Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 2016)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE KNAPPA WRESTLING Nov. 30, Knappa Mix ‘n’ Match, 5 p.m. Dec. 3, at Ocosta, TBA Dec. 10, at Warrenton Tournament, 10 a.m. Dec. 17, at Wahkiakum Meet, TBA Dec. 29, at Clatskanie Holiday Meet, TBA Jan. 6-7, at Seaside Pac Rim, 10 a.m. Jan. 12-14, at Oregon Classic, Red- mond, TBA Jan. 18, at Vernonia League Meet, TBA Jan. 21, at Gervais, TBA Jan. 24, Knappa League Meet, TBA Jan. 28, at Ilwaco, 10 a.m. Feb. 1, Pre-Districts, at Neah-Kah- Nie, 10 a.m. Feb. 17-18, District Championships, at Waldport SAME RECORD, DIFFERENT SEASONS SPORTS IN BRIEF Mariners get Whalen, Povse from Braves Associated Press ATLANTA — The Seattle Mariners acquired right-handers Rob Whalen and Max Povse from the Atlanta Braves on Monday night for outfield prospect Alex Jackson and a player to be named. The 20-year-old Jackson was the sixth pick in the 2014 ama- teur draft. He has hit .233 in three minor league seasons, including .243 with 11 homers and 55 RBIs for Class A Clinton of the Mid- west League this year. “We value upside, and we believe Alex has a lot of it,” Braves general manager John Coppolella told The Associated Press. “We believe in the potential and the person, and we are excited for his future with our organization.” Jackson was a catcher at Ran- cho Bernardo High School in San Diego. Adding depth at catcher is an offseason priority for Atlanta. Coppolella would not say if Jack- son might be given a look behind the plate in 2017. Whalen, 22, was 1-2 with a 6.57 ERA in five starts for Atlanta this season and was Double-A Mississippi’s pitcher of the year. Povse, 23, had a 3.36 ERA at Mis- sissippi and Class A Carolina. Whalen was placed on the dis- abled list Aug. 25 with right shoul- der fatigue. He was a 12th-round pick by the Mets in 2012 and was traded to the Braves with right- hander John Gant on July 24, 2015, for Kelly Johnson, Juan Uribe and cash. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin The Seattle Mariners acquired right-handers Rob Whalen (above) and Max Povse from the Atlanta Braves on Monday for outfield prospect Alex Jack- son and a player to be named. AP Photo/Timothy J. Gonzalez AP Photo/Timothy J. Gonzalez Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich looks on in the first half an NCAA game against Oregon State, in Corvallis on Saturday. Oregon State head coach Gary Andersen, left, talks with in- jured wide receiver Seth Collins before the game Saturday. Few bright spots in rough season for Ducks, coach Beavers make progress in Andersen’s second season By ANNE M. PETERSON Associated Press By ANNE M. PETERSON Associated Press UGENE — Oregon’s run as one of the nation’s elite teams came crashing to a halt this season. Now the question is, was the year just an anomaly? The Ducks, who just two seasons ago were playing in the first Col- lege Football Playoff championship game, wrapped up a season to for- get with a 34-24 loss to the Oregon State Beavers in the 120th Civil War. The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak in the series. It was one of many streaks that would fall this season. Oregon fin- ished 4-8 overall and at the bottom of the Pac-12 North standings at 2-7 — snapping a run of nine straight winning seasons in conference play. The final loss meant that Oregon wouldn’t be making a postseason appearance for the first time since 2004. The Ducks had finished every season ranked in the AP Top 25 since 2007. It also threw coach Mark Helfrich’s future with the team in doubt, as well as the direction of the program. Just moments after the Ducks left the field at Oregon State, Helfrich was asked about his job security. “Nobody’s job is safe in college football,” he said. “That’s just the nature of the beast.” Oregon hasn’t fired a head coach since 1976 when Don Read was let go after three seasons. At the final media availability of the season, the morning after the Civil War loss, Helfrich said he had called athletic director Rob Mul- lens to inquire about his status. The two were going to meet this week. Helfrich tried to be positive, but conceded it was out of his control. “We needed to win more games this year and I get that,” he said. “There are a lot of factors involved there but all that stuff is up for debate and determination by people that aren’t me. I think we’ve got a great team coming back, a very talented team coming back, and that’s exciting.” The Ducks started the season with promise, ranked No. 24 in the preseason AP poll. For the second straight season, Oregon brought in an experienced graduate transfer at quarterback — this time Dakota Prukop from Montana State. The Ducks also hired a new defensive coordinator, former Michi- gan coach Brady Hoke, who installed a 4-3 scheme. Matt Lubick was promoted from within to replace departed offensive coordinator Scott Frost, and David Yost was named quarterbacks coach. The defense appeared shaky but the Ducks nonetheless won their first two games, against UC Davis and Virginia. A 35-32 loss at Nebraska started a five-game slide — the longest for the Ducks in 20 years — which finally