The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current, November 22, 2019, WEEKEND EDITION, Image 8

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The Observer., November 22, 2019, WEEKEND EDITION, Page 8, Image 8

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Newspaper Page TextSPORTS 8A — THE OBSERVER FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019 SCOREBOARD LOCAL SCHEDULE Saturday PREP FOOTBALL La Grande vs. The Dalles, Class 4A state semifi nals, Hermiston, 5:30 p.m. MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL Eastern Oregon vs. Northwest Indian, Quinn Coliseum, 3:30 p.m. Sunday COLLEGE WRESTLING Eastern Oregon at Spokane Open, Spokane, Washington, 9 a.m. — Subject to change HOCKEY NHL Standings EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT Pts GF Boston 22 14 3 5 33 78 Florida 22 12 5 5 29 84 Montreal 22 11 6 5 27 75 Toronto 24 10 10 4 24 76 Buffalo 22 10 9 3 23 62 Tampa Bay 19 10 7 2 22 69 Ottawa 22 10 11 1 21 61 Detroit 24 7 14 3 17 58 Metropolitan Division GP W L OT Pts GF Washington 24 16 4 4 36 90 N.Y. Islanders 20 16 3 1 33 67 Carolina 22 13 8 1 27 77 GA 56 80 69 82 66 64 70 91 GA 73 49 66 Pittsburgh 22 11 7 4 26 74 59 Philadelphia 22 11 7 4 26 68 68 Columbus 21 9 8 4 22 55 69 N.Y. Rangers 19 9 8 2 20 64 67 New Jersey 20 7 9 4 18 51 74 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA St. Louis 23 14 4 5 33 70 62 Colorado 22 13 7 2 28 78 64 Dallas 23 13 8 2 28 66 56 Winnipeg 23 13 9 1 27 64 70 Chicago 22 9 9 4 22 65 67 Nashville 21 9 9 3 21 74 74 Minnesota 22 9 11 2 20 60 72 Pacifi c Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Edmonton 24 14 7 3 31 77 68 Arizona 23 13 8 2 28 65 52 Vancouver 23 11 8 4 26 76 68 Vegas 24 11 9 4 26 73 69 San Jose 23 11 11 1 23 67 79 Anaheim 23 10 10 3 23 63 69 Calgary 25 10 12 3 23 62 78 Los Angeles 22 9 12 1 19 58 76 All Times PST Wednesday’s Games Ottawa 2, Montreal 1, OT N.Y. Rangers 4, Washington 1 Thursday’s Games Boston 3, Buffalo 2 Columbus 5, Detroit 4 N.Y. Islanders 4, Pittsburgh 3, OT Philadelphia 5, Carolina 3 Florida 5, Anaheim 4, OT Vancouver 6, Nashville 3 St. Louis 5, Calgary 0 Minnesota 3, Colorado 2 Tampa Bay 4, Chicago 2 Dallas 5, Winnipeg 3 Toronto 3, Arizona 1 San Jose 2, Vegas 1, OT Los Angeles 5, Edmonton 1 Friday’s Games New Jersey at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at Ottawa, 4:30 p.m. Saturday’s Games Vancouver at Washington, 9:30 a.m. Calgary at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. Arizona at Los Angeles, 1 p.m. Anaheim at Tampa Bay, 4 p.m. Columbus at Winnipeg, 4 p.m. Detroit at New Jersey, 4 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at Montreal, 4 p.m. Minnesota at Boston, 4 p.m. Florida at Carolina, 4 p.m. Toronto at Colorado, 4 p.m. Nashville at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Chicago at Dallas, 5 p.m. Edmonton at Vegas, 7 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s Games Buffalo at Florida, 2 p.m. PAUSTIAN Continued from Page 7A from feeling super secure in your position to feeling lost.” Any concern, though, faded Sept. 12 when ASU offered him a schol- arship following a visit. “It was exciting stuff. I was ready to go,” he said. “It was a hard decision. I had good options. I felt that Arizona State was the best fi t for me.” So who are the Sun Devils get- ting in Paustian? “They’re getting a player that is going to do everything he can to help the people around him be the best they can be,” McKinley said. “He really is an all around team- mate. Coachable. He’s a kid they’re going to be able to push, have high expectation of and demand a lot of and he won’t be afraid of that. He won’t back down. He’ll step up. He’s excited for that challenge. He’s excited