SPORTS
TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2021
THE OBSERVER — 7A
La Grande High’s football team readies for last game of short season
The Tigers are 3-0,
hoping to go
undefeated this year
By BRETT KANE
For The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
La Grande High Tigers are
no strangers to success on
the football fi eld.
The Tigers are 3-0 on
their four-game season and
hoping to go undefeated on
Friday, April 9, when they’ll
host Baker in their lone
home appearance of the
year. A spotless record such
as theirs is no small feat
considering the mounting
challenges the team had to
overcome.
La Grande graduated
22 seniors off of their 4A
state title-winning team
last season, and are starting
eight sophomores this year.
The ongoing COVID-19
pandemic has not made it
easy to get out on the grid-
iron and play their season,
but the Tigers have proven
themselves worthy of any
challenge.
Wide receiver and defen-
sive back Joe Barnes, who
is one of four seniors on the
team, still vividly remem-
bers the weight falling from
his shoulders when his team
got the go-ahead to play its
season.
“There was no better
feeling than the day coach
Mac (Rich McIlmoil)
told us we were approved
to go contact,” said the
5-foot, 11-inch, 160-
pound senior. “It was one
of those deals where there
was a light at the end of
the tunnel. We’d worked
so hard all off season with
the hopes of getting to
play, so it was very sat-
isfying despite the chal-
lenges of rules and sched-
ules constantly changing.”
If one thing was certain,
it was the Tigers weren’t
going to have the support
of a large senior class of
experienced players to help
them through the season.
For that reason, the team
made it a goal to come
together as a unit stronger
than they ever have before.
According to Barnes, their
chemistry has been one of
the biggest factors in their
success this year.
“Due to the inconsis-
tency in setting a schedule
for the season, we didn’t
really get to set our goals
like we normally have, but
we talked about our goals
every day at practice,” he
said. “Our main goal was to
come together and bond as
a team, and to give every-
thing we had despite what
had happened. A lot of
people were expecting us
to be in a ‘rebuild year,’
but we really just felt like it
was the passing of the reins
from last year’s state team.”
The Tigers have yet to
miss a step coming off of
last season’s state glory
— while their March 19
road victory over Vale was
clinched by just one point,
they’ve barely allowed
more than one touchdown
from their season’s other
two opponents (a 42-8
Greater Oregon League
opening win at Nyssa, and
a 54-6 April 2 blowout over
Ontario).
“We were slow to start,
but the kids picked up their
intensity after the fi rst
quarter,” coach McIlmoil
said of the Ontario showing.
“We’ve been fairly consis-
tent that way all season.
We’re 3-0 — we’ve been
playing well under the cir-
cumstances. We’ve been
pleased with how well the
kids have responded to the
situation we’ve all been
in. It’s been hard on them,
but they’ve really bought
into the system and what
we’re trying to accomplish.
They’re all in.”
It’s that sense of cama-
raderie the Tigers will be
counting on Friday when
they host their GOL rivals
from Baker. The Bulldogs
are 2-1 in league action and
will be coming off a 49-21
loss to Pendleton.
“Baker’s a well-coached
team. They have a lot
of success over there,”
McIlmoil said. “It’ll take
a lot of understanding the
game (to win). It’ll take
understanding all the little
things. The kids know what
they have to do.”
With April 9 being the
Tigers’ one and only home
game of the regular season,
and one that will cap off
league play for the year, the
team knows it’s going to be
a bittersweet aff air. Barnes
said he recognizes there’s
a lot expected of himself
and his team, but isn’t about
to fold under any sort of
pressure.
“I wouldn’t even call it
pressure,” he said. “I would
say it’s more motivation for
us, as we’ll get the chance
for all our families and
friends to watch us play
such an important game to
us in our own town. We’re
ready to give the commu-
nity a show for all the sup-
port they provide us.”
Tigers fans can watch
their home team take on the
Bulldogs Friday at 7 p.m.
“Of course, at the end
of the day, we want to
try and go back to state,”
Barnes said, “but it’s
been such a weird season
with little playing time
and lots of talent among
these 4A teams, so we’re
taking it one week at a
time and focusing on
going 1-0 each week.”
Samantha Flett/Eastern Oregon University Athletics
Eastern Oregon University running back John Lesser carries the ball
against the College of Idaho at a game Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Com-
munity Stadium, La Grande. Lesser rushed for 52 yards but EOU fell 49-38.
Mountaineers lose 49-38
to Yotes in home fi nale
The Observer
LA GRANDE —
Eastern Oregon University
football suff ered its fi rst loss
of the spring season on Sat-
urday, April 3, as the Moun-
taineers dropped a 10-point
lead in the fourth quarter at
home and lost 49-38 to the
College of Idaho Coyotes.
No. 20 ranked EOU
falls to 2-1 overall and 2-1
in Frontier Conference
play while the Yotes, No.
6, improve to 3-0, extend
their regular-season win
streak to 20 and are the lone
unbeaten team remaining in
the Frontier Conference.
The score was 7-0 for
the Yotes at the end of the
fi rst quarter. But the second
quarter became a scoring
bonanza, with the two
teams combining for 42
points.
EOU’s fi rst score came
early in the second quarter
when running back John
Lesser caught a 10-yard
pass from quarterback Kai
Quinn to cap a nine-play,
80-yard drive to tie the
score at 7.
The Mountaineers’ last
score of the half came after
linebacker Zak Donato
intercepted the Yotes late
in the second quarter to
get the ball back at the C
of I 21-yard line. A pass
interference call against
the Yotes helped EOU get
down to the 2-yard line,
and running back Jordan
Eggers punched it in for
the touchdown, cutting
the score to 28-21 before
halftime.
The two teams managed
10 points total in the third
quarter, with EOU going up
31-28.
While the Mountaineers
outgained the Yotes in total
yards, 398-350, EOU lost
back-to-back fumbles in the
fourth quarter, leading Col-
lege of Idaho to score two
touchdowns and seal the
win 49-38.
Quinn totaled 296 yards
of off ense and scored three
touchdowns, including one
receiving. He was 21-34
through the air for 206
yards. He rushed for 90
yards on 18 carries. Donato
led the defense with 12 total
tackles, including seven
solo, and one interception.
EOU will close out reg-
ular season play on Sat-
urday, April 10, when the
team heads back to Mon-
tana to face the Montana
State-Northern Lights.
Kickoff is at 11 a.m.
OFFER ENDS April 9th
Don't Wait! Call and make your appointment now!
LA GRANDE
BAKER CITY
ENTERPRISE
111 Elm Street
La Grande, OR 97850
2021 Washington Ave.
Baker City, OR 97814
113-1/2 Front E. Main St.
Enterprise, OR 97828
541-239-3782
541-239-3877
541-605-2109
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