Hood River football loses 35-28 against Southridge

Southridge (3-0) took advantage of a high snap on an apparent Hood River punt play to regain possession of the football at the Eagle 42-yard-line with just over a minute remaining and the score tied, 28-28.

A running play advanced the ball to the HRV 37, but a bad snap resulted in a four-yard loss back to the 41. Southridge called a timeout with 1:06 remaining and set up a 15-yard Klee-to-Jackson Powell swing pass to the right side which moved the ball to the Eagle 26. The Skyhawks scored the game-winner on the next play.

On the clinching TD pass, Southridge had three receivers to the left and Tucker isolated on the short field to the right. With the clock running, Tucker ran straight down the sideline and caught Klee’s pass falling backward four yards into the end zone. There was a slight hesitation from the linesman after he caught up with the play before he signaled touchdown.

Klee had been intercepted twice earlier in the game and Southridge also lost a fumble. One of the interceptions came via stellar HRV senior linebacker Shaw Burns. Hood River (1-2) led 20-14 at halftime, due to Burns stepping in front of a Klee pass in the right flat and returning it 60 yards for a touchdown. The play came with just over two minutes remaining in the second quarter and shifted the momentum back in the home team’s favor in the see-saw battle.

Klee connected with Powell and Matthew Nichols for touchdown passes in the third quarter to put the Skyhawks ahead, 28-20. Burns tied the game for Hood River on a 39-yard TD run late in the same period.

Hood River’s Davis Parr scored on two quarterback sneaks in the first half. The second short run was set up by Parr’s 36-yard pass to Grady Williams, after Southridge’s defense had started to key on the Eagle’s running game. Burns finished with 137 tough yards on 29 carries for Hood River.

The game was tied 28-all and appeared to be heading into overtime, as both defenses asserted themselves late. Hood River was facing a second-and-eight situation from the Southridge 36, but back-to-back penalties moved the ball back to the 46. A pass play gained back the 10 lost yards, but Parr’s next attempt was slightly underthrown and swatted away near the Southridge 5, forcing an HRV punt.

Eagle punter Brandon Rivera lined up at the 45, but the snap sailed over his head. He raced back to scoop up the ball at the Hood River 38 and did a good job on his own making it back to the HRV 42. From there, Southridge started its last-minute TD drive.

Up next for the Eagles is winless Forest Grove; the Vikings have been outscored 84-7 in their past two games, after a competitive 40-20 loss to Century in their opener.