Vale offense too much for La Grande

NO HELP: The La Grande defense was on the field the majority of the game in an 18-6 loss at Vale Friday night. Observer file photo

Although the final score may not show it, Vale was able to rack up 464 yards of offense, including 263 on the ground.

“Our defense was on the field for a long time,” La Grande head coach Matt Wolcott said. “This game could have been a lot worse.”

“I don’t like the fact that they were out there for that long,” Wolcott said of his defense. “But I guess we showed that we might bend a little, but we’re not going to break.”

With the offense on the sideline for most of the game, it was hard for the Tigers to establish any sort of rhythm, as they went three and out a number of times.

“Every time we got a drive going, we seemed to find a way to hurt ourselves,” Wolcott said. “Whether it was a penalty or just not making plays when we needed it, we just couldn‘t finish.”

Carson Miller played a well-rounded game for the Tigers, throwing for 87 yards and running for 79 yards and a touchdown.

Walker Hudkins carried the ball 10 times for 27 yards, and Justin Hancock caught two passes for 17 yards.

In all the La Grande offense was able to compile 210 yards on 44 plays from scrimmage.

“I liked the way we lined up for the most part,” Wolcott said. “We just weren’t able to make plays. You have to score points in order to win, and that is something that we have struggled with lately.”

Vale got on the board with 2:33 remaining in the first quarter on a 15-yard run by Jeff Williams. Williams added one more score in the third quarter on his way to 145 yards rushing on 10 carries.

Drew Torrey carried the ball 15 times for 113 yards and scored the other Vikings touchdown.

La Grande didn’t get on the board until 9:42 left in the fourth quarter on an 11-yard run by Miller.

“I saw some things that I liked during the game,” Wolcott said. “But we won’t accept a loss just because it was to Vale on the road.”

The Tigers will need to make adjustments in a hurry as they host Umatilla next week.

“This isn’t the same Umatilla team as in the past. They’re a tough team so we need to have a good week of practice so that we’re ready to go Friday night,” Wolcott said.

Kickoff for that game is set for 7 p.m.