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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 2016)
SPORTS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS PENDLETON PENDLETON Good day for bubble broncos Cowboys strengthen fi nals bids by winning Round-Up checks East Oregonian Kolbaba defends crown Walla Walla native feeds off crowd support for big win By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian When Derek Kolbaba plans out his travel schedule during the rodeo season, there is one city that is always priority No. 1 — Pendleton. The 20-year-old cowboy from Walla Walla, Washington frequented the town for the Pendleton PBR Classic and the Round-Up every year when he was growing up, which is why those two events are always staples for him. On Tuesday night, Kolbaba took center stage in front of his (pretty much) hometown crowd looking to defend his PBR Classic title from 2015. And after two rock solid rides with those fans behind him, Kolbaba was successful in his efforts as he scored a 175.5 on two to capture the 2016 Banner Bank Pendleton PBR Classic crown. “It’s all just unbelievable,” he said. “When I say it’s one of my favorite events, I’m not lying. The atmosphere is great, the crowd is right there on top of you and I have all my family and friends here which makes it that much sweeter.” The crowd support for the Wash- ington cowboy was evident from the cowboy introductions when the packed house at Happy Canyon arena when Kolbaba’s name was announced. It continued during his fi rst ride, just four riders into the event, with booming cheers and high-pitched screams More than $83,000 has already been won as the 2016 Pendleton Round-Up prepares for its fi rst performance of the week today. Team roping, tie-down roping and steer wrestling completed their fi rst go during Tuesday’s slack while steer ropers began their second round of competition in earnest. Five seconds was a key fi gure for team ropers and steer wrestlers as that was the winning time in both events. Team ropers Aaron Macy and Evan Arnold pulled it off in their event to win a round in Pendleton for the fi rst time. At 33rd and 25th in the PRCA standings, respectively, Macy and Arnold would practically need a sweep in Pend- leton to get into the running for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, but the bubble team of Jake Cooper and Tyler McKnight helped their cause with a seventh-place fi nish in 6.3. They came into the week in 21st and placed seventh in the round. ——— Team roping Go 1 payout — 1, Aaron Macy/Evan Arnold, 5.0 seconds, $4,347.13 each; 2, Bryce Palmer/Monty Joe Petska, 5.5, $3,780.11 each; 3, Blake Teixeira/C.J. DeForest Jr., 5.6, $3,312.10 each; 4, Ryan Reed/Dalton Pearce, 5.9, $2,646.08 each; 5, Blaine Vick/York Gill, 6.1, $2,079.06 each; 6, David Temple/Tee Jay Brown, 6.2, $1,512.05 each; 7, Jake Cooper/Tyler McKnight, 6.3, $945.03 each; T8, Joel Bach/Kory Koontz and Shane Erickson/Andy Carlson, 6.5, $189.01 each. TIE-DOWN ROPING Texas cowboy Shank Edwards is no stranger to success in the Pacifi c Northwest after winning the all-around tie-down titles at the 2010 Farm-City Pro Rodeo in Hermiston, and will be looking to add a Round-Up title as well now that he’s sitting atop the leaderboard through one round. Edwards, who entered the week No. 32 in the PRCA standings, tied his calf in 8.4 seconds to earn a check for $4,111.48. Shank’s winnings won’t get him into the WNFR race on their own, but world No. 16 Blane Cox got a check that will at least keep him in the discussion until the fi nal weeks by placing second with a time of 8.6 for a $3,575.20 payday. See ROUND-UP/2B See PBR/2B Staff photos by E.J. Harris MAIN PHOTO: Derek Kolbaba of Walla Walla rides No Dice during the Pendleton PBR Classic on Tuesday in the Happy Canyon Arena in Pendleton. TOP RIGHT: Reese cates of Monticello, Ark., gets bucked off of Hot Rod during the Pendleton PBR Classic. TOP LEFT: Dakota Buttar of Kindersley, Canada, rides Maestro during the Pendleton PBR Classic. