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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 2019)
SPORTS 8A — THE OBSERVER MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2019 Badgers badger Ione/Arlingtion in regular-season opener By Brett Kane EO Media Group HERMISTON — Powder Valley laid claim to neutral ground Friday afternoon as it powered through Ione/Arlington for a 48-12 victory in a Hermiston-hosted 1A football contest to open the season. The Badgers took the opening minutes to fi nd their footing as Reece Dixon threw two incomplete passes, but when the new-season jitters left the team soon after, there was no stopping them. “We started executing very well,” said Dixon, a 5-foot-9, 150-pound sophomore. “We’ve worked really hard to get to where we are. After today, we feel we can make it to a state play-in game, if not further.” Dixon got the Badgers going with a pass to senior running back Dominick Grende not six minutes into play in the fi rst quarter. Grende carried the ball into the end zone to put his team on the board. “We have two of the best receiv- ers in the league, if not the two best receivers,” Dixon said. “We also have two of the best running backs. They’ll take us far.” Dixon followed the scoring pass with another just two minutes later, hurling for 23 yards at the 4:13 mark. The ensuing conversion put the Badgers up 14-0 over the Cardinals. In an attempt to put Ione on the board, senior running back JR Roque rushed the ball for 35 yards, but the Badgers’ rock-solid defense stopped the charge short. “We just didn’t play very well,” Ione head coach JJ Rosenberg said. “It’s our fi rst game of the year. We still have some butterfl ies. There are still some learning curves to overcome, but we’ll get there.” Powder Valley was sure to stay in charge as junior running back Ethan Stephens caught a pass from Dixon and drove it into the end zone for a 20-0 advantage just 37 seconds into the second quarter. The Cardinals quickly took to the air in an effort to avoid the Badgers’ defensive line. Starting quarterback Hunter Padberg sent the ball fl ying 37 yards to sophomore wide receiver Colt Parker, who ran in Ione’s fi rst touchdown at 9:08. The Badgers found trouble responding as Grende gained fi ve yards on their next possession, but lost 10 yards on penalties during their next two plays. Dixon took charge and carried the ball in at 7:04 for a 26-6 lead, steering the Badgers back on track. “Ione is a big team,” Dixon said. “They play classy football. It’s al- Ben Lonergan/EO Media Group Powder Valley quarterback Reece Dixon runs the ball in for a touchdown. The Powder Valley Badgers defeated the Ione/Arlington Cardinals 48-12 at Kennison Field in Hermiston Friday night. PREP FOOTBALL ROUNDUP ways nice to have a game like that, especially after such a long bus ride to get here.” The Cardinals followed with a rushing touchdown from Roque and continued to keep Powder Valley at bay on the opposite end of the Badgers’ goal. They swiftly regained possession, but not before Roque was walked off the fi eld with a leg injury. The Badgers ran in another touchdown and conversion for a 34-12 lead at the half. Padberg also suffered a strained muscle in his neck, keeping him out of play in the second half. Parker was dispatched to take over quarterback duties. The Badgers emerged from the locker room to knock down another touchdown at the hands of Dixon, who threw for his third score of the game. It would be the only touch- down on either side of the third quarter. Badgers’ sophomore tight end Kaden Krieger barreled through Ione’s defense and broke into the end zone to cap off Powder Valley’s scoring at 10:26 in the fi nal quarter. Parker answered back with a 26-yard carry to the 3-yard line, scoring on the next play. Still, the 30-point defi cit was too vast to overcome. “It took a while for us to get fi red up,” Parker said. “But we got pumped up and going. Our running game was really strong today. Our running backs are amazing.” The Powder Valley victory marked head coach Josh Cobb’s fi rst-ever high school game at the helm. “It’s very exciting,” he said. “We had a pretty balanced attack and for the Wallowa Cougars. Wallowa allowed