ANNIE FOWLER, The CUJ
ATHENA — In a showdown between the two undefeated teams in the Blue Mountain Conference, Heppner came away with a dominating 61-6 victory over Weston-McEwen on Friday, Oct. 17.
“We just focus on what’s in front us and control what we can control,” Heppner coach Rob Wilson said. “Today, I think we leaned on our senior linemen and I think they dominated the line of scrimmage. Weston loaded the box and tried to make it difficult, but our linemen were able to give us room. Without them, we don’t pick up that many yards (360).”
The second-ranked Mustangs (7-0 overall, 4-0 BMC) scored on the first play of their first three drives, with the first touchdown coming on a 53-yard run by Tripp Stewart. Caleb George followed with touchdown runs of 43 and 45 yards and the rout was on.
Weston-McEwen’s Wyatt Parsons picked up a Heppner fumble and scored from 47 yards out to put his team on the board in the first quarter, but that would be all for the TigerScots, who finished the game with just 3 yards of offense and one first down.
“We put up a lot of points, but our defense is what we put pride in,” Wilson said. “It goes beyond the nine on the field. We take pride in not giving up the big plays on the field.”
Heppner led 24-6 after the first quarter and 48-6 at the half as Stewart and Alakae Rodriguez ran for touchdowns, and Stewart connected with Keaton Coiner for a 50-yard touchdown pass.
Stewart ran for 110 yards and three touchdowns, while George and Rodriguez each ran for 74 yards and one touchdown, and Joseph Albitre ran for 61 yards and one touchdown.
Caylan Proudfoot completed 6 of 11 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown. Coiner was on the receiving end of three passes for 101 yards.
“We don’t focus on numbers or stats,” Wilson said. “That’s why it’s spread out.”
Defensively, Owen Guerra had five tackles, while George, Coiner and Ryan Haugen each had four.
Heppner will host Riverside on Oct. 24, while Weston-McEwen (3-3, 3-1) will play at Irrigon.
