Umatilla Football

10/24/2009 5:48:00 AM Email this article ? Print this article ? Comment on this article
Umatilla survives early scare, earns first league victory

By Billy Gates
Special to the East Oregonian

BOARDMAN - Umatilla survived an early scare from Riverside and had three touchdowns from Austin Bieren, pounding out a 28-6 win over the Pirates in Eastern Oregon League play Friday night in Boardman.

Riverside's Erik Carranza took a pitch around the right end and raced 60-yards less than a minute into the game to put the Pirates up 6-0, but a stout Viking defense and a case of the fumbles limited them the rest of the way.

Bieren scored twice on the ground for Umatilla and caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Taylor Pankey, though passing was not the featured mode of offense Friday night.

"It was a very blustery night in Boardman and it made it tough to pass," said Umatilla coach Kelly Allen.

The Vikings went to the bag of tricks early, faking a punt at the 9:11 mark in the first quarter and turning it into a first down, but Riverside's Chris Benson swatted a pass down later in the drive to give Riverside the pigskin.

Umatilla took a 7-6 first-quarter lead after Bieren rumbled 50-yard to paydirt on a handoff straight up the middle, but had a little trouble adding to the advantage initially. German Campos had a touchdown run called back on a penalty, then the Viks coughed it up.

Bieren scored his second touchdown of the night on a 15-yard run with 5:41 remaining in the second quarter, giving Umatilla a 14-6 lead.

In the waning moments of the first half, Riverside got another dose of Bieren, this time through the air on a 7-yard touchdown reception off a Pankey rollout pass.

"We kept our heads up after the Vale game and brought the intensity here," Bieren said. Umatilla took a 41-0 thumping at Vale last week. "We ran the ball well and did what we needed to do, but that touchdown [Riverside's first-quarter score] was a mental mistake and we can't have those anymore."

Jamie Bruce capped off the scoring the Viks on a 10-yard run in the third quarter, but was also ejected from the contest with 20 seconds left in the game. Pending an appeal, he will miss next week's game as per OSAA policy.

The win for Umatilla is the first in Eastern Oregon League play, bringing its record to 1-2. The loss drops Riverside's EOL mark to 1-2.

Umatilla will host the Grant Union Prospectors at 7 p.m. next Friday. Riverside also stays at home and will meet with league-leading Vale at 7 p.m. as well.