Host Summit of Bend proved itself worthy of its top ranking Friday, when the Storm toppled visiting Hood River Valley, 42-6, in the first round of the Class 5A state football playoffs.
The No. 1 Storm scored touchdowns on its first six possessions enroute to a 42-0 lead at halftime. The teams played the second half with a running clock.
Hood River (4-6) had qualified for the playoffs after winning its final two games, including a wild, 41-40, victory a week ago at Forest Grove. That win earned the Eagles the 16th seed in the playoffs and a contest at Summit (9-1). The win over Forest Grove was the second in the same week for HRV, which defeated Centennial, 48-19 in a contest delayed four days because of poor air quality in the Portland-metro area.
There was no smoke in Bend on Friday, but plenty of wind and rain. That didn’t deter Summit, which is a team laden with upperclassmen (starting all seniors or juniors). The Storm took the lead on their second play from scrimmage on a 75-yard Sam Stephens touchdown run. Hood River went three-and-out on its first offensive possession and Summit needed just two scrimmage plays to take a two-TD lead. Stephens scored again, this time from 25 yards away. The Storm finished the first half with 367 yards of total offense.
Hood River scored its lone touchdown with about eight minutes remaining when senior Shaw Burns broke loose from 12 yards. Burns, who was a workhorse on offense and defense all season for the young Eagles, finished with 92 rushing yards on 18 carries.
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