White Salmon teams go out winners in Gorge Youth Football League playoffs

The White Salmon Black Knights followed with a shut-out victory of their own: 12-0 over the Hood River Blue Devils.

Big Red finished with a 2-4 win-loss record; the Black Knights ended up 4-2.

Big Red 18, Purple Vikings 0 --

Kent Shelley scored on a 57-yard punt return in the first quarter and a 79-yard interception return as the first half expired to stake Big Red to a 12-0 lead in the game for fifth place.

Much later, on the final play of the contest (which followed a Big Red defensive stand at its own 4-yard line), Shelley threw a halfback option pass to Travis Sears, who went 96 yards for a game-ending touchdown.

White Salmon Head Coach Bill Ward said the play was a mistake in that Sears wasn't supposed to score.

"We weren't trying to run the score up; we were just trying to run out the clock," he explained.

Black Knights 12, Blue Devils 0 --

Kyle Earls and Darnell Douglas each ran for a touchdown to spark the Black Knights to victory in the game for third place.

Earls put White Salmon on top 6-0 when he scored from 30 yards out with 5:39 remaining in the first quarter.

The Black Knights' final touchdown came when Douglas crashed in from Hood River's 2-yard line on a fourth-and-goal play with 3:13 left in the game.