Ridgefield football rolls to 49-0 win over Hudson’s Bay to move to 4-0

Back-to-back wins requiring the Ridgefield Spudders to put away their opponents late were a little too close for comfort.

With some extra breathing room on Friday, that made Ridgefield’s 49-0 triumph over Hudson’s Bay all the more satisfying.

“We talked all week about, especially offensively, (we) got to start fast, got to get out and actually score some points,” Ridgefield coach Scott Rice said.

The Spudders heeded their coaches’ message from the opening kickoff at Kiggins Bowl.

On Ridgefield’s first play from scrimmage, quarterback Landon DeBeaumont rolled out to his left and threw to a wide open Jonathan Stromberg on the back side for a 67-yard touchdown. The Spudders were off to the races from there.

DeBeaumont threw four touchdown passes — two to Stromberg, one apiece to Talon Sosky and Wyatt Hemmelman — and rushed for another. The Spudders also saw running back Cly Stephens score a 99-yard rushing touchdown to cap a dominant showing for an offense that had its ups and downs in previous weeks.

The win moved the Spudders to 4-0 on the season, including 2-0 in the 2A Greater St. Helens League with wins over Hockinson and Hudson’s Bay.

“We’ve just been waiting for our one big game, and we really got it out tonight,” DeBeaumont said.

“Putting the pieces together (and) connecting, felt really good at practice, felt really good at pre-game (warmups) and it all came together,” Stromberg added.

In fact, Ridgefield players and coaches sensed before the game that their focus and preparation were sound. It wasn’t a coincidence those things translated to how they played at nearly every position on the field.

Ridgefield scored touchdowns on four of its first six drives to take a 28-0 lead into halftime, while its defense held firm against a physical Hudson’s Bay team that got the better of Ridgefield last season behind its strong running game.

This time, the Spudders capitalized on three turnovers, starting with a muffed Eagles punt return recovered by Ridgefield, plus a second-quarter Stromberg interception and a fumble recovery in the third quarter from the senior after the Eagles marched into the red zone.

Bay still did some damage on the ground with the likes of Xavier Lions and Tai Telea, a bruising 270-pound fullback who rushed for a team-high 67 yards. But the Spudders performed in key moments to keep the Eagles out of the end zone.

“They’re a very physical team,” Stromberg said. “Our defense really needed to step it up, like, ‘hey, it’s going to be a physical week, we need to lower our heads and tackle some big guys.’

“Number 40 (Telea), he’s a big dude and we were like, ‘hey, he’s going where the ball is going, so we just got to get him really low and tackle him.'”

Through four weeks, the Spudders are the lone undefeated team in the 2A GSHL with another consequential matchup next week against Washougal. The Spudders have won four straight with plenty of room left to improve, in their minds, though Friday’s win was undoubtedly a step in the right direction.

“We just haven’t executed for four weeks,” Rice said, “and we needed to put it together, needed to finally put one foot in front of the other and felt great to do it tonight.”

RIDGEFIELD 49, HUDSON’S BAY 0

Ridgefield 14 14 7 14—49

Hudson’s Bay 0 0 0 0—0

First quarter

R — Noah Stromberg 67 pass from Landon DeBeaumont (Carson Young kick)

R — DeBeaumont 1 run (Young kick)

Second quarter

R — Talon Sosky 56 pass from DeBeaumont (Young kick)

R — Stromberg 17 pass from DeBeaumont (Young kick)

Third quarter

R — Cly Stephens 99 run (Young kick)

Fourth quarter

R — Wyatt Hemmelman 6 pass from DeBeaumont (Young kick)

R — Jake Olsen 12 run (Young kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Ridgefield: Cly Stephens 13-134, Wyatt Hemmelman 1-5, Landon DeBeaumont 4-27, Jake Olsen 7-31; Hudson’s Bay: Michael Stump 2-3, Xavier Lions 7-15, Tai Telea 12-67, Michael Miller 3-3, No. 8 7-18, Myshawn Cadiz 3-6, Isaias Antonio 3-17, Grady Bernardi-Reiss 1-(minus 3), Alez Lopez 1-(minus 2).

PASSING — Ridgefield: DeBeaumont 5-9-0-175; Hudson’s Bay: Michael Miller 5-18-1-49, Xavier Lions 1-1-0-14, Grady Bernaardi-Reiss 1-2-1-7.

RECEIVING — Ridgefield: Noah Stromberg 2-84, Talon Sosky 1-56, Cly Stephens 1-29, Wyatt Hemmelman 1-6; Hudson’s Bay: Messiah Jackson 2-43, Saith Elguea-Zarate 1-7, Xavier Lions 1-(minus 1), Tai Telea 1-0, Donnie McCartney-Ayres 1-14, Carlos Duarte 1-7.