Unbeaten Eagles blow out La Salle Prep, 53-13

HOOD RIVER – There are a few straightforward facts about Hood River Valley’s 53-13 homecoming football win over visiting La Salle Prep on Oct. 3.

Namely, the Eagles improved to 5-0 this season, 3-0 in the Northwest Oregon Conference. The lopsided score – including a 40-0 lead – resulted in most of the second half played with a running clock. It was another beautiful fall evening in the Gorge, with a large homecoming crowd on hand, but other than that, the game was far from normal.

Hood River Valley took a 19-0 first-quarter lead before its offense had run a play from scrimmage. The Eagles’ first three scores came on 57-yard interception return by Jose Betancourt-Valle, an 18-yard fumble recovery by lineman Milo Bielen after a bad snap on a Falcon punt attempt, and 50-yard interception return by Davin Snyder on an overthrown La Salle pass.

Snyder would finish with four touchdowns on the night, giving the loud home crowd plenty to cheer for. He caught two TD passes from quarterback Bodie Stuben, who spent some considerable time on the sideline as the Eagle defense and special teams were building a three-TD advantage.

When Stuben finally got to call an offensive play, he still didn’t get to touch the football. Instead, HRV Coach Caleb Sperry called for a direct center delivery to senior running back Bam Layna. Stuben, beside Layna in the shotgun, faked a bad snap, pretending the ball had sailed over his head. In fact, the ball was in Layna’s grasp as he cut to the left through a gaping hole opened by the HRV offensive front. Receiver Talon Quinn-Britt made a great contain block near the sideline, allowing Layna to scoot 79 yards for a touchdown.

Snyder added a 54-yard TD reception nine minutes into the second period, pushing the Eagle advantage to 33-0. The play was a simple throw by Stuben into the left flat. But there was nothing simple about the downfield blocks by Cooper Wells and Nick Tuttle, which gave Snyder the room he needed to pick up a full head of steam enroute to the end zone.

Hood River’s best drive, arguably, came on its next possession, when the Eagles moved 74 yards in nine plays - capped by a Stuben-to-Britt 18-yard pass on a fly pattern down the left sideline.

Coach Dustin Janz’s young La Salle team showed some pride by preventing the running clock margin in the first half. Trailing 40-0, La Salle reeled off a 12-play, 75-yard TD drive to break the shutout.

The running clock came a little more than two minutes in the second half, when Snyder caught a 16-yard scoring strike from Stuben. Quinn-Britt set up the score with a 69-yard kickoff return deep into Falcon territory. On the TD play, his pancake block helped clear the way for Snyder. Numerous blocks led to Snyder’s final TD – an 85-yard kickoff return following La Salle’s second score.