visiting St. Paul to score the game’s fi rst 40 points, and the defending state runner-ups topped Wallowa for the third time in a year, 40-6, Friday in a non- league matchup in Wallowa. The teams met twice last year, with the Buckaroos claiming victories in the 2018 season opener and later in the 2018 state semifi - nals by scores of 54-20 and 46-16, respectively. They raced out to big leads in both of those games, and did so again Friday, taking a 32-0 halftime lead and pushing the mar- gin to 40-0 after three quarters. Wallowa got on the board in the fourth on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Lute Ramsden to Zeb Ramsden. The Cougars totaled 277 yards, but unlike years past, much of their yardage Friday came through the air. Lute Ramsden was 21- for-40 passing for 226 yards. Zeb Ramsden added 69 yards rushing, but the rest of the team totaled minus-18 yards on the ground. Zeb Ramsden also had 116 yards receiving. Wallowa (0-1 overall) visits Pow- der Valley Friday to begin Special District 3 action. JOSEPH ROLLS TO WIN Ellen Morris Bishop/EO Media Group Enterprise’s Trace Evans fi ghts for yardage during the Outlaws’ opener against Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii Friday. capitalized on our speed today. I’m really happy.” The Badgers (1-0 overall) head home to host Wallowa Friday. Also Friday ELGIN RUNS AWAY FROM IMBLER Tristan Simpson accounted for 362 yards of offense and six touchdowns, leading the Elgin Huskies to a 58-20 home win over the Imbler Panthers Friday night in the season opener. “Overall, this was a big win for us,” Elgin head coach Jeff Rys- dam said. “We’ve had this game circled on our calendar since last year when we played Imbler. We felt that we let that game in 2018 get away from us, and we’ve been wanting to get back out there and show everyone that we’re a differ- ent team this year.” Simpson passed for 232 yards and two scores — one to Jordon Palmer and one to Cody Harvey — and added 130 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. In all, Elgin had 523 yards of offense, including 291 rushing. Palmer had 175 yards receiv- ing and Harvey added 57 yards. Joe Lathrop added 72 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Lathrop also had 14 solo tackles and assisted on nine more to lead the defense. Elgin held a 28-14 lead at the half, then exploded for 22 points in the third to push the margin to 50-14. Isaac Herron had 111 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Panthers, who rushed the ball 67 times for 298 yards. Chance Goodman added an 8-yard scoring reception. Elgin (1-0 overall) hosts Cove Friday, while Imbler (0-1) faces Union Friday at Eastern Oregon University. BUCKAROOS BEST WALLOWA AGAIN The third time wasn’t the charm The Joseph Eagles picked up where they left off in 2018, opening the 2019 season with a 64-0 beat- down of Dayville/Monument on the road Friday. The victory moves the Eagles to 8-0 in 6-man football since OSAA began its pilot of the program last fall. “We executed really well, main- tained and really went for it. It was nice to have a fi rst game and end up with that result after the season we had,” head coach Duncan Christman said. The Eagles had a big game from Carsen Littlepage, who had 218 yards rushing and six touchdowns, and also had eight tackles. Juston Rodgers added 60 yards rushing and a score as Joseph totaled 356 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, the Eagles gave up just 71 yards. Joseph (1-0 overall) travels to Echo Sept. 20. OUTLAWS UPENDED AT HOME The Enterprise Outlaws opened 2019 with a 44-8 home loss to the Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii Rockets Friday in Special District 3-West action. The contest was called in the third quarter due to a lightning storm. Stats were not available. Enterprise (0-1 overall, 0-1 SD3- W) faces Oakley, Idaho, Friday in Cambridge, Idaho. Bobcats roll to victory at Helix Invitational on Saturday Observer staff The Union Bobcats followed a win Friday by sweeping through all their competition on the way to a victory at the Helix Invita- tional Saturday. In pool play, the Bobcats swept through host Griswold (25-13, 25-7), Cove (25-12, 25-19) and Umatilla (25-8, 