FORKS — Freshman Bubba Hernandez returned the opening kickoff 78 yards and threw five first-half touchdown passes as Forks rolled out to a huge halftime lead on the way to a 49-16 win over Neah Bay on Friday night at Spartan Stadium.
“Walker Wheeler and Kade Highfield made a couple of blocks to spring him,” Highfield said.
Walker Rondeau intercepted a Red Devils pass on their first possession to set up another score.
“We had pretty good field position and we got some good runs by tailback Landin Davis to get in close,” Highfield said.
Hernandez found Gunner Rogers from 10 yards out for a 14-0 lead.
Wheeler came through with a big sack on fourth down to stop Neah Bay’s next drive.
Forks’ Brody Lausche hauled in a 15-yard pass from Hernandez for a 21-0 lead after one quarter.
DeAnthony Davila added a 45-yard reception and capped off the next Forks drive with a 30-yard TD catch to go up 27-0.
“We had 351 yards of total offense in the first half,” Highfield said
Hernandez found Landen Olson for a 30-yard TD catch and hit Lausche on a 9-yard scoring connection after a Rogers interception for a 41-0 lead.
Davila intercepted another Neah Bay pass late in the second quarter and Rogers found the end zone on a 40-yard hook up with Hernandez.
“Our offensive line group was outstanding,” Highfield said.
“It’s neat we have Landin, Landen, Brody, Gunner, DeAnthony, so many weapons in our pass game.
“And Bubba is a real weapon running the option. He’s not just using his athletic ability, he’s making the right reads in our run and pass games.”
“For a straight 11-man game, we didn’t have the players. We struggled with personnel,” said Neah Bay coach TJ Greene. One of the big players missing for the Red Devils was their starting running back, Jodell Wimberley, who is an almost automatic 100-yard rusher.
“Forks is a good team. They were more physical than we were,” Greene said.
Greene said that with Wimberley in the lineup, there’s no guarantee the Red Devils could have won, “but we would’ve been more competitive.” He said he is likely out for a few weeks with an injury.
Forks also paid tribute to classmate Garrett Dulin, killed in auto accident last week.
“DeAnthony and Sawyer Graham headed up the leadership for us,” Highfield said. “They carried his youth league football jersey out to the middle of the field and we had a moment of silence as a team and we had his jersey behind us on the bleacher, so he was there with us. And our players made tributes to him. [I was] impressed with our guys’ reverence.”
Forks (2-0) next plays Morton/White Pass (1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday in Morton. Neah Bay (0-2) hosts North Olympic 1B foe Crescent (2-0) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Anacortes 41, Port Angeles 7
ANACORTES — The Port Angeles football team played the No. 2-ranked Anacortes dead even in the second half, but unfortunately, turnovers and mistakes gave the Seahawks an early 34-0 lead that the Roughriders had no chance to make up.
Both teams scored a touchdown in the second half as Anacortes went on to win 41-7.
“I liked their grit and fight,” Port Angeles coach Dustin Clark said. “[But] we turned the ball over too much. It’s hard to beat a good team with six turnovers.”
The turnovers came on a combination of fumbles and bad snaps.
Anacortes took advantage of those turnovers with some big runs by Brock Beaner, including a 74-yard touchdown on the Seahawks’ first play from scrimmage. He finished with 153 yards rushing.
Anacortes got up 20-0 in the first quarter and took a 34-0 lead into the half. After the half, it was a different game as the Riders pretty much held their own.
“After the middle of the second quarter, we settled down,” Clark said. “It took our guys some time to settle down.”
Kason Albaugh had some big plays in the second half with a 15-yard run, a 19-yard run and a 23-yard pass reception. The Riders scored their touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 24-yard pass play from Parker Nickerson to Blake Sohlberg.
Sohlberg also had an interception in the end zone. It was his fourth interception of the season already. Nickerson also had an interception in the end zone. Landyn Jones also had a tackle at the goalline to prevent a touchdown. The next play was Sohlberg’s INT.
Albaugh finished the game with 87 yards rushing on 24 carries and four catches for 48 yards. Nickerson went 9-for-20 passing with 93 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Jason Hawes had seven carries for 24 yards, while Sohlberg had three catches for 42 yards and a touchdown.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Riders this weekend as they will play No. 2 and No. 1 back-to-back. Port Angeles opens its home season playing No. 1-ranked North Kitsap at Civic Field at 7 p.m. Friday. North Kitsap did get beat by Tumwater, a 2A football powerhouse, 34-14 on Friday, so the Vikings may lose that No. 1 ranking to Anacortes.
Clallam Bay 36, Wishkah Valley 14
WISHKAH VALLEY — The Clallam Bay Bruins won their six-man season opener 36-14 over Wishkah Valley.
“It was a great game. An excellent event,” said coach George Patecek.
Patecek said that William Hull had a great game on offense for the Bruins, while Dillon Simmons had a great game on defense.
