SPORTS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016
1B
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Prep Football
Good times roll for Pioneers, Vikings
Mac-Hi, Umatilla looking to
build off season-opening wins
By MATT ENTRUP & ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
Laying a winning foundation is something every head
football coach hopes to accomplish early in his fi rst season
on the job. Very few
actually succeed.
The reasons for
coaching turnover at
the high school level
are varied, but often-
times a string of losing
seasons has preceded
the switch.
Such was the case
at Mac-Hi, Pilot Rock
and Riverside, where
new coaches took over
programs that had
combined for just 22
wins over the last fi ve
years.
Mac-Hi’s
Gary
Robertson was the only
coach of that trio who
was able to celebrate a
win with his team last
— Drew Birdwell,
week after the Pioneers
Mac-Hi quarterback
beat Waitsburg-Dayton
(WA) 14-7. It was also
the fi rst win for the Pioneers since Week 2 of the 2014 season.
“It was absolutely crazy,” said junior quarterback Drew
Birdwell. “We’ve been working our butts off and our
“We’ve been
working our
butts off and our
coaches have
been working
their butts off all
summer long and
to fi nally go out
there and get that
fi rst win, it was
overwhelming.”
See FOOTBALL/2B
Staff photo by Matt Entrup
Umatilla’s Trent Durfey, center, jars the football free from the scout team running back during football practice on
Wednesday in Umatilla. The Vikings expect their ability to stop Pilot Rock on inside runs to be one of the key factors
that will determine the outcome when the two teams meet on Friday in Umatilla.
MLB
Lind, Mariners slam Rangers
Adam Lind hits two
home runs to lead
Seattle over Texas
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Adam Lind
hit the fourth grand slam of his
career as part of Seattle’s fi ve-run
fi rst inning, added a solo home
run in his next at-bat and led the
Mariners to a 8-3 victory over
the Texas Rangers on Wednesday
night.
Lind’s 19th and 20th homers of
the season helped Seattle jump to
an 8-0 lead and kept the Mariners
on the fringe of the AL wild card
race, fi ve games behind Baltimore.
Texas
Seattle
3
8
It was the 12th career multi-homer
game of Lind’s career and his
second this season.
The homers from Lind were
plenty for starter Ariel Miranda
in his strongest performance since
joining the Mariners.
Miranda (3-1) allowed one hit
and two baserunners through fi ve
innings and was nearly untouched
through six before an error kept
the sixth inning alive and was
capped by Carlos Beltran’s
three-run homer.
Miranda faced one batter in
the seventh before being pulled.
He won his second straight start,
striking out four and walking
three. Texas saw its streak snapped
of eight straight games scoring at
least six runs.
Seattle was already up 1-0 on
Texas starter A.J. Griffi n after
Seth Smith’s leadoff double
and Ketel Marte’s single. Base
hits by Robinson Cano and
Kyle Seager loaded the bases
for Lind. Griffi n left a fastball
elevated over the plate and Lind
drove it to deep center fi eld to
give Seattle a 5-0 lead.
Lind’s opposite-fi eld home run
to left in the third gave Seattle a
7-0 lead and Smith’s 13th homer
of the season in the fourth pushed
the lead to 8-0. Batting leadoff for
the second time this season, Smith
See MARINERS/2B
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
Seattle Mariners’ Adam Lind swings for a grand slam against the
Texas Rangers in the fi rst inning of a baseball game Wednesday,
Sept. 7, 2016, in Seattle.
NFL
Seahawks believe their edge is back to reach top of NFC
Seattle thinking Super
Bowl as start of season
creeps closer
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
AP Photo/Ben Margot
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3)
hands off to running back Christine Michael during the
fi rst half of a preseason NFL football game against the
Oakland Raiders on Sept. 1, 2016, in Oakland, Calif.
SEATTLE — Somewhere between
the disappointment of losing in Caro-
lina and the start of training camp, the
Seattle Seahawks rediscovered them-
selves and what they hope will become
their place back atop the NFC.
