SPORTS
A8 — THE OBSERVER
WRESTLING
Continued from Page A7
While Burns and Hunter
have proven track records,
Hislop is excited for the
potential of several up-and-
comers on the team. Junior
Kadyn Trick placed at the
district meet as a sopho-
more and will look to be
a strong contributor at the
138-pound weight class.
“He’s worked hard to get
ready for this year,” Hislop
said of Trick.
Senior Krager Muilen-
burg was injured the last
two seasons, but will be
another name to watch for
Imbler.
“He’s come in as a
senior, really strong,”
Hislop said. “I am really
impressed with him in prac-
tice so far.”
A new element for
Hislop and the Panthers
will be a presence in the
heavyweight divisions.
Gabe Harder, a 250-pound
freshman, will look to con-
tinue to improve as a wres-
BOYS
Continued from Page A7
play begins in January.
“It’ll be good for them.
They’ll struggle early on,
but individually I think
they’ll all fi nd things to
work on,” Haddock said.
“The goal is to collectively
make it work.”
The coach noted that a
return to a more normal rou-
tine after last year’s pan-
demic-modifi ed season will
help the Panthers. They had
less time to acclimate to
tler and add versatility in
Imbler’s weight classes.
According to Hislop, Imbler
has not had a heavyweight
wrestler in about eight
years.
“He comes to practice
and works real hard,” he
said. “If they all work hard,
I think we can teach them
enough about wrestling to
be successful.”
On the girls side, Isabella
Warg and Lucy Camacho
will look to make some
noise for Imbler this year.
Hislop is looking forward
to having two girls wres-
tlers that can help each
other improve by practicing
against each other.
“(Warg) is a hard worker
and has great balance,”
Hislop said. “I’m excited
because girls wrestling is
really getting going.”
The Panthers get the
season started at the Enter-
prise Kickoff on Friday,
Dec. 3.
“If they all work hard,
they’ll continue to get better
as the season goes on,”
Hislop said.
one another’s skill sets and
grow as a team, which Had-
dock said is crucial during
a long basketball season.
Coming off a tough spring
season, Imbler is hoping its
young group can learn from
its seniors and turn heads in
the Old Oregon League.
“They have the poten-
tial to do a lot of really
good things,” Haddock
said. “We’re going to have
to fi ght through the bumps
and bruises of being young.
They’re going to have to
learn to play together as a
unit.”
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2021
THRILLER
Continued from Page A7
deep into Adrian territory,
Powder Valley ran out of
time before the half and
went into the locker rooms
leading by two points.
In the second half,
touchdowns came much
easier for Adrian’s and
Powder Valley’s off en-
sive weapons. Senior
Casey Vaughan opened the
scoring with an eight-yard
receiving touchdown to put
the Badgers up 24-14. Once
again, Adrian responded
quickly and scored on a
23-yard touchdown pass
from Conley Martin to
Gavin Bayes to cut the
lead back to 24-22 just
four minutes into the third
quarter.
Powder Valley quarter-
back Reece Dixon was effi -
cient throughout the game,
coming up with huge
plays in the second half.
He scored on a 23-yard
touchdown run with 5:30
remaining in the third
quarter to give the Bad-
gers a 32-22 lead. Dixon
fi nished the game with 129
passing yards, 49 rushing
yards and three total touch-
downs. Kaden Krieger,
Dixon’s top target, was
strong throughout the
contest and hauled in 72
receiving yards.
As the fi nal seconds
ticked off the clock in the
third quarter, Adrian run-
ning back Jace Martin
scored on a 13-yard
rushing touchdown to cut
Powder Valley’s lead to
32-30. At the conclusion
of two dominant seasons,
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
In a controversial call, an interception by Adrian’s Jace Martin (13) is
ruled a pass interference, provoking jeers from Adrian fans, during
the OSAA 1A State Championship game on Nov. 27, 2021, between
the Adrian Antelopes and Powder Valley Badgers.
both teams’ championship
hopes came down to the
fi nal 12 minutes.
Early in the fourth
quarter, Powder was able to
drive deep into Adrian ter-
ritory but suff ered a major
blow — Dixon left the fi eld
due to injury. Just several
plays later on fourth-and-
goal from the Adrian nine-
yard line, Dixon returned
to the fi eld and ran in a
nine-yard touchdown. He
would play sparingly for
the rest of the game.
“We stayed focused
and never gave up,” Cobb
said of battling through
adversity.
The Badgers could not
convert the extra point,
which kept the Ante-
lopes within one score at
38-30 with 9:14 left in the
fourth quarter. This proved
costly as Adrian gained
momentum late in the
matchup.
