Big-play Canby High set the tone early with touchdowns on its first three possessions and went on to a 40-6 Class 5A Special District 1 football win over host Hood River Valley on Oct. 13 at Henderson Stadium.
The senior-laden Cougars (24 all told) put a damper on Hood River’s homecoming festivities, as the Eagles (3-4) managed just 52 yards of total offense and three first downs before halftime. Three interceptions and a lost fumble didn’t help the HRV offensive cause in the first two quarters. When Canby scored to take a 40-0 lead with 5:42 remaining in the third period, the game went into the running clock mercy rule.
Despite the loss, Hood River remains in the Class 5A state playoff race. The Eagles host Centennial on Oct. 20, with the winner advancing to a district playoff game (likely against Hillsboro on Oct. 26). A win on Oct. 26 probably would leave HRV as one of the four district teams to advance to the state playoffs (based, in part, on statewide ranking).
“I think we just gotta’ rally … continue to get better,” HRV Coach Caleb Sperry said. “We still have a lot to play for. We’re sitting in that fourth-place spot for the playoffs, so there’s definitely a lot of things that can happen for us that are good. We just have to continue to get better ourselves.”
Hood River was coming off a bye week and hadn’t played since its 35-6 loss to Wilsonville on Sept. 29. That, plus the distractions of homecoming, didn’t seem to help the Eagles’ cause. But Sperry declined to buy into that rhetoric. “No excuses. We just have to keep with the process and keep getting better,” he said.
Canby (5-2) went 70 yards in nine plays on its opening drive and then had back-to-back one-play drives to push the margin to 20-0 in the first period. Canby scored on the first play of its next possession — also in the first period — but that TD was called back because of a penalty.
Hood River sophomore Jerry Serrano ended another Canby scoring threat in the second quarter, when he picked off an Oliver pass near the Eagle 5-yard line. Serrano scored HRV’s lone touchdown with less than two minutes remaining when he and quarterback Davis Parr connected on a 41-yard post pattern. Serrano lined up in the flat on the right side and a slight hesitation move on the pattern enabled him to surge past the Cougar secondary and catch the Parr pass in stride.
Canby had 13 first downs and 350 yards of total offense in the first half. The Cougars were led by quarterback Kellen Oliver, who was 7-for-12 for 162 yards. Sturdy senior running back Tyler Konold rushed 10 times for 152 yards, and he scored three TDs before the break. His touchdown runs came from six, 58 and 52 yards, respectively.
Canby was hampered by 80 yards of penalties in the first half, but that didn’t do anything to deter the overall physicality of the Cougars.
Hood River had decent field position to start a number of its offensive drives, thanks in part to junior Markeith Harris’ 99 yards on four kickoff returns.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.