The Dalles powers its way through Valley Catholic

With enough praise to offer the entire team for overcoming adversity and finding a way to win, TD head coach Andy Codding gave a nod to the men in the trenches: his linemen Ophath Silaphath, Xavier Olaez, Miguel Torres, Will Dunn and Hayden Pashek.

Over the last eight quarters, that group has given up one sack and the offense has gained 644 yards.

“The offensive line did a great job tonight of giving us some protection, so we could get the ball off and they opened some big holes to keep our offense going,” Codding said. “You have to remember that this is our first month of us installing this offense. We are brand new in this and we are getting better at it. We have a long ways to go, but I am happy with the direction that we are headed. We just have to keep the pedal to the metal.”

In the third quarter, Green had a two-yard run and hauled in a 53-yard pass from Gabe Helseth to draw TD to within a 29-26 deficit with 7:55 left.

Valley Catholic running back Trey Eberhart then gave his team a 35-26 advantage after a 45-yard scamper.

Green added an 11-yard run at the 10:58 mark, and Dusty Dodge gave TD its first lead of the game, 41-35, with a 10-yard touchdown rush with 7:48 remaining.

Valley Catholic regained the lead at 42-41, as Eberhart broke through for a 32-yard run with 4:32 on the clock.

On TD’s next possession, Green hit the end zone on an 18-yard rush, capping a four-play, 53-yard drive and giving TD a 47-42 cushion.

The Valiants still had 3:22 to score a touchdown, but the Riverhawk defense had other plans.

On a second down and nine play from the VC 38, starting quarterback Daniel Pruitt was flushed from the pocket by Abbas and Morehouse.

The ball came loose, and Armstrong pounced on the fumble.

With the ball on the 25, TD was faced with a fourth down and 8 from the Valley Catholic 23.

Helseth completed a 17-yard pass to Green, so the Hawks had a first down and goal from the six and VC had no more timeouts left.

“It feels good to play the way we did,” Olaez said. “We know that we can play like that every night. We practice hard and we know that we are going to come out and we are going to play like this every single week and do everything we can to get to the playoffs.”

All told, TD rattled off 457 yards on 62 plays and converted on 5 of 7 in the red zone.

Green rushed 14 times for 135 yards and three scores, and he had four catches totaling 88 yards and a touchdown.

Helseth rushed for 17 yards and was 8 for 13 for 151 yards with a touchdown and an interception from the quarterback spot.

Zach Anderson put up 42 yards receiving on two catches, Jaxon Pullen went for 16 yards on one rush, Denver Neill tallied eight totes for 62 yards and a score.

Dodge added 54 yards and a touchdown rushing, and Seufalemua hit paydirt and added 36 yards on the ground.

“It is a grind, honestly,” Seufalemua said. “Before the game, I was telling my teammates in the team room that it is going to take 48 minutes of hard work. In the first quarter, we started slow, and weren’t prepared mentally, but in the second half, we got locked in and focused. Like I said, it is a grind, but we really pulled through.”

Valley Catholic totaled 360 yards of offense on 52 plays, with a bulk of the yards coming from Eberhart and the rushing attack.

Pruitt completed 10 of 21 passes for 140 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, Eberhart ended up with 57 yards receiving and a score, and he rushed 24 times for 238 yards and four touchdowns.

Pashek led the Riverhawk defense with seven tackles, two sacks, and a quarterback hurry.

Abbas had five tackles, half a sack and four hurries, Morehouse chipped in 4.5 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble, the tandem of Ben Nelson and Green added four tackles each, and Zach Anderson ended his night with 3.5 tackles and two second-half interceptions.

“It took grit and teamwork. That’s how we need to win,” Helseth said. “This gives us juice for the next games coming. We are going to keep punching people in the face and we are not going to stop. We are going to keep pounding for however many games it takes for us to get into the playoffs.”

Over the next five weeks, The Dalles has five Intermountain Conference matchups to determine if the 15 seniors will finally have their chance to earn a playoff berth.

“With the number of seniors we have here, we have a lot of talent and a lot of potential to go a long way if we just keep grinding,” Seufalemua said. “It is a long eight weeks for a season, so as long as you have the mindset that you want to keep going and you have that drive of going deep into the playoffs, anything can happen. With the talent that we have this year, it can definitely happen, without a doubt.”

The first big test is at 7 p.m. Friday in Prineville versus No. 15-ranked and undefeated Crook County.

In those victories, the Cowboys have beaten Ridgeview (39-15), Cottage Grove (49-0) and Sisters (7-0).

“We are going to have to come out physical and we are going to have to come out ready to compete physically,” Codding said. “They are a tough program and they have always had a tough group of kids. I believe we do too. So, this is going to be a big one. Crook County is one of the better teams in our league this year and this will be a huge contest for us, and it has 100 percent of our attention going forward.”

Final game statistics are courtesy of John Frederick at www.sportsstatservice .com.

Fans can listen or stream Friday’s game on 99.1/100.5 FM, 1440 AM and online at www.kodl.com.