Jace Martin was back
at it again for the Ante-
lopes on the ensuing drive,
closing out a two-yard
touchdown run. Conley
Martin converted the two-
point conversion to knot
the game at 38-38 with
just less than fi ve minutes
remaining.
“It was a tough game,”
Cobb said. “On both sides,
the teams played real good
football.”
The tension was pal-
pable on both sidelines
as the sun began to set
on an epic championship
matchup.
Dixon came back into
the game, but a big hit
on third-and-21 led to a
fumble that gave Adrian
the ball at the Powder
Valley six-yard line. Just
one play later, Conley
Martin ran in from six
yards out to give the Ante-
lopes their fi rst lead of the
game since the fi rst quarter.
Adrian led 46-38 with 2:37
remaining in the game.
Adrian came away
with several key stops to
force a fourth-and-11 at
the Powder Valley 21-yard
line with just 1:46 to go.
With the season on the line,
Dixon was unable to com-
plete a pass to Cole Martin
as the Antelopes secured
the victory.
“I wish we would have
come out on top, but they
were better than us today,”
Cobb said.
The title is the second
consecutive offi cial OSAA
state championship for
Adrian, which defeated
St. Paul in 2019. This year,
the Antelopes and Powder
Valley were on a colli-
sion course all season in a
strong year for 1A football
on the eastern side of the
state.
“It’s outstanding,” Cobb
said of the large turnout for
the game. “This is small-
town football. To play in
east Oregon on grass and
to have a fi nish like that
— you can’t get any better
than that.”
For Powder Valley, the
season fi nishes just one
touchdown shy of glory.
The Badgers concluded the
year as state runners-up
after going 11-2 on the
year.
“It was a great season,”
Cobb said. “They had so
much focus all season.
Both teams played two sea-
sons in one academic year.
That’s a lot of football to
stay healthy for.”
Powder Valley’s large
group of seniors helped the
team get to the champion-
ship game for the fi rst time
since 2003, which marks
just the fourth time that the
school has competed in the
fi nal.
“It’s been really fun,”
Cobb said. “We’ll be back
next year.”
ON THE SLATE
GIRLS
Continued from Page A7
also has its challenges. The
team’s size gives it oppor-
tunity in the paint, but there
still is a need to identify
who will be the shooters on
the perimeter.
“We are trying to build
our culture,” Sweet said.
“We are trying to estab-
lish routines and make sure
everyone understands the
system with so many new
faces.”
Imbler begins its season
Wednesday, Dec. 1, when it
hosts Union.
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
Umatilla at La Grande, 5:30 p.m.
Jordan Valley at Powder Valley, 6 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 1
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Union at Imbler, 7 p.m.
Wallowa at Enterprise, 7 p.m.
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
Nyssa at La Grande, 5:30 p.m.
Union at Imbler, 5:30 p.m.
Wallowa at Enterprise, 5:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, DEC. 3
COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL
Eastern Oregon at Southern Oregon,
7:30 p.m.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Eastern Oregon at Oregon Tech,
5:30 p.m.
COLLEGE MEN’S WRESTLING
Eastern Oregon at Providence Triangu-
lar, Great Falls, Montana, TBA
THURSDAY, DEC. 2
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
La Grande at Umatilla, 7 p.m.
Jordan Valley at Powder Valley,
7:30 p.m.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S WRESTLING
Eastern Oregon at Battle of the Rockies,
Great Falls, Montana, TBA
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Cove vs. Adrian, Union Lion’s Tourna-
ment, 4:30 p.m.
Joseph vs. Crane, Prairie City, 4:30 p.m.
Echo at Union, Union Lion’s Tourna-
ment, 7:30 p.m.
La Grande (JV) at Elgin, 7:30 p.m.
Imbler at Stanfi eld, 7:30 p.m.
South Wasco County at Wallowa,
7:30 p.m.
Enterprise at Prairie City, 7:30 p.m.
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
Adrian at Cove, Union Lion’s Tourna-
ment, 3 p.m.
Joseph vs. Crane, Prairie City, 3 p.m.
La Grande (JV) at Elgin, 5:30 p.m.
Enterprise at Prairie City, 6 p.m.
Banks at La Grande, 6 p.m.
Echo at Union, Union Lion’s Tourna-
ment, 6 p.m.
Imbler at Stanfi eld, 6 p.m.
South Wasco County at Wallowa, 6 p.m.
PREP WRESTLING
Imbler, Elgin, Union/Cove, Enterprise at
Enterprise Kickoff , TBA
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