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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (March 13, 2015)
FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2015 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7 Sports Country Christian boys stay calm and win 1A state championship over Nixyaawii By Brian Addison Brian@TheBakerCountyPress.com The sixth ranked Nixy- aawii Golden Eagles (22-7) entered the Oregon State 1A championship game as underdogs after an unlikely dismantling of the num- ber one ranked Horizon Christian Hawks during semi-fi nal play. Nexy- aawii’s tournament run fell short during the champion- ship game however after coming up against a strong second half defensive ef- fort from eventual champs Country Christian Cougars (29-1). The second-ranked Cougars took the title from the Golden Eagles by a fi nal score of 61-53 in front of an enthusiastic audience packed to the rafters within Baker High School’s Peacock Court, Saturday, March 7. Nixyaawii took a 26-19 lead into the halftime locker room and were able to hold the lead until the end of the third period. “During halftime I told the boys not to panic,” said Cougars head coach Doug Nofziger shortly after the victory. “I told them we needed to win the third quarter, which we did after cutting the lead to three of four. And then in the fourth I told them to just keep working. I told them to stay under control and not to panic and they did a great job of that.” The conditioning and su- perior size of the Cougars, as they pushed hard on defensive during the latter stages of the game, proved to be the difference. The defensive pressure began to wear on the competi- tors as Nixyaawii began to show signs of fatigue after coming up victorious through the bracket against higher ranked teams. The beginning part of the fourth period was a back- and-forth battle until de- fensive clamp-down by the Cougars ended the hopes of the Golden Eagles. The Country Christian Cougars were led by Luke Carter fi nishing with 20 points and Ben Grandle’s clutch shooting adding 13 points. Nixyaawii’s Ira Ashley ended with 17 points and Freddy Campos contrib- uted 12 in the loss. First team all-state honors were awarded to unanimous selectees Ben Grandle of Country Chris- tian and Mason Bloomster of Horizon Christian. Nixyaawii’s Hunter Melton and Elijah Bevis, and Jordan Syphard of County Christian rounded out the fi rst team. Second team all-state honors were awarded to Nicco Bustamante of Hosanna Christian, Angel DeAnda of Siletz Val- ley, Zack Van Loon from Yoncalla, Jared Davis of Horizon Christian, and Avery Nofziger of Country Christian. Crosshill Christian was awarded the Sportsman- ship Award. Elkton was recognized for the Band award. The spirit/entertain- ment award was given to Nexyaawii after a rous- ing and colorful halftime cultural exhibit displayed during the halftime of the girls fi nal. Brian Addison / The Baker County Press Nixyaawii Golden Eagle boys basketball team was supported by members of the Umatilla Confederated Tribes as they pounded out traditional drum beats. Demascus Christian girls basketball finishes undefeated season with 1A state championship By Brian Addison Brian@TheBakerCountyPress.com “A real gut-check,” said Dave Wakefi eld, head coach for the Demascus Christian Eagles (30-0) girls basketball team, minutes after winning the 1A state basketball title at Baker High School’s Pea- cock Court, March 7. The Eagles take the title for the second time in three years after losing in the title game last year to Condon/Wheeler. That title game loss in March, 2014 was the last time the Eagles tasted defeat. The competition has reason for concern consid- ering the undefeated state champs boast only one Senior on a roster of fi ve Freshman, three Sopho- mores, and one Junior. “For us to emerge from this season with a 30 and 0 record is just amazing with so many good teams out there,” Wakefi eld said. “Country Christian played very well and they deserve a trophy too.” The Country Christian Cougars pushed the Eagles to their competitive limits during a back-and-forth fi nale to the 1A state tourney. Country Christian built a 18-7 lead after the fi rst period of play behind a 10-point offensive explo- sion from Mollie Lewan- dowski. The second period saw the Cougars pushing the lead to 11-points when the tide of momentum began to change. By halftime the Demascus Christian offense began to fl ow bringing them to within one-point upon entering the halftime locker room. First team all-state player Ana Wakefi eld led the Eagles to a one point lead going into the fi nal stanza and then a back-and-forth latter stages battle ensued with Demascus Christian fi nally putting away the scrappy Cougars from Country Christian by a fi nal score of 51-46, Hannah Forrer,, Isabella Crowley, and Wakefi eld led the well-distributed offensive attack for De- mascus Christian with 15 points each. Country Christian was led by Lewandowski’s 16 points. All-state tournament fi rst team honors were awarded Why advertise with us? • Low rates per column inch & promotional deals • Free color ads as space permits • Friendly, professional sales staff Wendee Morrissey wendee@thebakercountypress. com or call 541.805.1688. David Conn david@thebakercountypress.com or call 541.523.5524 Family owned and operated. Packed with local news! • All display ads are also posted to our Facebook page, which means thou- sands of individuals see your ad from that source alone. We’re the only paper in town that offers this additional service! Brian Addison / The Baker County Press Demascus Christian’s Hannah Forrar contests a shot from Country Christian leading scorer Mollie Lewandowski during the state 1A basketball champion- ship game. to unanimous selection Hannah Forrar and Ana Wakefi eld from Demascus Christian, Matney Jamie- son and Deana Harris of Condon/Wheeler, and Quincy Pendergrass of Adrian. Girls second team honor went to Dani Baker and Bella Mast of North Douglas, Audrey Barden and Kennedy Nofziger of Country Christian, and Laura Holcomb from Elk- ton. The girls from Elkton High School were awarded the Sportsmanship Award.
