7A
Friday, December 20, 2019
The Observer
Photo by Ben Lonergan/EO Media Group
La Grande’s Parker Robinson was one of three Tigers
who are up for a state player of the year award.
Photo by Ben Lonergan/EO Media Group
La Grande football players, from left, Zach Wiggins, Dawson Gaertner, Nathan Reed and Brody MacMillan, cel-
ebrate following Reed’s interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter of the 2019 4A state championship
game. The Tigers could fi nd themselves in a hybrid 4A/3A league in 2020 that would merge the GOL and the EOL.
Could the Greater Oregon League be
GREAT AGAIN?
■ Latest proposal for prep football in 2020-22 includes
a 4A/3A hybrid league between GOL and EOL
By Ronald Bond
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The Greater Oregon
League could see a revival in 2020.
Or, at least, become a hybrid of
greatness in football.
The Oregon School Activities As-
sociation’s football ad hoc committee is
looking to realign some leagues for the
fi nal two years of the 2018-22 block,
and its latest proposal, announced
this week, would create a league in
Eastern Oregon similar to the GOL of
the early 2000s.
Under the proposal, GOL members
La Grande, Baker and Ontario, all 4A
schools, would join a 4A/3A hybrid spe-
cial district for football with Class 3A
Eastern Oregon League teams Nyssa,
Vale and Burns.
McLoughlin, which played an inde-
pendent schedule this fall, would also
be in the proposed seven-team hybrid
district, as it is moving down to 3A for
football beginning in 2020. Current EOL
teams Umatilla and Irrigon are set to
move down to 2A starting next year.
“I’m excited that we’re not in a
three-team league anymore (if this
passes),” head coach Rich McIlmoil
said. “All of us (GOL coaches) decided
we did not like playing each other
twice each year.”
Since Oregon’s shift to a six-class
system beginning in the 2006-07
school year, the GOL had been a
four-team league — and this fall was
forced to be a three-team entity when
McLoughlin went independent.
“The (ad hoc) group supports this
new league confi guration as it ad-
dresses the league size issue immedi-
ately and provides an opportunity to
demonstrate that mixed classifi cations
within a single district can be viable,”
OSAA’s update on Monday’s ad hoc
committee meeting said.
The move — if the ad hoc committee
sets it as its fi nal recommendation to the
OSAA executive board Jan. 22 and it’s
subsequently approved Feb. 10 by the
OSAA — will help resolve the biggest
issue that has plagued the GOL the past
14 years: the lack of teams, which has of-
ten forced league members to scramble
to fi nd nonleague opponents.
La Grande athletic director Darren
Goodman said his preferred choice for
a league setup is different from the
seven-team proposal, but he believes it
would create a competitive league.
“Ideally I would like a six-team
league with all 4A schools, but that’s
not really available right now,” Good-
man said. “Their other proposal was a
fi ve-team league.... I think (the hybrid
is) OK. Geographically it makes sense.”
The prior proposal Goodman referred
to was a fi ve-team special district in 4A
■ How Madras helped get
the hybrid to the OSAA
By Ronald Bond
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The idea for a 4A/3A
hybrid football district between the
Greater Oregon League and the Eastern
Oregon League was presented Monday
to the OSAA football ad hoc committee by
the athletic director of a school that hasn’t
had any ties to the GOL for 25 years.
Madras AD Evan Brown proposed
the idea to the committee at its public
meeting after a conference call late last
week with the GOL’s athletic directors
and follow-up discussions with Baker
AD Buell Gonzales Jr.
The prior proposal by the ad hoc
committee was going to have Brown’s
White Buffaloes in league with Baker,
La Grande, Ontario and Crook County,
and would have resulted in the team
facing several lengthy trips from Cen-
tral Oregon to the east side, or from the
east-side schools to Madras.
Brown told The Observer that Ma-
dras moved out of the GOL for the same
reasons in 1994, and he presented the
OSAA with data on the impact travel
to the east side would have for his team
versus staying in a league closer to
home.
“People (on the west side) don’t under-
stand how far it is to the east side of the
state of Oregon,” Brown said.
The trip between Madras and Ontario, a
See Hybrid / Page 8A
More state, league
domination for LHS
By Ronald Bond
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The La
Grande Tigers loaded up
on players named to the
4A all-state football team,
much the same way they
loaded up on wins dur-
ing their 2019 state title
season.
The Tigers picked up
nine fi rst-team all-state
bids — three players
got two apiece — and 12
all-state nods overall, The
Oregonian announced this
week.
