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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 2016)
SPORTS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2016 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS HERMISTON Bulldogs’ Neal catches on quick Hermiston junior having breakout season after switch to receiver By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian Hermiston junior Dayshawn Neal had been trying to convince his coaches he shouldn’t be a quarterback for two years, but it wasn’t until this season he got a chance to show them what he was talking about. Seven games after a switch to his desired position, the 6-foot-1, 180-pound wide receiver is proving his point as he enters Friday’s game against Pendleton ranked fi rst or second in Class 5A in every major receiving statistic. “It started freshman year, I told them I couldn’t play quarterback, then like midway through the season somebody quit and I ended up having to play (junior varsity) quarterback,” Neal said. “They liked it, so sophomore year I was like, ‘Well we’ve got (2016 grad- uate) Nathan Hunsaker, he can play quarterback, I can play wide-out.’” No dice. After a preseason quarterback competition, Hermiston head coach David Faaeteete installed Neal as the varsity starter for the defending 5A state champions. “We put him at quarterback because he’s a great athlete and he can throw the ball, and we wanted to do some things,” said Faaeteete. “If that’s where they need me, I’ll play,” Neal said. It lasted just fi ve games. Hunsaker See NEAL/2B Staff photo by E.J. Harris In this Sept. 2, 2016, fi le photo, Hermiston’s Dayshawn Neal goes up for the catch in the Bulldogs’ 36-14 loss to Union in their season opener at Kennison Field. Neal fi n- ished with 12 catches, 212 yards and three touchdowns in his varsity debut at wide receiver. PENDLETON World Series Timberwolves come up short BMCC’s Kristin Wil- liams (12) unleashes a spike during Wednes- day night’s game against North Idaho College at the McCrae Activity Center. Rizzo, Zobrist lead Cubs’ outburst Chicago knots series at one each Staff photo by Kathy Aney By WILL GRAVES Associated Press CLEVELAND — After getting shut out in their fi rst World Series game since 1945, the Chicago Cubs stressed it was no time to panic. Their at-bats were good, the Cubs insisted. The balanced lineup that Game 2 propelled them to a National Chicago League champion- ship and the best record in the majors was Cleveland just a swing away. Three swings, as it turned out. The fi rst by Kris Bryant with one out in the fi rst inning Wednesday night, a sharp single to center fi eld off Cleveland Indians starter Trevor Bauer that gave the Chicago dugout and the sea of blue-clad fans scattered throughout Progressive Field a needed jolt. The second came seven pitches later, a double to right from Anthony Rizzo that sent Bryant racing home with the Cubs’ fi rst World Series run in 71 years. The third was in the fi fth, a triple to right by Ben Zobrist that gave starter Jake Arrieta all the cushion he needed in a 5-1 victory that tied the Fall Classic at one game apiece heading back to Wrigley Field on Friday. Perhaps it’s only fi tting the outburst was started by three players who represent the various stages of Chicago’s renaissance under general See WORLD SERIES/2B 5 Blue Mountain losing grip on fi nal playoff spot after loss By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian Volleyball North Idaho Blue Mountain 3 2 The Blue Mountain Timberwolves stayed toe-to-toe with the North Idaho College Cardinals through fi ve sets, but in the end the T-Wolves just did not have enough. The Cardinals won their fourth straight game on Wednesday night, knocking off the Timberwolves in fi ve sets at Mosby Court, 30-32, 25-19, 25-22, 21-25, and 15-12. The loss gave a hit to the T-Wolves (17-15, 6-5 East) playoff standing, as the team’s lead on fi fth-place Columbia Basin in the NWAC East fell to a half game with four games left to play. The Timberwolves were obviously disappointed with the result. See T-WOLVES/2B Prep Roundup Sanchez claims only state berth for local runners Hermiston XC third at CRC district meet East Oregonian HOOD RIVER — Hermiston junior Isaac Sanchez earned his third trip to the 5A OSAA cross country state championships by placing fourth at the Columbia River Conference district meet hosted by Hood River on Wednesday. Sanchez crossed the fi nish line seven seconds ahead of Hood River’s Connor Truax in a time of 17:25.36, but for the fi rst time he will have to compete at state alone as Hermiston placed third in team points. Only the top two teams and top fi ve individuals from each the boys and girls 5K qualifi ed for the state fi nals Nov. 5 at Lane Community College in Eugene. Hood River won both the boys and girls teams titles and dominated the podium in both races as well. Hood River senior Jesse Wiley won the boys race in 17:08.32 and fi ve Eagles fi nished in the top 10 for 23 points. Senior Daisy Dolan won the girls’ race in 20:14.40, and was joined by fi ve more Eagles in the top 10 for 18 team points. Thomas Alberti was Pendleton’s only placer in 10th in 18:09.43, and Melany Solorio placed seventh in 21:46.05 as Hermiston’s only girl in the top 10. VOLLEYBALL 1A PLAY-IN ROUND — The season ended on Wednesday for the Ione Cardinals and Helix Grizzlies as they both fell on the road in the 1A play-in round. Ione lost 3-1 at Joseph with scores of 25-14, 25-16, 23-25, 25-12. Helix was swept 3-0 at Adrian by scores of 25-21, 25-22, 25-16. No further information was available at press time. Arlington earned a bye by winning the Big Sky district tournament. The No. 3 Honkers will host No. 14 Elkton in the fi rst round on Saturday. 1 Sports shorts Seahawks part ways with Spiller RENTON, Wash. (AP) The Seattle Seahawks released veteran running back C.J. Spiller on Wednesday and signed fullback Will Tukuafu. Spiller was signed on Sept. 28 but became expendable after the return of rookie C.J. Prosise, who was targeted to be Seattle’s third-down running back from the start of the season but was sidelined after the season opener by a broken bone in his hand. Spiller caught an 8-yard Spiller touchdown pass in his fi rst game with the Seahawks against the New York Jets on Oct. 2. He had just three carries in two games and was inactive for Sunday’s game against Arizona. Tukuafu is in his second stint with the team this season. Tukuafu was signed in Week 2 by Seattle and released the following week. “I was angry, extremely, extremely angry, and disappointed and honestly brought to tears by all of it. It broke my heart.“ — Sevyn Streeter R&B singer after she was told she would not be allowed to per- form the national anthem prior to Wednesday night’s Philadelphia 76ers game because she wore a jersey with the words “We Matter” on the front. A member of the 76ers dance team stepped in to perform the song at the last minute. NBA begins season with record 113 international players NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA begins its season with international players making up one-quarter of the league. The 113 international players come from 41 countries and territories. A maximum of 15 players are allowed on the 30 NBA teams. The NBA said Tuesday that the Utah Jazz lead the way with seven international players. Every team has at least one such player. Canadians are most represented for the third straight year. Eleven players from Canada are on NBA rosters, followed by France at 10, Brazil at nine, and Australia and Spain at eight. The Portland Trail Blazers have just one international player this year, with center Festus Ezeli hailing from Nigeria. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1984 — Washington State’s Rueben Mayes sets an NCAA record with 357 yards rushing, 197 in the fi rst half, and scores three touchdowns in a 50-41 victory over Oregon. 2002 — Emmitt Smith breaks the NFL career rushing yardage record held by the late Walter Payton. Smith has 109 yards and a touchdown in Dallas’ 17-14 loss to Seattle and ends the game with 16,743 career yards, 17 more than Payton gained. 2007 — Weber State beats Portland State 73-68 to set an NCAA all-division football record for points in a game. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
