UMATILLA — An extra point made all the difference as Umatilla escaped with a 7-6 victory over neighboring Irrigon on Friday, Sept. 5, at the Milt Durand Sports Complex.
“It was a close one,” Umatilla coach John Williams said.
“In both of our games, we have been strong in the second half. We just have to do a better job of starting faster. We haven’t given up any points in the second half of either game.”
Irrigon (0-2) opened the scoring as Hayden Vera got his hands on a tipped ball and ran it in from 18 yards out. The Knights attempted a 2-point conversion, but Zach Parton got stopped at the 1-yard line by Josue Arroyo.
The Knights led 6-0 at the half, but the tide quickly turned in the third quarter.
Linkin Zamudio returned the opening kickoff of the third quarter, giving the Vikings good field position. Zamudio ran the ball in from 1 yard out to tie the score, and Abrahan Garcia put Umatilla out front 7-6 as he made good on his PAT.
“We have a soccer guy kicking for us,” Williams said. “He put it in for us.”
Zamudio ran for 90 yards on 22 carries to lead the Vikings. He also had seven tackles.
“Linkin was definitely a workhorse,” Williams said.
Jayden Perches had six tackles and three interceptions for the Vikings (1-1), while J Rincon-Gonzalez had seven tackles, and Kyle Carlon six tackles.
Colton Akers ran for 127 yards on seven carries for the Knights, while Cody Johnson had 49 yards on 19 carries. Dylan Harper-Kestler led Irrigon with seven tackles.
“We are two schools who were well matched,” Irrigon coach Jason Dunten said. “They went to their run game and we went to ours. After halftime, they made some adjustments and it took us a while to figure it out.”
Photos by Kathy Aney.
Irrigon quarterback Colton Akers (13) throws the ball as J Rincon-Gonzales defends on Sept. 5, 2025, in Umatilla.
Umatilla's Isaac Cortes (2) runs the ball and Kristian Johnston (55) blocks while playing Irrigon on Sept. 5, 2025, in Umatilla.