldred for a 5-yard game-winning touchdown pass with just 16 seconds to go to claim a 12-7 win over Hermiston.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Bulldogs struck first when Peter Earl found the end zone on a 2-yard run to put Hermiston up 7-0. Neither team scored in the third quarter, but St. Helens pulled to within a point early in the fourth quarter on an 8-yard run by Dylan Brady. The extra point attempt was blocked by Hermiston.
Offense was hard to come by all night for Hermiston and little was gained on the ground or air. Hermiston’s sophomore quarterback threw for just 94 yards on 6-for-14 passing. Jonathan Hinkle led the Bulldogs’ ground game with a mere 19 yards on 6 carries while Peter Earl could only tally 18 rushing yards on 5 attempts.
St. Helens’ Myles Terry led all rushers with 96 yards on 18 carries while teammate Tyler Rea had 89 yards on 12 carries.
Hermiston finished the season with a 5-5 record and a 5-2 league record. St. Helens will now take on the second-seeded Wilsonville who pummeled 15th-seeded Thurston Friday night, 62-13.