for the opportunity to get TIGERS Continued from Page 7A that coming from Reed. The senior running back has averaged 172.5 yards in the two postseason games, and has 1,453 yards on the season. The defense has held the fi rst two opponents — Es- tacada and Gladstone — to an average of 222 yards per game after limiting the Gladiators to just 158 in last week’s win. In the playoffs, La Grande has run the ball 84% of the time. The Tigers will stick to the ground-fi rst mentality, even though they had ample success through the air in the fi rst matchup against The Dalles. “I always like to establish that run if we possibly can. If you can establish the run game that helps you open up the pass,” McIlmoil said. La Grande scored the game’s fi rst 48 points, includ- ing 34 in the second quarter, on the way to a 48-14 victory when the teams met Sept. 13 in The Dalles. The Tigers had double the yards of The Dalles in that game, 374- 187, saw Parker Robinson pass for 191 yards and four touchdowns and Reed rush for 104 yards on just eight carries. The Tigers have confi - dence going into the re- match, but know they cannot overlook The Dalles based on the fi rst contest. “We need to go into this game knowing we are the No. 3 (ranked) team in the state,” Wiggins said. “We’re coming off a big win against Gladstone, but The Dalles is no slouch. It’ll be a lot differ- ent game, especially playing Carolina at Detroit, 4 p.m. Edmonton at Arizona, 5 p.m. BASKETBALL NBA Standings EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct Boston 11 3 .786 Toronto 10 4 .714 Philadelphia 9 5 .643 Brooklyn 6 8 .429 New York 4 11 .267 Southeast Division W L Pct Miami 10 3 .769 Orlando 6 8 .429 Charlotte 6 9 .400 Washington 4 8 .333 Atlanta 4 10 .286 Central Division W L Pct Milwaukee 12 3 .800 Indiana 8 6 .571 Chicago 5 10 .333 Cleveland 4 10 .286 Detroit 4 10 .286 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pct Houston 11 4 .733 Dallas 9 5 .643 New Orleans 6 9 .400 Memphis 5 9 .357 San Antonio 5 10 .333 Northwest Division W L Pct Denver 10 3 .769 Utah 9 5 .643 Minnesota 8 7 .533 Oklahoma City 5 9 .357 Portland 5 11 .313 Pacifi c Division W L Pct L.A. Lakers 12 2 .857 L.A. Clippers 10 5 .667 Phoenix 7 7 .500 Sacramento 6 7 .462 Golden State 3 13 .188 All Times PST Wednesday’s Games Philadelphia 109, New York 104 Washington 138, San Antonio 132 Brooklyn 101, Charlotte 91 Dallas 142, Golden State 94 Miami 124, Cleveland 100 Milwaukee 135, Atlanta 127 Toronto 113, Orlando 97 Chicago 109, Detroit 89 Utah 103, Minnesota 95 Denver 105, Houston 95 pushed.” McKinley also said he’s seen Paustian’s impact in making the pitchers better. “He’s comfortable in the catching position. It’s a natural fi t for him,” McKinley said. “I haven’t ever had a kid behind the plate that has that kind of presence. You could put anybody on the mound and they’ll be a better pitcher.” Paustian missed nearly the entirely of the 2019 season as he recovered from the injury, but had a major impact on both the 2017 and 2018 squads that reached back-to-back state title games, with the 2017 team winning it all. As a sophomore he hit .353, but had a .521 on base percentage with a home run, 28 RBIs, six doubles and four triples while switch hitting. Paustian, a natural right-handed hitter, said he’s decided to bat exclusively right-handed moving forward. at a neutral site.” McIlmoil, though, said he’s trying to balance both facets with the team entering Saturday. “There’s a happy medium for me. I want to remind them, ‘Hey, we already dominated this team, but at the same time they are a different team (now),’” he said. “I want them to realize we are better than this team, but we can’t take the game for granted.” The Riverhawks are much