Mountaineers set to make home debut

THE HOOKUP: Kirk Miller has become one of Chris Ware’s favorite targets. - Observer file photo

The loss to Southern Oregon University Aug. 29 stung. But there's one thing that could make it worse.

“We can't let them beat us twice,” Camp said. “The only way this is a bad loss is if we don't go and fix the mistakes we made.”

The Mountaineers game plan was to start fast and finish strong. The first half was completed. Unfortunately, the second half of the goal didn't. EOU led 28-19 after three quarters, but SOU scored the final 13 points of the game to win.

“The kids did a really good job getting out to a fast start,” Camp said. “I'm really proud that they were able to go on the road and handle the game the right way.

Everything kind of worked out the way we wanted it to, except on the scoreboard. I'm not a scoreboard reader. The progress was there.”

Missed opportunities on offense hurt. The Mountaineers elected to run the ball on 4th-and-1.

“That's on me,” Camp said. “We need to get our best play in there. They give you three timeouts, I should have used one there.”

The glaring area on defense came on the ground.

Brian Baldwin picked up 195 yards on 37 attempts, and the Raiders rushed for more than 200 yards as a team.

“They have an experience offensive line. Then some of those things you expect in the first game popped up. We missed some tackles. We over ran some things. Those are the things we addressed.”

EOU will have a completely different focus with Rocky Mountain coming to La Grande for the Frontier Conference opener Saturday.

The Grizzlies quarterback Kasey Peters tossed for 421 yards, helping his team upset No. 14 Dickinson State 28-7.

Peters completed 28 of his 44 passes.

“That's what I do would if I was them,” Camp said. “Kasey is a great athlete and an amazing quarterback.

“They have a lot of talent on offense. Brian Guisti is a great receiver. But you can't forget about their running back either.”

Guisti hauled in seven passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Michael Thomas gained 74 yards on the ground with 15 carries.

Offensively the Mountaineer have a lot to build on.

Joel Haran picked up 53 yards on 10 carries. Chris Ware threw for 315 yards and three touchdowns.

“It was pretty good,” Camp said. “We can always get better. I tell the kids all the time that the only thing that can stop this offense is us. The key is playing together. Not one person is going to do it on their own.”

One thing is for sure, the Mountaineers are looking forward to playing at home. The players have spent a lot of time building back a repore with the community.

“All the kids have spent time doing the Reading Buddies program and community service to help get people excited again,” Camp said. “They're going to be ready to go on Saturday, and we'll see what happens.”

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Community Stadium. The game will also be broadcast on 104.7 KCMB, with pregame starting at 12:40.