Despite what was admittedly another slow start, Montesano found its mojo in the second half en route to a 42-0 win over Hoquiam on Friday at Jack Rottle Field in Montesano.

Whether it be the weekly homecoming-game festivities or something else Monte coaches couldn’t quite put a finger on, the Bulldogs (4-2 overall, 2-0 1A Evergreen) didn’t get much going on offense until the final minute of the first quarter when junior quarterback Tyson Perry broke free for a 77-yard touchdown run.

The Bulldogs benefited from another big play when Perry hit receiver Toren Crites for a 70-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.

Monte would take advantage of a bad snap over quarterback/punter Joey Bozich’s head when running back Terek Gunter would score from a yard out to put Monte up 21-0 at halftime.

“Hoquiam gave us some issues. They were taking the whole 40-second clock and we were making some mistakes and some untimely penalties,” Bulldogs head coach Terry Jensen said. “It was another slow first half.”

But after the halftime homecoming festivities, Montesano got going in the second half.

Monte scored when running back Gabe Pyhala took a direct snap and broke through the Hoquiam secondary for a 27-yard touchdown. Kicker Cristofer Tobar’s extra-point put Monte up 28-0 with just over eight minutes to play in the third quarter.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano running back Gabe Pyhala (left) sprints away from Hoquiam’s Joey Bozich (1) on his way to a touchdown in the Bulldogs’ 42-0 win on Friday in Montesano.

Then it was the Montesano defense that took center-stage.

On Hoquiam’s ensuing possession, Bozich’s pass was intercepted by Montesano defensive back Zach Timmons, who raced down the sideline for a 45-yard touchdown.

The Grizzlies (2-4, 0-1) then drove down to the Bulldogs’ 35-yard line, but a fumble was scooped up by Monte junior defensive lineman Mason Fry, who ran 67 yard to the end zone to put Monte up 42-0 and start a running clock.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Mason Fry returns a fumble for a touchdown during a 42-0 victory over Hoquiam on Friday at Montesano High School.

“For whatever reasons, maybe it was the (homecoming) distractions, but we didn’t have a lot of emotion when we started the game. We play way better when we play with emotion. It’s an emotional game, you have to play with it,” Jensen said. “I thought we came out in the second half and kind of took control. … The defense answered for us and got two scores tonight. That was a big spark there and we got to 42 somehow.”

Gunter had 100 rushing yards on 13 carries to lead a Bulldogs offense that had 394 total yards, 291 on the ground.

Perry was 5 for 8 passing for 103 yards to go along with 88 yards rushing on two carries.

Bozich led Hoquiam with 93 yards on 10-of-24 passing, with his favorite target being tight end Lincoln Niemi, who had four catches for 47 yards.

Hoquiam had 110 total yards of offense, 17 of those on the ground as the Bulldogs defense held the Grizzlies to minus-10 rushing yards in the first half.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Hoquiam tight end Lincoln Niemi (81) leaps over Montesano defensive back Zach Timmons to make a catch during the first half of Monte’s 42-0 victory on Friday at Montesano High School.

“The game plan was there, but the third quarter kind of got away from us,” Hoquiam head coach Jeremy McMillan said. “Depth is kind of an issue for us and the attrition with the game, but, but I thought our kids played really hard and a lot of kids stepped up.”

McMillan commended the play of running back/linebacker Winston Kaikaka, lineman Ryan Pullar and Bozich, who played on both sides of the ball and also dropped two first-half punts inside the Montesano 10-yard line.

“All year long, we’ve been OK the first half,” McMillan said. “But for some reason, we just cannot finish in the second half. A lot of that is our inexperience and our youth, but we’ll get better.”

Montesano matches up against Rochester for a battle of the top two teams in the league at 7 p.m. Friday at Rochester High School.

Hoquiam will be looking for its first league victory when it hosts Tenino at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Hoquiam 0 0 0 0 – 0

Montesano 7 14 21 0 – 42

Scoring

First quarter

Montesano – Perry 77 run (Tobar kick), 0:39

Second quarter

M – Crites 70 pass from Perry (Tobar kick), 10:02

M – Gunter 1 run (Tobar kick), 3:31

Third quarter

M – Pyhala 27 run (Tobar kick), 8:04

M – Timmons 45 interception return (Tobar kick), 7:07

M – Fry 67 fumble return (Tobar kick), 0:53

Fourth quarter

None

Passing: Hoquiam – Bozich 10-24-1-93. M – Perry 5-8-0-103.

Rushing: H – Kaikaka 24-35, Case 1-3, Bozich 6-(-22). M – Gunter 13-100, Perry 2-88, Pyhala 4-54, Stott 1-19, Crites 1-10, Ames 1-3, Timmons 1-1.

Receiving: H – Niemi 4-47, Byron 3-28, Turpin 2-11, Case 1-7. M – Pyhala 1-70, Hale 3-28, Rasmussen 1-5.