REDMOND — As Bend High gathered in the northwest end zone and Matt Craven prepared to address his squad, an enthusiastic Lava Bears assistant walked by a fellow coach and excitedly made an observation:

“I think Redmond knows who Bend is now.”

A week after rallying for a one-point victory at Redmond High, Bend provided no thrilling ending at Ridgeview. Instead, the Lava Bears scored the first 27 points of the game en route to a 42-13 Intermountain Conference football victory — their fifth straight win overall and perhaps their most impressive under Craven, the third-year Bend head coach.

“That was a very, very physical win,” Craven said. “That’s what this team wants to be, and I think that’s what it takes to compete in the IMC. The IMC is an old-school conference, and you’ve got to be able to play with people up front. Otherwise it’s going to be a long season. Tonight, I thought we did a good job of playing with them (the Ravens) up front.”

That offensive line more than held its own against the 2013 Class 4A state champions, allowing the Bears to rush for 365 yards, including 167 yards on 27 carries by Hunter McDonald and 100 yards on 10 rushes by Chris Wallace.

But while the offense staked Bend to a 27-0 lead on two touchdown passes by Creighton Simmonds and 87- and 15-yard scoring runs by Christian Johnson and Wallace, respectively, it was the Lava Bear defense that stood tallest. All told, Bend allowed 291 yards of total offense but sacked Ridgeview quarterback Jacob Johnson six times while recording a fumble recovery and an interception.

“They have absolutely played to their potential, and that’s all you can ask of the kids,” Craven said. “That defense did that, just as they did last week.”

The Lava Bears began the first and second quarters with touchdown drives, including a fourth-down conversion in the opening period when Simmonds, rolling to his right, connected with a sliding Quinn Fettig for a 22-yard score. Johnson’s long touchdown run provided Bend with a 14-0 halftime lead, which ballooned to 27-0 after Wallace’s touchdown run and Simmonds’ second scoring pass, this one to McDonald from 20 yards out.

“We’ve just been working really hard at practice, giving it our all,” McDonald said. “Our (offensive) line stepped up, and as a team, we’re just playing really good.”

Late in the third, Johnson found Tanner O’Neal over the middle for an 8-yard Raven touchdown, but the Lava Bears (2-0 IMC, 5-1 overall) answered early in the fourth quarter with Simmonds’ third and final scoring pass — a 3-yard strike to Austin Adye. McDonald ran in a touchdown from 19 yards out, and the Ravens (0-1, 3-3) capped the scoring when Johnson hit Derrick Brown for a 5-yard touchdown as time expired.

“We didn’t perform at our best, and we were physically outmatched,” Ridgeview coach Andy Codding said. “They were physically dominant up front. We just never were able to get into a rhythm.”

Johnson finished 8-of-17 passing for 158 yards and two scores for Ridgeview, which heads to Summit next Friday. Also for the Ravens, Tanner Stevens ran for 69 yards, and Brent Yeakey added 64 yards rushing on five carries.

“Jacob is leading our team and doing a good job of helping us maintain a little more balance than we’ve had in previous years,” Codding said. “He just ran into a more powerful defensive front tonight, and they (the Lava Bears) were able to get to him.”

Simmonds completed 6 of 10 passes for 98 yards and three touchdowns, his top target being Fettig, who finished with 65 yards on two receptions.

“It’s absolutely huge,” Craven said of his team’s fast start in league play. “There are no bad teams in the IMC. There really aren’t this year. There are five teams in the IMC that can all win playoff games, so every game is absolutely valuable. Every game is important. We are very happy to be where we’re at, at 2-0. We control what we can control, and because of that, we’re sitting in a good spot.”

“We’re just taking it game by game,” added McDonald, who team travels to Hillsboro next Friday to face Liberty, the No. 8 team in Class 5A. “First down by first down, we’re giving it our all.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0307, glucas@bendbulletin.com.