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8A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2017 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com SPORTS IN BRIEF Seahawks’ secondary possibly down 2 vs. Falcons Coach Porter parts ways with Portland Timbers By TIM BOOTH Associated Press RENTON, Wash. — Bobby Wagner knows he won’t have Richard Sherman chirping in his ear from the Seattle Seahawks sec- ondary the rest of the season. Wagner may not have Kam Chancellor to rely on as protection for at least this week either. “I’ve never played a game with- out Richard, he’s definitely going to be missed, but to have both of those guys missing in action is not something that we have ever had to deal with,” Wagner said Thursday. “I think it’s something that we’re prepared for if we can hold it down until at least one of them gets back. The other one might take a while.” Seattle’s standout secondary could possibly be without another of its founding members Monday night when the Seahawks host the Atlanta Falcons. Sherman is done for the season following an Achil- les tendon injury for which he underwent surgery this week. Seat- tle is being coy about the status of Chancellor, who suffered a stinger late in the victory over Arizona on Nov. 9. While Chancellor has not been ruled out of the Atlanta game, he was still undergoing tests Thursday. “He’s still getting some work done, tests done,” coach Pete Car- roll said. “Don’t have anything updated yet.” The one bright spot for Seattle is optimism that safety Earl Thomas will return this week after missing the past two games with a ham- string injury. Thomas’ return would be key for the continuity of the sec- ondary. Much of what Seattle does in its coverages is predicated on Thomas being at free safety and his ability to cover so much ground. If Chancellor can’t go, the drop off may not be as severe as in the past. Bradley McDougald, who started the past two games at free safety with Thomas out, would slide over to strong safety if Chan- cellor is unavailable. The Seahawks have raved about McDougald’s versatility since he was signed in the offseason as a free agent. “He has been a fantastic addi- tion and ... a little bit of an unsung hero at this time for this season, that he has been able to be so versatile and be so successful at what he is doing,” Carroll said. CCC hosts sports fest, charity drive The Daily Astorian Clatsop Community Col- lege students will host a multi- day intramural sports festival and charity drive in the new gym of Patriot Hall later this month. Nov. 28 will be dodgeball, followed by basketball Nov. 29, indoor soccer Nov. 30 and cap- ture the flag Dec. 1. All activities run from 6 to 8 p.m. and are open to people age 16 and up. Paren- tal guardians must sign a liabil- ity form for participants younger than 18. Suggested donation for entry is $2 or a donated item. The classes will work with Clatsop Commu- nity Action Regional Food Bank, Astoria Warming Center and Head Start to collect donations of canned food, coats, jeans, under- wear, socks, blankets or new toys for children ages 3 to 5. Partici- pants will be entered to win prizes in a raffle. The festival is a combined effort of the college’s four lead- ership classes, providing students with the opportunity to learn lead- ership skills and participate in a service-learning project. Patriot Hall is located on the college’s main campus at 1651 Lexington Ave. Damian Mulinix/For EO Media Group Ilwaco senior running back Brandon McMullen. Ilwaco’s McMullen named Offensive MVP The Daily Astorian The Lower Columbia region has a third player of the year for the 2017 high school football season. Ilwaco senior running back Brandon McMullen was named as the Southwest Washington 2B League Offensive Player of the Year, as voted on by the league’s coaches. McMullen was also a first team linebacker, joining team- mates Alex Kaino (wide receiver/ defensive back), Marcus Connor (offensive line) and Royce Murry (offensive and defensive line) on the first team. McMullen was also one of two Ilwaco players to earn academic all-league honors, along with Jeb Sheldon. McMullen joins Seaside’s Alex Teubner and Knappa’s Kaleb Miller as other area players of the year. SWW 2B All-League Offensive Player of the Year: Bran- don McMullen, Ilwaco Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Byington, South Bend Coaches of the Year: Shane Bying- ton, South Bend; Luke Abbott, Raymond First Team Offense QB: Drew Rose, Jr., South Bend RB: Tyson Nissell, Sr., Pe Ell/Willapa Valley RB; Ben Byington, Sr., South Bend RB: Peter Hamilton, So., Pe Ell/Willa- pa Valley WR: Ryan Shepherd, Sr., Pe Ell/Willa- pa Valley WR: Raul Mora, Sr., South Bend WR: Alex Kaino, Jr., Ilwaco OL: Brad Prestegord, Sr., Pe Ell/Willa- pa Valley OL: Marcus Connor, Sr., Ilwaco OL: Josiah Markwell, Sr., South Bend OL: Taevon Hubbard, Sr., Raymond OL: Royce Murry, Sr., Ilwaco OL: Austin McDonald, So., Ocosta K: Raul Mora, Sr., South Bend All-Purpose: McCartney Maden, So., Raymond First Team Defense DL: Royce Murry, Sr., Ilwaco DL: Joe Wardlow, Sr., Ocosta DL: Michael Oropeza, Sr., South Bend DL: Brad Prestegord, Sr., Pe Ell/Willa- pa Valley DL: Christian Anderson, Jr., Raymond LB: Tyson Nissell, Sr., Pe Ell/Willapa Valley LB: Brandon McMullen, Sr., Ilwaco LB: Taevon Hubbard, Sr., Raymond LB: Josiah Markwell, Sr., South Bend LB: Grant Reid, Sr., Ocosta DB: Alex Kaino, Jr., Ilwaco DB: Cub Bair, Sr., Pe Ell/Willapa Valley DB: Ryan Shepherd, Sr., Pe Ell/Willa- pa Valley DB: Raul Mora, Sr., South Bend P: Raul Mora, Sr., South Bend P: Tyson Nissell, Sr., Pe Ell/Willapa Valley Sr. Other Ilwaco selections: Second Team Offense WR: Jeb Sheldon, Jr. Second Team Defense LB: Allen Chetwood, Sr. Honorable Mention Trenton Cox, Jr. Earnhardt ready to say a final goodbye By DAN GELSTON Associated Press HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Dale Earn- hardt Jr. bounded