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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 2016)
SPORTS WEEKEND, JANUARY 30-31, 2016 Sports shorts Concussions in NFL up 58 percent (AP) — The NFL says reported concussions rose 58 percent in regular-season games to the highest number in any of the past four years. The league issued its concussion data for 2015 on Friday, a little more than a week before the Super Bowl, but did not release any data about total injuries. According to the NFL, there were 182 reported concussions from 2015 regular-season games, reversing a recent downward trend. There were 115 in 2014, 148 in 2013, and 173 in 2012. A year ago, the league touted those decreases DVDUHÀHFWLRQRISOD\HUV changing the way they play football. NFL Senior Vice President of Health and Safety Jeff Miller said the OHDJXHLVWU\LQJWR¿JXUHRXW why concussion numbers rose so much this season. Broncos fan signed to practice squad ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Last Sunday, Nick Kasa was like any other fan of the Denver Broncos. On Super Bowl Sunday, he’ll be one of the Denver Broncos. FACES The tight end, out of football since the spring, got a phone call while sitting in the stands last weekend, Kasa watching the Broncos beat New England in the AFC title game. He dropped his phone and cracked the screen — that’s another story — but ZKHQKH¿QDOO\UHVWRUHG his service, he learned the Broncos wanted to sign him to the practice squad to help them get ready for the Super Bowl against Carolina. “It’s been pretty crazy. Kind of indescribable,” said Kasa, who was signed Monday. “These guys have been working hard toward this for a long time. For me to come in at the end here, is just kind of an out-of-the-or- dinary event. I’m honored to be here and ready to do whatever I can to help.” “Today I decided our team will stay in San Diego for the 2016 season and I hope for the long term in a new stadium.“ — Dean Spanos San Diego Chargers chairman telling fans that the Chargers would remain in San Diego for the upcoming season instead of moving to Los Angeles with the Rams. The Chargers still have until Jan. 15, 2017 to decide whether or not to move the team to Los Angeles, and will try and work out a new stadium with the city of San Diego until then. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1994 — The Dallas Cowboys, behind MVP Emmitt Smith and safety James Washington, beats Buffalo 30-13 for their second straight NFL title while giving the Bills four straight Super Bowl losses. 2010 — Andre Miller scores a career-high 52 points, including 25 in the fourth quarter and overtime, and Juwan Howard hits a jumper with 44.8 seconds left to lift the Portland Trail Blazers past the Dallas Mavericks 114-112. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS HERMISTON Hermiston breezes by Hood River %LJ¿UVWKDOIKHOSV Bulldogs to easy win By SAM BARBEE East Oregonian Staff photo by Sam Barbee Hermiston’s Sara Ramirez (33) rises for a layup in front of Hood River’s Mykan Malone during Hermiston’s 78-43 win Friday night at The Dawghouse. At the varsity level, competition is generally very even. Parity, as it’s known, usually prevents teams IURP WUHDWLQJ JDPHV DV JORUL¿HG scrimmages where they can work on new plays, lineups or whatever. That wasn’t the case Friday night, when Hermiston thoroughly dominated the Hood River Valley Eagles 78-43 at The Dawghouse. Anticipating an easy win over a team devoid of talent and numbers — Hood River (3-12, 0-2) suited just nine players — Bulldogs coach Steve Hoffert wanted to use Friday’s game as an opportunity to try new rotations, new plays and the press. He liked what he saw. “I tried to look for and look on Girls Hoops Hood River Hermiston 43 78 our reaction time to running a play, running a press, getting into some- thing after a made basket, getting into this defense after a miss,” he said. “We kept switching defense based on misses, makes and free throws. So I was looking for if we got into the position we were supposed to.” The Bulldogs (14-3, 2-0 CRC) dominated from the opening jump, VFRULQJ ¿UVWTXDUWHU SRLQWV HQ route to a 34-point halftime lead. Opening in a full-court press, some- thing Hermiston had yet to do this season, the Bulldogs forced four (DJOH WXUQRYHUV LQ WKH ¿UVW PLQXWH and a half of game time. See HERMISTON/2B