The Dalles football snaps three-game losing skid, 31-14, at Ontario

THE DALLES — Short on numbers, but long on first-half offensive execution, The Dalles High snapped its three-game losing streak with a, 31-14, Special District 5 high school football win Oct. 10 at Ontario.

The Riverhawks rolled to 226 yards of total offensive in the first half, including 174 yards in the first quarter. Coach Nate Timmons used the second half to shuffle in and out the available personnel on his 20-player-roster.

The Dalles (3-3 overall, 1-0 league) scored on its first play from scrimmage on a simple pitch left to sophomore running back Bryson Cates. As he often does, senior fullback Josh Brackenbury led the play by sealing the edge, and Cates sprinted down the left sideline for the 63-yard score. Cates would finish with 163 yards rushing on 16 carries. He would have topped the 200-yard mark, but a couple of long, fourth-quarter runs were negated because of Riverhawk penalties.

Senior wide receiver Reese Kenslow set up The Dalles’ second TD later in the first period after Ontario had cut the lead to 7-6. Kenslow ran a fly sweep from left to right toward the Riverhawk side of the field. This time it was burly tight end Hunter Bustos who sealed the edge and Brackenbury took out an Ontario cornerback who had come up for run support. Kenslow juked right — and a Tiger defender went down near midfield — and then he accelerated away from pursuit en route to a 57-yard touchdown.

Braden Brost’s 50-yard punt return set up the third Riverhawk score late in the first period. The return gave The Dalles a first down at the Ontario 27. A 16-yard Cates run — behind key trap blocks by the Riverhawk offensive line — advanced the ball to the 11.

A few plays later, The Dalles ran a misdirection play right and Brackenbury took a counter handoff from quarterback Logan Mitchell back to the left, and scored from the 1-yard line. Linemen Will Quiles and Eoin Herman provided Brackenbury with an escort into the end zone.

The Dalles ran a similar play in the second period, with London Leitz getting a downfield block, which helped Brackenbury score from 16-yard out. The final three points came on Leitz’s 35-yard field goal from the left hash mark later in the first half.

The Dalles will play its third straight road game Oct. 17 at Pendleton (0-6, 0-1 league).