Pendleton shuts out Mazama in first round
By ANNIE FOWLER, The CUJ
PENDLETON — Tugg McQuinn had four touchdowns and Pendleton had a strong opening-round showing with a 41-0 win over Mazama in the 4A state playoffs at the Pendleton Round-Up Grounds.
“This is a big win for us,” Pendleton coach Erik Davis said. “This is our best team win of the year. If you would have told me we’d be in the quarterfinals at the start of the year, I wouldn’t have believed you. Let’s take this and see where we can go.”
The Bucks (7-3) advance to the quarterfinals where they will play Cascade, a 46-14 winner over Molalla. The time, place and date have not been announced.
Mazama (5-5), which defeated Pendleton 24-6 in the first round of the playoffs last year, was shut out for the first time this season.
“Hats off to our defense, they put up a zero in the first round of the playoffs, which is massive,” Davis said. “I’m so happy for our defense. They have struggled. We knew we could score, but I was tired of the last-second heroic wins. My heart can’t take much more of that.”
After a scoreless first quarter, McQuinn scored twice in the second on runs of 65 and 69 yards.
McQuinn also opened the third quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run to give the Bucks a 21-0 lead. He ran for 171 yards on the night.
“Tugg is just special,” Davis said. “He showed some breakaway speed and so did Mason (Strong). They really helped us out.”
Colson Primus, who threw for 152 yards, hit Mason strong with a 56-yard scoring pass with 3:41 remaining in the third quarter for a 28-0 lead.
Strong caught three passes for 91 yards to lead the receiving corps.
McQuinn scored his fourth touchdown of the night on a 9-yard run with 1:55 left in the third. McQuinn set himself up for the score with a 42-yard run on the first play of the series. The run failed, giving the Bucks a 34-0 lead.
Early in the fourth quarter, Pendleton’s Kaden Moore intercepted Mazama quarterback Brody Van Gastel, giving the Bucks the ball at the Mazama 42.
Six plays later, facing fourth-and-19, Primus hit Keegan Kline for a 19-yard touchdown pass with 9:18 left in the game. A PAT by Colin Harrington gave the Bucks a 41-0 lead.
The Vikings drove the ball down to the Pendleton 25 on their ensuing possession, but ended up turning the ball over on downs.
Overall, I’m very happy with a full-team effort,” Davis said. “Having Colin Harrington back at kicker is huge.”
Defensively, Vance Nelson had 10 tackles and an interception, while Aidan Perkins and Dakota Malin each had eight tackles, and Moore and Kline each had five.
