LA GRANDE — Montana Western broke open a close game in the second half to down Eastern Oregon University 38-14 in the season opener Saturday for both teams at Community Stadium. 

The Bulldogs led the Mountaineers 10-0 at halftime before outsourcing them 28-14 in the second half. EOU trailed 24-0 in the third quarter when quarterback Quincy Glasper found Malachi Spurrier from nine yards out to cut the lead to 17 late in the third quarter. The Mountaineers’ other score came when Glasper found Colton Kesey on an 18-yard strike with two minutes left in the game.

Montana Western (1-0, 0-0) outgained EOU (0-1, 0-0) 433-314 with quarterback Michael Palandri throwing for 329 yards and four touchdowns. He had scoring strikes of 31, 81, 16 and 4 yards. 

Glasper threw for 246 yards, two touchdowns and an interceptions, but the offensive line struggled to protect him at times, giving up five sacks. EOU used eight running backs to grind out 68 yards on the ground. Walker Kamp and Kesey led Eastern Oregon with four receptions each recording 48 and 45 yards, respectively. Jason Grant led the defense with a sack and two tackles for loss

The Mountaineers play their second straight home game to begin the season Sept. 9 when they host Whitworth University at 1 p.m.