SPORTS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2016
1B
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HEPPNER
Mustangs stampede past Prospectors
Heppner back
in 2A semis
for fourth
straight year
Football
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
On Saturday afternoon,
Heppner’s six seniors — Jake
Lindsay, Logan Grieb, Kolby
Currin, Tim Jaca, Kevin
Murray, and Trevin Horne
— stepped onto the grass of
Les Payne Field for one fi nal
home football game.
The fi eld at Morrow
County Fairgrounds has been
a place of great success for
the Mustangs over the course
of the seniors’ four-year high
school career, with Heppner
winning 25 of 26 games in
that span. But this game held
more meaning than typical
home game — a win over
Grant Union on Saturday
would send the Mustangs
back to the state semifi nals
for the fourth straight season.
The senior six did their
parts to leave a lasting
impression on the Mustang
fans once the game was
played, leading No. 4
Heppner to a 46-0 victory
over No. 5 Grant Union.
“It’s awesome, really
awesome,” Grieb said of the
victory. “I never thought it
(home fi nale) would come
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Heppner’s Logan Grieb (5) scampers downfi eld on his way to a touchdown during Saturday’s state playoff game
against Grant Union at Les Payne Field in Heppner.
this fast, but it did and it’s a
heck of a way to go out.”
“We’re playing in the best
town with the best fans and
atmosphere you could ask for
and we played as hard as we
could to get the best memory
here,” Murray added. “And
all of my brothers were on
great Heppner teams and
they didn’t even make it to
the semis four years in a row,
but it feels awesome and
we’re jacked to get back.”
With a steady wind
blowing from left to right for
College Roundup
Grant Union
Heppner
0
46
most of the game Saturday,
Heppner (8-2) coach Greg
Grant did not venture into the
pass section of the offensive
playbook except once — an
incomplete pass in the fi rst
quarter. But the Mustangs
didn’t need the passing game
to be effective, running the
ball 43 times for 380 yards
and seven touchdowns scored
by four different players.
“Coach Grant gave us
a great game plan and we
focused on the fundamentals
a lot because that’s what
wins games in the playoffs,”
Grieb said. “You just have
to dig deep and do what you
learned back in fi fth, sixth
grade and we did a good job
of that.”
Grieb led the way with
three of those touchdowns
from his running back
spot — all scored in the fi rst
half — and fi nished with 145
yards on 18 carries. Junior
running back Coby Dough-
erty had a solid game with
103 yards on 16 carries and
two scores.
“It’s the greatest thing
ever to block for those guys,”
Jaca said, “and when you feel
their hand on your back to
See MUSTANGS/2B
Rodeo
EOU hits the road for fi rst playoff game Patterson
Football team matches
ropes fourth
program record for wins
gold buckle
East Oregonian
LA GRANDE — Following Saturday’s
27-17 win over Carroll College, the Eastern
Oregon Mountaineers offi cially clinched a
spot in the NAIA football playoffs for the
fi rst time in program history.
The No. 9 Mountaineers (8-2) will begin
their playoff journey this coming Saturday
when the team travels to Crete, Nebraska
to battle the No. 7 Doane Tigers (9-1) in the
fi rst round. Doane reached the postseason
with the No. 2 at-large bid out of the
Great Plains Athletic Conference,
while EOU wrapped up its spot
with the No. 4 at-large spot from the
Frontier Conference.
The Mountaineers have had
tremendous success in road games in 2016,
fi nishing the regular season with a perfect 5-0
record on the road. EOU is also one of three
squads making its fi rst playoff appearance.
Saturday’s win at Nelson Stadium saw the
teams combine for 35 points in the second
half after EOU took a 6-3 lead into the locker
room at halftime.
Senior quarterback Zach Bartlow tossed
two touchdowns and 144 passing yards,
while junior wide receiver Brenden
Kelly caught fi ve passes for 64
yards and two touchdowns. On the
ground, senior running back Alfred
Gross paced the Mountaineers with
a career-high 158 rushing yards on
24 carries.
Carroll had a chance to score late in the
fourth, but senior linebacker Tucker Stanley
came up with his third interception of the season.
Eastern’s eight wins matches a program
high, a mark it’s achieved four times.
“It is a great day to be a Mountie,” said
head coach Tim Camp. “I’m proud of the
players and coaches.”
