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