VALE – It’s not that the Grant Union football team wasn’t ready- the Vale Vikings are just that good.

The battle of the unbeatens and the Eastern Oregon League title went to Vale in a 17-7 thriller on Nov. 2, sending the Pros into the 3A state playoffs as the league’s No. 2 seed.

“Vale is a very good football team,” said Pro assistant coach Deanna Nash. “They’re very quick and we told our kids after the game that they probably played their best game of the year against us.”

The two teams were eerily similar heading into the championship matchup. Both squads featured high-powered offenses packed full of playmakers, and they sported the two best defenses in the league.

And in the end, it boiled down to defense.

The Vikings stuffed the potent Pro rushing attack, holding it to just 84 yards on 34 carries – 54 of those yards on Keldon Martin’s first-quarter touchdown run.

“Going into the game, we felt like we could control the clock and run the ball,” said Nash. “But we didn’t sustain it. We had backs slipping and falling down when blocks were made, and then no blocks when our backs were running hard.”

Total offense for the Pros measured less than 50 yards in the first half, by far its lowest production of the season. The Vikings didn’t fare much better with just 43 first-half yards.

Martin’s first-quarter touchdown got the Pros on the board first, 7-0, where the score stayed until late in the second quarter when Viking quarterback Tyler Pirrie tied it at 7-7 when he hit Russell Seals in the corner of the end zone with 3:03 left.

A 7-yard run by Tyler Martin was the Pro offense’s biggest play in the second quarter, as the Viking defense frustrated Grant Union, holding it to just 11 total yards.

Vale tried to take the lead before halftime on their next possession, but Viking kicker Darin Johnson’s 31-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

The defensive slugfest continued in the third quarter as the Pro offense was held to just 32 yards and the Vikings to 45.

“Defensively, we didn’t really play a bad game,” said Nash. “It was just a combination of a lot of things. Vale plays very well at home.”

Grant Union showed signs of life on its third play from scrimmage when Jimmy Cook broke a 20-yard run, but the Pros quickly regressed after Tyler Martin was stuffed for minus-3 yards and Ranft got sacked for a 10-yard loss.

Vale used its next drive to get Johnson into field goal range – 26 yards away – and this time he didn’t miss, giving the Vikings a 10-7 lead.

And the Vikings began the fourth quarter with a six-play, 63-yard touchdown drive highlighted by a 46-yard run by Pirrie to the Pro 17-yard line.

Two plays later, Viking tailback Luke Skerjanec ran it in to give Vale a 17-7 lead.

Trailing by 10 the Pros converted a key fourth-and-one to keep their drive alive. Senior quarterback Austin Ranft completed two consecutive passes to Sam Rawlins for gains of 32 and five yards.

But the Viking defense held the Pros to a third-and seven, and two incomplete passes later, Grant Union had turned the ball over on downs with 3:13 left in the game.

Ranft finished the game 7-of-15 for 52 yards and one interception. Keldon Martin led all Pro rushers with 62 yards and Cook followed with 40. Tyler Martin added 10 yards on 11 carries.

Next up the Pros are scheduled to take on Colton on Nov. 10, starting at 1 p.m. at Three Flags Field.