Aberdeen turned what was a turmoil-filled day into a rousing triumph, defeating Hoquiam 34-9 in front of a near-full Myrtle Street Rivalry crowd on Friday at Stewart Field in Aberdeen.

The turbulence for Aberdeen (1-3 overall) started well before the opening kickoff when school officials decided to suspend Bobcats head coach Todd Bridge mere hours before game time.

It was unclear as of game time as to the reason(s) Bridge was suspended as an official statement provided by Aberdeen athletic director John Crabb said the following:

“Coach Bridge will not be attending tonight’s game due to personal reasons. We look forward to his return next Friday night.”

But rather than allow the sudden absence of their head coach to deflate them, the Bobcats used it to further fuel their inner fire.

“We found out right before the game and we were shocked,” said Cats junior running back Micah Schroeder, who scored three touchdowns in the game. “It was more fuel. We used it. We said, ‘We’re going to do this for our head coach and for our team.’”

Bolstered by the dual adrenaline rush of the administration’s decision and playing in a rivalry game that had its fare share of social media trash talk leading up to the game, Aberdeen burned Hoquiam (1-3) for 14 points in the first quarter, both on touchdown runs by Schroeder.

The Grizzlies penetrated inside the Bobcats’ 10-yard line with under a minute left in the first half, but Aberdeen’s defense held the Hoquiam to just three points on a 25-yard field goal by Ethan Byron as Aberdeen held a 14-3 lead at the break.

On the first possession of the third quarter, Aberdeen overcame three penalties – including a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct foul – to go up 21-3 when quarterback Mason Hill hit a wide open Adonis Hammonds deep downfield for a 68-yard touchdown.

After Aberdeen got the ball back when sophomore linebacker Waylan Palmer intercepted Grizzlies quarterback Joey Bozich, Schroeder capped another scoring drive with a 10-yard run, staking the Bobcats to a commanding 28-3 lead.

Hoquiam’s best offensive drive of the game came late in the fourth quarter as Bozich capped a 99-yard drive with a 2-yard plunge to make it a 28-9 ballgame.

Keeping the ball on the ground in an attempt to run out the clock, Aberdeen junior running back Riley Wixson broke free around the right edge for a 46-yard touchdown run, capping the score at 34-9 with 1:47 left in the game.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen running back Riley Wixson (middle) runs away from Hoquiam defensive lineman AJ Young (64) to score a touchdown during the Bobcats’ 34-9 win on Friday at Stewart Field in Aberdeen.

Aberdeen outgained Hoquiam 274 yards to 172.

Hill went 9 for 12 passing for 178 yards and a touchdown, most of that to Hammonds, who caught three passes for 125 yards.

Schroeder had 48 yards on nine carries with three touchdowns while senior running back Legend Vessey led the Cats with 12 rushes for 51 yards.

Bozich was 9 for 22 for 65 yards passing and three interceptions while running back Kingston Case had 23 carries for 76 yards.

In addition to Palmer, Hammonds and senior defensive back Daden Wixson picked off Bozich in the game.

The game was marred by penalties as the two teams combined for 35 penalties for more than 300 yards. Aberdeen had 19 penalties for 178 yards while Hoquiam had 16 for 130.

“We need to stop the flags and clean everything up,” Hammonds said. “Everything is heated and you’re just in the moment. So we’ve got to stop (the penalties) going into next week.”

The win was the first for Aberdeen on the year and the fifth straight over their Myrtle Street Rivalry opponents.

“Our energy was really good,” said Schroeder, who added the online banter leading up to the game was also a motivating factor. “We came into the game pumped up, definitely more than other games. One thing that also upped it was (Hoquiam) was talking a lot of smack on social media. So we kind of used that as fuel and came into the game and pounded them and executed our thing.”

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen assistant coach David Tarrence (arms raised) watches Adonis Hammonds (4) and Riley Wixson (11) raise the Myrtle Street Trophy after beating Hoquiam 34-9 on Friday at Stewart Field in Aberdeen.

“It means a lot. I’ve never lost to Hoquiam and don’t plan on losing to Hoquiam,” Hammonds said of the victory. “We really got things going today. … We came out with a lot of energy. We were pretty hyped throughout the whole game, which doesn’t usually happen.”

For Hoquiam head coach Jeremy McMillan, the penalties and mistakes, including a bad snap on a punt attempt that turned out to be a 30-yard loss, were too much to overcome.

“We basically shot ourselves in the foot all night,” he said. “We’d get going and then, mistakes. We’d get going and then a penalty. Then the turnovers. You can’t have that on the road, even if it’s just across Myrtle. You can’t expect to have those mistakes in a game like this and come out on top.”

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Hoquiam running back Kingston Case (5) sprints away from Aberdeen defender Micah Schroeder during the Grizzlies’ 34-9 loss on Friday in Aberdeen.

Aberdeen assistant coach David Tarrence, who filled in for Bridge as head coach on Friday, left little doubt as to whom he felt much of the credit should go to.

“Our team loves Coach Bridge,” he said. “He does so much to prepare us. Countless hours. I can’t say enough about what he does. More time spent preparing us than any other coach I can think of. He prepared us for tonight. He wasn’t here, but he was with us. We played our hearts out for Coach Bridge. We love him and wish he was here. It’s unfortunate he’s not here, but I’m happy we got the win.”

Hoquiam has a non-league match at Toutle Lake at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Aberdeen will set its sights on league play when it hosts W.F. West at 7 p.m. on Friday.

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Hoquiam 0 3 0 6 – 9

Aberdeen 14 0 14 6 – 34

Scoring

First quarter

Aberdeen – Schroeder 8 run (Matthews kick), 5:27

A – Schroeder 9 run (Matthews kick), 0:00

Second quarter

Hoquiam – Byron 25 field goal, 0:17

Third quarter

A – Hammonds 68 pass from Hill (Matthews kick), 9:33

A – Schroeder 10 run (Matthews kick), 5:15

Fourth quarter

H – Bozich 2 run (pass fail), 2:23

A – R. Wixson 46 run (run fail), 1:47

Passing: H – Bozich 9-22-3-65. A – Hill 9-12-0-178.

Rushing: H – Case 23-76, Kaikaka 8-30, Bozich 5-31, Byron 1-(-30). A – Vessey 12-51, Schroeder 9-48, R. Wixson 1-46, Hammonds 1-(-2).

Receiving: H – Niemi 4-19, Byron 3-29, Roberts 1-8, Kaikaka 1-9. A – Hammonds 3-125, Schreiber 3-29, Creamer 1-13, Howard 1-3.