6A
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
The Observer
Plut to
lead EOU
women’s
lacrosse
program
Burrow, LSU cap perfect season
By Ronald Bond
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Eastern
Oregon University has its fi rst
ever lacrosse coach.
Monica Plut,
who recently
wrapped up
her fi rst year as
head coach of
NCAA Division
Plut
II school Adams
State University
in Colorado, was named the
head coach Tuesday by the
school in a press release.
“She is extremely passionate
about the sport, of just grow-
ing the sport,” EOU athletic
director Anji Weissenfl uh told
The Observer Tuesday. “She is
very well connected within the
lacrosse community, (and were
impressed with) her ability to
network (and) be passionate
about the sport.”
Plut, who according to the
press release is a US Lacrosse
Level 3 certifi ed coach, has
been a head coach in several
locations around the country
at the high school and col-
legiate levels. After starting
at a coach in Chicago in 2014,
she coached in Kentucky from
2016-18, leading Woodford
County High School to a berth
in the 2017 state title game
and the next season leading
Sayre School to a league semi-
fi nal berth and a No. 1 ranking
in the East District.
Plut went 0-13 in her only
year at Adams State, though
she was coaching a program
that has struggled to fi nd suc-
cess in its nine-year existence
and has garnered just 11
victories in that time.
According to the EOU press
release, Plut taught the sport
to middle and high school PE
classes in her time at Adams
State and looks to do the same
in La Grande to build the sport
in the region.
“I am extremely excited
for the opportunity to start a
lacrosse program from scratch
at Eastern Oregon,” Plut said
in the press release. “With the
sport of lacrosse growing on
the west coast and at the colle-
giate level, it is exciting to be a
part of that growth by bringing
it to EOU and the valley.”
Weissenfl uh said Plut, a
2014 Georgia Southern Uni-
versity graduate who founded
the women’s lacrosse club
team at the school, has im-
pacted the sport by putting on
training sessions for coaches
and clinics nationally.
“One of the focuses is
to grow the recognition of
women’s lacrosse out here in
the Pacifi c Northwest,” Weis-
senfl uh said.
The A.D. also said Plut has
a background in sales, which
will further help her on the
recruiting trail.
“A huge component of
recruiting is having the skillset
and the tools to recruit,”
Weissenfl uh said. “With that
background, it will be possible.”
Plut also impressed the hir-
ing committee with, Weissen-
fl uh said, “how she was able
to answer questions, through
not only her words but her
past experiences of what we
were looking for and needing
when we start a new program.
And not only a new program,
but what we would call an
emerging sport in the Pacifi c
Northwest. It’s still growing.”
Photo by Gerald Herbert/The Associated Press
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow passes against Clemson Monday during the second
half of the NCAA College Football Playoff national championship game.
By Ralph Russo
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Joe
Burrow threw fi ve touch-
down passes, ran for another
score and capped one of the
greatest seasons in college
football history by leading
No. 1 LSU to a 42-25 victory
against No. 3 Clemson on
Monday night to win the
national championship.
The small-town Ohio kid
turned Louisiana legend
delivered the Tigers (15-0)
their fi rst national title since
2007 and fourth overall,
breaking a few more records
along the way in what was
already an historic season.
The fi ve TD passes and 463
yards passing are the most
for a BCS or College Foot-
ball Playoff title game as are
his six total touchdowns.
He became the fi rst major
college quarterback to throw
60 touchdown passes in a
season as LSU snapped de-
fending national champion
Clemson’s 29-game winning
streak. For the fi rst time in
his college career, Clemson
star quarterback Trevor
Lawrence was on the losing
team. The Tigers (14-1) had
won his fi rst 25 starts.
But on this night, Law-
rence (18 for 37 for 234
yards) was no match for
Burrow — the Ohio State
transferred who threw all
of 16 TD passes last season
with LSU.
His ascent has been diz-
zying and unprecedented.
Running a version of the
New Orleans Saints’ offense
that was brought to LSU by
30-year-old assistant coach Joe
Brady, Burrow and an array
of talented receivers trans-
formed these Tigers into one
of the most prolific offenses
college football has ever seen.
It was coach Ed Orgeron’s
vision for LSU when he was
Badgers pull away
Observer staff
The Powder Valley
Badgers boys basketball
team scored 20 points in
the fourth quarter Tuesday
to put away Imbler, 65-54,
in an Old Oregon League
contest in North Powder.
Powder Valley and Imbler
played neck-and-neck for
three quarters, with the
Badgers holding a slim
45-44 lead after the third
before taking control.
Roper Bingham scored 20
points to lead the Badgers.
Reece Dixon added 18 and
Ethan Stephens scored 13.
Jayce Burnette had a
game-high 21 points to lead
the Panthers. Isaac Herron
added nine points and Wy-
att Frost scored eight.
The Badgers (10-3 overall,
2-0 OOL) travel to Wallowa
Friday, while Imbler (3-8,
1-1) hosts Griswold Friday.
