Hermiston football exits OSAA with a state title
Forget just winning the last game of the season, the Hermiston High School football team got to go out on top in its final game as a member of the Oregon School Activities Association.
The No. 3 Bulldogs beat No. 4 Churchill 38-35 on Saturday at Hillsboro Stadium in the OSAA’s 5A championship game, capturing the second state title in school history.
Hermiston (11-2) will become a member of the WIAA and compete in the Mid-Columbia Conference beginning next fall.
Jonathan Hinkle led the way offensively, gaining 116 rushing yards on 22 carries while scoring three touchdowns. Dayshawn Neal was on the receiving end of both of Andrew James’ touchdown passes, as he totaled five grabs for 80 yards.
Leading 35-14 at halftime, the Bulldogs had to hold off a late charge from the Lancers (12-1), as their quarterback, Jack Blackburn, threw two touchdown passes and ran for another in the second half. But a seven-play, 54-yard drive for Hermiston that ended with a 23-yard TD reception by Neal put the team up 38-28 with under 3 minutes to go and all but sealed the win.
Hermiston won its first state title in 2014, but hadn’t recorded a winning season since then.
Churchill | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | — | 35 |
Hermiston | 6 | 19 | 6 | 7 | — | 38 |
SCORING PLAYS
H—Jonathan Hinkle 18 run (kick blocked)
C—Tyson Bennion 4 run (Trevor Groves kick)
H—Keaton Mikami 6 run (pass failed)
H—Dayshawn Neal 3 pass from Andrew James (run failed)
H—Hinkle 3 run (Neal kick)
C—Jax Arnold 8 pass from Jack Blackburn (Groves kick)
C—Lucas Schwinn 46 pass from Blackburn (Groves kick)
H—Hinkle 6 run (Neal kick)
C—Marshaun Tucker Jr. 48 pass from Blackburn (Groves kick)
H—Dayshawn Neal 23 pass from James (Neal kick)
C—Blackburn 1 run (Groves kick)
ROYAL 35, NEWPORT 7: Lorenzo Myrick had 129 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just six carries, and Alonso Hernandez added 95 yards and scored twice as well as the No. 1 Knights beat the No. 10 Grizzlies in typical blowout fashion in the WIAA Class 1A semifinal game at Lions Field in Moses Lake.
Royal (13-0) will look to defend its back-to-back state titles against Meridian at 1 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Tacoma Dome. The program has won seven championships overall, all but one under the direction of legendary coach Wiley Allred.
SCAC East Offensive Player of the Year Corbin Christensen had a monster game also for the Knights, hauling in eight passes for 145 yards and catching Sawyer Jenks’ only touchdown pass, in the second quarter.
Newport | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 7 |
Royal | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | — | 35 |
SCORING PLAYS
R—Alonso Hernandez 1 run (Osvaldo Guerrero kick)
R—Hernandez 5 run (Guerrero kick)
R—Corbin Christensen 5 pass from Sawyer Jenks (Guerrero kick)
N—Jacob Kirkwood 10 pass from Koa Pancho (Rylan Hastings kick)
R—Lorenzo Myrick 21 run (Guerrero kick)
R—Myrick 39 run (Guerrero kick)
Dustin Brennan: 509-582-1413, @Tweet_By_Dustin
This story was originally published November 26, 2017 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Hermiston football exits OSAA with a state title."