3C — THE OBSERVER
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2019
THE BLITZ
MONTANA TECH (0-1) AT EASTERN OREGON (1-1)
GIMME FIVE — KEYS TO SATURDAY’S GAME
1. TAKE CARE OF
THE FOOTBALL
Turnovers have been a
trouble area for the Moun-
taineers early on with fi ve
Kai Quinn interceptions in
two games. They need to
protect the pigskin against
what will be an opportunis-
tic Orediggers’ defense.
2. ESTABLISH THE
RUNNING GAME
The Mountaineers were
much better on the ground
in Week 2, rushing for 151
yards after gaining just 66
in the opener. The ground
game needs to get going
to set the tone and open up
the passing attack.
3. CONTROL
POSSESSION
Eastern needs to do
more of what it did in
Week 2, when it held pos-
session for more than 35
minutes. That will allow it
to dictate the pace of the
game and keep the Tech
defense on the fi eld.
4. HOLD THE LINE
ON DEFENSE
Just as the running of-
fense was better in Week 2,
so was the rushing defense,
holding SOU to 96 yards.
Tech is more of a run-fi rst
team than SOU, so keeping
Jed Fike and the Orediggers
in check will be key.
5. START STRONG,
FINISH STRONG
Eastern has three points
in the fi rst quarter through
two games, and only seven
in the fourth. The Moun-
taineers need some early
touchdowns for momen-
tum, and need to keep their
foot on the gas throughout.
SATURDAY’S KEY MATCHUP
UMT WR Trevor Hoffman
VS.
KEY STATISTIC: Top returning receiver with 511
yards last fall, 149 yards in season opener.
Hoffman, at least against College of Idaho, was
quarterback Jet Campbell’s favorite target with 11
receptions, which, along with his 149 yards, was
a career high. He will be a force to reckon with on
the offensive side from a physical standpoint at
6-foot-4, especially considering EOU’s tallest start-
ing defensive back (Haziel Ledezma) is 6-foot-1.
EOU safety Zack Jacobs said when the Orediggers
go to the air, he and the rest of the Mountaineer
secondary need to be aware of where Hoffman
is. If he gets loose and has a big day, it could be a
long afternoon for the Mounties.
EOU S Zack Jacobs
Hoffman
KEY STATISTIC: Two interceptions last week
against SOU, nine in EOU career.
Jacobs has developed a real nose for the
football on the defensive end, and has emerged
into not only one of the top members of Eastern
Oregon’s secondary, but among the best defensive
backs in the Frontier Conference. The junior safety,
in fact, led the conference in interceptions a season
ago, and picked up where he left off against South-
ern Oregon. He likely won’t be lined up 1-on-1
against Hoffman on every play, especially when
EOU drops into zone coverage, but when he is, or
if he’s in the vicinity of Hoffman pre-snap in zone, it
should be a fun matchup to watch.
Jacobs
EDGE: JACOBS
BY THE NUMBERS
UMT
UMT INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS
Passing
Jet Campbell
Rushing
Jed Fike
Tyler Folkes
Blake Counts
Jet Campbell
Receiving
Trevor Hoffman
Nate Sander
Jaylen Taggart
Kiley Caprara
Punt Returns
Alec Wooley-Steele
Kick Returns
Naoki Harmer
Field Goals
N/A
Tackles
Carter Myers
Blake Allred
Tucker Rauthe
Ike Schweikert
Jacob Clarke
Arthur Flynn
Justin May
Jordan Washington
Logan Kolodejchuk
Jesse Sims
Interceptions
N/A
C-A-I
17-27-0
Carries
22
4
4
7
Rec.
11
3
2
1
Pct.
63.0
Yards
101
28
13
-24
Yards
149
36
18
15
No.
1
No.
5
M-A
N/A
Solo
5
2
5
4
3
2
3
3
0
1
No.
N/A
Yards
218
Avg.
4.6
7.0
3.3
-3.4
Avg.
13.6
12.0
9.0
15.0
Yards
2
Yards
83
Pct.
N/A
Ast.
9
6
2
3
3
4
2
2
3
2
Yards
N/A
TD
1
TD
1
0
0
0
TD
1
0
0
0
Avg.
