La Grande's Jace Schow finds running room on a kickoff return agains Ontario on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. Schow returned a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns during the Tigers' 62-30 win over Ontario.

ONTARIO — In past football seasons, the games pitting La Grande against Ontario was a 4A Greater Oregon League matchup. Even with Ontario dropping out of the 4A ranks this year, the visit from La Grande to Ontario on Friday, Sept. 9, was no less exciting, as La Grande’s Jace Schow found the end zone four times to help La Grande post a 62-30 win over Ontario.

La Grande placed the first two scores on the board to start the game. The team’s first drive of the game was capped off with a 10-yard run by Logan Williams with 6:53 seconds left in the first quarter and with 1:25 left in the quarter, Williams again punched the ball over the line for a 5-yard score. Ontario was able to post a first-quarter score as Matteo Delgado took off on a 67-yard run around the right side with 15 seconds left on the time clock.

On the ensuing kickoff, Schow scored the first of his touchdowns, an 85-yard run to give La Grande a 21-6 lead as the clock hit zeroes.

Midway through the second quarter, La Grande extended its lead to 28-6 as Schow found his second trip to the end zone on a 27-yard scamper through the middle of the Ontario defense. Ontario responded with a 67-yard pass and run play off a pass from quarterback Diego Rodriguez.

“We played our game tonight,” said Schow after his night running the field. “I have been the return player for La Grande since my sophomore year, but this has been my best night ever.”

With just over one minute prior to halftime, Williams found Schow for a 36-yard passing play for Schow’s third score of the half. At the half, La Grande led 42-12.

Ontario did put up the first points of the second half on a 27-yard pass play from Rodriguez to Theodore Frahm after a long opening second half drive. However, Schow took off on the kickoff after the score for a 70-yard return to again push the La Grande lead to 30 points, 48-18.

Ontario ended the third quarter with a 5-yard pass play for a score to Matthew Bell, but La Grande started the final 12 minutes of the game with a 34-yard run into the end zone by Dominick Carratello. The final score for Ontario was a 30-yard Rodriguez pass play and La Grande ended the scoring with a 10-yard pass play to Dominic Fields for the final margin.

“We are a blue collar, 9-to-5 working team and is showed tonight,” said La Grande senior Myer Whitmore after the win. “This team has been together on a football field since the fourth grade and we know we can play.”

Schow said La Grande is ready and able to take on any team on the 4A level.

“This is a team ready to go through the season and ready for the playoffs,” he said.

La Grande (1-1 overall) is on the road for the third straight week on Friday, Sept. 16, with a stop in Estacada (1-1 overall).