Balanced offense leads Tigers into season opener

The La Grande Tigers open their season Friday night against the Vale Vikings on the road.

Last season when the two teams met, Vale dominated the Tigers en route to a 41-16 victory just two games into the season.

The Vikings racked up 324 yards rushing in that game, including 152 yards from running back Jeff Williams on just 10 carries.

The Tigers did use two quarterbacks in that game however. Carson Miller replaced Andy Godfrey midway through the game before being knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury.

Miller leads the La Grande offense into this game hoping to redeem himself and get the Tigers off to a good start.

“Carson has looked great all summer,” head coach Matt Wolcott said. “He has been at every camp we’ve had. He is just a really committed kid.”

Wolcott has a trio of running backs that he plans on using. Junior Walker Hudkins is an all-around athlete that is expected to do big things this season for the Tigers offense.

Also expected to contribute on the ground will be Andrew Humphries and Matt Nicholson.

“We have a really balanced offense and I think we can do a lot of different things with the football,” Wolcott said.

“Bottom line is we need to score. I don’t care how we do it, we just need to put points on the board.”

As for Vale, there is no secret as to what they’re going to do offensively.

“I expect them to try and run it down our throat again,” Wolcott said. “That’s what Vale football is built around.”

Wolcott wants his team to set the tone of this game early on by coming out with a lot of intensity, something that they lacked a year ago when the game got out of hand in the first quarter.

“We just need to establish a presence out there,” he said. “And maintain it through the entire game.”

The main thing for La Grande not only in this game, but for this entire season, is to progress week in and week out. Something Wolcott has stressed all off-season.

“I want my guys to give 100 percent on every play. As long as we do that I’ll be happy,” he said.

Wolcott added that it’s always nice to start the season out with a win, but it would be a big accomplishment to start out with a win against Vale.

“When you think of Vale, you think football,” he said.

Kick-off for the game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Mountain Time.