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Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Tuesday, November 10, 2015 College Roundup NFL EOU gets its revenge Changes up front helping Mariota adapt East Oregonian LA GRANDE — The Eastern Oregon Mountaineers got back on the winning track at home Saturday, defeating the College of Idaho 21-10. It was the second time the two teams have met this season, with College of Idaho winning the ¿rst match-up 40-28 back on Aug. 29. The game on Saturday did not start out well for the Mountaineers (4-6, 4-5 Frontier) who dug them- selves into an early 10-0 de¿cit in the ¿rst Tuarter. But Zach Bartlow threw two touchdown passes in the second Tuarter — a 17-yard pass to Josh Richards at the 12:29 mark of the second Tuarter, and an 8-yard pass to Brendan Kelly at the 6:14 mark of the Tuarter — to put the Mountaineers up 14-10. Eastern Oregon got on the board once more in the game, when Bartlow connected with Richards again — this time on a 59-yarder — to put EOU up 21-10 with 7:20 left in the third Tuarter. Bartlow was solid in the game, completing 15 of 27 passes for 179 yards and the three touchdowns. Richards hauled in four passes for 115 yards and his two touchdowns. Eastern Oregon ¿nishes out its regular season slate next Saturday when it hosts No. 8 ranked Southern Oregon at 12 p.m. Men’s Basketball GONZAGA 90, EOU 58 — At Spokane, Washington, the Eastern Oregon men’s basketball team played tough but ultimately lost to the nationally ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs in an exhibition match on Saturday.. Junior guard Kentrell Washington led Eastern Oregon offensively, scoring 22 points and grabbing eight rebounds in 36 minutes of Àoor time. As a team, the Mountaineers shot 31.3 percent from the Àoor and allowed Gonzaga to shoot a solid 44.6 percent in the game. The Mountaineers next head to Las Vegas on Friday to participate in the Las Vegas Classic, where they will take on Arizona Christian on Friday at 4 p.m. Women’s Basketball ARIZONA CHRISTIAN 66, EOU 58 — At Phoenix, the Eastern Oregon women’s basketball team dropped its second game of the regular season with its second- straight loss to Arizona Christian on Saturday. The Mountaineers (0-2) were hampered by some ice-cold shooting as a team — making just 20 of 67 shots for a 29.9 percent clip — as well as sloppy play offensively, as Arizona Christian forced 19 EOU turnovers. Payton Parrish led the Mountain- eers in scoring, netting 16 points on 5-18 shooting. Jordan Klebaum and Larissa Quintana both were next up with nine points a piece. The Mountaineers next hit the Àoor on Friday for an exhibition game with Eastern Washington at 10:30 a.m. in Cheney, Washington. PREPS: Continued from 1B — a vast improvement from the nine-win season just one year ago. Boys Soccer ST. MARY’S 1, RIVERSIDE 0 — At Medford, the Riverside Pirates came up short in the Tuarter¿nals of the OSAA playoffs, this time in a 1-0 loss to St. Mary’s. The score was deadlocked at 0-0 at halftime, but St. Mary’s ¿nally found the back of the net in the second half to break the tie and eventually carry it to the win. Riverside ends its season with an 11-3-2 overall record, an improve- ment from the eight-win total from last season. Football REEDSPORT 14, WESTON- MCEWEN 0 — At Reedsport, the Weston-McEwen TigerScots saw its season come to an end in a hard fought battle in the OSAA playoffs. The TigerScots trailed just 6-0 at halftime, but Reedsport’s stout defense was too much for the Tiger- Scots offense to handle. Reedsport also forced ¿ve TigerScots turnovers, as the intermittent rain made it tough to hang on to the ball. The loss ends Weston-McEwen’s season with a 6-4 overall record for the second-straight season. KENNEDY 53, IRRIGON 12 — At Kennedy, the Irrigon Knights’ ¿rst playoff appearance in school history did not go as well as they had hoped, with a 53-12 blowout loss to Kennedy on Saturday. Irrigon’s season ends with a 6-4 overall record — the ¿rst under head coach Steve Sheller. By TERESA M. WALKER AP Pro Football Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Marcus Mariota showed what the Tennessee Titans believed when they drafted him: The Tuarter- back can be special when given a little time to throw. The challenge now for the Titans is keeping the rookie upright. Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk wanted her fran- chise’s investment in the Heisman Trophy winner protected when she ¿red Ken Whisenhunt last week, and interim coach Mike Mularkey followed up with a couple lineup changes and tweaks their offensive scheme. The result was a 34-28 overtime win in New Orleans where Mariota wasn’t sacked even once and hit only twice. “No matter what the score, no matter what the time is in the game, we have a chance with this guy,” Mularkey said Monday. With the protection, Mariota turned in his best game yet after missing two games with an injured left knee, and he also surprised the Titans being able to move around better than they expected. The No. 2 draft pick overall threw for a career-high 371 yards, the most by a Titans Tuarterback in nearly two years. Mariota joined Tom Brady as the NFL’s only Tuarterbacks with four touchdown passes and no interceptions in two games this season. He also became the ¿rst rookie in NFL history to throw four TD passes with no intercep- tions in two games. Mariota already has more TD passes (13) than either Jake Locker or Vince Young ever managed in a season with this team. Against the Saints in overtime, Mariota was simply perfect: 6 of 6 for 62 yards capped by the game-winning TD pass to Anthony Fasano. “He’s a real tough kid,” Fasano said after the game. “We respect him. As one of the younger guys he’s still one of the leaders. We’re glad to have him back.” The Titans (2-6) snapped a six-game skid with the win. They return home where Mariota will play against his third Heisman Trophy winner this season when Cam Newton and Carolina (8-0) visit Sunday. But giving Mariota time to throw was a priority a week after giving up seven sacks and 14 QB hits. Mularkey went with a Tuicker passing game and reminded Mariota to do his part by getting rid of the ball faster. The interim coach switched Byron Bell from left guard back to right tackle and replaced Bell with Joe Looney, signed Oct. 20. Mularkey also kept his tight ends in more, giving the offensive line extra blocking help. The result led to no sacks allowed for the ¿rst time this season after giving up at least six in three different games under Whisenhunt. It was the ¿rst time in 13 games that Tennessee hadn’t allowed a sack. An offense that scored only three TDs in the past four games combined scored the second-most points this season. “Without them, we wouldn’t have gotten this victory and Marcus wouldn’t have been able to make those throws,” Walker said. Mularkey had the same 3-20 record in his last 23 games as a head coach with Jacksonville and Buffalo that got Whisenhunt ¿red Nov. 3 by Tennessee. Mularkey ¿nally won his ¿rst game as a head coach with a team, and told the Titans they could earn Monday off with a victory. Veterans immediately got excited, but Mularkey says the rookies were left wondering what that meant. “I think we all obviously needed something positive,” Mularkey said. HERMISTON: Season now sets high expectation Continued from 1B began frenetically, but Hermiston’s defense anchored by sophomore keeper Antonio Campos routinely stonewalled blue Bulldogs attacks. Woodburn had a near goal in the 29th minute when Crispin Rosales hammered one into the box off a pass from Francisco Martinez, but Campos saved it and Rosales’ rebound went wide. Hermiston had a chance to pull ahead a minute prior when Joel Mendez and Freddy Rodriguez worked a two-man break down the center of the ¿eld, but Mendez’s chip was saved by Lopez. The ¿rst half set the tone for the physicality of the match. Slides were hard. Challenges were aggressive. Hermiston was whistled for three yellow cards, the last setting up a set piece opportunity for Woodburn on a free kick with seconds remaining. But the second half, though just as, if not more, physical than the ¿rst, was not scoreless. Sophomore reserve Arnulfo Gaspar executed a slick give-and-go with Martinez and drilled an accurate shot right into the top left corner to put Woodburn up 1-0 in the 48th minute. It was yet another time the Harshberger and the Bulldogs went down. “That’s something we’ve talked about all year,” Harshberger said of his team’s lack of panic when down. “It doesn’t take a lot of time to score. We have good leaders to maintain the tempo of the game.” Woodburn appeared to have seized the match after Gaspar’s goal. The blue Bulldogs wouldn’t allow Hermiston to sustain any attacks, and Hermiston’s possessions became increasingly desperate. The purple Bulldogs have three straight corners immediately following the Woodburn goal but couldn’t capitalize on any, then came a corner from the far side in the 64th. Senior mid¿elder EnriTue Leal lobbed a Herm- iston’s Bernardo Araujo (4) and Wood- burn’s Anthony Santil- lan (14) compete for a cor- ner kick during Wood- burn’s 2-1 quarter- final win on pen- alty kicks Saturday in Hermis- ton. Staff photo by Sam Barbee nice bender to the far post, where it bounced around and ¿nally found the back of the net for the eTualizer. It sent an already excited crowd into a frenzy, and made an already intense match explosive. But neither team could end it in regular time. Hermiston’s defense ratcheted up in the extra periods and had some good looks at the goal, too. John Mejia’s try off a cross from Rosales hit the outside of the near post in the 86th minute, and Rosales’ header at the ¿rst extra period’s buzzer went just high. “We had better chances,” Harshberger said. Woodburn’s offense became frantic late, and Hermiston’s defense was more than happy to punch balls out of bounds and reset the play. The 1-1 match went to penalty kicks. Wood- burn made its ¿rst and Hermiston missed its ¿rst, also a save by Lopez, putting the purple Bulldogs down early. Bernardo Araujo got Hermiston knotted