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Howdy McGinn of North Powder and Chad Finley of Mt. Vernon fi nish with a 7.8-second run in team rop- ing during slack Tuesday at the Pendleton Round-Up. HERMISTON PENDLETON Bucks face steep test in Storm Bulldogs eager to play Cougars Pendleton opens league with defending 5A champions By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian After a Week 1 high, the Pendleton Buckaroos now fi nd themselves reeling a bit heading into Week 3. What happened in between? A 49-21 road defeat at the hands of the Putnam Kingsmen last week, a game that Pendleton Football Pendleton Summit Buckaroos Storm (1-1) (1-1) • Friday, 7 p.m. • at Summit High School, Bend • Radio: KTIX 1240 AM coach Erik Davis said his team let get away from them by not doing their jobs. “I fully expected us to be competitive against a competitive 5A team, but it didnt’ work out for us,” Davis said following the loss. Later Davis added, “We didn’t play assignment football like we had all week in practice, we didn’t tackle well and then we came out a little fl at on offense … and that combination didn’t work out for us.” Pendleton (1-1) will need to fi nd that same success it had in the season opener, as Week 3 brings one of the biggest games of the season for the Buckaroos. The team will travel the 244 mile one-way trip to Bend to take on the defending Class See BUCKS/2B Hermiston hosts Mountain View to start league season Football By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian Mtn. View Hermiston Cougars Bulldogs (2-0) (0-2) • Friday, 7 p.m. • at Kennison Field, Hermiston • Radio: KOHU 1360 AM The old is new again as the Intermountain Confer- ence has come back into fashion in the OSAA’s Class 5A, only now they’re calling it Special District 1. The Hermiston Bulldogs (0-2) host the Mountain View Cougars (2-0) on Friday to open league play, and Hermiston coach David Faaeteete welcomes the early arrival of meaningful football after six seasons in the four-team Columbia River Conference during which they didn’t see a league opponent until Week 6. “The only thing that matters to us is our confer- ence opponents and getting after that,” he said. “What we’re looking forward to is getting into a good confer- ence, we’re going to be playing really good teams from the Bend area, we’re really excited about that. “Our kids are hungry for a win and they’ve been preparing themselves this week.” It’ll be the fi rst time for Mountain View playing See BULLDOGS/2B Sports shorts Saints release running back Spiller METAIRIE, La. (AP) — The New Orleans Saints have released running back C.J. Spiller, who signed a four-year, $16 million free-agent contract just last season. Spiller was a healthy scratch Sunday, when the Saints opened the regular season with a 35-34 loss to Oakland. On Monday, Saints coach Sean Payton said Spiller was scratched because there wasn’t room for him in the Raiders game plan, adding that Spiller’s role could change “week to week.” But when the NFL posted Tuesday’s Spiller transactions, Spiller’s contract had been terminated. When the Saints acquired Spiller, they hoped his versa- tility and his speed would allow him to fi ll roles similar to those of ex-Saints Reggie Bush and Darren Sproles. But Spiller needed arthroscopic knee surgery last preseason and has contributed relatively little to New Orleans’ prolifi c offense. “I can say with confi dence that there’s no other state in the country that loves its college sports more than North Carolina. That’s why it hits so hard and feels so personal.“ — Scott Dupree Executive director of the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance, which was coordinating four of the seven championship events being moved from the state over its law on bath- room use by transgender people. Seahawks swap defensive backs, cut fullback Tukuafu RENTON, Wash. (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks have waived cornerback Tharold Simon, a former fi fth-round draft pick who has struggled with injuries. Seattle also signed cornerback Neiko Thorpe, who appeared in 28 games over the past two seasons with Oakland. Thorpe was among the fi nal cuts by the Raiders at the conclusion of camp. Simon had gotten high praise for his improvement during training camp but his entire career has been slowed by injuries. Seattle also waived rookie fullback Tani Tupou and signed veteran Will Tukuafu. The Seahawks did not add a quarterback to the active roster, another sign that Russell Wilson is expected to play Sunday at Los Angeles. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1986 — Chicago’s Walter Payton rushes for 177 yards, to reach the 15,000-yard plateau and scores his 100th career rushing touchdown as the Bears beat the Philadelphia Eagles 13-10. 1994 — The baseball season, already shut down by a month-long strike, is canceled along with the World Series in a vote by 26 of the 28 teams. 2010 — Reggie Bush announces he is forfeiting his Heisman Trophy that he won at USC in 2005. It’s the fi rst time college football’s top award is returned by a recipient. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
