Riverhawks take down 5A Centennial

THE DALLES — There’s no better way to start the football season with a victory and that’s exactly what The Dalles High (TDHS) Riverhawks did on Sept. 4 at the Wahtonka Campus’ Sid White Field, beating Centennial High, 20-12.

The Riverhawks are off to a great start to their OSAA Class 4A football non-league preseason schedule after the win over the Class 5A Eagles from Gresham.

The Riverhawks, guided by third-year Coach Nate Timmons and assistants Gabe Scherrer and Kyle Lee, started this season similarly to the way they did last year. The Riverhawks won their season opener at home last year, 27-6, over the Class 3A Umatilla High Vikings on Aug. 29, 2025. It marks the third straight year that the Riverhawks have won their season opener.

“It was really awesome to see that everyone brought everything onto the field that we’ve been practicing for the last three weeks,” said Timmons, who is hoping to lead the Riverhawks to the state playoffs for the first time since 2019. “Everyone really executed well and they all did a great job, so it was a good match-up for us. We had some guys who played their first varsity game ever and they stepped up and did really well.”

The win over Centennial marked the first time that Timmons coached the Riverhawks to a victory over a Class 5A school. The Eagles, of Class 5A Special District 1, had a 4-5 overall record in 2025.

“They [Eagles] had some really good athletes, but we were the team that just executed better and played with more discipline,” said Timmons. “This is a really good group of kids, and they have a lot of positive energy. Our ground game was just awesome, and our offensive line just did a great job. It was just awesome to see us be successful and have everyone play so well together as a team.”

The Dalles sophomore quarterback Ben Graham scored two rushing touchdowns and senior running back Creighton Clack scored a rushing touchdown to help lead the Riverhawks to the win.

The Riverhawks will play their next non-league home game, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. versus the Woodburn High Bulldogs (1-1). The Riverhawks lost, 28-21, in overtime to the Bulldogs in an Oct. 3, 2025, contest at Woodburn.

“This is one of the games that we’ve circled on the calendar just because we lost to them last year,” said Timmons. “Our guys really want to show that we have something to prove. It was a tough loss last year, but the guys played fantastic and we just came up a little short. We should’ve beaten them last year and we’re going to try and get some revenge.”

It marked the only win of the season for the Bulldogs, who had a 1-8 record last year. Woodburn lost 14-13 to the North Marion High Huskies (1-0) at North Marion High School on Sept. 4.

“The theme for Friday is Patriot night, since it’s Sept. 11,” said Timmons. “We’ll have a military event provided by the Oregon U.S. Army National Guard on the adjacent practice field prior to the game. So, it’s going to be a great event put on by the National Guard with an awesome display for the community to see. It should be a lot of fun.”

The National Guard will have military vehicles on display, including a CH-47 Chinook Helicopter. The event is one of numerous memorial activities taking place around the country on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York that killed nearly 3,000 people.