SPORTS
WEEKEND, SEPTEMBER 3-4, 2016
1B
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HERMISTON
PENDLETON
Herm-
iston’s
Mitch
Brown
gets
brought
down by
Union’s
Justin
Durrett,
left, and
Alex Bar-
rett in the
Bulldogs’
36-14 loss
to the
Titans on
Friday in
Hermis-
ton.
Staff photo by
E.J. Harris
Dawgs fall short against Union
Quarterback Andrew James
solid in Hermiston debut
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
Friday night was a night Andrew James had been
dreaming about for a long time.
It was his fi rst varsity football
Football
game as a Hermiston Bulldog, his
fi rst time playing under the lights
of Kennison Field, and it just so
Union (WA)
happened he was starting at quarter-
back.
And in his fi rst varsity game, the
sophomore quarterback nearly led a
comeback for the ages as he threw
two touchdowns and ran for another
Hermiston
to take his team from a 36-7 defi cit
near the beginning of the fourth
quarter to a nine point defi cit. But
in the end it wasn’t enough as the
Union (WA) Titans held on for the 36-27 victory over
the Bulldogs.
“I’m very proud of the guys for fi ghting back,”
36
27
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Hermiston’s Vaemu Ena and Joe Gutierrez (31) wrap up Union’s Kai Gambie in the
Bulldogs’ 36-14 loss to the Titans on Friday in Hermiston.
See DAWGS/2B
Bucks
topple
Tigers
East Oregonian
LA GRANDE — The
Pendleton Buckaroos opened
the 2016 season in a big way,
defeating the La Grande Tigers
48-28 at Community Stadium
on Friday night.
“I think all over we came out
against a good La Grande team
and to get a win this early is a
huge start for us,” Pendleton
coach Erik Davis said. “I’m just
excited for the kids.”
All eyes were on junior quar-
terback Nick
Bower as he
Football
made his fi rst
career start and
he left Davis
and the Buck-
Pendleton
aroos
(1-0)
impressed,
as
Bower
completed
17-36 passes
for 250 yards
La Grande
and
three
touchdowns.
He did have a
pair of inter-
ceptions late in the game on a
pair of deep balls.
“Nick threw the ball
extremely well,” Davis said.
“There were a few drops, but he
complete quite a few balls and I
think he threw it quite a bit in his
fi rst game so I’m really proud of
that young quarterback.”
On the receiving end, Shaw
Jerome and Nick Lani had big
games for the Buckaroos, as
Jerome tallied seven catches for
87 yards and a second quarter
touchdown catch and Lani
hauled in four catches for 110
yards and a touchdown in the
second quarter. Deven Page was
Pendleton’s leading rusher with
73 yards and two touchdowns
on eight carries and Jamal Vann
added a touchdown and 25
yards on eight carries.
48
28
STANFIELD
Stanfi eld stays hungry after blowout win over Enterprise
Tigers running
game overpowers
Outlaws
By WILL DENNER
East Oregonian
A dominant season-
opening victory would have
most teams excited, yet
Stanfi eld players and coaches
walked away from Friday’s
54-22 victory over Enterprise
longing for more.
The Tigers jumped on
the Outlaws early with a
run-heavy attack that yielded
28
fi rst-quarter
points.
Makiah Blankenship and
Thyler Monkus – Stanfi eld’s
leading rushers from last year
— each scored on touch-
down runs, giving the Tigers
Football
Enterprise
Stanfi eld
22
54
a two-score lead less than six
minutes into the game.
By halftime Stanfi eld led
35-6, but Enterprise’s offense
showed some fi ght nearing
the end of the half, marching
down the fi eld and punching
it in on Trent Bales’ three-
yard run.
The Outlaws carried
momentum into the second
half with a couple of touch-
down drives orchestrated by
Outlaws quarterback Tate
Olsen.
Although the game result
was never really in doubt,
Stanfi eld head coach Davy
Salas wants to see a more
complete game from his
team start to fi nish.
“We can’t take plays
off because we’re up 35 to
nothing,” Salas said. “We
have to have that killer cham-
pionship mentality. That’s
gonna be key this year.”
Mentioning the word
championship
might
seem premature in early
September, but that’s where
Stanfi eld has set its bar.
Playing the underdog role
last season, the Tigers made
it all the way to the 2A
semifi nals before losing to
Kennedy 34-20. The hype
has been building around this
team ever since. Now they’re
intent on proving 2016
wasn’t a fl uke.
“Last year we kind of
See TIGERS/2B
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Thyler Monkus, of Stanfi eld, runs up the fi eld escorted by two of his teammates
during Friday’s home game against the Enterprise Outlaws.
Sports shorts
Earnhardt Jr. done for 2016
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Dale
Earnhardt Jr. will miss the rest of the
NASCAR season — 18 races total — as he
continues to recover from a concussion.
NASCAR’s most popular
FACES driver fi rst began experiencing
concussion-like symptoms in
late July.
“To say I’m disappointed
doesn’t begin to describe how
I feel, but I know this is the
right thing for my long-term
Earnhardt Jr. health and career,” Earnhardt
said in a statement Friday.
Earnhardt said doctors have seen
progress in his recovery, and he plans to
be back in the car next February for the
season-opening Daytona 500.
Jeff Gordon and Alex Bowman will
continue to share seat time in the No. 88
Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
“Like many players, he drives
himself and he drives his
teammates. At the end of
the game, he kept saying it,
‘We’re so much better than
this. We’re so much better.’
It’s not about his yards, not
about his carries, it’s about
our machine when we’re
humming.“
— David Shaw
Stanford head football coach on running
back Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey
scored a pair of touchdowns to help No.
8 Stanford to a 26-13 win over Kansas
State on Friday.
Milton Freewater, the horse,
loses in stakes race
DEL MAR, Calif. — Milton Freewater,
the 2-year-old thoroughbred running in
top-level races in Southern
California, fi nished
fourth in a $150,000
stakes Friday at Del Mar
Racetrack.
Going off at odds of
5-1 in a fi eld of seven
horses, he stalked the pace, was caught in
behind horses at the top of the stretch and
fi nished evenly for fourth. Longshot Mo
Soul won the race and paid $43.20 on a
$2 bet.
The $150,000 I’m Smokin Stakes
was restricted to California breds. Milton
Freewater was ridden by leading rider
Flavien Prat, and is trained by defending
Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Doug
O’Neill.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1989 — Chris Evert
defeats 15-year-old Monica
Seles 6-0, 6-2, for her 101st
and fi nal U.S. Open win.
1995 — The Carolina
Panthers lose to the Atlanta
Falcons 23-20 in their fi rst
NFL game and the Jackson-
ville Jaguars lose their fi rst
game to the Houston Oilers
10-3.
2007 — Pedro Martinez
completes his comeback
from major shoulder surgery,
becoming the 15th pitcher to
strike out 3,000 batters in his
career. The New York Mets’
right-hander fans Aaron
Harang for the milestone in
a 10-4 win over Cincinnati.
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sports@eastoregonian.com