Tigers tamed by Fruitland

TABLE SETTER: La Grande quarterback Andy Godfrey uses a stiff arm to get past the Fruitland defense on a 40-yard run Friday. The Tigers plunged into the end zone on the next play from scrimmage. - The Observer/CHRIS BAXTER

The game had bright spots for the young Tiger team, though. After trailing at halftime 39-0, the La Grande defense shut out the Grizzlies ground attack in the second half.

“We got to take our hats off to Fruitland, it’s a great program,” La Grande head coach Matt Wolcott said. “They play at a level we’re trying to get to. They do a lot of great things, and they’re going to beat a lot of teams this year.”

Last season the Grizzlies rushed for a total of 385 yards in their 56-0 victory over La Grande. Fruitland finished Friday’s game with 288 yards on the ground.

The Grizzlies first score came with 6:05 remaining in the first quarter when Tommy MacFarlene ran in a seven-yard carry.

Two minutes and forty-five seconds later, after La Grande went 3-and-out, Fruitland’s Nick Varriale broke open a 42-yard touchdown run.

The Grizzlies’ had one more touchdown in the first quarter with 1:08 remaining when Caleb Crim ran in a one-yard score. The touchdown was setup by a MacFarlene 63-yard run on the prior play.

With 9:53 remaining in the second quarter, the Grizzlies turned a fourth and eight into six points with a 24-yard pass from R.J. Edwards to Kyle Smith.

La Grande’s Nolan Mills punted a ball that went into the end zone, forcing a touchback with 3:07 remaining in the first half. On the next play from scrimmage, Varriale broke away from the pack and scored on an 80-yard run.

Fruitland’s top trio of rushers had quite an evening. Varriale finished with 131 yards on four carries. McFarlene had five carries for a total of 79 yards. Crim had 53 yards on six carries.

The three combined for five touchdowns and played primarily in the first half.

“At halftime we told the guys to settle down a little bit. It helped in the second half to get some of our guys back who missed the first half for violating team rules. It helped to have some more personnel in there and move the ball a little better,” Wolcott said.

La Grande provided the only other points in the game.

After a scoreless third-quarter, Tigers fullback Walker Hudkins ran in a 5-yard score, finishing off an 11-play drive with 11:56 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Godfrey finished the night completing five of his 13 passes for 23 yards and one interception. John Tuck led the Tigers on the ground with 53 yards rushing on 10 carries.

The Tigers’ Max Nicholson blocked an extra point in the first half and appeared to be all over the field in the second half.

“He’s an emotional leader and you can see he just loves the game. Hopefully our team will feed off of that,” Wolcott said.

Nicholson added, “I’ve been out here for three years now, and a game like this is no big deal. I thought we played better than we did last year. We’re a very young team.”

Fruitland 39, La Grande 7

Fruitland    21    18    0    0    –    39

La Grande    0    0    0    7    –    7

First Quarter

F – MacFarlene 7 yard run (kick failed)

F – Varriale 42 yard run (Stringfield to Smith)

F – Crim 1 yard run (Johnson kick)

Second Quarter

F – Edwards to Kyle Smith 24 yard pass (kick failed)

F – Crim 40 yard run (kick blocked)

F – Varriale 80 yard run (kick blocked)

Fourth Quarter

L – Hudkins 5 yard run (Godfrey kick)

Individual statistics

RUSHING – Fruitland, Varriale 4-131, MacFarlene 5-79, Crim 6-53, Fabricius 1-12, Warrington 2-11, Stringfield 1-9, Suitter 2-2, Blackwell 3-(minus 1), Stanger 2-(minus 2), Rayo 3-(minus 6). La Grande, Tuck 10-53, Burgess 10-50, Godfrey 9-35, Hudkins 1-5, Humphreys 2-4, Matt Nicholson 6-2, Co. White 1-1.

PASSING – Fruitland, Stringfield 2-2-0-53, Edwards 1-1-0-24, Graves 0-1-0-0. La Grande, Godfrey 5-13-1-23.