A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2018 Herald Sports Follow sports on Twitter @HHeraldSports BIG FIRST IMPRESSION STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Hermiston’s Andrew James gets tackled by Pasco’s Oscar Rodriguez while rushing the ball in the Dawgs’ 45-0 win against the Bulldogs on Friday in Hermiston. Hermiston thumps Pasco 45-0 in Mid-Columbia Conference debut By ANNIE FOWLER STAFF WRITER HERMISTON – The Hermiston Bull- dogs wasted no time in announcing their pres- ence in the Mid-Columbia Conference. Wyatt Noland ran for four touchdowns and 255 yards, and Cash Camp- bell had four quarter- back sacks as Hermiston pounced on Pasco 45-0 on Friday night at Kennison Field. “We wanted to come out with a bang coming off a state championship,” Noland said. “We wanted to show we still had it.” While the scoreboard looked mighty pretty, Hermiston (1-0) coach David Faaeteete said there still is much work to do. “From a winning stand- STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Hermiston’s Wyatt Noland dives forward while getting tackled by Pasco’s Traeton Mitchell in the Dawgs’ 45-0 win against the Bulldogs on Friday in Hermiston. point, it’s good to get a win and get off on the right foot in the WIAA,” he said. “We played in spurts, not like I wanted. But those are all things that can be fixed.” Noland, who took last season off, showed no rust in the first half, scor- ing twice as Hermis- ton stormed out to a 21-0 lead at the half. One of his touchdowns was an 80-yard run right up the middle of the field. “I couldn’t have done it without my line,” Noland said. “Without them, I would have gotten stuffed in a hole.” Noland added scoring runs of 24 and 1 yards in the second half. “It’s good to see him playing football again,” Faaeteete said. “He is a good leader physically and emotionally.” Hermiston quarterback Andrew James threw for just 27 yards, but he ran for 91 and a 1-yard TD before taking a seat mid- way through the third. “The first game, you have to get the jitters out,” James said. “We had no clue about Pasco. They have a new coach and we hadn’t played them before. The young guys came out and shut the lights out.” Pasco, failing to move into Hermiston territory in the first quarter, put together a couple of the good drives in the second, but could never finish. Pasco finished with 15 yards rushing and 202 passing, but spent most of the game on their own half of the field. “We are looking for- ward to being in a new conference,” Camp- bell said. “This is a little accomplishment. We are looking for a state cham- pionship. We have to put in the hard work first.” Hermiston also got a 10-yard touchdown run by Daniel Faaeteete, and a 22-yard field goal and six points after from Juan Carlos Navarrete. “It was a successful group effort,” coach Faae- teete said. “Our commu- nity was awesome. We will enjoy this week. The measure of a good team is how they improve from week one to two.” Champ vs. champ On paper, it is one defending state cham- pion against another. On the field, Herm- iston and Richland are vastly different teams than the ones that brought home state trophies last year. “The state champion- ship game was last year,” said Bombers coach Mike Neidhold, whose team won the 2017 Washington 4A state title. “Same for Herm- iston. That is all behind us. We are anxious to see what Hermiston can do.” The Bulldogs (1-0), who opened their first season in the Mid-Co- lumbia Conference last week with a 45-0 home win over Pasco, will travel to Fran Rish Stadium on Friday to face the Bombers, who dropped their opener to Chiawana 19-0. Game time is 7 p.m. “Every team is dif- ferent,” said Hermiston coach David Faaeteete, whose team won the Ore- gon 5A state title. “When they lost their quarter- back (Josh Fonner) last week, they lost their wind. We are excited to play Richland. They had a lot of juniors last year who know the system. We have five or six guys who played a lot for us last year.” Though the Bulldogs shut out Pasco last week and rolled up 463 yards of offense, Faaeteete said there still is much work to be done. “We played well in spots,” he said. “They extended drives and we made mistakes. We have to get a handle on those things this week.” Knights slay Tigers to open the season By BRETT KANE STAFF WRITER S TANFIELD — The Irrigon Knights opened the 2018 foot- ball season by dominating the Stanfield Tigers in a 34-8 non-con- ference win. Stanfield struggled throughout the night offensively, scoring its first and only touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Irrigon was slow to start as well, getting on the board when Payton Smith ran the ball in for a touch- down with 1:58 left in the first quar- ter. Things started picking up in the second quarter when Ruben Moreno scored Irrigon’s second touchdown, and Roberto Ayala caught a touch- down pass followed by a rushing touchdown by Jaben Boyer to give the Knights a 28-0 halftime lead. Much of the third quarter was spent around the 50-yard line, with both teams keeping each other at bay until Irrigon’s Keith Flemming rushed the ball to the 32-yard line. On the next play, Smith carried the ball to the 18 yard line before senior running back Luis Covar- rubia scored Irrigon’s final touch- down of the night, making the score 34-0. With just 1:06 left in the fourth quarter, Stanfield’s Anthony Kee- ney finally put his team on the score- board with a rushing touchdown. “We’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Stanfield head coach Davie Salas. “We need more practicing. Our first-year players are still learn- ing the speed of a varsity game. We did well in the second half – that’ll give us confidence for next week.” Irrigon left the game impressed with their team’s victory – especially considering that they were working with an all-new coaching staff. “The kids did really well,” said Irrigon coach Ken Thompson. “Irri- gon hasn’t had a ton of success in football. We want to establish a cul- ture of hard-working football players here. We’re in a tough league, and we’re taking things week-to-week, but we’d like to make the playoffs this year.” Covarrubia says that his team, filled with new players and new coaches, is expecting even more suc- cess during the coming season. “Our new people are trying to fill the spots that our old team left,” he said. “We’re expecting big things this year.” Irrigon hosts Weston-McEwen next Friday while Stanfield travels to Central Linn. STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY Stanfield’s Mario Sanchez (55) and Rene Sanchez (66) bring down Payton Smith (26), of Irrigon, during Thursday’s game at the Horyna Athletic Complex.