2.0
Avg.
16.6
40+
N/A
Total
14
8
7
7
6
6
5
5
3
3
Avg/Ret
N/A
Yds/G
218.0
Avg/G
101.0
28.0
13.0
-24.0
Avg/G
149.0
36.0
18.0
15.0
TD
0
TD
0
Long
N/A
TFL
0.0
0.0
0.0
1.0
0.0
1.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
TD
N/A
EOU
EOU INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS
Offense
218.0
231.5
Passing
118.0
108.5
Rushing
336.0
340.0
Total
Defense
163.0
138.5
Passing
347.0
236.5
Rushing
510.0
375.0
Total
Passing
Kai Quinn
Rushing
Kaler Moore
Victor Dias
Kai Quinn
Quincy Backes
Isaiah Thomas
Receiving
Saige Wilkerson
Isaiah Thomas
Conner Falk
Tanner Zenke
Victor Dias
Phoenix Milhollen
Punt Returns
Chase Van Wyck
Kick Returns
Tanner Zenke
Isaiah Thomas
Field Goals
Jaiden Machuca
Tackles
Haziel Ledezma
Isaiah Cranford
Eli Teuteu
Sage DeLong
Peter Manville
Chase Van Wyck
Interceptions
Zack Jacobs
C-A-I
44-84-5
Carries
12
19
15
9
1
Rec.
10
8
9
5
7
2
Pct.
52.4
Yards
61
52
45
23
18
Yards
125
98
76
51
46
31
No.
1
No.
6
3
M-A
1-1
Solo
8
7
9
8
7
5
No.
2
Yards
454
Avg.
5.1
2.7
3.0
2.6
18.0
Avg.
12.5
12.3
8.4
10.2
6.6
15.5
Yards
25
Yards
144
45
Pct.
100.0
Ast.
4
5
3
3
1
3
Yards
0
TD
2
TD
2
0
1
0
0
TD
1
0
0
0
1
0
Avg.
25.0
Avg.
24.0
15.0
40+
0-0
Total
12
12
12
11
8
8
Avg/Ret
0.0
Yds/G
227.0
Avg/G
30.5
26.0
22.5
11.5
9.0
Avg/G
62.5
49.0
38.0
25.5
23.0
15.5
TD
0
TD
0
0
Long
33
TFL
0.0
3.0
0.0
5.0
0.0
2.0
TD
0
POSITION MATCHUPS
BACKFIELD
Tech has
arguably
the best
running
EOU
back in
the conference in
Jed Fike, but EOU
counters with one
of the Frontier’s best
quarterbacks in Kai
Quinn. This is basi-
cally a push, but the
edge goes to Eastern.
RECEIVERS
Both
of these
teams are
still feeling UMT
out their re-
ceiver corps. Tech has
one advantage in a
proven asset named
Trevor Hoffman, who
had 511 yards last fall
and already posted
149 yards in the Ore-
diggers’ opener.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Both
of these
teams are
relatively
UMT
young up
front. EOU starts just
one senior on the
offensive line, while
Tech has two. Hard to
say this early who is
better, so the senior-
ity of Montana Tech’s
gives it the edge.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Neither
team was
able to slow
down the
EOU
powerful
ground game of
College of Idaho, but
EOU has shown it
can be better after its
effort against SOU.
One expects Tech will
also be better, but it
needs to show it.
LINEBACKERS
There
is veteran
leadership
on both
EOU
sides, and
this could be one of
the better matchups
Saturday. EOU gets
the edge as it has two
of last season’s confer-
ence leaders in tackles
back in Eli Teuteu and
Isaiah Cranford.
SECONDARY
The
Moun-
taineers
grabbed
EOU
two inter-
ceptions and mostly
shut down what is
typically a strong
passing attack by
SOU last week, so
they should be ready
when the Orediggers
do decide to air it out.
PREDICTION: EASTERN OREGON 28, MONTANA TECH 21
EASTERN OREGON SCHEDULE/RESULTS
AT
COLLEGE
OF IDAHO
AT
SOUTHERN
OREGON
VS.
