Hermiston tops Hanford in OT thriller

The fourth quarter alone was worth the price of admission, what with five touchdowns being scored between the two teams.

No one was going to go down easy Friday night at Fran Rish Stadium, but in the end it was the visiting Hermiston Bulldogs who scored last and beat the Hanford Falcons 42-35 in overtime to win a key Mid-Columbia Conference football game.

“My heart is still thumping,” said Hermiston coach David Faaeteete. “The resilience of our kids stood out. They worked hard all summer for games like this.”

A game like this featured the MCC’s top two offensive units, and what paying fans got was a shootout.

The lead changed hands exactly twice. But it was tied five different times.

“I liked the way our guys kept answering them,” said Hanford coach Brett Jay. “I’m proud of our guys.”

Jay had plenty of guys to be proud of, starting with senior running back Jared DeVine, who found the end zone four times – including a 61-yard TD romp to open the Falcons’ scoring, and a 2-yard dive into the end zone with 53.4 seconds remaining in regulation that tied the contest at 35-all.

Or Hanford QB Garrett Horner, who passed for 272 yards and one score.

Or Conner Milliken and Robert Mauseth, two linemen who opened holes on offense and had nine and eight tackles on defense, respectively.

Or Blake VanderTop, Hanford’s two-way star who caught four passes for 53 yards and made six tackles and had an interception at linebacker.

But Faaeteete looked up and down his sideline and could be just as proud, starting with running back Wyatt Noland and quarterback Andrew James.

Noland rushed for 112 yards and scored four touchdowns, including the game-winning 7-yard run in overtime. James rushed for 85 yards and a 37-yard TD to open the game, and added 161 yards passing.

“And our offensive line and receivers did a great job of blocking for (James and Noland),” said Faaeteete.

On the other side of the line, Faaeteete could point to DB Jordan Ramirez (9 tackles, one for loss, and a cover), LB Zane Davis (8 tackles, one for loss, and a fumble recovery) and DL Cash Campbell (6 tackles and a quarterback sack).

“Andrew James and Wyatt Noland, they’re a force,” said Jay. “They both run downhill, and they keep moving the chains. They put a lot of pressure on our defense. Their linebackers play hard, and the play tough up front.”

But even though the game was high-scoring, both defenses responded well.

Outside of the long runs by DeVine and James, many of the scoring drives were long and chewed up yardage and clock.

“That’s when you know there are two good teams playing,” said James. “The defense doesn’t give up big plays, so you have to keep moving the ball.”

Both teams moved the ball in the fourth quarter, almost matching the Homecoming halftime fireworks show.

It was Noland who scored on an 8-yard run with 11:54 to play that knotted the game at 21-21. And after the Bulldogs recovered a Hanford fumble on the ensuing kickoff, it was Noland who rambled into the end zone from 10 yards out to give Hermiston a 28-21 lead 2 minutes and 21 seconds later.

Horner took control for the Falcons on the next drive, connecting on three passes, including an 18-yard scoring strike to Luke Sutey to tie it again 28-28 with 7:47 left.

Then it was James’ turn. He moved his team 74 yards in eight plays, topped with a 19-yard TD pass to Youbani Razon, who made a spectacular leaping catch with Hanford DB Abu Subramanian all over him with great coverage. That gave Hermiston the lead again, 35-28, with 4:01 to play.

Turned out to be too much time left.

Horner moved Hanford 80 yards in nine plays, with three passes of 20 yards or better, capped by DeVine’s fourth TD run of the game. That came with 53.4 seconds left in regulation, forcing overtime and the Kansas Plan tie breaker.

Hermiston needed just four plays to score from Hanford’s 25, topped by Noland going untouched from the 7 for the 42-35 lead.

“We knew they were a hell of a team, but I had a good hole there,” said Noland.

Alas, the Falcons couldn’t answer with their turn.

DeVine was stuffed for a 1-yard loss by Noland from his linebacker position; the Falcons were called for a holding penalty, moving them back to the 42; and then Horner’s lateral pass missed its mark to RB Dylan McElderry, and Hermiston’s Davis recovered the loose ball to end the game.

The Hanford loss allows Chiawana, a 42-0 winner over Kamiakin on Thursday, to sit alone atop the MCC standings at 6-1.

The Falcons fall to 5-2 and play host to Richland (also 5-2 after a 35-14 win over Kennewick on Friday) next Friday in what is essentially a playoff game for the MCC’s No. 2 4A regional berth, which includes a home game against the Greater Spokane League’s No. 2 team. The loser of that game is the No. 3 seed and travels to Spokane.

The irony here is Hermiston, also 5-2, must finish the regular season at home next Friday against Kamiakin (4-3). A win by Hermiston would give the Bulldogs the MCC’s top 3A seed to regionals.

But a loss, coupled with a Kennewick win next Friday over last-place Southridge, would knock the Bulldogs out of the postseason and let Kamiakin and Kennewick in.

“We knew coming into the MCC it was gonna be like a playoff game every night,” said Faaeteete.

So with so many teams vying for playoff seeds, it’s like the playoffs have already started.

“It’s awesome. It’s impressive,” said Jay. “It was a great fight. We lost to a good team tonight. We’ll keep fighting next week.”

BULLDOGS 42, FALCONS 35 (OT)