Quick-hitting Hood River Valley scored two touchdowns within a minute late in the first half, erasing a 7-6 deficit, enroute to a 19-7 Class 5A state football playoff win Friday at home against South Albany.
 The Eagles (9-1) trailed 7-6 before embarking on a 12-play, 60-yard drive late in the second quarter. Quarterback Trenton Hughes scored on an 11-yard run giving Hood River a 12-7 lead. South Albany ran three offensive plays on its next possession and a short punt gave Hood River the ball back at the RedHawks’ 30. Hughes threw to the end zone on the next play and Mason Spellecy used his 6-foot-3 frame to outleap a South Albany defender for the score and a 19-7 lead.
Neither team scored in the second half. Hughes had a 54-yard touchdown run called back on the first play of the fourth quarter because of a holding penalty. Hughes also had a 74-yard TD run called back in the first quarter - because of a holding penalty.
Hood River senior Ryles Buckley intercepted two passes, his school record eighth and ninth picks of the season. Hughes carried the ball 19 times for 119 yards; Shaw Burns added 62 yards on 15 carries.
Hood River, the No. 2 team from Special District 1, was playing a home state playoff game for the first time since the 2003 season. HRV last made the playoffs in 2015, when the Eagles lost 49-7 to top-ranked Liberty High. The win was the first in the state playoffs for Hood River since Nov. 8, 2002, when the Eagles beat Lakeridge, 83-50.
Coach Jeremy Dyal celebrates after his team stopped South Albany on fourth down to get the ball back.
Hood River scored first in Friday’s game when Hughes connected with Buckley on a 10-yard pass less than two minutes into the contest. South Albany took the lead after a Hood River turnover gave the RedHawks the ball at their 30. Quarterback Kaden Younger connected on successive pass plays with DeShawn Gilliam – the second went for a 30-yard touchdown.
Hood River advances to the quarterfinals to play Nov. 12 at top-ranked Wilsonville (10-0). The Wildcats beat No. 16 seeded Churchill, 42-14, in Friday’s first round.
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