HRV football moves to 4-0 with 34-6 win at Gresham

GRESHAM — A three-touchdown third quarter enabled Hood River Valley to pull away from Gresham on Sept. 26, as the unbeaten Eagles rolled to a 34-6 Special District 1 football win.

Hood River enters homecoming week ranked 13th in the OSAA Class 5A power ranking. La Salle Prep comes to town for a 7 p.m. game Oct. 3 at Henderson Stadium, where the Eagles will put their perfect record on the line against the 1-3 Falcons.

The Gresham game followed a similar script as the other three HRV victories this season. Coach Caleb Sperry’s Eagles controlled the line of scrimmage, minimized mistakes, rallied to the ball on defense, and displayed a good mix of running and passing plays on offense.

“We executed our game plan, used our technique and our training to get it done on Friday,” Sperry said. “It was a great team win; the kids just played really well.”

The first half ended with HRV owning a conservative 13-0 lead, but the Eagles took control of the contest shortly after the break. Davin Snyder’s 43-yard kickoff return to start the second half gave HRV good field position at the Gopher 45. The Eagles (4-0 overall, 2-0 league) enjoyed short fields much of the game, taking advantage of Gresham’s three lost fumbles, interception, and blocked punt.

Snyder’s kickoff return down the right sideline set up HRV inside Gresham territory to start the third period. The Eagles moved 45 yards in eight plays — the final one, a Bam Layna one-yard run.

Gresham (1-3, 1-1) fumbled away the ball on its next play from scrimmage. Part of the HRV defensive game plan was to contain Gresham’s mobile quarterbacks. So, rather than all-out pass rushes, the Eagles focused on keeping containment. And that’s what led to what was, arguably, the back-breaking Gopher fumble.

Defensive end Milo Bielen prevented Gresham quarterback Keyontae Williams from rolling right and forced him back into the pocket. A blitzing Jose Betancourt-Valle sent Williams scrambling left where Jack Miller met him and knocked the ball loose. Betancourt-Valle fell on the football at the Gresham 9-yard line. Three plays later, JR Mendez scored from the 2 for a 28-0 HRV lead.

A short punt gave HRV good field position once again and it took the Eagles just three plays to score. Quarterback Bodie Studen threw to the right flat to Cooper Wells, who caught the ball at the Gresham 32-yard line. Wells split two defenders and out-ran them and two more pursuers to the goal line to complete the 37-yard TD play.

Gresham scored with 10:48 remaining on a 16-yard pass. The Gophers were aided by a pass interference call on the previous play which moved the ball into the red zone.

Hood River’s special teams set up its first touchdown. Layna blocked a Gresham punt at the Gopher 31 and recovered the ball at the 23. After an HRV five-yard penalty moved the line of scrimmage back to the 28, Hood River ran running plays of nine, 10 and nine yards. The latter run by Mendez was for a touchdown, and the junior added the point-after kick for a 7-0 HRV lead.

A Gresham turnover led to Hood River’s second score. Nick Tuttle knocked the ball loose from Williams and Betancourt-Valle recovered the fumble at the Gresham 35. After an incomplete pass, Layna took a handoff and ran left. Aaron Smith pulled from the right side of the HRV offensive line and led Layna into the secondary. There he used downfield blocks by Miller, Betancourt-Valle and others en route to the end zone.

Gresham outgained HRV in first-half yardage from scrimmage, 156-143; the Gophers ran 28 offensive plays to 16 for the Eagles before intermission. The statistical advantage ebbed in the second half and by game’s end, HRV had outgained Gresham 338 to 235. Stuben finished an efficient 10-for-15 passing for 126 yards. Layna had 92 of Hood River’s 212 rushing yards on 12 carries.

 “It was fun to see it all come to fruition. The kids are improving every week. This week is just staying focused on the task at hand. Our mantra this year is 1-0 — be one 1-0 that week,” Sperry said.