25-11) to fi nish fi rst in its pool. Union followed by dropping Riverside in the tournament quarterfi nals (25-11, 25-6), Pine Eagle in the semifi nals (25-5, 25-9), and Cove in a rematch in the championship, (25-12, 25-16). “They played diligently and did exactly what I asked them to do in regards to not letting up or slowing down until they hit 25 points,” head coach Karly Knapp said. Stats were not available for Union (5-2 overall), which travels to face Pacifi c and Bandon Friday in Bandon. Cove, meanwhile, swept Umatilla and Griswold in pool play before losing to Union. In bracket play, the Leopards topped McLough- lin (25-22, 25-11) and edged Imbler (25-20, 27-25) before PREP VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP falling to Union in the fi nale. Stats and pool play scores were not available for the Leopards (5-1 overall), who host Imbler Tuesday to begin OOL action. The Imbler Panthers won their pool, defeating Pine Ea- gle (25-11, 25-21), Riverside (25-12, 25-18) and Mac-Hi (25-8, 25-24). In bracket play, Imbler eased past Umatilla (25-15, 25-10) before falling in the semifi nals to Cove. Aspen Smith had 25 kills and 35 digs during the tournament. Erin Coston had 39 digs, 12 aces and 11 kills, and Rylee Deal had 39 assists and seven aces. Anika McDonald added 29 digs. The Panthers (3-4 overall) visit Cove to start OOL play Tuesday. TEAMS TANGLE AT CAT CLASH Wallowa, Elgin and Joseph all battled at the Cat Clash Saturday in Echo and Stanfi eld. The Cougars topped Nixyaawii in pool play, (25- 17, 8-8), edged Echo (27-25), Jewell (25-18, 25-9) and Brett Kane/EO Media Group Wallowa libero Ella Moeller returns the ball to Echo dur- ing Echo’s Cat Clash volleyball tournament on Saturday. DeSales, Washington (25-4, 25-9). In bracket play, the Cougars lost to Stanfi eld, 25-16, 25-21, 25-18. Pool play matches were on a 25-minute time limit, which led to incomplete second sets. Jamie Johnston had four kills and four blocks against Stanfi eld. ShannaRae Tillery also had four kills. Elgin split its pool play matches, falling to Stan- fi eld (25-15, 19-13), beat- ing Prescott, Washington An Independent Insurance Agency Reed & Associates for excellent service LOCALLY! Nicole Cathey 10106 N. ‘C’ • Island City 541-975-1364 (25-19, 10-6), splitting with Sherman (15-25, 15-12) and playing a tight match with Joseph (24-26, 4-4). The Hus- kies then dropped a close three-set match to Jewell during bracket play, 25-23, 25-22, 25-23. Stats were not available. The Huskies (2-2 overall), travel to Joseph Tuesday to begin Old Oregon League play. Joseph fell in four sets to Echo in bracket play, 25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 25-20. Stats, and Joseph’s scores from pool play, were not available. The Eagles (2-4 overall) host Elgin Tuesday to begin Old Oregon league play. Wheeler (25-7, 25-10) but lost to Prairie City in the semifi nals (27-25, 25-15). Ashlyn Gray recorded 36 kills on the day for the Out- laws. Rilyn Kirkland dished out 35 assists, and Zari Bathke had 11 blocks. Enterprise (5-4 overall) hosts Wallowa Tuesday. OUTLAWS BATTLE IN PRAIRIE CITY BOBCATS MAKE QUICK WORK OF PINE EAGLE The Enterprise Outlaws went 2-1 in pool play then split a pair of bracket play matches at the Prairie City Invitational Saturday. In pool play, the Outlaws fell to Redmond (25-20, 25-23), defeated Harper (25-13, 25-8) and defeated Dayville/Monument (25-12, 25-14). Once the invita- tional’s bracket play began, Enterprise dropped Condon/ The Union Bobcats made quick work of the Pine Eagle Spartans in a nonleague match at home Friday, win- ning 25-9, 25-6, 25-20. Kylie Marriott led Union in the win with 10 kills. Au- tumn Daggett added seven kills and also had four aces. Callie Glenn had 10 assists and three aces, and Brianna Kohr had seven digs and three aces. Friday IMBLER TOPS STANFIELD Aspen Smith had 11 kills and 11 digs to help the Im- bler Panthers to a sweep of the Stanfi eld Tigers Friday, 25-14, 25-23, 25-11. Erin Coston added six kills in the win. Allison Stirewalt had 12 digs, Anika McDon- ald added nine and Rylee Deal doled out 20 assists. Medicare, Auto, Home insurance and Annuities Toll Free 1-866-282-1925 www.reed-insurance.net Kevin Reed