7A
Friday, November 29, 2019
The Observer
Photo by Christopher Oertell/Pamplin Media Group
Banks’ receiver Jacob Slifka, right, and the Braves play for a second straight state
championship Saturday when they face La Grande in Hermiston.
Photo by Ben Lonergan/EO Media Group
La Grande’s Payton Cooper, left, scored a touchdown in last week’s 68-0 semifi nal win
over The Dalles. The Tigers play Saturday for their fi rst state championship in 45 years.
Collision course to the final
■ La Grande squares off against defending state champion Banks in the Class 4A title game Saturday night in Hermiston
By Ronald Bond
The Observer
LA GRANDE — For many
of the La Grande Tigers, it
still hasn’t fully set in that
they’re going to play for a
state championship Saturday.
“It’s mind-blowing that
we’ve made it this far,” senior
lineman Chris Woodworth
said. “It’s always been our
goal, but now that it’s here it’s
really humbling and crazy to
think about.”
Despite the shock of be-
ing there, head coach Rich
McIlmoil said his team has
stayed focused during prac-
tice this week as the Tigers
prepare to square off against
defending state cham-
pion Banks in Hermiston in
Saturday’s Class 4A state
championship game.
“They know what’s at
stake right now,” McIlmoil
said. “They’ve heard all the
hype. They know how good
Banks is. They’ve watched a
lot of fi lm. They know all the
work they put in this season.
I think at the end of the day
they just know they need to
go out and play hard.”
The teams have seemingly
been on a collision course
most of the season, both pow-
ered by a stout defense — La
Grande has allowed just 7.91
points per game, Banks 12.64
— and a dynamic offense —
45.82 and 37.64 points per
game, respectively. They were
the only teams to get through
the regular season unscathed,
and both enter with perfect
11-0 records.
“It’s obvious that these
are the top two teams in the
state,” Banks head coach Cole
Linehan said.
The Braves, in fact, are on
a 22-game winning streak
entering Saturday, and they
come to Hermiston with a
squad that has surpassed
what everyone thought it
would, according to Linehan.
Everyone, that is, who isn’t
in the Banks locker room.
“This team has exceeded
expectations for everyone
except for themselves,” Line-
han said. “They’re a confi dent
group of kids that have
played a lot of good football
and a lot of games.”
The expectations weren’t
there for the Braves consider-
ing they graduated 11 seniors
last spring, including their
starting quarterback and
running back.
Instead, they haven’t
missed a beat. Banks has
settled on a quarterback in
Tanner Shook after Jarred
Evans — the team’s No. 2
receiver — started the fi rst
two games under center.
“We had to replace our
entire backfi eld and say good-
bye to a lot of great athletes,
but it’s been fun to see us
reload,” Linehan said.
The Braves have two solid
receivers in Evans and Jacob
Slifka, a 6-foot-5 senior. Slifka
has 1,029 yards receiving this
season, and Evans has 896.
The rest of the team has 619
yards receiving combined.
“They’re highly disciplined,
well coached, and they got
weapons,” McIlmoil said of
the Braves. “They’re a well-
balanced team. They can run
the football, they can throw
the football (and) they got
some really good skill guys.”
McIlmoil said the Tigers
will have to mix up their
defensive coverage schemes
as they develop a plan to slow
down the Braves’ receiving
corps.
The La Grande pass rush
may be the key, though, as the
coach hopes his defensive line
can put pressure on Shook.
“It’s going to be more about
speed against some of these
guys and trying to get back
there as fast as possible,”
Woodworth said. “We’ve been
throwing in some hand-fi ght-
ing techniques.”
Blaine Shaw, a senior
receiver and defensive back,
will be one of the players
responsible for trying to stop
Slifka and Evans.
“They got a really big
receiver. We’re going to just go
up, play the hands and keep
the ball away from them,” he
said. “Our front seven can
take care of the run, (and) in
the secondary we gotta take
care of those two.”
When the Tigers have the
ball, Banks knows it’s going
to have to stop the running
game, led by Nathan Reed,
who has 1,638 yards on the
season.
But Linehan also knows
the Tigers, though they only
go to the air 17% of the time,
are successful when they do,
with Parker Robinson coming
off a state semifi nal perfor-
mance where he threw three
touchdowns.
“They want to run the
football, (but) the quarterback
can swing it,” Linehan said.
Banks brings a three-man
front on the defensive line
and has a linebacking crew
that Linehan said, “fl ies
around.”
Reed spoke similarly about
what he’s seen of Banks’
defense on fi lm.
