SPORTS
A10 — THE OBSERVER
THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022
STANDINGS
COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL
Cascade Collegiate Conference
Team
League Overall
Oregon Tech
12-1
15-6
College of Idaho
12-2
18-4
Corban
9-5
14-8
LC State
8-5
15-6
Southern Oregon
8-5 11-10
Eastern Oregon
7-7
13-9
Northwest
6-7
9-9
Warner Paciﬁ c
6-8 10-12
Bushnell
5-9
7-14
Multnomah
4-10
8-14
Evergreen
3-10
3-14
Walla Walla
1-12
2-18
Weston-McEwen
Grant Union
Pilot Rock
Enterprise
1A Old Oregon League
Team
Nixyaawii
Cove
Powder Valley
Joseph
Pine Eagle
Imbler
Wallowa
Griswold
Elgin
2-3
2-5
1-4
0-6
8-7
3-13
4-12
2-14
League Overall
4-1
13-4
4-2
6-7
3-0
13-1
2-1
4-7
2-2
5-7
2-2
4-11
2-3
4-11
0-3
1-12
0-5
0-10
COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
Cascade Collegiate Conference
Team
League Overall
Eastern Oregon
12-2
15-7
LC State
10-3
16-3
Southern Oregon
10-3
17-4
Bushnell
10-4
13-9
Oregon Tech
8-5
15-5
College of Idaho
7-7
13-9
Warner Paciﬁ c
7-7
9-10
Northwest
6-7
12-8
Evergreen
4-9
5-11
Multnomah
4-10
4-17
Corban
3-11
4-17
Walla Walla
0-13
1-19
4A Greater Oregon League
Team
League Overall
Baker
2-0
12-4
La Grande
2-0
9-6
McLoughlin
1-2
6-6
Ontario
0-3
0-11
2A Blue Mountain Conference
Team
League Overall
Stanﬁ eld
5-1
15-3
Union
5-1
14-3
Enterprise
4-1
9-7
Grant Union
4-3
7-9
Weston-McEwen
1-4
8-9
Heppner
1-4
6-9
Pilot Rock
0-5
4-13
1A Old Oregon League
Team
League Overall
Nixyaawii
5-0
13-3
Joseph
3-1
6-6
Powder Valley
3-1
6-8
Wallowa
3-2
9-6
Imbler
3-2
5-11
Elgin
2-4
5-11
Griswold
1-2
5-8
Cove
1-5
2-11
Pine Eagle
0-4
1-11
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
4A Greater Oregon League
Team
League Overall
Baker
2-0
12-3
La Grande
1-0
10-1
McLoughlin
1-0
2-8
Ontario
0-2
0-9
2A Blue Mountain Conference
Team
League Overall
Heppner
6-0
14-2
Stanﬁ eld
6-1
11-7
Union
4-2
10-7
FOOTBALL
Continued from Page A9
committee, as it was looking at
implementing the setup for larger
1A schools and all 2A schools,
a move that would have, in
eﬀ ect, nixed eight-man football
altogether.
But a survey of 1A schools
found they overwhelmingly sup-
ported sticking with eight-man as
opposed to nine-man. In the Jan. 5
meeting of the ad hoc committee,
it appeared that nine-man talk had
been shelved altogether.
Instead, the committee cited
support among 2A schools of
adjusting to nine-man in its rea-
soning for bringing it back to the
table.
“The group reviewed corre-
spondence and testimony from
members of the 2A classiﬁ ca-
tion indicating that a majority
of schools surveyed supported
moving to the 9-player game for
the next time block,” the com-
mittee wrote in its update.
A regional eﬀ ect
The change, if implemented,
would have an impact in the
region. The Blue Mountain Con-
ference, as it is set to stand in the
fall, includes Enterprise, Grant
Union, Irrigon, Heppner, Riv-
erside, Stanﬁ eld, Umatilla and
Weston-McEwen. Enterprise,
though, has been an eight-man
team the last four years, and still
has the option to play down. EHS
head coach Rusty Eschler said the
school likely will wait on a deci-
sion until a ﬁ nal plan is set by
the OSAA.