when Woodburn’s second deÀected off the near post, and the next for penalty shots found the net. Then Jesus Rodriguez put it away for Woodburn, and Lopez sent them to the semis. For Hermiston, though, the ceiling was raised. The Bulldogs ¿nally won a playoff game and advanced to the Tuarter¿nals and were close to being one of four teams remaining. “We were talkinga bout that before the game,” Harshberger said. “This is the ¿rst team to win a playoff game. Know it’s an expectation. It’s not a goal, it’s an expectation.” MUSTANGS: Win sets up game with Reedsport Continued from 1B defense held Monroe to just 44 yards on 28 offensive plays. As rapid as the scoring was in the ¿rst half, the pace started out relatively slow. After forcing a Tuick three-and-out by Monroe (4-6), Heppner took over at its own 43 yard line and began trying to establish its run game. But ¿nally on the 13th play of the drive, senior C.J. Kindle took a direct snap and plunged into the end zone from three-yards out to give the Mustangs a 6-0 lead with 423 left in the Tuarter. A few possessions later after the teams traded fumbles, Heppner took over at Monroe’s 42-yard line with 1:35 left in the Tuarter. And on just the second play of the possession, running back Weston Putman busted a handful of Monroe tacklers and scampered his way for a 35-yard touchdown run to put Heppner up 14-0. “Offensively sometimes we struggled to ¿nd our rhythm and ¿nd out exactly what we need to do and want to do,” said Grant after the game. “And to our kids’ credit we found it, ¿gured out how we needed to block and took care of things so I was very pleased.” The Mustangs forced another Monroe fumble two plays into the Dragons’ drive and recovered it inside the Monroe 10 yard line. Heppner didn’t waste any time at all as Putman knifed through the defense for a nine-yard touch- down run to give the Mustangs a 22-0 lead with 30 seconds left in the Tuarter. Putman ¿nished the game as the Mustangs’ leading rusher, carrying the ball nine times for 88 yards and those two touchdowns. He also had a solid game defen- sively, registering six tackles and an interception. A play that epitomized the Staff photo by Kathy Aney Mustangs quarterback Kaden Clark throws a touchdown pass in the first half of a state championship playoff game with the Monroe Dragons on Saturday in Heppner. The Mustangs defeat- ed Monroe 55-14 to advance to the Class 2A quarterfinals. way the game played out came early in the second Tuarter, when Monroe forced Heppner to punt for the ¿rst time in the game. But on the punt, the Monroe returner fumbled the catch and Heppner’s Collins dove in to recover the fumble to give the Mustangs new life. And on Heppner’s ¿rst play after the fumble, Tuarterback Kaden Clark connected with receiver Logan Grieb on a 29-yard touchdown pass — Grieb’s 10th touchdown reception of the season — to put Heppner up 28-0. The Mustangs scored three more times in the Tuarter, on a seven-yard pass from Clark to receiver Kaden Hedman, a 16-yard screen pass from Clark to Kindle, and a ¿ve-yard touch- down run on an end-around by Grieb to give Heppner the 49-0 lead at halftime. Clark had a very ef¿cient game directing Heppner’s offense on Saturday, completing 9 of 15 passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns, as well as 58 rushing yards on four carries. “It’s what he does, he throws the ball extremely well,” said Grant. “I don’t know if I’ve ever coached a better thrower. He puts the ball on the money and did that tonight, and hit a few shots early that really set the tone and set up some things for us.” Heppner’s only score of the second half came on a 44-yard touchdown run by Kindle to increased the Mustangs’ lead to 55-0 with eight minutes left in the third Tuarter. Kindle ¿nished the game with 53 rushing yards and 64 receiving yards and three total touchdowns. “I’m happy we played well,” said Grant. “It’s really a great thing for the community, the school, and our kids love home playoff games and they worked their tails off all year long to really capitalize on these.” Monroe did not get on the scoreboard until the 10:42 mark of the fourth Tuarter, when Kyle Bateman outran the Heppner defense for a 47-yard touchdown run. The Dragons scored their second touchdown on a 1-yard plunge by Joseph Ballard with just seconds remaining in the game. Heppner held Monroe to just 169 total yards in the game, and forced four punts to go along with the four turnovers. The units’ performance got a rave review from Grant following the game. “I really liked those guys tonight,” he said. “I liked that we were ready and we stepped up to it. I was pleased that the kids stepped up physically to play like that.” With the win, Heppner advances in the Class 2A bracket to play No. 7 seed Reedsport next Saturday at Les Payne Field in Heppner for a 1 p.m. game. The winner will advance into the Class 2A semi¿nals. Reedsport is coming off a 14-0 win over Weston-McEwen. ———— Contact Eric Singer at esinger@eastoregonian.com, (541) 966-0839 or follow on Twitter @ByEricSinger.