MONTANA
TECH
AT
PORTLAND
STATE
AT
MONTANA
WESTERN
VS. MONTANA
STATE
NORTHERN
VS.
SOUTHERN
OREGON
AT
MONTANA
TECH
VS.
COLLEGE
OF IDAHO
AT
ROCKY
MOUNTAIN
VS.
CARROLL
COLLEGE
LOSS
WIN
48-12
24-21
Sept. 14
1 p.m.
Sept. 21
2 p.m.
Sept. 28
Noon
Oct. 12
6 p.m.
Oct. 19
1 p.m.
Oct. 26
Noon
Nov. 2
1 p.m.
Nov. 9
Noon
Nov. 16
1 p.m.
Response shows no need for fans to panic
H
ow many of you Eastern Or-
egon Mountaineer fans pan-
icked a bit after the rough season
opener at College of Idaho?
Yet here we are, a week later,
and the Mountaineers are entering
their home opener with that blow-
out loss in the rear-view mirror
after a thrilling win at Southern
Oregon.
It points to a reality that head
coach Tim Camp talked about at
practice this week, and one he has
shared with me in the past — that
teams show the most improvement
between Week 1 and Week 2.
That opener is the fi rst time
a team gets to line up against
somebody other than itself. It’s an
opportunity to gauge where it sits
and see what it needs to focus on.
In the Mountaineers’ case, there
was a lot to learn. Defensive end
Sage DeLong said the team was
exposed in the opener. Camp, who
is wont to take the blame after a
loss, said he hadn’t done enough to
prepare them.
Adjustments were made. A
high focus was put on physicality
in the following week of practice.
FROM THE
SIDELINE
RONALD BOND
The offense, while not sterling yet,
was better. The defense was much
improved. The desired outcome
was achieved.
But just like that loss two weeks
ago is behind and done, so is last
week’s win. A team can’t rest on
the laurels of a victory anymore
than it can sulk after a loss.
“(We need to) build off of what
we just did. Last week’s game is
gone,” Camp said.
And the team can learn from
both. A loss or a gritty win are
better teachers than a blowout win.
The team not only sees where it
has to improve, but learns whether
or not it has the ability to get back
up after taking a punch to the jaw.
Or the desire to get off the carpet
and get back to work.
Clearly, the win shows the team
is better than the 48-12 loss at C of
I. It’s also better than the 24-21 win
last week at Southern.
So what will this team be? What
is the team capable of? What is its
identity?
One attribute this team has
already demonstrated is grit. It has
shown thus far an ability to grind
when its back is against the wall.
That was evident not only in how
it rebounded from the Yotes’ game
but in how it responded within the
game against the Raiders.
The Mountaineers faced ad-
versity in both. In the fi rst game,
the offense was quiet much of the
afternoon and the defense was
porous. The team was punched in
the jaw. Hard.
Both the offense and defense
were better in the second game.
But in that second game, the
Mounties dealt with adversity
again as they were mere seconds
away from a potential 0-2 start.
They had played well, had taken
chances, and were in position for a
win, but didn’t seize it until the Kai
Quinn to Saige Wilkerson touch-
down in the closing moments.
Quinn himself has shown a
gutsiness in the early part of the
season. From a stat standpoint, it
hasn’t been a hot start with fi ve
interceptions in two games, includ-
ing three in the fi rst half against
the Raiders. But he hasn’t fl inched
— and neither have the Mounties.
“It shows a lot about Kai’s
character and how he’s able to
keep himself composed throughout
the whole game — even after a
few interceptions — and to keep
fi ghting,” Wilkerson said of the
quarterback.
That steely, don’t blink mental-
ity doesn’t come from just Quinn
or Camp, even if they are the most
well-known faces and names of the
program as the quarterback and
head coach. The whole team has to
have it. Otherwise EOU would be
0-2 right now.
That, in fact, is what I have come
to know about this team in going
on four years covering it: Eastern
has a will to respond when it’s
cornered. To step up when nobody
expects it to. To prove doubters
wrong. I think that is one of the
early traits of the 2019 Mountain-
eers, which will make them fun to
watch — and cover.
