By Rob Burns

For The Daily World

You know the game is going to go your way when the first play from scrimmage is the wrong one called — and it goes 60 yards for a touchdown.

On Hoquiam’s first offensive play, Asai Villarreal took a few steps wide to his left, reversed course and found blockers en route to a 60-yard touchdown run.

The dramatic start was the spark in a first-half offensive showcase by the Grizzlies en route to a 49-16 non-league victory over Fort Vancouver at Olympic Stadium on Friday night.

Hoquiam quarterback Payton Quintanilla threw for 249 yards on 16-for-20 passing and five touchdowns. Villarreal ran for 154 yards and one score as the Grizzlies (2-1 overall) avoided an emotional letdown after last week’s dramatic win over arch-rival Aberdeen.

“Opening play, we ran an outside zone to the left and the running back realized it about three steps in, reversed himself and ran it in,” HHS head coach Jeremy McMillan said. “This game (after Aberdeen) is always a tough game. Our kids responded well; we executed better on offense. We worked on a lot of things this past week and it showed tonight. The defense really played well.”

Hoquiam didn’t waste time showing it was the better team on the field against an out-gunned Fort Vancouver squad that was outscored, 88-0, in its first two games this season.

Following Villarreal’s touchdown run, Francis Sweeney intercepted Trapper quarterback Devyn Turner’s pass on the ensuing possession. Four plays later, Quintanilla got his first touchdown of the night, an 8-yard strike to Jonah Doll for a 14-0 lead.

Quintanilla made it 21-0 when he found Sweeney all by himself deep down the right sideline for a 37-yard touchdown bomb. The junior quarterback got his third TD pass of the first quarter late in the frame with a 38-yard scramble-and-throw to Doll at 28-0.

“It was a little bit rough in the beginning, but right now, I’m loving (playing quarterback) right now,” said Quintanilla, who moved over to the position after quarterback Garrett Dick’s injury during the Grays Harbor Jamboree.

Hoquiam stalled three times inside the Fort Vancouver red zone in the second quarter and three field-goal attempts from Naz Mazariegos were missed.

However, after Hoquiam’s first stalled second-quarter drive, defensive back Marques Rivera picked off Turner for a pick-six from 27 yards out for a 35-0 lead.

The Trappers gained some momentum when they took advantage of their first drive into Grizzly territory. Their six-play drive stalled, but Darius Scheer kicked a 25-yard field goal for a 35-3 score — the Trappers’ first points of the season.

Quintanilla kept the offense moving after a slow start to the third quarter. After getting an interception off Turner deep in HHS territory, the junior delivered a 57-yard touchdown bomb to Doll for a 42-3 lead.

With the pocket collapsing, Quintanilla stepped up and delivered the strike to Doll, who finished with three touchdown catches for 103 yards.

Hoquiam’s final score came when Quintanilla hit Victor James on a roll-out throw for an 8-yard scoring play at 49-3 to start the running clock (aka the 40-point mercy rule).

Fort Vancouver got a measure of pride and confidence in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns against Hoquiam’s reserve defense — an 11-yard touchdown pass from Turner to Shawn Mintah and a 6-yard touchdown run by Myron Lawrence.

Coach McMillan cited defensive back Villarreal and linebacker Chewy Muro for their play on defense, which held the Trappers to just 61 yards in the first half.

On Friday, Hoquiam will hit the road to take on La Center.