VALLEY CITY, N.D. — Eastern Oregon Football opened Frontier Division crossover play with a thrilling 46-39 victory over Valley City State University on Saturday, rallying late to spoil the Vikings' Homecoming in a game that came down to the final seconds.
Despite travel delays that pushed kickoff back an hour, Eastern Oregon came out unfazed. The Mountaineers got off to a shaky start when a 25-yard throw to the corner of the end zone was intercepted by Valley City State on EOU's opening possession. The Mounties quickly answered, however, as
Monte Pettichord intercepted a Vikings pass at the 35-yard line and returned it for a pick-six to open the scoring. Eastern Oregon attempted a two-point conversion, but the pass fell incomplete, giving EOU an early 6-0 lead.
The Mountaineer defense forced a quick three-and-out on Valley City State's ensuing possession, giving the offense another opportunity. Gutridge and
Malakai Nutter combined for 44 rushing yards before Gutridge connected with
Tyler Creswick for an 8-yard gain and then found
Dylan Shipley for a 26-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone.
Ethan Cutler added the extra point to extend EOU's lead to 13-0.
Valley City State appeared to gain some momentum on the ensuing kickoff, returning the ball to the 28-yard line, but a holding penalty brought the return back. The Mountaineer defense capitalized, forcing another short Vikings possession just three plays later. Eastern Oregon continued to move the ball on its next drive, reaching a fourth-and-one situation before a pass interference penalty against VCSU gave the Mounties an automatic first down. Gutridge and Nutter continued to find room on the ground, with Gutridge breaking off a strong run up the middle and weaving through defenders. The Mounties carried the drive into the next quarter, where Gutridge finished it himself, leaping over the defensive line for a touchdown. Cutler's extra point made it 20-0.
Valley City State finally found an answer on its next possession, putting together a 16-play, 80-yard drive aided by two EOU penalties. The Vikings capped the drive with a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 20-7. The Mountaineers responded by driving into VCSU territory, but a third-down false start and an incomplete pass stalled the possession. Cutler came on for a 48-yard field goal, extending EOU's advantage to 23-7. The Vikings answered again, mounting another lengthy drive into the red zone. After coming close to scoring on multiple occasions, VCSU eventually broke through with a short rushing touchdown to make it 23-14 with less than two minutes remaining in the half.
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against VCSU gave Eastern Oregon favorable field position on the ensuing possession, but the Vikings defense held firm. The teams went into halftime with EOU holding a 23-14 lead. Eastern Oregon nearly opened the second half with another defensive spark. Pressure on the Vikings quarterback forced him to throw the ball away, and
Cole Martin intercepted the pass at the 41-yard line, returning it to the VCSU 17. Gutridge finished the short drive with a powerful touchdown run up the middle, breaking through several tackles and spinning into the end zone. Cutler's extra point pushed the lead to 30-14.
VCSU nearly answered immediately with a kickoff return for a touchdown, but a holding penalty against the Vikings and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against EOU erased the return and moved the ball back to the 44-yard line. The Vikings eventually reached the end zone and converted a two-point attempt, trimming the deficit to 30-22.
Eastern Oregon regained some breathing room on its next possession when Cutler connected on a 47-yard field goal to make it 33-22. Valley City State responded with another red-zone drive, helped in part by a targeting penalty. From four yards out, the Vikings used a quarterback sneak to reach the end zone and cut the Mountaineers' lead to 33-28. VCSU attempted another two-point conversion to bring the game within a field goal, but the pass fell incomplete as the third quarter came to a close.
With just one quarter remaining and EOU clinging to a five-point lead, the Mountaineers went back to work.
Waylon Riedel and Nutter combined for 29 yards on the ground before Gutridge found Creswick wide open over the middle for a 25-yard touchdown pass. EOU attempted another two-point conversion, but a bad snap prevented the play from developing, leaving the score at 39-28. VCSU answered with a field goal to make it 39-31, bringing the Vikings within one touchdown and a two-point conversion.
A 62-yard kickoff return by Tanioka then gave Eastern Oregon excellent field position and put the Mounties within range of another score. Unable to reach the end zone, EOU attempted a 45-yard field goal, but the Vikings blocked the kick to keep the game within reach. VCSU took advantage, quickly moving down the field on completions of 10 and 27 yards to reach the 35-yard line. Another 35-yard pass put the Vikings in the end zone, and after using their final timeout, VCSU converted a two-point attempt to the right side of the end zone, tying the game at 39-39.
With the game deadlocked, Tanioka returned the kickoff to the 31-yard line. Gutridge broke through a hole and ran to the 46 before stepping out of bounds. Riedel followed with a run up the middle to the 41, and Gutridge picked up the necessary yardage on the next play to move the chains at the 36. Riedel then carried the ball to the 31 before an EOU penalty for participating without a helmet moved the Mounties back to the 46. Facing another challenge, Gutridge delivered a huge play, connecting with Shipley on a deep pass. Shipley made a diving catch at the 1-yard line with just 40 seconds remaining. Riedel finished the drive, powering into the end zone to put Eastern Oregon back in front 45-39 with 12 seconds left. Cutler added the extra point to make it 46-39.
On the final kickoff, VCSU returned the ball and was hit, drawing a personal foul against EOU and moving the Vikings to the 35-yard line. With one final opportunity, VCSU attempted a pass into the end zone, but the Mountaineer defense broke up the attempt to secure the 46-39 victory.
Gutridge led the Mountaineers offensively with 160 passing yards and 130 rushing yards, while Nutter added 103 yards on the ground. Defensively, Lenke paced EOU with 12 total tackles, while Pettichord recorded nine tackles and a pick-six.
The Mountaineers will return home next week to host Montana State University–Northern on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 1 p.m. PT.