HEPPNER Knights knock off Mustangs Irrigon back in CBC contention with win on Friday night By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian When Heppner and Irrigon met on Jan. 8, WKH 0XVWDQJV KDQGHG WKH .QLJKWV WKHLU ¿UVW home loss since February of 2012. On Friday night, Irrigon returned the favor, KDQGLQJWKH0XVWDQJVWKHLU¿UVWKRPHORVVLQ just more than a year — Jan. 16, 2015 to be exact — with a 49-41 victory in Heppner. So much for a home-court advantage, eh? “I thought the kids did a good job of understanding the time situations and played D SUHWW\ JRRG ¿UVW KDOI´ VDLG ,UULJRQ FRDFK Mitch Thompson. “I thought we lost focus a little bit, our youth showed a bit and their experience and coaching showed in the Boys Hoops second half, but I thought we had good leadership and I thought everyone did their Irrigon job and did it the best they could.” Friday’s game played RXW PXFK OLNH WKH ¿UVW RQH did; the pace was fast, the play was physical and the Heppner outcome was up in the air until the last minute of play. But this time Irrigon (13-5, 4-2 CBC) proved to be the better team on the night, as the Knights’ RIIHQVLYH VSHHG ZDV GLI¿FXOW IRU +HSSQHU WR keep under control and their defensive quick- ness hampered the Mustangs from getting HQRXJKTXDOLW\VKRWDWWHPSWVWR¿QGDUK\WKP “At home, we thought we gave one away, and it really motivated us as a team especially defensively,” said Irrigon senior guard Fredy Vera. “We prepared all week preparing for WKLVRQHDWSUDFWLFHDQGZDWFKLQJ¿OPDQGZH executed really well.” The Knights led for almost all of the 32 minutes of game time, with Heppner’s last lead FRPLQJ DW ODWH LQ WKH ¿UVW TXDUWHU )URP there, Irrigon grew the lead to 10 points and kept that cushion for most of the game. But late in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs (15-2, 5-1) were able to creep back into the game with the help of missed free throws by the Knights. Irrigon had made only 1 of 5 to start the quarter, including three-straight missed attempts at the front end of one-and-one’s. +HSSQHUJRWWRZLWKLQ¿YHSRLQWVDW with one minute left in the game when Logan Staff photo by E.J. Harris Grieb banked home a layup. And after an Irrigon’s Xavier Rambo shoots the ball over Heppner’s Logan Grieb (5) and Weston Putnam in See KNIGHTS/2B the Knights’ 49-42 win against the Mustangs on Friday in Heppner. 49 42 PENDLETON Buckaroos fall at home to Mountain View with a 3-2 decision. with a 12-0 majority deci- But then the Buckaroos sion victory. ——— put some momentum 220 — Austin Keller (M) pins Jeff Priester, The Pendleton Bucka- together and got on a run, 3:39 (6-0) 285 — Jacob Banks (P) def. Reed Se- roos came close to a home winning matches at 132 horn-Hurst by 5-2 dec. (6-3) dual win on Friday night, pounds (Alex Rendon), 106 — Lane Evens (P) def. Carson John- son by 3-2 dec. (6-6) but could not hang on as 138 pounds (Brendon 113 — Evan Mclean (M) def. Chris Cham- they fell to Mountain View Bedolla), 145 pounds (Scott bers by 18-2 TF, 3:30 (11-6) 120 — Conner Duhn (M) pins Blake Davis, Chambers), and 152 pounds 3:25 (17-6) 37-27. 126 — Caleb Duhn (M) def. Koby Jones by The Buckaroos started (Morgan Holcomb) to grab a 15-0 TF, 4:15 (22-6) slow as Mountain View 23-22 lead. 132 — Alex Rendon (P) def. Tristan Baker by 10-0 Maj. dec. (22-10) But then J.D. Peters lost raced out to a 22-6 lead in 138 — Brendon Bedolla (P) def. Noah WKH¿UVWIRXUGXDOVDV-DFRE to Dylan Grell by a 12-7 Rivera by 12-7 dec. (22-13) 145 — Scott Chambers (P) def. Leslie Banks at 285 pounds and decision at 160 pounds, and Combs by 13-2 Maj. dec. (22-17) 152 — Morgan Holcomb (P) pins Jace Lane Evens at 106 pounds then Alex Gear (170 pounds) Horner, 2:27 (22-23) 160 — Dylan Grell (M) def. JD Peters by were the only Bucks to and Greg Lee (182 pounds) 12-7 dec. (25-23) garner points. Banks each lost by pin to boost 170 — Izaak Mofi t (M) pins Alex Gear, Staff photo by Kathy Aney 1:17 (31-23) Mountain View out 37-23. defeated Reed Sehorn-Hurst Pendleton’s Scott Chambers starts a match with 182 — Luke Schultz (M) pins Greg Lee. 0DUFXV 7D\ORU ¿QLVKHG 195 — Marcus Taylor (P) def. Daniel Clark Mountain View’s Leslie Combs during a dual meet Fri- with a 5-2 decision and Evens beat Carson Johnson for Pendleton at 195 pounds by 12-0 Maj. dec. (37-27) day at Warberg Court in the 145-pound weight class. East Oregonian