out of the media center and was instantly swarmed by fans snapping photos and shov- ing Sharpies in his face. Earnhardt was tailed until he walked through the garage gate and up the steps to another interview. “Did you see him?” a man yelled as more fans scampered toward NASCAR’s most popular driver. The chance to catch him is all but over. Earnhardt is at peace with his deci- sion to retire as he straps into the No. 88 Chevrolet for the final time in his NASCAR Cup career on Sunday. The 43-old Earnhardt has Homestead-Mi- ami Speedway stamped as the final spot in his farewell tour. His one wish is to end on his terms. “It would be a bit of a heartbreaker if we have the kind of issue that would take us out of an event and we couldn’t finish,” he said. Earnhardt, dressed in a red T-shirt and red cap of his race sponsor, was at ease as he reflected on the end of a 19-year career; he cracked jokes, asked the media questions and reflected on some of the misspent years early in his career. The video tributes from race teams, tracks and sponsors have touched the usually laid-back driver. Some of them have brought his preg- nant wife, Amy, to tears. “Amy’s the one that’s most emo- tional with being pregnant and every- thing,” he said. “They’ve really been hitting her.” Earnhardt hired a personal photog- AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin Dale Earnhardt Jr. smiles as he waves to cheering fans during driver introductions prior to Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series auto race. rapher to document the final weekend and he’s had a camera crew filming in preparation for a possible docu- mentary. Earnhardt has a photo shoot set for Friday with long-time friend Matt Kenseth. Earnhardt and Kenseth broke in together and leave the series together. While the rest of the sport has all eyes on Earnhardt, he is rooting for his hunting buddy, Martin Truex Jr., to win the Cup championship on Sunday. “I’m Team Martin this weekend, for sure,” he said. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native made his 600th career series start earlier this year. He has 26 career Cup victories and is a two-time Day- tona 500 champion. But the son of the late champion has never won a Cup title. Earnhardt has driven for Hendrick Motorsports since 2008 after a split with Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team founded by his father but run by his stepmother. He was unhappy with the direction of DEI since his father’s 2001 death in a last-lap accident at the Daytona 500, and a frosty relationship with his stepmother led him to bolt to NASCAR’s most powerful team. His mother, sister and a few close friends were invited down on his plane for Sunday’s race. He joked he had hundreds of friends that probably want to come but, hey, there’s only nine seats on the plane. He’ll have hundreds of thousands more fans pulling for Junior one final time in the 88. “We want to enjoy this weekend,” Earnhardt said, “but we want to end well.” PORTLAND — Coach Caleb Porter has parted ways with the Portland Timbers after five sea- sons with the team, including an MLS Cup championship. The team made the move offi- cial Friday morning. The 42-year-old Porter com- piled a 68-50- 52 record and guided the team to the league title in 2015. He was named the MLS Coach of the Year after his first sea- Caleb son with the team Porter in 2013. In a lengthy statement released by the Timbers, Porter thanked the organization. “My goal in taking the Tim- bers job was to lead the club to new heights and to win things that had never been done by the orga- nization,” Porter said. “Looking back and reflecting on my time with the Timbers, I am very proud of the results we all achieved and I know that joining the club in 2013 was one of the best decisions of my life.” Hebard helps No. 10 Oregon beat No. 19 Texas A&M 83-68 COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Late in No. 10 Oregon’s rout of No. 19 Texas A&M, Ducks for- ward Ruthy Hebard never slowed enough to consider keeping her perfect shooting night intact. “I was just playing and having fun,” Hebard said with a grin and a shrug. That was evident, considering Hebard scored a season-high 24 points on 10-for-10 shooting in the 83-68 victory Thursday night in the semifinals of the preseason WNIT. “We’ve come to expect that from her,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said about Hebard work- ing hard in the low post. “She’s a great finisher.” Down six at the half, the Ducks (3-0) scored the first seven points of the third quarter to grab a 35-34 lead. After A&M (2-1) briefly led once more, Oregon, which will play at Louisville on Sunday in the preseason WNIT final, began run- ning away late in the period. Astros’ Altuve wins AL MVP, Marlins’ Stanton earns NL honor NEW YORK — Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros have grown together, enduring an ardu- ous rebuild and coming out the other side among baseball’s best. These days, nobody is stand- ing taller. Altuve won the American League MVP award Thursday, towering over New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge by a wide margin and capping Houston’s championship season with another piece of hardware. Giancarlo Stanton won the NL MVP, edging Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds in the closest vote since 1979. The 5-foot-6 Altuve drew 27 of the 30 first-place votes in balloting by members of the Baseball Writ- ers’ Association of America. “I was surprised that I won it,” Altuve said. “I wasn’t expecting this.” It was a landslide long in the making. Altuve has been in Houston since general manager Jeff Luhnow took a scorched earth approach to developing a winner. The Astros lost 100- plus games in each of Altuve’s first three seasons, beginning in 2011. Houston won its first World Series earlier this month, and it needed its longest-tenured player to get there. — Associated Press