improved since the fi rst matchup against La Grande. That loss dropped The Dalles to 0-2, and the Riverhawks record fell to 2-3 after a 34-14 loss at Gladstone, but the team has been a tough out since. The Dalles has won fi ve of its past six games, with the lone loss in that stretch a 21-20 loss to Special District 2 champion North Marion. In the postseason, the team has averaged 55 points per game in a play-in game vic- tory over Valley Catholic and playoff wins over Henley and Tillamook. “They run a lot of fl y sweep out of their offense, and they can move the foot- ball,” McIlmoil said. “They’ve got some speed, they like to hit the edge and run hard, and they throw a lot of quick three-step passes too.” The Dalles scored 58 points — and needed every one of them — in last week- end’s 58-51 quarterfi nal win over Tillamook, a game that saw the teams combine for 1,001 yards. Okean Green rushed for 146 yards, had 86 yards receiving and fi ve total touchdowns in the win. On the season, The Dalles has averaged 36.2 points GB — 1 2 5 7½ GB — 4½ 5 5½ 6½ GB — 3½ 7 7½ 7½ GB — 1½ 5 5½ 6 GB — 1½ 3 5½ 6½ GB — 2½ 5 5½ 10 L.A. Clippers 107, Boston 104, OT Thursday’s Games Milwaukee 137, Portland 129 New Orleans 124, Phoenix 121 Friday’s Games Atlanta at Detroit, 4 p.m. Charlotte at Washington, 4 p.m. Sacramento at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. Miami at Chicago, 5 p.m. San Antonio at Philadelphia, 5 p.m. Cleveland at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Boston at Denver, 6 p.m. Golden State at Utah, 6 p.m. Houston at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s Games Phoenix at Minnesota, 2 p.m. Chicago at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Orlando at Indiana, 4 p.m. Miami at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m. San Antonio at New York, 4:30 p.m. Toronto at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Memphis, 5 p.m. Portland at Cleveland, 5 p.m. Detroit at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m. New Orleans at Utah, 6 p.m. Sunday’s Games Dallas at Houston, 12:30 p.m. Brooklyn at New York, 3 p.m. Sacramento at Washington, 3 p.m. Phoenix at Denver, 5 p.m. New Orleans at L.A. Clippers, 6 p.m. FOOTBALL NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pct PF New England 9 1 0 .900 287 Buffalo 7 3 0 .700 211 N.Y. Jets 3 7 0 .300 164 Miami 2 8 0 .200 139 South W L T Pct PF Houston 7 4 0 .636 265 Indianapolis 6 5 0 .545 244 Tennessee 5 5 0 .500 203 Jacksonville 4 6 0 .400 189 North W L T Pct PF Baltimore 8 2 0 .800 341 Pittsburgh 5 5 0 .500 200 Cleveland 4 6 0 .400 192 Cincinnati 0 10 0 .000 147 West W L T Pct PF Kansas City 7 4 0 .636 308 Oakland 6 4 0 .600 225 L.A. Chargers 4 7 0 .364 224 Denver 3 7 0 .300 172 NATIONAL CONFERENCE “I’ve always been pretty consis- tent at the plate right-handed,” he said. “Left-handed was a process, and we decided after the injury it wasn’t something worth risking. Going to focus on the right-handed bat.” Paustian will be going from one winning program to another. The Sun Devils are 20-time confer- ence champions, have reached the College World Series 21 times and have won fi ve national champion- ships. “The coaches were amazing, the coaching staff loved me, (and) I loved them. I felt a connection with them, was able to communicate with them really well,” he said. “I’m a kid that’s always working out, I’m always hitting, always doing stuff, being able to do that outdoors with the top coaches in the country was pretty special to me. And they win. We’re going to win a national cham- pionship. It’s going to be fun.” PA 108 170 255 305 PA 249 226 197 222 PA 196 202 228 276 PA 256 250 218 197 East L T Pct PF PA Dallas 4 0 .600 286 197 Philadelphia 5 0 .500 234 230 N.Y. Giants 8 0 .200 203 289 Washington 9 0 .100 125 253 South W L T Pct PF PA New Orleans 8 2 0 .800 238 199 Carolina 5 5 0 .500 228 257 Atlanta 3 7 0 .300 220 262 Tampa Bay 3 7 0 .300 277 313 North W L T Pct PF PA Green Bay 8 2 0 .800 250 205 Minnesota 8 3 0 .727 289 205 Chicago 4 6 0 .400 169 174 Detroit 3 6 1 .350 244 272 West W L T Pct PF PA San Francisco 9 1 0 .900 295 155 Seattle 8 2 0 .800 275 254 L.A. Rams 6 4 0 .600 243 198 Arizona 3 7 1 .318 248 317 All Times PST Thursday, Nov. 21 Houston 20, Indianapolis 17 Sunday, Nov. 24 Tampa Bay at Atlanta, 10 a.m. Miami at Cleveland, 10 a.m. Seattle at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. N.Y. Giants at Chicago, 10 a.m. Carolina at New Orleans, 10 a.m. Denver at Buffalo, 10 a.m. Detroit at Washington, 10 a.m. Oakland at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m. Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 10 a.m. Jacksonville at Tennessee, 1:05 p.m. Dallas at New England, 1:25 p.m. Green Bay at San Francisco, 5:20 p.m. Open: Arizona, Minnesota, Kansas City, L.A. Chargers Monday, Nov. 25 Baltimore at L.A. Rams, 5:15 p.m. W 6 5 2 1 College Football Top 25 Schedule Saturday No. 1 LSU vs. Arkansas, 4 p.m. No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Penn State, 9 a.m. No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 24 Texas A&M, 12:30 p.m. No. 5 Alabama vs. Western Carolina, 9 a.m. No. 6 Oregon at Arizona State, 4:30 p.m. No. 7 Utah at Arizona, 7 p.m. No. 8 Oklahoma vs. TCU, 5 p.m. No. 11 Minnesota at Northwestern, 9 a.m. No. 12 Michigan at Indiana, 12:30 p.m. No. 13 Baylor vs. Texas, 12:30 p.m. No. 14 Wisconsin vs. Purdue, 1 p.m. SCOTT Continued from Page 7A pool, but is now back swimming at a maximum effort. Nebraska Omaha took a chance on her in spite of that, offering her a spot on the team the spring. She verbally committed to the pro- gram in June, and offi cially signed her letter of intent Nov. 14. “For me I was really nervous about telling them (about the in- jury), but it was a really positive discussion,” she said. “They were super encouraging, super positive. They just wanted me to work my hardest to get back. They had full faith in me. They didn’t think wasn’t going to get back to where I was.” Scott admitted she doesn’t feel like she is back to 100% in the pool, but is hoping by midseason to be back at full form. “All my times are getting back Ronald Bond/The Observer Ray Rodriguez/The Dalles Chronicle Wide receiver Okean Green is The Dalles’ leading rusher with 1,089 yards and No. 2 receiver with 642 yards. Green and the Riverhawks face La Grande Saturday in the 4A semifi nals. “We gotta shut down No. 5 (Green) and 13 (Anderson), and No. 3 (Dalles Seufal- emua) runs really hard,” PREP OSAA State Football Playoffs Class 6A Quarterfi nals Friday No. 16 Mountainside at No. 9 Barlow, 7 p.m. No. 5 West Linn vs. No. 4 Central Catholic, Hillsboro Stadium, 7 p.m. No. 22 Lakeridge at No. 3 Lake Oswego, 7 p.m. No. 7 Tualatin at No. 2 Jesuit, 7 p.m. Class 5A Semifi nals Saturday No. 4 Silverton vs. No. 1 Thurston, Autzen Stadium, noon No. West Albany vs. No. 2 Crater, Autzen Stadium, 5 p.m. Class 4A Semifi nals No. 5 Marist vs. No. 1 Banks, Hillsboro Stadium, 5:30 p.m. No. 10 The Dalles vs. No. 3 La Grande, Hermiston, 5:30 p.m. Class 3A Semifi nals No. 5 Rainier vs. No. 1 Hidden Valley, Cottage Grove, 4 p.m. No. 3 Burns vs. No. 2 Santiam Chris- tian, Hermiston, 11 a.m. Class 2A Semifi nals No. 4 Monroe vs. No. 1 Kennedy, Hillsboro Stadium, 11 a.m. No. 7 Knappa vs. No. 3 Heppner, Hillsboro Stadium, 2:15 p.m. Class 1A Semifi nals No. 4 Camas Valley vs. No. 1 St. Paul, Cottage Grove, noon No. 3 Crane vs. No. 2 Adrian/Jordan Valley, Hermiston, 2:15 p.m. to where