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NYSSA – The hometown fans of Nyssa/Harper football and the visiting fans from La Grande were witness to three minutes of the craziest football seen in some time.
In the initial three minutes of the game, four touchdowns were put on the scoreboard. The unfortunate part for the fans of the combined Nyssa/Harper team was La Grande continued to score and overwhelmed the Bulldogs, 55-16.
Nyssa decided to open the game with a little deception. On the opening kickoff, the Bulldogs attempted an onside kick. La Grande 200-pound lineman Jarrett Armstrong was able to live every lineman’s dream when the up man grabbed the ball and ran 50 yards for the score. With eight seconds off the clock, one TD was on the board.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Bulldogs repaid the favor. Nyssa’s Orin Stipe grabbed the deep kick and returned the ball 80 yards for a Nyssa score. Two touchdowns on the board and still 11 minutes, 32 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Tigers had to actually run some offense before the next score. Driving the ball down the field quickly, La Grande’s Sam Tsiatsos punched the ball over the goal line for the Tiger score.
Nyssa’s first true first offensive play went the way of La Grande’s third score. Kaden Nelson picked off the Nyssa pass, running it all the way back 60 yards for the third Tiger touchdown. With 9:46 still left in the first quarter, four touchdowns were on the board.
The two teams then decided to settle down and play some football. La Grande upped the score to 28-8 when Braden Carson hauled in a 70-yard pass and run into the end zone. The Tigers ended the exciting first quarter with a 35-8 lead when Brody MacMillan punched in a 3-yard run.
Photo Gallery – La Grande v Nyssa – John Braese
Nyssa pulled the score to 35-18 before the half off a 32-yard pass from quarterback Andrew Enders to Stipe.
Early in the third quarter, Armstrong almost pulled off the lineman miracle again, blocking a Nyssa punt and coming up just a few yards short of his second score of the game. The Tigers were forced to weather through a few penalties before Logan Williams kept the ball on the quarterback keeper for the score from the 3-yard line.
La Grande pushed the score to 48-16 early in the fourth quarter off a 18-yard pass from Williams to Carson for his second score of the game. Williams added his second score of the game with 9:10 left in the game off a 3-yard run over the left side for the final score of the game.
