<I>The Eagle/Dan Toner</I><BR>Pro running back Jimmy Cook connects with Dustin Lippert for a 40-yard half back touchdown pass in the second quarter.

JOHN DAY – Revenge is sweet.

Just ask any of the Grant Union football players after they annihilated defending 3A state champion Nyssa 57-34 on Oct. 12, avenging their 28-0 loss to the Bulldogs last season.

“We were a little upset about the way we played against them the past couple years,” said Pro defensive lineman Tyler Roberts. “Nyssa got us ready, and we had some extra motivation.”

The Pro defense held the Bulldogs to minus-59 rushing yards on 30 carries, forcing sophomore quarterback Seth Glenn to go to the air, where he ended the contest just 9-of-19 for 168 yards and an interception.

The win put Grant Union atop the Eastern Oregon League at 2-0 with Vale, setting up a crucial road trip to Umatilla (1-1) on Oct. 19 to take on the Vikings who handily beat Riverside 42-24 last Friday night.

“They (Nyssa) weren’t great defensively and our offense just kind of exploded,” said Pro receiver Sam Rawlins, who finished the game with four catches for 130 yards. “We’ve been waiting for this to happen all year.”

The Bulldogs’ long list of crucial gametime follies at Three Flags Field began with its first play from scrimmage when center Joey Goodell’s snap sailed over Glenn’s head.

Their next two plays went like this: a bad snap resulting in a fumble recovered by Nyssa, and a premature pass thrown in front of a well-covered Cesar Jacobo.

On third and 3, the Bulldogs got hit with an unsportsmanlike -conduct penalty, sending them back half the distance to the goal and setting up a punt.

And it didn’t take long for the Pros to strike. Starting in Bulldog territory, Pro junior quarterback Austin Ranft hit a wide-open Dustin Lippert, who raced to the end zone untouched with 7:21 left in the quarter. That gave Grant Union a 6-0 lead after a failed two-point conversion.

Ranft finished the game 11-of-14 for 224 yards and three touchdowns.

“Everyone knows we run the football,” said Pro Head Coach Monty Nash. “I felt we could pass against Nyssa, and I wanted to throw a few more, but we were running the ball so effectively.”

The Nyssa offense didn’t have much better luck on its next possession when Glenn rolled out and was quickly met by Roberts, who sacked him for a 6-yard loss. Two incomplete passes later, the Bulldog punting unit was back on the field kicking to Lippert, who brought it back to the Pro 39-yard line.

Just four plays later on 2nd and 24, Ranft aired out a 46-yard bullet to senior receiver Sam Rawlins who caught it in stride, increasing the Pros’ lead to 14-0 after Lippert caught the two-point conversion.

“I was lined up on this inside and nobody lined up against me,” said Rawlins. “I knew I had a pretty good chance of scoring from the start.”

Self-destructing penalties continued to haunt the Bulldogs, who got hit with another 15-yard unsportsmanlike flag, forcing Glenn and company backwards and into another punting situation at 4th and 24.

And that’s when Pro Head Coach Monty Nash decided to try something different. With 3:16 left in the first quarter, Lippert hauled in his second touchdown of the night, this time a 40-yarder from running back Jimmy Cook on a flea-flicker.

“That one was a half back pass,” said Nash. “Everyone knows our offense is based off our sweep, it’s our bread and butter so we try to mix things up a little.”

Cook dragged two Bulldogs into the endzone for the two-point conversion, increasing the Pro lead to 22-0.

The Bulldogs bit back on their next possession and got all the way to the Pro 3-yard line, but a big holding penalty and a sack by Zane Murray killed their drive and gave the ball back to the Prospectors.

A forty yard gain by running back Keldon Martin and a quick-slant pass completed to Lippert from Ranft drove the Pros inside the Bulldog 5 where Zane Murray punched it in on 1st and goal.

Junior kicker James Webb’s extra-point made it 29-0.

But it wasn’t all Grant Union in the first half.

Bulldog junior running back Kyle Schoorl fielding the ensuing kick-off on a bounce and bolted up the Prospector sideline for a 90-yard touchdown.

“We’re not playing as well as we need to on special teams,” said Nash. “We gave up two against Nyssa and one against Burns last week. It’s about guys not being where they need to be.”

However, with 9:41 remaining in the half, Cook answered with an 82-yard touchdown run, increasing the Prospector lead to 36-7.

The Bulldogs were struggling to get anything going on the ground on their next possession when, pressured out of the pocket, Glenn threw an interception to Rawlins, who took it back 34 yards for another Pro score. That left the score 43-7 with 8:48 to go in the half.

“Our defense stepped up, but it was our whole team, a complete team effort,” said Roberts, whose pressure helped force the ill-advised pass to Rawlins. “And that started on the practice field, with all of us and the coaches.”

Nyssa’s offense settled down on their next drive and Glenn connected with Schoorl for a 12-yard touchdown, cutting the defecit to 42-14 after the point-after-touchdown conversion.

But Ranft, Rawlins and the rest of the Pro offense wasn’t done. Just four plays into their next drive, Ranft hit Rawlins in stride again for another 48-yard touchdown, increasing the lead to 50-14 after Webb converted the PAT.

However, special teams woes continued before the half for the Pros when Schoorl ran back another kick for a touchdown – this time 65 yards – and the score stayed at 50-20 until halftime.

The game remained scoreless in the third quarter until the 1:11 mark when Ranft took ran 25 yards for Grant Union’s final score of the game.

Nyssa managed two touchdowns in the fourth on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Glenn to Jensen, and when Schoorl stripped Pro sophomore quarterback Ethan Kowing of the ball and ran it back for a touchdown.

“Our run defense is extraordinary but we’re still working on our pass defense,” said Nash. “But then again they had to go to the pass because they certainly weren’t effective running.”

On the ground, the Pros ended the game with 290 yards on 45 carries. Cook led the way with 115, followed by Keldon Martin (83), Murray (10), Tyler Martin (33), Kowing (15) and Connor Smith (10).

Next up, the Pros are scheduled to visit Umatilla on Oct. 19. The Vikings (1-1, 5-1 overall) are coming off a 42-24 win over Riverside.

“I know they’re a vastly improved team from last season,” said Nash. “This will be our kids’ first trip up there, and on the road in a new environment, it definitely concerns me.”