Union 40, Weston-
McEwen 32: Keegan
Glenn scored 15 points as
the Bobcats picked up their
fi rst Blue Mountain Confer-
ence victory with a road win
over the TigerScots.
Cole McLean and Cam-
eron Dillman added seven
points apiece for Union.
The Bobcats took a 13-5
fi rst quarter lead, held the
margin at eight at halftime,
then held on in the second
half despite Weston-McEw-
en drawing closer.
The Bobcats (10-5 overall,
1-1 BMC) host Stanfi eld
Friday.
Girls
Powder Valley 48,
Imbler 14: Belle Blair had
20 points and six rebounds in
her second game back from
an ankle injury as the Bad-
gers routed Imbler in a home
Old Oregon League contest.
Autumn Davis added
nine points for Powder
Valley, which outscored the
Panthers 15-2 in the second
to take an insurmountable
23-6 halftime lead and went
ahead 38-10 after three.
Joelle Treat had fi ve points
to lead Imbler, and Kenna
Whitmore added four.
The Badgers (6-5 overall
2-0, OOL) visit Wallowa Fri-
day, while the Panthers (0-12,
0-2) host Griswold Friday.
Union 49, Weston-
McEwen 22: Callie Glenn
scored a game-high 15
points, Kylie Marriott added
12 and the Bobcats pound-
ed the TigerScots on the
road in a Blue Mountain
Conference contest.
Glenn had eight of the
Bobcats’ points in the fi rst
quarter as they took a 15-6
lead after one and added on
throughout the night. They
led 27-12 at the break and
by 25 after three quarters.
Kaylee Lantis added six
points for Union (12-3 over-
all, 2-0 BMC), which hosts
Stanfi eld Friday.
Rescheduled: The Elgin
boys and girls basketball
games at Griswold Tuesday
were rescheduled to Jan.
21. The Huskies take to
the court Friday when they
host Joseph.
Cove swimmers have
success in Madras
Tim Koza had a fi rst- and
second-place fi nish for the
Cove Leopards Saturday at
the White Buffalo Classic in
Madras, pacing the Leopards
to a seventh-place fi nish.
Koza won the boys 500-
yard freestyle in a time of
5:21.90, and was second
in the 200 freestyle with a
time of 1:58.60.
Taylor Fox, the other
Leopard swimmer to score,
added a third-place in the
50 freestyle (24.91 seconds)
and was sixth in the 100
freestyle (56.19).
Editor’s note: The Observer
reported Monday that the
Cove team did not make the
trip to Madras. The Observer
regrets the error.
promoted from interim coach
in 2016. There was plenty
of skepticism when LSU
tabbed the Cajun who had
failed in his fi rst crack as a
head coach with Mississippi.
Orgeron has proven to be
the perfect fi t for LSU. Just
like Burrow.
After tossing his fi fth
touchdown pass of the night,
a perfectly placed jumped
ball to Terrace Marshall Jr.
from 24 yards out to make it
42-25 with 12:08 left in the
fourth, Burrow signaled TD
and strolled to the sideline.
The Superdome is LSU’s
dome away from home,
about 80 miles from the
Tigers Baton Rouge campus,
and it was rocking.
The LSU band broke out
its unoffi cial anthem, “Neck,”
and as the Tigers bounced
and waved towels on the
sideline, Burrow just sat on
the bench, bobbing his head
and waving one arm.
Joe Cool. Just doing his
thing. Next stop: The NFL
draft, where he will likely be
the fi rst pick in April.
The fi nal score was
lopsided, but it was far from
easy for LSU and Burrow.
Clemson pushed LSU into
the deepest hole it has had
to climb out of this season
in the fi rst half. Two weeks
after Lawrence ran for a ca-
reer-best 107 yards against
Ohio State, he opened the
scoring with a 1-yard jaunt
around right end in the fi rst
quarter.
LOCAL SCHEDULE
Friday
PREP GIRLS
BASKETBALL
Joseph at Elgin, 5 p.m.
La Grande at Ontario,
5:30 p.m.
Enterprise at Heppner,
6 p.m.
Stanfi eld at Union, 6 p.m.
Powder Valley at
Wallowa, 6 p.m.
Cove at Nixyaawii, 6 p.m.
Griswold at Imbler, 6 p.m.
PREP BOYS
BASKETBALL
Joseph at Elgin, 6:30 p.m.
La Grande at Ontario,
7 p.m.
Stanfi eld at Union, 7:30
p.m.
Enterprise at Heppner,
7:30 p.m.
Powder Valley at
Wallowa, 7:30 p.m.
Griswold at Imbler, 7:30
p.m.
Cove at Nixyaawii, 7:30
p.m.
PREP WRESTLING
La Grande, Elgin
at Oregon Classic,
Redmond, all day
Enterprise at 2020
Padilla Invite, Parma,
Idaho, all day
MEN’S COLLEGE
WRESTLING
Eastern Oregon at
Missouri Valley Invite,
all day
WOMEN’S COLLEGE
WRESTLING
Eastern Oregon vs.
Grays Harbor CC at
Redmond, 5 p.m.
— Subject to change
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