Football Game Preview: Grant Union Prospectors vs. Heppner Mustangs

Grant Union is 1-9 against Heppner since November of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Prospectors will welcome the Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Grant Union sitting on three straight wins and Heppner on eight.

Grant Union played against Stanfield on Friday and won via forfeit.

On Friday, Heppner took their contest with ease, bagging a 56-6 victory over Riverside. The result was nothing new for the Mustangs, who have now won seven games by 35 points or more so far this season.

Heppner's win came from a few key players Grant Union will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Alakae Rodriguez, who rushed for 49 yards and one touchdown. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, making six total tackles (1.0 for loss) and defending one pass.

Heppner didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Riverside to a completion percentage of just 36%. That dominant aerial defense primarily came from two players: Rodriguez and Tripp Stewart, who each logged one passes deflected. Sadly, that's becoming something of a trend for Heppner; they were averaging 64.8%completion percentage earlier this season, but in their last three matchups they've fallen to only 64.8%.

Heppner didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Joesph Albitre and Caleb George.

Grant Union's win bumped their record up to 5-3. As for Heppner, their victory bumped their record up to 8-0.

Grant Union took a serious blow against Heppner when the teams last played back in October of 2024, falling 58-14. That contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point the Prospectors were down 50-0.