Nyssa loses ground in EOL; Vale earns No. 1 seed

By Sean Hart
Argus Observer
SeanH@argusobserver.com
Saturday, October 31, 2009 10:34 PM PDT

NYSSA —Burns Hilanders quarterback Zach Dobson sliced through the Nyssa Bulldogs’ defensive front like a surgeon with quarterback sneaks and option plays in Burns’ 40-21 Eastern Oregon League win Friday in Nyssa.

The Bulldogs led through much of the first two quarters, but Burns gained steam right before the half.

After scoring a touchdown to take a 15-14 lead with 2:10 left in the second quarter, Burns recovered an onside kick and scored again with 2.1 seconds left on the clock, taking a 22-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.

“We like to do that (onside kick) to teams sometimes. We’ve got a pretty fast team and a good kicker,” Burns head coach Dally Swindlehurst said. “The kids were pumped up at halftime.”

After the break, with the momentum in their favor, the Hilanders outscored Nyssa 18-7 in the second half for the 40-21 win.

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“Obviously, we did not show up, and Burns played great,” Nyssa head coach Lee Long said and added the performance was not indicative of his team’s talent. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

Through a sloppy first quarter riddled with turnovers and penalties by both teams, Nyssa managed to secure an early 14-0 lead off scores by receiver Seth Glenn and running back Zach Stratton, who scored the Bulldogs’ other touchdown in the fourth quarter.

However, Burns began to dominate in the second quarter with three unanswered touchdowns by running back Landon Hanner, Dobson and receiver Casey Thein, who caught another touchdown in the third quarter. Burns wingback Cole Potter also scored in the third, and the Hilanders’ final touchdown came with 2:08 left in the game, as linebacker A.J. Swartzlender stripped the ball from a Nyssa player and took it across the goal line.

Burns (1-3 EOL, 4-5 overall) will host Umatilla (1-3, 5-3) at 7 p.m. Friday, as Nyssa (2-2, 3-5) hosts EOL leader Vale (4-0, 5-3) and Grant Union (3-1, 6-2) hosts Riverside (1-3, 3-5).

Burns’ coach said Umatilla would be tough but noted he has several players back from injuries earlier in the season, and Nyssa’s coach said “playing with a little more passion” would be a key to victory over Vale.

“Vale’s a great team as they are every year, but I think we are too,” Long said. “I have faith in our kids.”

Vale 48, Riverside 0

In Riverside, the Vale Vikings, without the services of starting quarterback Kyle Barras, who injured his thumb against Burns, sunk the Riverside Pirates 48-0 and claimed the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Oregon League conference Friday.

Vale pummeled the Pirates with 405 yards of total offense, 274 of those yards came on the ground.

Back up signal caller, Bryant Haueter had a successful start with 131 yards on 6-of-12 passing.

On the ground,  Drew Torrey led the Vikings with 85 yards on 13 carries, Haueter rushed for 61 yards on five attempts and Jeff Williams added 52 yards on six tries.

Vale scored 14 points in each of the first three quarters of play, then let up in the fourth quarter with six points.

Vale will fight for the outright EOL title at 7 p.m. Friday at Nyssa.