Tigers pounce on Pioneers

MOVING MILLER: La Grande quarterback Carson Miller finds room to run during a 41-13 win Friday. The Observer/CASEY KELLAS

“It’s nice to get a win convincingly,” La Grande head coach Matt Wolcott said.

But it didn’t look too convincing early on.

The Tigers responded with a 58-yard drive that ended on a 15-yard run by Carson Miller to tie the game.

Then early in the second quarter La Grande (2-6, 1-1) had arguably its best drive of the season.

The Tigers went 82 yards in just five plays after Miller found Brandon Powell for a 64-yard touchdown catch to take a 14-7 lead.

“We didn’t make stupid mistakes tonight to hurt ourselves,” Miller said of the Tigers offense. “It just feels good to play a complete game.”

La Grande took a 20-7 lead just before halftime on a 40-yard touchdown run by Miller, who finished the game with 78 yards rushing on 16 carries, and completed nine of 15 passes for 169 yards.

“I think we matched up well with them at the skill positions,” Wolcott said. “Our speed was an advantage and it showed.”

It looked as if Mac-Hi was going to make a comeback when the Pioneers cut the lead to 20-13 midway through the third quarter.

But after a blocked punt the Tigers scored on an 11-yard run by Walker Hudkins.

“We can get a little complacent out there. We almost look like two different teams at times. But we responded well and answered everything they had,” Wolcott said.

The Tigers added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter on a Powell interception return and a 21-yard run by Andrew Humphreys in the best offensive quarter of the season for La Grande.

“It’s nice to get a win for the seniors,” Miller said after the game. “I’m happy for them. Hopefully we build on this.”

La Grande finished the game with 378 yards of total offense and had four players find the end zone.

Powell finished the game with 134 yards receiving on five catches, while Humphreys had 60 yards on the ground on just five carries.

The Tiger defense also played well as they forced four turnovers, all by way of interceptions.

“Mac-Hi came out and tried to flex their muscle a little bit. But we didn’t back down and the kids made plays,” Wolcott said.

The Pioneers had only 205 yards of offense and only completed one pass on seven attempts. The lone bright spot for Mac-Hi was the 167 yards rushing by running back Kendall Brown.

“There are still a lot of things we need to work on, but I’m proud of the guys. I’ve always believed in them and I’ve always known we were a good football team,” Wolcott said.

The Tigers now have the tough task of traveling to rival Baker next week for the final game of the regular season.

“We have to step up and rise to the occasion,” Miller said. “We’ll get back at it this week and push ourselves in practice.”