See EOU/2B
NFL
Seattle ignores excuses, comes up with victory
Seattle Sea-
hawks wide
receiver Doug
Baldwin (89)
catches a
pass for his
third touch-
down of the
game during
the second
half of an NFL
football game
against the
New England
Patriots,
Sunday in
Foxborough,
Mass. The Se-
ahawks won
31-24.
Seahawks’ latest win
ranks among most
impressive under Carroll
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
RENTON, Wash. — Playing across the
country on a short week and facing one of
the top teams in the NFL coming off a bye,
the Seattle Seahawks had every reasonable
excuse available.
And yet, what could have been an
expected setback instead became one of
Seattle’s most impressive regular season
wins under coach Pete Carroll.
Kansas cowboy wins
steer roping national title
PRCA Media
MULVANE, Kan. — Roping steers is
what Rocky Patterson does — and does
well.
In fact, no cowboy in the PRCA roped
them better in 2016 than the Pratt, Kansas,
cowboy.
With Pendleton’s Curt Robinson calling
the action from the
announcer’s booth,
Patterson
earned
$56,432 at the 2016
Clem
McSpadden
National Finals Steer
Roping and rode
away with his fourth
gold buckle.
“It’s big,” said
Patterson, 50, about
Patterson
his latest accomplish-
ment. “It isn’t as easy
for me to get out there and practice as it
was 25 years ago. It probably has not sunk
in yet, but this is big.”
Patterson’s NFSR performance vaulted
him to the world championship with
a single-season steer roping record of
$141,350, surpassing the previous record
of $121,112 by Trevor Brazile last year.
Although Patterson came into his latest
NFSR — the 22nd of his decorated career
AP Photo/Steven
Senne
See SEAHAWKS/3B
See PATTERSON/2B
Sports shorts
Mariners acquire Danny Valencia
SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners
have acquired utility player Danny Valencia
from the Oakland Athletics for minor league
pitcher Paul Blackburn.
Valencia played four positions for Oakland
last season and hit .287 with 17
HR and 51 RBIs in 130 games.
Seattle general manager Jerry
Dipoto said Saturday that Valen-
cia’s ability to play fi rst and third
base and left and right fi eld gives
manager Scott Servais a “welcome
Valencia
level of fl exibility.”
The 32-year-old Valencia also has played
for Minnesota, Boston, Baltimore, Kansas City
and Toronto. He’s a career .321 hitter against
left-handed pitching.
Blackburn, 22, was 9-5 with a 3.27 ERA in
26 games in Double-A last season. Blackburn
was acquired by Seattle in July as part of the
trade that sent Mike Montgomery to the Cubs.
“It’s not just a normal,
‘Hey, I hurt my knee in
practice.“
— Gary Andersen
Oregon State football coach con-
fi rming sophomore wide receiver
Seth Collins treated at a hospital
for an undisclosed ailment on
Monday. Due to privacy issues,
he would not comment further
than to say that his thoughts and
prayers were with Collins and the
team would be there to support
him in any way possible.
Dodgers’ Seager, Tigers’ Fulmer
take Rookie of the Year honors
(AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop
Corey Seager is the unanimous winner of the
NL Rookie of the Year award, and Detroit
right-hander Michael Fulmer beat out New
York Yankees catcher Gary
Sanchez for the AL honor.
Seager is the 17th
Dodgers player to earn
Rookie of the Year honors
easily the most of any team but the franchise
hadn’t had a winner since Todd Hollandsworth
in 1996. Seager hit .308 with 26 home runs
and 72 RBIs this year.
Fulmer went 11-7 with a 3.06 ERA,
establishing himself as a Rookie of the Year
candidate early on and holding off a late
challenge from Sanchez. Fulmer received 26 of
30 fi rst-place votes from the Baseball Writers’
Association of America. The votes were
announced Monday night on MLB Network.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1943 — Sid Luckman of
the Chicago Bears becomes
the fi rst pro to pass for more
than 400 yards as he throws
for 433 and seven touchdowns
in a 56-7 victory over the New
York Giants.
1964 — Gus Johnson
and Walt Bellamy become
the fi rst NBA teammates
to score 40 points apiece as
the Baltimore Bullets beat
the Los Angeles Lakers
127-115. Johnson has 41
points, Bellamy 40.
1970 — Forty-three
members of the Marshall
football team die when their
chartered plane crashes in
Kenova, W.Va.
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