A spirited crowd of Prospector fans cheer for the Grant Union football team in John Day in 2019.

The Grant Union Prospector’s battle against the Knappa Loggers was fierce under the Friday night lights, but the Loggers came away with a 24-14 win.

Prospector senior Russell Hodge made the first touchdown of the game in the first quarter, rushing to the corner, and junior Devon Stokes’ quarterback keeper put Grant Union up 8-0.

Knappa’s Kanai Phillip, a senior, had a touchdown return on the Loggers’ next possession, but the 2-point conversion was no good.

On a punt return in the second quarter, Prospector sophomore Tanler Fuller lateraled to sophomore Justin Hodge with junior Jordan Hall blocking as Hodge raced 70-plus yards for the touchdown.

Hall also intercepted Logger quarterback junior Devin Hoover’s pass to senior Eli Takalo in the end zone on Knappa’s next drive.

Knappa led 18-14 at the half, and the Loggers scored again in the fourth.

There was only 17 seconds left in the game when Knappa offensive lineman Isaac Goozee, a junior, went down injured. Paramedics drove him to the hospital, and announcer Levi Manitsas said the young man would have the prayers of many.

Grant Union head coach Jason Miller said, although penalties and simple mistakes slowed them down, there were still a lot of positives.

“We have a lot of things to build on,” he said.

He said special teams needs some improvement, and although the defense settled in well in the second half, they also have things to work on.

“We’ve just got to be sure we don’t have those back-breakers, those simple things, missing a tackle here or there or not getting a quarterback on a rush, but overall I’m pleased with the guys,” he said.

Grant Union will face the Monroe Dragons at 6 p.m. Friday on the road.