Seven touchdowns from five different players and three defenders hauling in interceptions vaulted the Redmond football team to its second consecutive victory.

The Panthers dismantled St. Helens Friday night with a dominating 53-6 win in the final tune-up game before starting Intermountain Conference play next Friday.

“I told our guys afterwards how extremely proud of them I am for how they are turning things around,” said Redmond coach Kyle Lavender. “We are starting the uphill climb with the league starting next week. It was encouraging to put two good games together before we start that.”

After dropping their first two games of the season, the Panthers have rolled off two straight wins, outscoring their opponents 89-6 to close out their nonleague schedule.

“This is something that has been building up and we needed to get it done,” said senior running back Eli Pupo, who scored three touchdowns Friday evening. “It was personal. We needed to show people what we can do and that is what we did tonight.”

Redmond (2-2 overall) displayed a dominant rushing attack against St. Helens (0-4), with five different players scoring on the ground. Pupo had two touchdown runs to go along with his receiving touchdown. Senior quarterback Jack Snyder rushed for a score on a QB sneak in the first quarter. Junior running back Parker Gibson and senior running back Wyatt Bigelow found the end zone as well on the ground.

“Without the offensive line we couldn’t have done anything,” Pupo said. “With them, it was wide open. I could run all day.”

“I wasn’t sacked all game,” said Snyder, who had a passing and rushing touchdown. “Everything was clicking. We ran it quite a bit, which opened up the pass game.”

Perhaps in a way to thank the offensive line for its efforts, senior lineman Orinn Hubbard was given a chance to carry the ball. With the ball at the 18-yard line in the fourth quarter, the Panthers ran a trick play that worked to perfection. Senior offensive lineman Jace Eveland made the necessary block, and Hubbard made the lone defender miss in space and sprinted into the end zone for his first-ever touchdown to put the Panthers up 46-6.

“We have been working on that play for a while,” Lavender said. “Hubbard is a freak athlete and we had to find a way to get him the ball.”

Aside from one first-half touchdown, the Panthers’ defense made life difficult for the Lions’ offense. Senior linebacker JJ Browning, senior defensive back Ethan Powell and junior defensive back Jayden Thynes all came up with interceptions for the Panthers.

Now the competition begins to pick up. There are no more winless Class 4A teams on the schedule. The next five games against IMC opponents are the ones that truly matter and will determine which teams make the playoffs.

Next up for Redmond is a home game Friday against undefeated Bend High.

“We have a lot of guys who have been playing varsity since their sophomore years and now they are seniors,” Lavender said. “They know what this league brings. They know the competition in our league. We always preach that we have the toughest league in 5A. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day. We are looking forward to it.”

Other Friday night scores

Crook County 25, Gladstone 0

Sisters 42, La Pine 0

Madras 36, Harrisburg 0

Culver 34, Lost River 28 (Thursday)

Gilchrist 47, Crow 18