Tigers ready for league play after week off

Common knowledge would say that the bye week the La Grande Tigers football team just had came at a bad time.

La Grande was coming off its first win of the season with a 20-13 nail biter against Madras Oct. 9, and LHS seemed to be finally playing at a consistent level for the first time all season.

But head coach Matt Wolcott  thinks the Tigers (1-5) needed the break and that the week off didn’t kill any potential momentum that was gained with the win.

“I think the bye week came at a good time actually,” Wolcott said. “The win against Madras was really uplifting for our guys and we know we can win now. We did some fun activities last week and it gave us an extra week to prepare for Ontario.”

Wolcott also went on to say that the conference schedule is like a whole new season for his team, and that every team in the Greater Oregon League is 0-0 right now.

The Tigers may have needed the extra week to prep for Ontario (5-1), because the OHS offense has been nearly unstoppable lately.

Since the opening day loss to Pendleton where they struggled to move the ball, Ontario is averaging 40.8 points per game, including a 49-point outburst against American Falls Oct. 2.

“They are definitely an impressive offense. They have a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball and they will pull out all the stops and give a lot of different looks. We have to be ready for everything.” Wolcott said.

The key threat in Ontario’s scheme is running back Frank Lopez. Lopez has amassed 1,008 yards on the ground this season on 96 carries, and is averaging 168 yards per game.

That equals out to around 10.5 yards per carry.

“I think our best defense this week will be our offense,” Wolcott said. “Putting together long drives and controlling the clock will be key for us to try and keep their offense on the sideline. We also have to execute and not give up the big play when we are on defense.”

 Quarterback Josh Mejia has only thrown the ball 62 times in six games this season for Ontario, completing 32 passes. Mejia has five touchdowns and five interceptions on the year to go along with 517 yards through the air.

So the main focus this week for La Grande will likely be the run threat of Lopez.

“We just want to make them earn everything they get. That’s our goal this week. No easy yards. Other than that we are preparing like any other week, or any other team,” Wolcott said.

A win this week for La Grande would be the Tigers first league win in over two seasons, and put them in the drivers seat in the GOL.

Kick off for the game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Community Stadium in La Grande. A live broadcast of the game will be available on 99.9 KWRL. The pre game-show starts at 6:40 p.m.