At the nine-man level, there
would be ﬂ exibility for schools
to play some 11-man contests
The Observer, File
Grace Neer (22) drives for a layup against Umatilla at La Grande High School on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021.
La Grande bested Umatilla 52-28.
NEER
Continued from Page A9
a La Grande softball team
this spring that is coming
oﬀ a strong run in the 4A
playoﬀ s. In the spring of
2021, Neer batted .543
across 39 plate appear-
ances — she totaled 20
RBIs and 21 runs for the
Tigers, while drawing four
walks. On the mound,
Neer pitched 23.1 innings
and accumulated a perfect
5-0 record on six appear-
ances. She posted a .900
ERA, struck out 40 bat-
ters and allowed just three
earned runs on the year.
The Tigers went 10-0 in
the regular season before
— Grant said Heppner already
is slated to play Warrenton and
Kennedy this fall, and that those
will be 11-man games — or, if
needed, drop a player oﬀ to play
an eight-man team.
“I fully believe there are going
to be some nine-man schools that
are going to play some neigh-
boring eight-man schools,” Grant
said, noting for example that
Columbia Basin schools who are
at nine-man could, in theory, play
eight-man schools in the Grande
Ronde Valley. “They are appro-
priate regional matchups.”
And while there may be
some pushback, Grant said the
move will hopefully help the
sport throughout the state in the
long run.
“The idea is not about our
school and about our classiﬁ ca-
tion, it’s about what can we do
to improve the number of kids
being defeated in the
second round by Henley.
“I’m really hoping we’ll
get further at state this
year. That’s really what’s
going to push me,” she
said. “That’s going to push
me to do what I can to get
everyone else on the team
to that level.”
Neer is also hoping to
help younger players at La
Grande see their potential,
just like upperclassmen
did for her when. As a part
of the 2019 La Grande
softball team that won a
4A state championship,
Neer still credits playing
alongside players like Allie
Brock and Jayce Seavert
for motivating her to excel.
“They broadened my
playing,” he said. “Here we go.
We’re going to give it a shot, and
I’m going to explain to people in
my football crazy town that we’re
going to put two fewer kids on the
ﬁ eld. I’m not crazy about it, but I
know it’s for the greater good.”
Six-man title supported
Additionally, the committee
said it is fully supporting making
six-man football a sanctioned
sport that could play for an oﬃ cial
OSAA title, an option that was not
in place during the pilot program
for six-man. That would allow
Joseph, which played in the ﬁ rst
two de-facto title games and won
one, to again be able to compete
for a championship.
The committee also made a
decision to change its stance on
playoﬀ eligibility for teams that
do play down. The committee
elected to drop its position from
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the prior meeting and allow teams
playing down eligibility for the
postseason.
“Ultimately the group shifted
their stance in this area to recom-
mend that schools meeting the cri-
teria and choosing to play down
would be eligible for OSAA play-
oﬀ s, but that these schools would
be reviewed on an annual basis by
the Football Ad Hoc Committee,”
the update from the OSAA said.
The committee is also consid-
ering adding a week to the begin-
ning of the season or to the end,
making the season 10 weeks for
nine games to be played. It says
the consideration would help with
odd-numbered leagues, help oﬃ -
cials whose ranks are stretched
thin and help with transportation
issues, among others.
The next ad hoc committee
meeting is slated for Wednesday,
Feb. 2.
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eyes on the potential of
La Grande athletes,” Neer
said. “Those two years
were really exciting, get-
ting to win a state cham-
pionship. It pushed me
a lot to reach my goals
and want to play college
softball.”
Neer noted that the goal
in her ﬁ nal season is to
win the Greater Oregon
League and make it far in
the state playoﬀ s. Before
she begins her college
career with the Yotes, Neer
will be a crucial piece for
the Tigers on the mound
and in the ﬁ eld.
“We want to just make
an impact this year and
keep making a name for
La Grande,” Neer said.
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