The Dalles sophomore running back Andre Niko (84) breaks away from the Putnam defense to score during the Riverhawks Homecoming game Friday night, Oct. 29, 2021.
The Dalles sophomore running back Andre Niko (84) breaks away from the Putnam defense to score during the Riverhawks Homecoming game Friday night, Oct. 29, 2021.
The Dalles High Riverhawks football team was within one score of Putnam High in the fourth quarter of the season finale for both teams Friday, before the visiting Kingsmen pulled away for a 55-41 win.
The Hawks came back to trail by six points in the final period of the Class 5A Special District 1 game on Senior Night. However, the Kingsmen (3-4 SD1, 4-5 overall) regained the momentum, outscoring the Hawks 21-13 over the final nine minutes to hold on at Sid White Field at the Wahtonka campus.
The Hawks, guided by first-year Coach Lynn Helyer, concluded the season in sixth place in the eight-team league with a 2-5 SD1 record and 2-6 overall.
“Our three seniors that contributed tonight played their hearts out and Jaxon (Pullen) had a heck of a night while he played incredible game,” said Helyer. “The only thing is what we put out there was no match for the 448 yards that their running back (Myles Barton) had and that hurt us not being able to stop them defensively. He’s a good player and they have a great line that plays together real well. They have some quality linemen and when you have a great line, it makes everybody else look a lot better.”
The Senior Night festivities honored Jaxon Pullen, Riis La Roux, Lance Park, William Ioane, Mathieu Poiraud, Majestic Iaulualo and Chase Sam in a pre-game ceremony. Once the game started, the teams combined for 994 yards of offense.
“Prior to the game, I definitely felt like we had a good chance to get a win, since they’re just one position (fifth place) above us in the standings and we should’ve come out on top,” said Pullen, who scored one rushing touchdown and had one TD reception. “I feel like if we just could’ve stopped their run game, then we would’ve had a chance and he (Barton) was tough to stop.
“I felt like we moved the ball pretty good. We just couldn’t stop them (Kingsmen) on defense and that happens, but we just have to move on. We’re a young team and we only had three seniors (Sam, Iaulaualo) that were playing tonight. It went back and forth, and it sure felt good to score some points, but it was tough to see the final score.”
Putnam led 7-0 after one quarter and then extended its lead to 14-0 in the second. The Hawks trimmed the margin with an impressive nine-play, 72-yard scoring drive. Andre Niko caught a short shovel pass from Pullen and then scored on an 11-yard touchdown run, making it 14-6 with 8:44 left in the quarter. Niko finished with 20 carries, 208 yards rushing, and three touchdowns.
“What I liked is the way we continued fighting the whole game and we didn’t rollup or quit and we persevered, and we were still scoring right down to the very end,” said Helyer. “It was kind of cool having our senior offensive lineman Majestic score a touchdown. It was great to do that for him in his senior year and I appreciate the effort that he’s made in his four years on the team. We’re looking forward to helping these younger kids get over the hump next year.”
Putnam, led by Barton (34 carries, 448 yards rushing, seven TDs), then scored on its ensuing possession to take a 21-6 lead. The Hawks responded on their next possession with a score to get within seven points.
An eight-play, 61-yard drive, highlighted Niko’s 30-yard run to Putnam’s 25-yard line, was capped by Pullen’s 23-yard TD run. Pullen then scored on a two-point conversion run, making it 21-14 with 1:51 on the clock.
Barton, a senior who set a Putnam school record for individual single game rushing yards, had a 44-yard TD run on the Kingsmen’s ensuing possession to make it 27-14 with 55.2 seconds left until halftime. The Dalles had one final possession of the half, but it ended with a turnover on an interception by the Kingsmen.
Following an exchange of possessions at the outset of the second half, Putnam punted for the first time in the game to give The Dalles possession at the Hawks’ six-yard line. A six-play, 94-yard drive, capped by Niko’s 66-yard touchdown scramble and sophomore placekicker Alexis Valdez’s point-after made the score, 27-21, with 5:21 left in the third period.
A half minute later, the unstoppable Barton scored on a 63-yard TD run, putting Putnam back in front by two scores, 34-21, with 4:46 left in the third. The Hawks again responded, trimming the deficit to six early in the fourth quarter. A nine-play, 52-yard drive concluded with a 13-yard TD pass from junior quarterback Riley Brock (12-for-17 passing, 138 yards) to Pullen and Valdez’s PAT narrowed the margin to 34-28 with 11:05 left in the game.
“We thought that we would have a good chance to beat them, especially since we beat them the last time we played them (a 27-6 win March 12),” said Brock. “We felt good going into the game and we felt like had a good shot to win and I thought that we should’ve won if we played up to our potential defensively. Offensively, we put up 41 points, which should’ve been enough to win the game, but that didn’t happen. Obviously, this wasn’t the way we wanted the season to end for our seniors. We were hoping to send them out with a win.”
The Kingsmen scored 16 unanswered points to build a 20-point lead. The Dalles added a six-yard TD run by Niko; Iaulualo’s 1-yard plunge capped the scoring with less than a minute to play.
The Dalles junior linebacker Jacob Berkovich led the Hawks defense with 10 tackles.
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