“They got a really good
linebacker corps when we’re
on offense,” he said. “I think
they have a pretty good pass
defense.”
Both teams also possess
strong offensive lines that
their coaches praised, and
both said the game likely will
come down to the battle in
the trenches.
“We’re going to go as far as
our O-line and D-line take
us,” Linehan said. “We return
four of fi ve starters on our
line. We have an experienced
group of guys who have been
starting.”
McIlmoil said Banks ap-
pears to have a bit more size
on the line but the Tigers
have a speed advantage.
“We believe we can control
the line of scrimmage. We’re
going to get after it and do
what we can do,” McIlmoil
said. “Their line is a little
bit bigger than we are, but I
think we’re a little faster and
a little bit more athletic than
they are, and I think we’re a
little tougher than they are.”
Senior defensive lineman
Gabe Shukle agreed about
the battle against Banks on
the line.
“They have some studs up
front. We just have to play
our game and execute cor-
rectly,” he said.
McIlmoil said Banks
has an edge in that it is the
defending state champ and
knows what to expect in the
championship game, but
La Grande counters with a
group of seniors he believes
won’t be denied.
“We got 22 seniors that
are die-hard football players.
They’re willing to do what-
ever it takes to win,” he said.
Reed, one of those seniors,
agreed, and said the team
will need to rely on and re-
member the work it has put
in to get to this point.
“We’ve put so much time
into this sport, so much time
into each other, and we’re not
going to let that go to waste
on Saturday,” he said. “I think
we need to keep that in the
back of our heads, how much
time we put into this, and
just go out there and play our
game.”
Past and present: Members of 1974 team meet 2019 team
By Ronald Bond
The Observer
The snow was coming down at
a steady rate during La Grande’s
Wednesday morning practice at
Community Stadium.
It was perhaps fi tting, as players
and coaches from the 1974 state
championship team — which won a
home semifi nal in several inches of
snow on the way to the champion-
ship — came to speak to the team
at the conclusion of practice, then
spent time sharing with the players
about their experiences in winning
the state title.
That team won La Grande’s only
state football title 45 years ago
today — Nov. 29, 1974 — a 26-7 vic-
tory over Corvallis at Civic Stadium
in Portland.
“It was my lifetime goal since I
was in grade school to become a
state champion. It was kind of like
reality happening,” Rick Simonis, a
linebacker and captain of the 1974
team, told The Observer. “Like we
were in a bubble.”
Staff photo by Ronald Bond
The 2019 La Grande Tigers pose with members from the 1974 team following Wednesday’s practice.
Simonis addressed the 2019 team
at the end of Wednesday’s practice
with players and coaches next to
him as he recalled the words of the
late Doc Savage, the head coach who
guided the Tigers to the top in 1974.
“I’d like you all to know you are
all winners. (Only) two teams to
make it to the fi nals,” he said. “But,
wouldn’t it be great to be the best of
the best?”
Simonis told the players they
were “winners right now. You guys
are very successful.” He likened
them in his comments to gladiators,
preparing for battle, and called the
moment they were about to embark
on one of the greatest of their lives,
one that will “mold (and) imprint
who you are, and unite you as a
team. You’ll stay united for life.”
After Jim Dalton, a defensive end
on the ‘74 team, offered a prayer, the
players, past and present, talked
about the experiences they had gone
through, or were about to go through.
“It’s really cool getting to know
how they played (in) the game, and
getting advice,” senior tight end Gabe
Shukle said. “They said they treat it
like...another game in the season.”
Running back Nathan Reed said
the comment about already being
winners stuck with him.
Corky Hunt, who was a defensive
back and quarterback’s coach on
the ‘74 team, said in an interview
with The Observer the players need
to soak the scene in, and he still
remembers vividly the end of the
game 45 years ago.
“You need to enjoy the moment,
because this doesn’t come along
very often,” Hunt said. “I can still
look back and remember (the scene)
after the game in the middle of what
was then Civic Stadium in Portland,
(and) it was pretty memorable.
“It was pretty euphoric.”
The thing this team has the most
in common with the 1974 squad?
Defense, Hunt said.
“I’ve only watched a couple of the
games, but both teams have strong
defenses. We relied on that a lot,”
Hunt said. “The other part I guess
was that we had a running back
like this team does that we relied
on. The offense (this La Grande
team has) is a lot more explosive.”
Both said the team needs to
put its best effort out on the fi eld
Saturday.
“Realize this moment — you can’t
relive it,” Simonis said. “Capitalize
on everything you’ve learned to this
point, and make every play count.”