After Week 2, I no longer see a
need for fans to panic.
Sage DeLong
proves his
worth at EOU
By Ronald Bond
The Observer
Sage DeLong had something to prove
during last weekend’s game against South-
ern Oregon. Not to the opposition — even if
it was the team the Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity defensive end spent the first two years
of his college career with — but to himself.
“After College of Idaho I didn’t feel I per-
formed as I should, so it was a moment to
kind of prove to myself what I was worth on
the field, and I think I accomplished that,”
he said.
DeLong followed a three-tackle effort in
the Mountaineers’ 48-12 loss to College of
Idaho with a performance that earned him
NAIA national defensive player of the week
accolades — eight tackles, five for loss, and
three sacks in EOU’s 24-21 victory over the
Raiders. It was the second time in three
games dating back to last year that he has
had at least three sacks in a game as he
registered 3.5 sacks in the Mountaineers’
8-7 win at Carroll College last November.
The redshirt junior has become an
anchor on the defensive line in his short
time at EOU, even if his route to joining the
Mountaineers — a program he has been
familiar with for close to a decade — was
somewhat circuitous.
DeLong actually has a history with East-
ern that goes back into his high school days
when he attended lineman and team camps
during his prep career at Vale. He was at an
EOU camp from at least his freshman year
of high school, and, he said, even as far back
as seventh or eighth grade.
“I’ve known (DeLong) since he was a
little kid,” head coach Tim Camp said. “He’s
come to every single one of my camps. I’ve
always told him that this is the place where
he belongs.”
DeLong, who played multiple positions at
Vale — including defensive end, tight end,
linebacker and even some slot receiver —
was recruited as a defensive end and as a
tight end by multiple schools, including as a
tight end by EOU.
He initially committed to Western Or-
egon for football, but after attending an all-
star wrestling match in Ashland, DeLong
— who was a state champion wrestler for
Vale at 195 pounds his senior year — ac-
cepted an offer to join the Raiders’ wrestling
program and elected to also walk on to the
football program, which initially didn’t give
him an offer.
“It was kind of the chip on my shoulder,”
DeLong said of not being offered. “It made
me feel like I wasn’t wanted there, but I
wanted to prove that I was, so that’s what
I did. I redshirted there (and) earned my
spot about halfway through the season my
redshirt freshman year.”
He was an immediate impact player
when he did take the field in 2016, record-
ing six sacks, eight tackles for loss and 38
total tackles from his defensive end position.
But a desire to be closer to home won out,
and he made the move to EOU following
the 2016 season.
The time at SOU didn’t end on bad
terms, though. Even to this day he remains
in contact with members of the team.
“We all left on good notes. They were very
supportive of what I was doing,” he said.
Once his release was complete and he
met with Camp, he said the coach told him
something he knew all along.
“He looks at me and he goes, ‘I told you
you’d come here. I just knew, eventually,’”
DeLong said.
DeLong had to sit out the 2017 season
due to the transfer, which opened up yet
another opportunity to prove himself, this
time to his new teammates by putting in
additional time training with the team,
even if he wasn’t going to play for a year.
“(That) winter and spring, people asked,
‘Why are you here? Why are you working
out? I would wait until you are eligible,’”
he said. “It was kind of my way of proving
to everybody out there that I belong, and I
wanted to show them that I had the work
ethic to succeed for the team, and that they
could trust me going into the next year.”
Camp also praised DeLong’s character,
saying he’s “10 times the person he will ever
be as a football player,” said he has gone
through a remarkable change from when
he first started coming to EOU camps.
“The (opportunity) to watch that kid grow
from when he came here as a freshman
in my big man camp (and see) how he’s
progressed has been unbelievable,” he said.
“He’s only going to get better. ... He has all
the tools and the ability to become great.”
DeLong thinks a deep run is possible for
EOU. He senses vibes around the program
this fall that are similar to what he felt help-
ing Vale to a state football title in 2014 and
being with the 2015 SOU team that played
for a championship.
“I could feel it around there,” he said. “You
can feel it in the air, (and) I can feel (us)
moving toward that goal.”