PREP FOOTBALL

Prep football: La Grande faces Baker with league championship in the balance

By DAVIS CARBAUGH The Observer
Oct 28, 2021
Oct 28, 2021 Updated Dec 2, 2022
0

La Grande vs Ontario (1 of 3).jpg — Buy Now

Brody MacMillan leads La Grande onto the field against Ontario at Community Stadium on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021. MacMillan was chosen as Greater Oregon League offensive player of the year after a stellar season at the running back position.
Alex Wittwer/The Observer, File

LA GRANDE — Everything is on the line this week for the La Grande High School football team.

Head coach Rich McIlmoil and the Tigers have emphasized from day one of offseason workouts that winning the Greater Oregon League is the team’s top priority. Ahead of a trip down to Baker City to face off with the rival Bulldogs this Friday, Oct. 29, that goal remains at the forefront for La Grande.

This page requires Javascript.

Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

Tale of the tape

This Friday, Oct. 29, Baker hosts La Grande at Baker Bulldog Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m. for the Greater Oregon League title.

How does each team stand toe-to-toe statistically? We lay them out and give our take on what each of the respective teams that we cover need to do to find themselves on the winning side.

La Grande Tigers

Head coach: Rich McIlmoil

Overall record: 5-1

League record: 1-0

Common opponents:

Burns, W 35-20

Nyssa/Harper Charter, W 55-16

Ontario, W 34-24

Vale, W 37-12

Players to watch:

RB/LB 12 Brody MacMillan

DL 12 Cole Jorgenson

QB 11 Logan Williams

Keys to the game:

The La Grande Tigers come into this matchup off the heels of three straight victories. Ever since a loss to No. 3 Estacada on Sept. 23, La Grande has looked like a brand-new team.

A large part of that success comes from senior running back Brody MacMillan, who has been a force in the ground game. He scored four rushing touchdowns in last week’s 34-24 win against Ontario and ran in two long touchdowns in the fourth quarter to secure a victory over Burns on Oct. 1.

Getting MacMillan up and running in the ground game will be a major point of emphasis for La Grande in this matchup, with Baker likely focusing its defensive efforts on slowing him down.

The Tigers have had a slight problem with turnovers, which was evident in last week’s contest. La Grande went up 28-0, but two fumbles allowed Ontario to temporarily get back into the game. Against the Bulldogs, La Grande will have a small window for error when it comes to giving the ball away.

Both teams know how important this game is. The rivalry has a long history, and with the league championship on the line, the stakes are high in the final regular season game of the year. Even in summer workouts, several La Grande seniors from last year’s roster were still upset about a 22-7 loss to Baker last season. While that added motivation can be a benefit, the Tigers will need to keep their emotions in check and play fundamentally sound football against a tough Baker team.

— Davis Carbaugh, The Observer

Baker Bulldogs

Head coach: Jason Ramos

Overall record: 4-4

League record: 1-0

Common opponents:

Burns, W 27-6

Nyssa/Harper Charter, W 35-14

Ontario, W 27-14

Vale, L 34-13

Players to watch:

RB/LB 12 Gauge Bloomer

TE/LB 11 Tate Powell

WR/DB 10 Malaki Myer

Keys to the game:

After a tough start to the season, the Bulldogs won four of their last five games and immediately thrusted themselves into the conversation of the Greater Oregon League title game. What has worked in their favor is that every time they have come back from halftime, they are able to compete with any team they come across. The key to winning the game is simple: The Bulldogs need to strike earlier than the second half.

La Grande’s offense has proven to be strong, so the Bulldogs need to match their firepower by converting their offensive series early and often. Whether that is by their continued ground game behind the likes of senior running back Gauge Bloomer, or in the air, anything is possible. Sophomore signal caller Paul Hobson showed last week against the Burns Hilanders in their win (14 for 28, 144 yards, 1 TD/INT.) that, with the confidence, he can connect with any one of his receivers.

What can thwart offensive momentum more than anything is self-discipline, so another thing to watch for is penalties.

Many times throughout the season, the Bulldogs have found themselves marching down the field, approaching the redzone, unable to convert due to a flag disrupting their series. Composed of a team dominated by sophomores, this shows lack of experience, but being able to clean this up and limit the amount of penalties can help against any opponent.

Being so young, and still in contention for a league title, the Bulldogs' ceiling for the next few seasons is ultimately sky high. This longstanding rivalry between the schools always makes this game exciting, but for the GOL title, it adds a lot more excitement to the gridiron. It’s going to be an entertaining night at Baker Bulldog Memorial Stadium tomorrow.

— Corey Kirk, Baker City Herald