Area Scores
No. 2 Anacortes 41, Port Angeles 7
King’s 55, East Jefferson 0
Clallam Bay 37, Wishkah Valley 14
Mossyrock 54, Quilcene 16
Statewide Scores
Almira/Coulee-Hartline 50, Entiat 21
Asotin 16, Tri-Cities Prep 6
Camas 55, Glacier Peak 20
Cashmere 35, Deer Park 15
Cedarcrest 28, Sammamish 14
Central Valley 38, Lewis and Clark 0
Chewelah 21, Colfax 8
Chief Sealth 36, Lakeside (Seattle) 21
Cleveland 41, Ingraham 0
Clover Park 28, Interlake 6
Colville 27, North Central 14
Curlew 30, Springdale 22
Curtis 38, Sumner 33
Cusick 38, Inchelium 28
Darrington 54, Sound Christian 8
Davis 24, Ellensburg 14
East Valley (Yakima) 48, Naches Valley 28
Eastlake 35, Mount Tahoma 28
Eastside Catholic 43, Ballard 0
Edmonds-Woodway 19, Kamiak 7
Elgin, Ore. 50, Lyle-Klickitat-Wishram 22
Emerald Ridge 34, Olympia 0
Ephrata 35, Quincy 12
Everett 21, Mariner 14
Evergreen (Vancouver) 62, Hockinson 14
Ferndale 26, Oak Harbor 6
Ferris 42, Cheney 28
Fife 61, Foss 20
Freeman 41, St. Maries, Idaho 18
GW Graham, British Columbia 35, Prairie 33
Garfield-Palouse def. Tekoa/Rosalia, forfeit
Graham-Kapowsin 42, Puyallup 13
Grandview 10, Wapato 0
Granger 42, Mabton 8
Granite Falls 34, Friday Harbor 13
Hoquiam 50, Fort Vancouver 22
Hudson’s Bay 53, King’s Way Christian School 13
Ilwaco 49, Toutle Lake 0
Juanita 42, Jackson 0
Kalama 16, Castle Rock 7
Kelso 48, Capital 20
Kennewick 54, Walla Walla 0
Kentlake 19, Mt. Rainier 13
Klahowya 21, North Mason 20
La Center 24, Woodland 8
La Salle 28, Omak 21
Lake Stevens 34, Bellevue 31
Lakes 34, River Ridge 17
Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) 35, East Valley (Spokane) 14
Lewiston, Idaho 42, Clarkston 26
Liberty 45, Inglemoor 21
Liberty Bell 46, Brewster 41
Life Christian Academy 27, Cle Elum/Roslyn 9
Lind-Ritzville/Sprague 60, Liberty (Spangle) 14
Lynden 48, W. F. West 6
Lynden Christian 31, Archbishop Murphy 7
Manson 38, Kittitas 27
Mark Morris 22, Astoria, Ore. 0
Marysville-Pilchuck 36, Stanwood 7
Meadowdale 34, Bellingham 28
Mercer Island 49, R.A. Long 0
Monroe 53, Shorecrest 6
Montesano 38, Aberdeen 7
Morton/White Pass 42, White Swan 6
Moscow, Idaho 49, Pullman 14
Mount Si 41, Spanaway Lake 7
Mount Vernon 34, Burlington-Edison 10
Mountain View 49, Ridgefield 24
Mt. Spokane 28, Ridgeline 20
Napavine 58, Onalaska 14
Newport 23, Kellogg, Idaho 20
Newport-Bellevue 42, Cascade (Everett) 3
Nooksack Valley 63, Connell 14
North Thurston 17, Black Hills 14
Northport 22, Columbia (Hunters) 14
Northwest Christian (Colbert) 34, Reardan 13
O’Dea 51, Blanchet 21
Odessa 60, Oroville 14
Okanogan 49, Selah 7
Olympic 21, Renton 6
Pe Ell/Willapa Valley 22, Adna 20
Priest River, Idaho 34, Medical Lake 22
Raymond-South Bend 62, Wahkiakum 29
Redmond 40, Foster 3
River View 38, College Place 21
Rogers (Spokane) 34, Grangeville, Idaho 18
Roosevelt 51, Nathan Hale 13
Royal 42, Othello 7
Sedro-Woolley 49, Eisenhower 3
Seton Catholic 22, Goldendale 7
Shadle Park 33, Riverside 23
Shorewood 49, Lynnwood 14
Skyline 56, Prosser 21
Skyview 49, Columbia River 0
South Whidbey 48, Coupeville 28
Stadium 28, Heritage 0
Stevenson 13, Columbia (White Salmon) 7
Sultan 40, Vashon Island 0
Sunnyside 41, Post Falls, Idaho 35
Toledo 54, Rainier 12
Tonasket 28, Cascade (Leavenworth) 14
Touchet 93, Sunnyside Christian 32
Tualatin, Ore. 17, Lincoln 14
Tumwater 34, North Kitsap 14
Washougal 37, Toppenish 8
Waterville-Mansfield 53, Selkirk 14
Wenatchee 29, Mount Baker 14
West Seattle 42, Franklin 6
West Valley (Spokane) 21, Lakeland, Idaho 10
POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS
Chief Leschi vs. North Beach, ppd.
