HILLSBORO — The team with the more storied past left frosty Hillsboro Stadium in defeat, while the small-school upstarts further showed they’re a cut above the rest.

Still, it was nothing shocking.

Gold Beach, the powerful Sunset Conference champion that strolled through the postseason with a 139-25 scoring edge, used its unparalleled offense and takeaway-friendly defense to overwhelm Vale 42-0 in the OSAA Class 3A championship game.

In a duel of running attacks, the top-ranked Panthers battered the No. 5-ranked Vikings to the tune of six rushing touchdowns and 431 yards on the ground.

Looking back, Gold Beach coach Kevin Swift said it best.

“It was just a total victory and a total team effort,” Swift said amid a raucous on-field celebration afterward. “I couldn’t be more proud of these kids. It was their goal from day one this year to win state, and they went out and played their best game this year.”

The win capped a perfect 14-0 season for the Panthers, who delivered the school’s first outright state football title.

Gold Beach tied for the honor in 1976 and, in the program’s only other finals appearance, fell 20-19 to Lost River in 2004.

“We made history today,” said senior linebacker Nathan Moore, who came up with an interception, a fumble recovery and two tackles. “The seniors have been working for this since eighth grade, and this is just how we wanted it to end.”

Gold Beach’s bruising fullback Travis Moore provided most of the work. The 5-foot-7, 190-pound junior carried 31 times for 240 yards and scored five touchdowns on punishing runs.

“He’s just a beast,” Swift said. “We just keep feeding him — they couldn’t stop him.”

Gold Beach quarterback Jeffrey Knox and tailback Herbie Smith, meanwhile, rushed for 76 and 73 yards, respectively, against the state’s No. 1 scoring defense.

“Our line did their best job tonight,” Travis Moore said. “We wanted to just pound the ball — that’s how we play.”

The Panthers controlled all facets of the game from the start. After David Bonotto returned the opening kickoff 58 yards to the Vale 32-yard line, Gold Beach was on the scoreboard in four plays — all runs by Travis Moore. He muscled in from a yard out then, after Vale went three and out, bullied through several would-be tacklers on the way to a 10-yard score.

“That was the best offense we’ve faced,” said Vale running back/linebacker Luke Skerjanec. “We played pretty sound, but they just outplayed us, especially their offense.”

On the other side of the ball, Gold Beach’s defense was just as dominant.

The Eastern Oregon League champion Vikings were held to 136 yards in total offense and had their best scoring opportunity turned away late in the first half, when quarterback Tyler Pirrie was stuffed by defensive end Anthony Simera on a fourth-and-goal from the 1.

“That gave us the biggest momentum swing,” said Simera, who had seven tackles. “Their offense was pretty strong actually, but we came together and stopped them.

“I’ve never seen a team so pumped up for a game.”

Vale coach Jeff Jacobs expected the same approach from his Vikings but saw differently.

“I’m dumbfounded,” he said. “We needed to come out with a lot more energy and after they went ahead, we got back on our heels, and they ran over the top of us.”

Skerjanec rushed for a team-best 58 yards on 17 carries while leading Vale with 12.5 tackles.

Eric Coy added a fumble recovery and nine tackles, while Jeff Williams totaled 55 yards rushing for the 10-time state champion Vikings, who ended their season at 10-3.

“This loss puts a damper on the season a little, but it was a still a great one,” Jacobs said.

Gold Beach went ahead 20-0 on a 7-yard touchdown run by Smith following Nathan Moore’s interception off a deflected pass.

Smith went in almost untouched, sprinting past defenders that keyed on a fake handoff to Travis Moore.

After the Panthers stopped Vale at the 1, they went ahead 27-0 on Moore’s third score, a 3-yard blast up the middle. It capped a time-consuming, 99-yard drive to all but end the half.

“I don’t think we could have played any better — I’m 99.9 percent sure,” said Travis Moore, who had three rushing touchdowns in Gold Beach’s 39-18 semifinals win over Rainier. “We were just having fun.”

With a state title almost in hand, the Panthers showed continued focus in the second half.

Vale was limited to 55 yards of offense, while Gold Beach tacked on another 176 and two more touchdowns by Moore — one in each quarter. His first was possibly his best run of the night. Moore bounced a dive toward the sideline then outran two safeties and a defensive back into the end zone, sending the Panther-fan heavy crowd into a frenzy.

“Travis and the entire offense did an amazing job tonight,” Simera said. “They took the pressure off us.”

Moore’s final score came on a 1-yard plunge with 8:38 left in regulation. It was the exclamation point to a game that easily fell short of its billing.

“I’m in a state of shock,” Swift said. “We definitely did not expect a score like this.

“It’s just an amazing victory — not for me and for the program as much as it is for these kids. They truly were a special group.”