This wasn’t based around team
building exercises or group gatherings
as in the past. Starting individually
and growing into a collective, the
Seahawks believe the edge that made
them the best team in the NFC for two
straight seasons — only to dip a year
ago — has returned.
“The maturation of our team, we
know how to play and we know how
to win,” Seattle quarterback Russell
Wilson said.
Throughout training camp the
discussion around the Seahawks has
centered on a return to the feeling
heading into the 2013 season. That
year, the Seahawks were coming off an
NFC divisional playoff loss to Atlanta
when a late comeback was thwarted,
but only after a late-season run that put
Seattle into the playoffs.
And it was followed in 2013 by
the fi rst Super Bowl title in franchise
history.
That scenario played out in similar
fashion last year: a late run to get into
the postseason, a wild-card round road
victory and a disappointing loss in the
divisional round.
So, Super Bowl?
“You can see the energy difference
from last year,” cornerback Richard
Sherman said. “You can see the guys
moving different, there’s more chem-
istry, there’s more unity, there’s more
continuity as you say it. Our guys are
just ready.”
Here’s what to watch this season
with the Seahawks:
UP FRONT: Once again the offen-
sive line is in the spotlight to begin the
season. The Seahawks seem stable on
See SEAHAWKS/2B
Sports shorts
Woods plans to return in October
CARMEL, Ind. (AP) — Out of golf for more
than a year, Tiger Woods said Wednesday he
hopes to play the fi rst event of the PGA Tour
season next month and could play as much as
twice more by the end of the year.
FACES Woods said if his rehabilitation
from back surgeries keeps going
well, he would play the Safeway
Open in Napa, California, on Oct.
13-16.
“My rehabilitation is to the
point where I’m comfortable
making plans, but I still have work
Woods
to do,” Woods said in a surprise
announcement on his website . “Whether I can
play depends on my continued progress and
recovery. My hope is to have my game ready.”
Woods last played on Aug. 23, 2015, at the
Wyndham Championship. The last of his 14
majors was in the 2008 U.S. Open, right before
reconstructive surgery on his left knee.
“I support our players
when they want to see
change in society, and
we don’t live in a perfect
society. On the other hand,
we believe very strongly
in patriotism in the NFL.
I personally believe very
strongly in that.“
— Roger Goodell
NFL Commissioner making his fi rst
comments addressing San Fran-
cisco 49ers backup quarterback
Colin Kaepernick’s decision not to
stand during the pregame national
anthem in protest of racial injustice
and police brutality.
Bulldogs cleared by OSAA
HERMISTON — Hermiston
football got good news Wednesday
as senior tight end Jerry Ramirez
and junior lineman AJ
Fernandez will be eligible
for Friday’s football game
at Lewiston (ID).
Both players were
appealing ejections for
fi ghting that occurred
during the Bulldogs’
season-opener against Union (WA), a
38-27 loss.
On Tuesday, Hermiston coach David
Faaeteete said he was confi dent both
players would be cleared once the
OSAA reviewed video of each incident,
and on Wednesday word came down
that neither player would need to miss
a game or pay the $50 fi ne that comes
with being a fi rst-time offender.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1957 — Althea Gibson becomes the fi rst
black to win the U.S. Open, beating Louise
Brough, 6-3, 6-2. Australia’s Malcolm
Anderson defeats countryman Ashley
Cooper in three sets to become the fi rst
unseeded player to win the U.S. Open.
1974 — Billie Jean King wins her fourth
U.S. Open with a three-set triumph over
Evonne Goolagong.
1998 — Mark McGwire breaks Roger
Maris’ 37-year-old home run record,
lining historic No. 62 just over the wall in
left fi eld with two outs in the fourth inning.
McGwire’s shot off the Chicago Cubs’
Steve Trachsel sets off a wild celebration
in Busch Stadium.
2013 — Top-seeded Serena Williams
wins her fi fth U.S. Open championship and
17th Grand Slam title overall by beating
No. 2 Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-1.
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