By ANNIE FOWLER, CUJ Special Contributor
Primus connects with Strong for four touchdowns
PENDLETON — For 3 1/2 quarters, Pendleton/Nixyáawii gave second-ranked Scappoose all it could handle, but two costly turnovers by the Bucks in the fourth quarter helped the Indians to a 49-35 victory Friday, Aug. 30, at Pendleton High School.
“Honestly, walking in, I had no idea how we would compete,” Pendleton/Nixyáawii coach Erik Davis said. “They are a top three team in the state. I thought the kids came out and executed. We have some talented kids.”
The Indians, who trailed 28-21 early in the fourth quarter, scored four times in the quarter to pull out the win.
“You always learn about yourself when you face adversity,” Scappoose coach Sean McNabb said. “I was proud of the way we stayed strong and wore them down a bit. Pendleton is a heck of a program.”
Tied at 21-21 at the end of the third quarter, the Bucks scored on the first play of the fourth quarter as Tugg McQuinn bulled his way in from the 6-yard line to give his team a 28-21 lead.
Scappoose came out in a hurry up offense, and finished its 84-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Max Nowlin to Brayden Miller. The PAT failed, giving the Bucks a 28-27 advantage.
On its ensuing drive, Pendleton/Nixyáawii turned the ball over with 4:54 left on the clock,
The Indians promptly went down and scored on a 33-yard run by Elijah Greenan-Briggs, and converted the 2-point conversion for a 35-28 lead.
Not to be outdone, the Bucks scored on the first play of their next drive as Colson Primus connected with Mason Strong on a 72-yard touchdown pass to knot the score at 35-35 with 3:37 to play.
It was the fourth touchdown of the night for Strong, who caught nine passes for 192 yards. Defensively, he had an interception and four tackles.
“My teammates had great blocks, I got to the outside and I used my speed,” Strong said. “Colson is a great quarterback and makes my job easy. I just have to get open.”
The Indians would score twice more on runs of 14 and 14 yards by Cayden Baker to end the game.
“That was a heck of a high school football game,” McNabb said. “After your first game, it’s good to see where you’re at.”
Primus had a solid game, completing 21 of 28 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter.
McQuinn had 21 carries for 138 yards, and Keegan Kline had nine catches for 108 yards.
“We are still trying to be a team,” Strong said. “We lost a lot of people from last year. We did great against the No. 2 team in the state.”
Scappoose was the first to reach the end zone, scoring with 5:54 left in the first quarter as Nowlin connected with Jaiden Smith for a 68-yard touchdown. Nowlin threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns.
The Bucks answered with a 51-yard pass play from Primus to Strong as the teams were tied at 7-7 at the end of the quarter.
The score was tied at 14-14 at the half, and 21-21 after three.
“I told the kids we can’t win games playing 3 1/2 quarters,” Davis said. “This is something to build on. We have to fine tune some things. You see your biggest improvement between Week 1 and 2.”
Pendleton/Nixyáawii will play at Caldera on Sept. 6.
