JOHN DAY – The Nyssa football team fell 38-32 to Grant Union on Friday, Sept. 15, in a much better performance for the Bulldogs than their last two games, which were double-digit losses.
During Friday’s contest, the Bulldogs, who were on the road for the second time this season, adjusted to a nine-man formation against the 2A Prospectors. The modification from the standard formation allows smaller schools, such as Grant Union, to field a football team with fewer players.
With fewer players on the field, speed becomes a more significant factor as faster players find more space to run and games are typically more high scoring.
Friday’s game was no exception as Grant Union punched the ball in to get on the scoreboard in the early going.
The Bulldogs answered back in the next possession as running back Hunter Allen, a sophomore, muscled his way to the endzone on a handoff for a touchdown with a little over nine minutes to go in the first quarter.
In a tit-for-tat game, the Prospectors rushed the ball to the Bulldogs endzone later in the quarter to go up 14-8, only to see Nyssa score a pair of touchdowns before the end of the first quarter to lead 20-14.
With the first quarter setting the tone of the game, Grant Union got on the scoreboard early, with Nyssa answering back on a carry by Allen. With each team scoring again, the Prospectors defense proved to be too much for the Bulldogs to get over the hump in Friday’s dogfight.
Next up: Nyssa will host Ontario (3-0) Friday, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m.
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