As Jakoby Moss and Sam Larson remember it, the first football connection between them came all the way back in junior high when Pilot Butte Middle School faced Crook County Middle School. After a touchdown, Pilot Butte lined up for a 2-point conversion.

The play — in a game remembered as a blowout — went haywire and Moss, then quarterback for the Giants, was scrambling around “trying to make something out of nothing.”

Amidst the chaos, Moss found an open Larson in the end zone and threw the ball his way and the pass was completed.

The only problem was that Larson was playing offensive guard and was an ineligible receiver. Somehow, after sweet-talking the refs, the play counted even if it shouldn’t have, and the Moss-to-Larson connection was born.

“I could always count on him to catch it,” Moss said.

The trust forged on the middle school football fields will continue at Eastern Oregon University — a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics program playing in the Frontier League — in La Grande, where the two Mountain View High School graduates will play their college ball starting in August.

Moss remained at quarterback and threw 31 touchdowns in his three seasons for the Cougars, helping them to two playoff appearances and an undefeated season in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Larson, initially a lineman who was known to get penalties for excessive blocking, made the switch to tight end following his freshman year at Mountain View.

“Sam was always the best blocker,” Moss said. “Wherever the ball was going, Sam was the lead blocker. I knew he was the best blocker and I had the most trust in him.”

Soon Larson would switch to one of Moss’s favorite targets.

By the time the two were seniors last season, the connection that started in middle school remained strong. Moss missed the final three games with a shoulder injury, but through the first six games, the two connected for 123 yards and three touchdowns.

In late January, Moss got an offer from Eastern Oregon after taking a successful visit to La Grande and meeting with head coach Tim Camp. Moss felt playing for the Mountaineers was his best option, and less than a week after the visit he made his commitment.

“Once I felt that I was wanted, that is when I knew (Eastern) was the place for me,” Moss said.

Then his focus turned to bringing his teammate with him, telling Larson “this is the place to be.”

But the real pitch came while watching this year’s Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals in February. While the Rams held on to beat the Bengals, Moss began applying the heat, telling his longtime teammate that it would be a great opportunity to keep the chemistry going in La Grande.

“I said let’s do it,” Larson said.

A week after the Super Bowl, Larson called Camp and made his commitment to Eastern Oregon, meaning the connection would live on to see another year.

“I feel like they have a pretty solid and built program,” Moss said. “I’m excited to compete, to get bigger and to be part of the team.”

Larson and Moss will room together in the dorms their freshman year, where that trust might be put to the ultimate test. “Hopefully this guy is a good roommate. Hopefully we can have a nice, clean dorm and focus on football,” Larson joked.

“I’m not too worried about keeping it clean,” Moss quipped.