Hood River Valley football beats Parkrose 48-6, hosts playoff game

HOOD RIVER — The Hood River Valley (HRV) football team beat Parkrose 48-6 on senior night, Oct. 30, in a Class 5A Special District 1 match-up at Henderson Stadium.

With the win, the Eagles (8-1 overall, 6-1 league) qualified for the state playoffs and will host West Albany (6-3) in the Nov. 7 first round match. HRV, led by coach Caleb Sperry, has qualified for the state football playoffs for a school record four straight seasons.

“I’m just really proud of this team,” Sperry said. “We had big goals coming into the season, and to be here, 8-1, is awesome. This is a big game. This had a lot of implications on our postseason plans. We did our part, and now we’re a playoff team for sure.

“I’m just excited that we did what we had to do to put ourselves in a position to be in that spot.”

HRV got on the scoreboard first when Nick Tuttle found the endzone on a jet sweep. Quarterback Bodie Stuben’s point-after kick was good, and the Eagles led 7-0 with 7:53 left in the first quarter. Parkrose found the end zone with 10:11 to play in the first half on a six-yard touchdown run from running back Si’Yel Bell. The Broncos’ two-point try failed, as HRV senior lineman Emery Croke sacked Bronco quarterback Tranden Stricker.

HRV took control of the game before halftime. Bam Layna broke off a 25-yard touchdown run on a well-executed counter play from the HRV offensive line. The Eagles got the ball back with under 40 seconds left in the first half, when Layna cut back against the Bronco defense for a 34-yard run, setting up HRV at the Bronco 43-yard line with 24 seconds left in the half. From there, Stuben found receiver Davin Snyder on a go-ball for a touchdown. Stuben’s point after was good, and HRV led 21-6 to close out the first half.

HRV forced a Parkrose punt on the first drive of the third quarter, but a Bronco bad snap set up the Eagles in the redzone with 9:30 left in the third quarter. The Eagles went to Layna, and he broke the plane for a seven-yard touchdown run. Stuben’s point after was good, and HRV led 28-6 with 9:24 left in the third.

Stuben threw another beautiful go-ball — a 31-yard touchdown pass to Talon-Quinn Britt with 5:45 left in the third. Stuben added another TD pass to Britt to end the third quarter. The 42-6 lead led to a running clock in the fourth period. HRV’s final points came on a one-yard touchdown run from freshman Ian Wells.

Stuben was an efficient 8-for-13, passing for 127 yards and three touchdown passes. Layna added two rushing TDs on a 17-carry, 182-yard rushing night, and Britt caught four passes for 77 yards and two scores.