Liberty Christian’s Lesser to play football at Eastern Oregon

John Lesser, who set national rushing and touchdown records during his prep career at Liberty Christian, verbally committed Wednesday night to play football for Eastern Oregon University.

“Honestly, I just took a day trip to take a look,” Lesser said of the La Grande, Ore., school. “I thought I’d probably rule it out. I loved it. They run a very tight ship. The players are great, and they love playing for coach (Tim) Camp. It’s a great atmosphere that I want to be in.”

Lesser, who set national 8-man records for career rushing yards (9,019), all-purpose touchdowns (147) and career scoring (1,076), was named The Associated Press Class 1B state player of the year in December.

“He was a pretty special player,” Patriots coach Craig Lukins said. “I will miss him. I think a lot of colleges missed out. He is a special kid. If he had gone to Richland or Chiawana, there would have been a lot of schools looking at him.”

Though the Patriots ran teams off the field during the regular season, Almira/Coulee-Hartline finally found a way to stop the runaway train in the 1B state semifinals.

Liberty Christian would finish the season 12-1, while ACH went on to win the state title.

Lesser and his mom, Kiane, met with Camp and his staff during his visit last weekend and watched a Mountaineers practice session.

“Coach Camp is awesome,” Lesser said. “He is a great man and sticks to his word. He said I was special and wanted me to go there. He said he didn’t know why other schools weren’t after me. That was a huge part.”

Another was how the team treated his mom.

“Mom loved it just as much as I did,” Lesser said. “We were watching practice, and the players took the time to come over to introduce themselves — to my mom first, then to me.”

Lesser visited a couple of other schools. Eastern Washington and Portland State said he could walk on, but he has found his next team. He will sign his letter of intent Wednesday.

“I honestly believe at Portland State that I would have been able to work my way up,” Lesser said. “But I believe this is the way to go. It’s a relief. It’s time to set new goals, new standards. I feel like it’s the right place to go.”

Lesser will go to EOU as a running back. He figures on redshirting his first year, saying he will “need a year in the college weight room.”

He will join other Mid-Columbia athletes on the roster, including quarterback Zach Bartlow (Waitsburg-Prescott), Isaiah Richie (Chiawana), Alonso Mendoza (River View), Joshua Richards (Southridge), Kody Bartlett (River View), Dalton Morgan (Kiona-Benton), Sterling Farrah (Kamiakin), Kristopher Welch (River View), Blake Bishop (Chiawana), Kyle Hall (River View), Colten Alefteras (Prosser), Andrew Howe (Prosser), Hayden Burris (Kamiakin) and Brenden Kelly (Southridge).

“There are a ton of Tri-City kids up there,” Lesser said. “It’s awesome to be a part of that.”

Lesser also likes the competition in the Frontier Conference. Southern Oregon won the 2014 NAIA national title and was runner-up in 2015.

“The conference is really good,” Lesser said. “Someone is going to come out of there and compete in the playoffs.”

While Lesser takes off, Lukins and the Patriots will find themselves moving up to the 2B level and 11-man football.

“We lose the best kid we have ever had, and then we are moving up a level,” Lukins said. “I’m excited for him. Any college coach would love to have him.”

This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 8:56 PM with the headline "Liberty Christian’s Lesser to play football at Eastern Oregon."