ended at home with a 54-35 victory over Ari- zona State on Oct. 29. ORVALLIS — With a victory — finally — over rival Oregon in the Civil War, the Oregon State Beavers took a meaningful step in their evolution under coach Gary Andersen. The Beavers finished 4-8 overall, a two-game improvement over last season, and won three Pac-12 games after going winless in the conference last year. But perhaps the most positive indicator of where the Beavers are going came when they snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Ducks. Already out of postseason contention — it was essentially Ore- gon State’s bowl game — the team was both tough and persistent. “This is a big, big statement for us to be able to get ourselves back in a position to grow as a football team and football program,” Ander- sen said. The Beavers rallied from a 24-14 third-quarter deficit with three straight touchdown runs from sophomore tailback Ryan Nall, appro- priately nicknamed “Wrecking Nall,” to win it 34-24 . Nall finished the game with four touchdowns, most for a Beaver since Jacquizz Rodgers ran for three and caught another against Wash- ington in 2010. Steven Jackson had the last game with four rushing TDs in 2003. Nall, a native Oregonian who played at Portland’s Central Catholic High School, was named the Pac-12 offensive player of the week for the effort. He finished the season with 951 yards rushing and 13 touch- downs on the ground, and also caught a pair of TD passes. He had four 100-yard rushing games. It was the second straight victory for Oregon State, which also beat Arizona 42-17 at home a week before the season finale. It was the first time since 2013 that the Beavers had won consecutive confer- ence games. For senior left tackle Sean Harlow, it was the perfect way to end his college career. “That one has a little extra something special to it,” Harlow said after the Civil War win. “To be able to get one last one, a home game in our place against them of all people, and to run the ball physically and force our will on them all game — there’s nothing better.” And they did it despite numerous key injuries. The Beavers lost starting quarterback Darell Garretson midway through the season to a broken ankle. Backup Conor Blount injured his knee in the same game — essentially thrusting sophomore Mar- cus McMaryion into the starting role for the Beavers’ final six games. McMaryion threw for 1,286 yards and 10 touchdowns, but also threw five interceptions. Five of those touchdown passes came in the victory over Arizona. E C Coach Carroll looking for rebound after Seahawks dud By CURTIS CRABTREE Associated Press RENTON, Wash. — Pete Car- roll took responsibility Monday for the poor performance by the under- manned Seattle Seahawks against Tampa Bay. There is optimism, though, that a number of starters that missed the loss to the Buccaneers will be back for next Sunday’s game against Carolina. “I don’t think that this is a trend or this is a turn in the wrong direction or any of that kind of stuff. I think we had a bad outing and we’re going to get right this week and get back at it,” Carroll said. After stringing together their two best offensive performances of the season against the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles, the Seahawks tripped all over them- selves Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. UP NEXT: SEAHAWKS • Carolina Panthers (4-7) at Seattle Seahawks (7-3-1) • Sunday, 5:30 p.m. TV: NBC Russell Wilson was sacked six times and hit 11 times in total. Thomas Rawls managed just 38 yards on 12 carries and Seattle turned the ball over three times in a 14-5 defeat. Wilson was intercepted twice, once each by Alterraun Verner and Bradley McDou- gald. It was just the sixth time in his career he’s thrown multiple intercep- tions in a regular-season game. However, the biggest area of con- cern centered on the struggles of the offensive line. “Nobody played very well. We had problems,” Carroll said. It should come as no surprise at this point. The unit has taken its share of blame throughout the season for Seattle’s sputtering offensive attack. Seattle didn’t convert a single third down until the final possession of the game. Wilson was pressured relent- lessly as three rookies up front — left tackle George Fant, right guard Germain Ifedi and center Joey Hunt, making his first start for an injured Justin Britt — struggled to handle the Buccaneers pass rushers. It was the third time this season the Seahawks’ offense failed to score a touchdown. “I thought it was really clear that we were just clearly off,” Carroll said. “We’ve played 11 games and I think this is the first time we’ve really felt like that.” Seattle is set to get a slew of rein- forcements back as soon as this week. Defensive end Michael Bennett is expected to return to the lineup after missing the last five games following knee surgery. Linebacker Mike Mor- gan and Britt will be ready to go. AP Photo/Jason Behnken Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy sacks Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson during the fourth quarter Sun- day in Tampa, Fla. The Buccaneers won the game 14-5.
