North Bend football coach Rick Taylor didn’t really ask his team for a win as a gift on his 58th birthday Friday night.

“The biggest birthday present for me is to be able to coach this group of young people,” said Taylor after the Bulldogs’ home game against North Eugene.

Regardless, the Class 4A North Bend squad came through with a nice offering for Taylor, trouncing the Class 5A Highlanders 35-14 and regaling the new Bulldogs coach with a horribly off-key rendition of “Happy Birthday” on the field afterward.

The victory moved the Bulldogs to 2-1 on the season, and it was the first game where the team really seemed to click in Taylor’s new triple-option offense.

North Bend’s line dominated North Eugene on both sides of the ball, and the Bulldogs’ rushers looked like they were going downhill all night. The results were telling, as North Bend led in every statistical category that matters: The Bulldogs had 18 first downs to 10 for the Highlanders; North Bend passed for 132 yards to North Eugene’s 101; and the real kicker, the Bulldogs racked up 244 yards on the ground and held the Highlanders to just 75.

“We’re finally getting used to the new set-up,” said running back Jake Lucero, who ran for a team-high 85 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. “And with an O-line like we’ve got, you don’t get hit too much.”

Coming into the game, the Bulldogs were concerned about 6-foot-3-inch, 225-pound Highlander running back Michael Bibbee, a bruiser considered one of the best in the state.

“You can’t let him get a head of steam. You’ve got to get him early,” said Taylor of Bibbee.

North Bend got after Bibbee behind the line of scrimmage, tackling him for a loss four times and limiting him to 37 yards on 13 carries.

“We did a good job on him,” said Taylor.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs could move the ball easily against the Highlander defense.

North Bend struck early and often in the first half.

After stuffing a fake punt attempt from North Eugene on its opening drive, the Bulldogs took over on the Highlanders’ 39 yard line and moved the ball to the 25 on an 11-yard pass from quarterback Dalton Iveans to tight end Bryce Weidman and a 12-yard scramble from Cody Harden. Then running back Cameron Seiger took a hand-off and veered left of the line, going 11 yards to the end zone.

“That was great. This felt awesome,” said Seiger of his first touchdown run of the season — he had seven carries for 62 yards — and the win. “We’re starting to come around as a team. And this is one of the best offensive lines I’ve ever played with.”

The Bulldogs promptly held NorthEugene to a three-and-out and took over at the 50. Iveans found Skyler Walton on a route up the left side for a 27-yard completion. From there, Lucero rumbled 23 yards, shaking off a tackler to find the end zone. Iveans found Weidman in the middle for a short pass to complete the two-point conversion and set the score at 14-0. 

After the kickoff and the end of the first quarter, the Highlanders moved the ball, gaining a first down. But then Bulldog defensive back Craig Banry intercepted North Eugene quarterback Tim Keller at the Highlanders’ 42.

Lucero carried twice for a total of 25 yards, but Iveans was sacked and the team moved backward on an illegal procedure penalty. Then Iveans found a towering Weidman as he charged up the right sideline, getting shoved out of bounds by the defender — an interference flag was thrown but declined by North Bend — for a 36-yard touchdown pass.

With 8:14 remaining in the second quarter, the Highlanders again were forced to punt, but the snap was mishandled and Phillip Boateng tackled the punter at North Eugene’s 27.

This set up a short drive where North Bend wound up in a fourth-and-five at the 9-yard line and decided to go for it.

Tyler Goode, who took some snaps at quarterback during the game, found receiver Seth Johnson in the corner of the end zone for a spectacular touchdown grab. The failed extra point left the count at 27-0 going into halftime.

On their opening drive in the third quarter, the Bulldogs committed their only turnover on a fumble by Goode, recovered by North Eugene at the Highlander 48.

North Eugene made North Bend pay. With a good mix of running and passing, the Highlanders put together their best drive of the game, going 48 yards and ending with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Keller to Tyler Vanderhoff. With the extra point, the game was 27-7.

On the next drive, the Bulldogs had to punt, but pinned North Eugene on its own 6-yard line.

The first snap for the Highlanders sailed between Bibbee and Keller, and Bibbee had to fall on the ball in the end zone for a safety, making the score 29-7.

North Eugene had a nice kick from its own 20, and North Bend took over at its own 35 yard line. But the Bulldogs marched on a long drive that ended the third quarter, and with 9:33 remaining in the fourth Iveans found Johnson in the back of the end zone, and he managed to hold on to the ball even as he was drilled.

“I just kept watching the ball, and tried to keep my feet in bounds,” said Johnson of the catch.

North Bend kicked off up 35-7 after a failed extra point, and disaster struck. Highlander kick returner Harpel picked up the ball at the North Eugene 10-yard line and, after waiting patiently for a couple blocks, broke a 90-yard touchdown return. An extra point put the score at its final of 35-14 with 9:19 remaining in the game.

The teams each had another drive, with North Bend eventually kneeling down to let time expire.

Taylor said after the game he was happy with the team’s performance on both sides of the ball, although pitches are still conspicuously missing from the team’s offensive repertoire in the triple-option.

“We haven’t pitched a lot. We’ve concentrated a lot on our hand-offs,” said Taylor. “The pitches are a tough thing to do, but we’re working on it.”

A running back-by-committee approach seemed to work well for the Bulldogs. Along with Lucero and Seiger’s rushing for 85 and 62 yards, respectively, Harden also had a nice night with 30 yards on five carries, and Jon Kinney added 22 yards on seven carries. Three other backs carried the ball for the Bulldogs.

Iveans was solid at quarterback, going 7-for-12 for 123 yards in the air. Johnson had the two touchdown grabs for a total of 32 yards, and Weidman has become a nice target in the middle of the field, as he pulled in three catches for 52 yards.

For the Highlanders, the stats were sparse. Along with Bibbee’s 37 yards on the ground, Keller had 101 yards in the air on 11-for-17 passing. Harpel was his favorite receiver with four catches for 45 yards.

“I was pleased with our effort,” said Taylor of the game overall. “Our line was dominating, and the backs ran hard. Both our quarterbacks worked hard and ran the offense. And defensively they did what they had to do.

“This was a great game.”