The Wallowa Cougars football team, 0-8 during 2013, won their second of two games in the current season by traveling to Condon and thumping the largest eight-man football team in Oregon, the Condon/Wheeler Knights, by a 32-0 margin.

With some knowledge of the makeup of the WHS team this year, it might be easy to say speed trumped bulk and look to the next game.

But first-year Wallowa Coach Matt Brockamp, watching from the sidelines, says there was much more than speed that shut out a team with one dozen players weighing 200 pounds or more that convincingly had defeated Joseph one week earlier. “We played physical defense,” he said in regard to Friday’s win.

Leading that defensive charge were sophomore Jay Haga, playing in the end position, and senior linebacker Micah Fuller. Haga was involved with 14 tackles, forced one fumble, and recovered another. Fuller was in on a dozen tackles.

Brockamp said the turning point of the game came in the third quarter when, with Wallowa leading 12-0, Cole Hafer stole a Condon/Wheeler screen pass and ran 53 yards to the end zone to notch his second touchdown of the evening. Earlier, with about two minutes remaining in the second quarter, Hafer had pulled in a five-yard TD pass from Koby Frye for WHS’s second score. Fuller converted the two-point conversion following Hafer’s successful theft and, says Brockamp, that 20-0 lead seemed to deflate the spirits of the home team.

Wallowa primarily stayed on the ground offensively. On this evening under the lights in Condon, Chandler Burns and Fuller provided a one-two rushing attack the Knights were unable to stop. Burns ran for 99 yards, Fuller ran for 93 yards, and the entire team compiled 256 yards rushing. Frye only was called upon to pass sparingly, converting the five-yard chuck to Hafer and tossing a 35-yard TD strike in the third quarter that was called back on a penalty.

Fuller opened Wallowa’s scoring well into the first quarter with a 25-yard TD run. Following Hafer’s two touchdowns, Frye scampered home from nine yards out with seconds remaining in the third quarter and Burns capped all scoring with a 30-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

WHS next will be on the football field Saturday at Baker High School to play a game against Crane. During a day filled with four games of football, Wallowa and Crane will square off at 3 p.m.

The overall strength of Crane’s team is unknown. Brockamp says Crane is 1-1 on the season, having defeated Echo 60-6 and losing to Sherman County 60-14.