they were, but I think by January I can have lifetime bests in all my events,” she said. “I’ve been working really hard, and my coach and I have been working really hard to get better.” Dutto said Nebraska Omaha is getting a versatile swimmer who can perform all the strokes and cover a variety of distances. “She swims the individual medley which involves all four strokes and does good in all four,” he said. “She’s got a good distance repertoire. She can swim the 200 or 100. She could really do well in the individual backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle events. That’s some- thing teams covet.” As for where she is in her recovery process, Dutto said. “There’s a night and day differ- ence from where she was at the end of the last high school season (to now).” La Grande’s Nathan Reed waits for a pass Wednesday night during practice at Com- munity Stadium. Reed and the Tigers face The Dalles Saturday in the 4A semifi nals, a rematch of a 48-14 win earlier this season by La Grande. per game, allowed 28.2, and done most of its damage on the ground. The Riverhawks have rushed the ball more than 68% of the time A couple of key players — including leading receiver Zac Anderson — will be on the fi eld in the rematch against La Grande. Ander- son, who missed the fi rst game against the Tigers, has been a major cog in the re- ceiving corps with 652 yards and 12 touchdowns — both tops on the team. Green has been a force most of the season for The Dalles, but was held in check in the fi rst matchup against La Grande. Green is the team’s leading rusher from his wide receiver position — primarily on fl y sweeps — with 1,089 yards and 15 touchdowns. He’s also the No. 2 receiver with 642 yards and eight scores. Green, however, had just eight total yards in the fi rst game. No. 15 Notre Dame vs. Boston Col- lege, 11:30 a.m. No. 16 Auburn vs. Samford, Noon No. 17 Cincinnati vs. Temple, 4 p.m. No. 18 Memphis at South Florida, 1 p.m. No. 19 Iowa vs. Illinois, 9 a.m. No. 20 Boise State at Utah State, 7:30 p.m. No. 21 SMU at Navy, 12:30 p.m. No. 22 Oklahoma State at West Virginia, 9 a.m. No. 23 Appalachian State vs. Texas State, 11:30 a.m. No. 25 Virginia Tech vs. Pittsburgh, 12:30 p.m. senior defensive back Daw- son Gaertner said. “They got those two really athletic receivers. We gotta focus on them, stay disciplined and not let anyone slip through the cracks.” Seufalemua, a 275-pound bruiser who had 57 yards rushing against La Grande the fi rst contest, is the No. 2 rusher on the team with 551 yards on the season. Defensively, McIlmoil said The Dalles runs a 3-3 stack, which he said is unusual for 4A football. Senior center Joel Rogers said the front line player for the River- hawks have also altered their scheme some. “They rush a lot more with the D-line,” he said. “The fi rst time I was getting chopped every play. That’s not the case anymore. They switched a lot of their per- sonnel around.” Like La Grande, The Dalles is in its fi rst semifi nal contest in decades. The pro- gram last made the semifi - nals in 1993 when it suffered a 35-6 loss to Junction City in Class 3A. The year before saw the team’s last semifi nal victory, a 25-17 win against Silverton before a 53-7 loss to St. Helens in the title game. All time, the program is 2-2 in the semifi nals, and 1-1 when it gets to the champi- onship. The program won the 1947 Class A champion- ship game over Hillsboro 47-7. This is the fi rst time the programs have ever met in the postseason. “We don’t want to come out and let them think they have a shot at beating us. We have to come out and play like we have the last 3-4 games here, play our guts out, and as long as we can do that we should come out on top,” McIlmoil said.