HOOD RIVER — Six different players scored for Hood River Valley (HRV) as the Eagles did pretty much anything they wanted Sept. 19 against outmanned Rex Putnam during a, 51-0, high school football win over the visiting Kingsmen at Henderson Stadium.
The Eagles (3-0) bolted to a seven-touchdown halftime lead allowing Coach Caleb Sperry to use liberal substitutions during the second half when the game was played with a running clock. The contest against a retooling Putnam (0-3) team came at a good time for HRV, which had a few varsity players nursing injuries — especially on the interior line. League games begin Sept. 26, when HRV travels west to take on Special District 1 football newcomer, Class 6A Gresham (1-2).
Among the six players who scored for Hood River was kicker JR Mendez, who was 7-for-7 on point-after attempts and added a second-quarter rushing touchdown. Defensively, HRV pitched its second successive shutout.
For the second game this season, Hood River scored on its first play from scrimmage. The TD was set up by Davin Snyder, who returned Putnam’s opening kickoff 32 yards to the Kingsmen 44. From there, senior running back Bam Layna took a handoff from quarterback Bodie Stuben and ran straight up the gut. The Eagle offensive line opened a huge hole on the right side and pulling left guard Milo Bielen led Layna through the gap into the secondary.
Bielen delivered a spring block 10 yards down field and Layna angled to the left, shook off a would-be tackler at the Kingsmen 22 and high stepped another at the 16. Layna froze another defender with a fake at the 5-yard line and then ran through his arm tackle attempt at the goal line.
Putnam’s first offensive series was much less dramatic, resulting in minus 20 yards, ending on Bielen’s two-point safety sack of Kingsmen quarterback Dean Kost.
HRV scored on its ensuing short field possession. Snyder took a fly sweep handoff, followed Layna’s lead block and a kick-out block by Nick Tuttle and raced 26 yards for a touchdown. A muffed snap on a punt attempt by Putnam quickly gave HRV the football back at the Kingsmen 3-yard line. Deacon Ybarra scored on the next play and Mendez’s point-after kick gave HRV a 23-0 lead.
Stuben found Tuttle on a three-yard TD pass on the first play of the second quarter. Mendez scored on a two-yard run behind a large hole created by the left side of the offensive line and it was 37-0. On HRV’s next possession, Stuben threw a quick pass into the right flat to Snyder who split two Putnam defenders enroute to an eight-yard score. The final points of the game came on a 40-yard run up the middle by Brycen Tuttle, who was aided by some key downfield blocks.
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