Additionally, the Tigers
have an opportunity to
sweep offensive, defensive
and coach of the year cate-
gories. Quarterback Parker
Robinson and running back
Nathan Reed are among
the fi nalists for offensive
player of the year.
“I think both have a good
argument to be player of
the year,” head coach Rich
McIlmoil said. “I really
hope it’s one of them. I’ll be
amazed if it’s not.”
Gabe Shukle, meanwhile,
is in the running for defen-
sive player of the year.
“He got GOL defensive
player of the year, and he
was pretty dominant on
defense. He’s got a shot,”
McIlmoil said.
The coach also earned a
nod as fi nalist for coach of
the year.
“It really shows how
hard he has worked and
his dedication to our team,”
Reed said of McIlmoil’s
nomination. “It was very
special how he developed
and cared for us not only
as football players but as
young men as well.”
Those fi nal three awards
will be announced early
next week.
“I kind of expected it,”
McIlmoil said of the bevy
of all-state awards. “Those
kids put in a lot of hard
work to get to that point. I
thought our kids deserved
it. All the recognition we
got, they deserved it.”
Reed was a fi rst-team
selection at running back
and at linebacker.
“I thank my family, team,
coaches and the community
for all their support,” Reed,
who was also the GOL
offensive player of the year,
said about being both the
league POY and a fi nalist
for the state award. “Also I’d
like to give a special thanks
to the offensive line for
doing such an amazing job
this year without receiving
much of the glory.”
Shukle was a fi rst-team
winner at tight end and on
the defensive line.
The senior said he was
“thankful” to be nominated
as the state’s defensive
player.
“I’d like to thank my
family, friends and coaches
for getting me to where I
am today,” he said. “And I’m
also very grateful for my
See Tigers / Page 8A
See Madras / Page 8A
Union rolls in Christmas Classic opener
Observer staff
UNION — Keegan Glenn
scored 25 points Thursday to
lead the Union boys basket-
ball team to an easy 55-27
win over Dayville/Monument
at the Union Christmas
Classic.
Jace Phillips and Cole
McLean each added eight
points for Union, which
pulled away after a tight
fi rst quarter, using a 16-1
second-quarter run to take
a 28-12 halftime lead and
control of the game.
The Bobcats (5-1 overall)
face Jordan Valley Friday in
the tournament semifi nals.
Also at the Union
Christmas Classic:
MUSTANGS GET PAST
HUSKIES
The Elgin Huskies fell
Prep Basketball
Roundup
short Thursday in their fi rst
game in Union against the
Jordan Valley Mustangs,
45-35.
Kaden McClure led the
way with 12 points and hit
three 3-pointers for Elgin.
Corbin Remington added six
points.
The Huskies (2-4 overall)
faced Dayville/Monument
Friday in the consolation
semifi nals.
COUNCIL TOPS BADGERS
The Powder Valley Bad-
gers saw their fi ve-game
winning streak end Thurs-
day with a 67-58 loss to the
Council Lumberjacks.
Dominick Grende led
three players in double
fi gures with 16 points. Roper
Bingham added 14 and
Reece Dixon scored 11.
The Lumberjacks out-
scored the Badgers 40-26 in
the second and third quar-
ters to break an early tie
and build a 52-38 lead after
three quarters. The Badgers
scored 20 in the fourth, but
fell short.
The Badgers (5-2 overall)
faced Cove Friday in the
consolation semifi nals.
COVE FALLS TO CRANE
The Cove Leopards were
taken down by the Crane
Mustangs Thursday, 55-28.
Patrick Frisch led the
Leopards with 17 points, and
Riley Lindsey added six.
Cove took an 18-17 lead
into the locker room at
halftime, but the Mustangs
used an effective full-court
press to turn the game, and
led 36-21 after three.
Cove (1-5 overall) faced
Powder Valley Friday in the
consolation semifi nals.
Girls Christmas Classic:
BADGERS SLIP BY COUNCIL
Autumn Davis scored
17 points Thursday as the
Powder Valley Badgers held
on for a 38-33 win over the
Council Lumberjacks.
Dallee Jo Bingham added
seven points for the Badgers
in the win, which ended a
two-game losing streak.
Powder Valley had a slim
17-14 halftime lead and was
still up just three after three
quarters, but held on. The
Badgers were 6-for-7 from
the free-throw line in the
See Roundup / Page 8A
Photo by Ben Lonergan/EO Media Group
La Grande’s Blaine Shaw was a fi rst-team all-state
wide receiver and defensive back.