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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2015)
SPORTS WEEKEND, NOVEMBER 7-8, 2015 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS Sports shorts ECHO Mariota to return to starting lineup Local schools getting ahead of concussions NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota will return to the starting lineup Sunday to face the New Orleans Saints. Mariota has missed the Titans previous two games with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. Mariota’s injury occurred on a hit from Miami’s Olivier Vernon, who was penalized for roughing the passer. Student-athletes taking “With the big push in the media right baseline tests to better now, it’s important we get this right and diagnose brain injuries take care of this. Because that’s what it Timbers’ Nagbe makes 1st US roster comes down to, the health of the kids.” By SAM BARBEE East Oregonian Two Echo football players would have returned to the gridiron from concussions too soon had the school not implemented a new concussion management protocol this season. The Oregon Scholastic Activities — Ben Campbell, Echo boys basketball coach Association’s concussion policy requires concussed athletes to sit out one week before returning to full participation. Had Echo followed that policy, those two football players would have gone back to practices and games while still dealing with concussion symptoms. Instead they were held out for three and four weeks, not just seven days, due to data gathered by trained concussion specialist Dr. Derek Earl. Earl was hired in 2015 by Echo as well as Hermiston, Umatilla, Griswold, Irrigon and Riverside high schools to administer baseline concussion tests for athletes to create data about athlete’s brain activity prior to and after concussions. See CONCUSSION/2B HERMISTON Dawgs’ season grinds to halt CHICAGO (AP) — Portland Timbers mid¿ elder Darlington Nagbe wasn’t even a U.S. citizen at the beginning of this year. Less than two months after becoming FACES an American, the 25-year-old was named to the U.S. roster for its opening quali¿ ers for the 2018 World Cup by U.S. Nagbe coach Jurgen Klinsmann on Friday. Nagbe was born in Liberia and left the country when he was young with his family because of civil war. He played at the University of Akron, winning the 2010 Hermann Trophy as the top college soccer player, and is in his ¿ fth season with the Timbers. Portland owner Merritt Paulson announced Sept. 10 that Nagbe became a U.S. citizen that day. The U.S. opens against St. Vincent and the Grena- dines at St. Louis on Nov. 13, then plays at Trinidad and Tobago four days later. “Every week when you’re a Seahawk, you’re playing against everybody’s best. They look, they mark that up. It’s the opposite of a homecoming game, it’s one of those games where it’s almost like a Super Bowl for them.“ — Michael Bennett Seattle Seahawks DE speaking about the team’s rough start to the NFL sea- son. The defending NFC champions are 4-4 but have a bye this week to get ready for the second half of the season. Seattle has a .833 winning percentage in the last eight games of the past three seasons. THIS DATE IN SPORTS Nov. 7, 1991 — Magic Johnson, who helped the Los Angeles Lakers to ¿ ve NBA championships, announces he has tested positive for the AIDS virus and is retiring. Nov. 7, 2010 — India- napolis quarterback Peyton Manning starts his 200th consecutive game, a 26-24 loss at Philadelphia. Manning joins Brett Favre as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to start 200 consecutive games. Nov. 8, 2008 — Chris Paul has his sixth straight double-double with 21 points and 13 assists in New Orleans’ 100-89 victory over Miami. Paul sets an NBA record for consecutive games at the start of a season with at least 20 points and 10 assists, breaking the mark set by Oscar Robertson in 1968. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com Staff photo by E.J. Harris Hermiston quarterback Nathan Hunsaker gets sacked by Wilsonville’s Garrett Pollman (33) and Kam Morgan in the Bulldogs’ loss to the Wildcats on Friday in Hermiston. Program looks set for future Hermiston will return in 2016 with depth at all positions Bulldogs fall behind early By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian By SAM BARBEE East Oregonian Hermiston head football coach David Faaeteete will walk into his classroom next week and erase the current depth chart he has written on a white board. Names like Tre Neal, Bob Coleman, Hayden Simon, Ethan Snow, Nathan Hunsaker and more will never again appear on it, but that means new names will. It all feeds into a belief that isn’t uncommon that the Hermiston program has adopted: next man up. “The next man up Hermiston ousted by Wilsonville Staff photo by E.J. Harris Wilsonville quarterback Kaden Floyd leaps through the Hermiston defensive line and in to the end zone for a touchdown in the Bulldogs’ loss to the Wildcats on Friday in Hermiston. mentality is a belief,” Faae- teete said. That philosophy was on display all year. All-state wide receiver Ethan Snow broke his collarbone in the ¿ rst half of the ¿ rst game against Hanford, and he never returned. Starting quarterback Dayshawn Neal broke his ankle against Coeur d’Alene, and never returned. See FUTURE/2B The 2014 OSAA state playoffs were something to remember for the Hermiston Bulldogs, culmi- nating in the win of the Class 5A Football state championship. But the 2015 OSAA playoffs will be a thing to forget for the Hermiston squad, as it was booted Wilsonville from the bracNet in the ¿ rst round on Friday night, falling to the Wilsonville Wildcats 49-14. The Bulldogs (4-6) were simply overmatched in the game, as their offense could not ¿ nd Hermiston develop a rhythm against the Wildcats defense. Defensively, the Bulldogs started out with a ¿ re, holding Wilsonville (9-1) to a short possession and a punt on its ¿ rst offensive drive of the game. See BULLDOGS/2B STANFIELD Tigers pound /oggers in ¿ rst round Stanfield ends streak of playoff losses with win over Vernonia Stanfi eld Vernonia East Oregonian 56 26 VERNONIA — The Stan¿ eld Tigers heard the whispers headed into their ¿ rst-round state playoff game this Friday. The last seven times the Tigers had been to the playoffs they were quick outs, and the program hadn’t won a postseason game since 1957. First-year head coach Davy Salas didn’t shield his players from that fact, and instead Football embraced it as a challenge. The Tigers took the challenge and ran with it to the tune of a 56-26 rout of No. 8 Vernonia on its home ¿ eld. “We’ve taken a thumping in the ¿ rst round and we told these kids, ‘Eventually we’ve got to get that monkey off our back, and why not be us? Why not go out and make a statement and show Stan¿ eld football is for real?’” Salas said. “I told the kids, ‘This is our time to prove something, this is our time to do something special for our town, our friends, our family, our school.’ It was just about getting these kids to believe how good they could be.’” The Tigers played what Salas called their most complete game of the season and led 35-12 at halftime. With several players taking turns toting the ball, Salas said the No. 9 Tigers (9-1) were able to follow their offensive line and keep the chains moving. “One of the things that really See TIGERS/2B 49 14 State Volleyball Locals look for consolation Weston-McEwen, Ione lose in opening round East Oregonian REDMOND — The Weston- McEwen volleyball team won it’s ¿ rst set on Friday, but couldn’t keep pace with old foe Culver over the long haul and fell in four sets to enter the conso- lation bracket at the 2015 OSAA Class 2A State Championships at Ridgeview High School. The No. 10 TigerScots stormed into See VOLLEYBALL/2B