THE DALLES -- In the four-team Columbia River Conference which has just a three-game regular season football schedule, it's of utmost importance to win the league opener in order to have a chance to qualify for the Oregon Class 5A playoffs.
The Hermiston Bulldogs (1-0 CRC, 4-2 overall) definitely have proven that they're capable of being a playoff team and also a legitimate contender for the league championship following a historic 56-10 win over The Dalles Wahtonka Eagle Indians on Friday in The Dalles.
Hermiston senior running back Bobby Adams continued his remarkable season and he helped lead the Dawgs to victory while rushing for 223 yards on 25 carries and scored five touchdowns.
"We definitely feel that we have a good chance to win the league title this year," said Adams, who has a total of 1,128 yards rushing and 11 TD's. "More importantly though, we're focusing on establishing a physically dominating style of play, which is what we demonstrated in this game."
It was a significant victory in more than one respect as it marked the first ever league win for fourth-year head coach Mark Hodges and the Dawgs, who were 0-3 in the CRC's inaugural 2010 season.
"Last year we had a pretty decent team, but then everything fell apart after we suffered through an unbelievable string of injuries," said Hodges, whose squad avenged a 34-25 home loss a year ago to the defending CRC champion Eagle Indians (0-1, 1-5). "A year ago, we had 12 starters out with injuries when we played The Dalles. We just had bad luck all year and it ravaged our entire squad. We just want to show everyone what we're capable of doing this year, because last year we didn't really have an opportunity to do that."
Hermiston placekicker Jerod Munsterman booted the opening kickoff to The Dalles Wahtonka, which started at its own 23-yard line. TDW fumbled five plays later junior defensive back Alex Ortiz scooped up the ball and rumbled 18 yards to The Dalles Wahtonka 13-yard line.
Four plays later, Adams scored on a one-yard burst through TDW's weak defensive line, giving the Dawgs a 6-0 edge with 9:52 on the scoreboard. TDW responded by putting together its best offensive possession of the game with an 80-yard scoring drive to take a 7-6 lead with 6:16 remaining in the first quarter.
It was a short-lived lead though as Hermiston answered with a nine play, 66-yard series, highlighted by a 28-yard Adams scramble to The Dalles 27. Five plays later, Adams powered his way up the middle to paydirt from two yards and his two-point conversion run made it 14-7 with 3:22 left in the quarter.
"We felt pretty confident before the game that we probably would have a good chance to win," said Adams. "Our ground game starts with the solid play of the offensive line and I just have to thank all those guys for playing such a great game tonight. We worked hard in practice all week with the coaches constantly pushing us to try and improve. They've all really helped motivate us to play hard and it feels good to come out here and get a win."
On TDW's ensuing possession, Ortiz intercepted a pass by Eagle Indian quarterback Chaise Shroll and he returned it 27-yards for a TD, making it 20-7, which was the score at the end of the first quarter.
The Dawgs dominated the remainder of the contest and held the Eagle Indians to just 44 yards of offense in the second quarter, while outscoring them 29-0 to build a 49-7 halftime lead. Adams had TD runs of 23 and 11 yards and Rique Cardenas and Costa Rodrigues returned interceptions for scores to contribute to the scoring surge.
Adams capped a seven play, 51-yard drive in the third with a seven yard TD scramble, making it 56-7 with 4:21 left in the third. A running clock continued the remainder of the contest because of the 45-point mercy rule. TDW scored a field goal in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
Only three of four league squads advance to the playoffs and the Bulldogs certainly took a giant step towards reaching their goal of playing postseason football. It marked the first victory against The Dalles since a 49-0 win in 2008 for Hermiston, which had lost regular season matchups between the two schools the last two years.
Hermiston, unbeaten on the road (4-0), returns home for a 7 p.m. contest Oct. 14 versus the Hood River Valley Eagles (1-5). Hermiston has lost both of its home games, including a 34-0 loss Sept. 9 to Washington Class 3A powerhouse Kennewick (5-1).
"Tate Gabriel, Cal Pierson and Damian Martinez have really been the workhorses on our offensive line with their solid play and they're the key to our strong running game," said Hodges.
The Bulldogs, winners of three of their last four games, will likely be focused on maintaining their momentum as they'll seek to extend their two-game win streak. HRV lost 31-24 at home to the Pendleton Buckaroos (4-2) Friday.
The Bulldogs will be seeking to get revenge against the Eagles, who won 44-13 last year. Hermiston concludes the regular season with an Oct. 21 road game against arch rival Pendleton.
Hermiston 56, The Dalles-Wahtonka 10
Hermiston 20 29 7 0 -- 56
The Dalles-Wahtonka 7 0 0 3 -- 10
SCORING PLAYS
H, Bobby Adams 1 run (kick failed)
TDW, Austin Wilson 7 pass from Chaise Schroll (Eli Holeman kick)
H, Adams 2 run (Adams run)
H, Alex Ortiz 27 interception return (kick failed)
H, Adams 11 run (David Barnett pass from Alex Campbell)
H, Rique Cardenas 44 interception return (Jerod Munsterman kick)
H, Adams 23 run (Munsterman kick)
H, Costa Rodriguez 36 interception return (Munsterman kick)
H, Adams 7 run (Munsterman kick)
TDW, FG Jose Villegas 31
STATISTICS
RUSHING--H, Adams 25-223. TDW, Brent Dugick 11-72.
PASSING--H, Alex Campbell 4-7-0--85. TDW, Chaise Shroll 4-13-3--31.
RECEIVING--H, Bobby Adams 1-58. TDW, Kevin Peterson 2-20.
