Nyssa’s hopes at playoffs slip with loss
By Ray Rodriguez
Argus Observer
Sunday, October 21, 2007 1:03 AM PDT
Nyssa - Burns’ Chris Gillespie stole the show on homecoming night in Nyssa and ended the playoff hopes for the young Bulldogs.
Gillespie scored on touchdown runs of 11 and 42 and also recovered a late onside kick to lead the Hilanders to the 12-9 win over Nyssa Friday in Eastern Oregon League football action on homecoming night in Nyssa.
The Nyssa Bulldogs had chances to come away with a win but just couldn’t overcome a fourth quarter turnover in the red zone and a few mental mistakes down the stretch.
“When teams are pretty evenly matched, it always comes down to a couple of plays,” Nyssa head coach Larry Ramirez said. “You’re going to have some chances and the team that makes the play, determines who is going to win or lose.”
Down 6-0 with 10:14 left in the game, the Bulldogs had possession of the ball on Burns’ 44- yard line and needed some kind of spark to an offense that had generated only five first downs.
They got exactly that as quarterback Seth Glenn completed a first down pass to tight end Eric Jensen and the sophomore busted loose down the right sideline, breaking tackles and following blockers all the way to the Hilander 4-yard line.
One play later, Glenn rolled to the right sideline and attempted a throw in the endzone to Arthur Espinoza. Instead, Burns’ defensive back Caleb Feist jumped ahead of the throw and picked off Glenn at the 1-yard line.
“We got to have the receiver run the right route down by the end zone. I think if we score, we probably win the game and gain the momentum,” Ramirez said. “Obviously, we throw the interception and it doesn’t happen for us.”
That missed opportunity coupled with few others left many Bulldog players wondering what could have been.
“It’s pretty painful. We had our chances, we just didn’t take them,” Nyssa’s Jimmy Urrutia said. “The coaches said that with the good teams, it’s the little plays that may not happen and if they do happen, we have to take advantage of them. If we make them, then we come away with a win.”
With 8:34 left in the game, Burns had the ball on their own 1-yard line and they attempted a running play with Dakota Stockwell on first down.
Stockwell was met in the endzone by Jorden Bunker and the Bulldog defense was able to do something the offense was unable to do — put points on the board and Nyssa was down 6-2.
After a Burns free kick, the Bulldogs had the ball on the Hilander 49-yard line and got as close as the 33, but the drive fizzled and ended in a punt.
The Hilanders took possession on their own 26-yard line and embarked on an 8-play, 74-yard drive that ate up 3:38 on the clock.
Burns’ Gillespie scored on a 42-yard touchdown run with 1:56 left on the clock and after the extra point was blocked, the Hilanders led 12-2.
Nyssa then took possession on their own 40-yard line and used four plays and 60 yards to paydirt.
On first down, Glenn completed a 24-yard pass to Jensen and got the ball all the way down to the Burns 19.
On the play, Jensen dove for the ball with his right hand extended, corralled it and cradled it in with his left hand before landing on the turf.
On first down, Glenn scrambled for two yards and added a 10-yard pass to Jensen, which gave Nyssa a first down on the 7-yard line. Glenn then capped the drive with a 7-yard touchdown strike to Arthur Espinoza and John Iverson added the extra point to bring the Bulldogs to within 12-9 with 53 ticks left.
Nyssa then attempted an onside kick and a two-hopper landed in the open arms of Gillespie.
The Hilanders ran two more plays and added a kneel down to end it.
In the first half, Nyssa made Burns look like the 1985 Chicago Bears defense, as they put up 23 yards of offense with 38 coming through the air along with two first downs.
For the game, Nyssa racked up 132 yards, eight first downs and Jensen led the offense with 102 yards on six catches.
Glenn went 10-of-19 for 133 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The sophomore quarterback was also sacked eight times.
Nyssa (3-4 overall, 1-2 league) next hosts Vale Friday.
This is the last time standout linebacker Levi Case gets a shot at the Vikings on senior night at home.
“That’s one thing, I’ll miss, just playing at home,” Case said. “All the seniors have to come together for these last few games. ”
