SPORTS
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2016
1B
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MILTON-FREEWATER
PENDLETON
Pioneers
earn all-
league
honors
Timberwolves buying in
GOL releases
soccer, volleyball,
football squads
East Oregonian
BMCC men taking small-
ball approach in 2016-17
In this Jan.
28, 2016,
fi le photo,
BMCC’s
Isaiah Harris
pulls down
a rebound
in a men’s
basketball
game against
Walla Walla
in Pendleton.
Harris is one
of four return-
ing sopho-
mores for the
Timberwolves
this season.
By MATT ENTRUP
East Oregonian
The Blue Mountain men’s basketball team
closed the 2015-16 season strong by winning
four its last fi ve games.
It wasn’t enough to punch the program’s fi rst
NWAC tournament berth since 2009, though,
and according to the team’s returning sopho-
mores they had only themselves to blame.
After seeing some success in the early
non-league portion of their schedule, the
Timberwolves were fractured
by a six-game losing streak
to open NWAC East region
play. Their late rally came up
two wins short of a postseason
berth.
“It took us a while to buy
in, and it kind of showed in the
Men’s
season,” said sophomore Jared
Basketball
Mathews, a 6-foot-7 forward
who averaged 14.32 points and 8.8 rebounds
in just under 26 minutes a game as a freshman.
“We have a team this year, I think, we’re all
just willing to learn. That’s something that we
kind of lacked last year, but we’re all willing
to learn.”
The Timberwolves start the 2016-17 season
on Sunday with a game at Mt. Hood Commu-
nity College, which will also be the debut for
head coach Gavin Burt.
An assistant for Adam Ellis last season, Burt
was hired as his replacement when Ellis took an
assistant job at St. Martin’s (DII). Burt also is a
former BMCC player (2010-12).
Mathews said the transition has been a
smooth process.
“We kind of all just went right into it like we
didn’t get a new coach, because he (Burt) was
Staff photo by E.J.
Harris
The Mac-Hi Pioneers turned
in successful seasons in both
boys and girls varsity soccer in
2016.
Both teams fi nished with
above .500 records — the girls
9-6-1 and the boys 8-7-1 —
which helped earn spots in the
play-in round of the 4A state
playoffs. Both teams ultimately
came up short of making it
into the 4A state bracket, but
the key players that helped the
teams throughout the seasons
were recognized by the Greater
Oregon League on Tuesday with
a combined seven selections to
the all-league teams.
On the girls side, seniors
Sydney Richwine, Melissa
See PIONEERS/2B
College Football
Ducks’
Allen
going pro
in track
Olympian sprinter
forgoing remaining
college eligibility
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
Olympic hurdler and Oregon
wide receiver Devon Allen says
he will forgo his remaining eligi-
bility with the Ducks and pursue
a professional track career.
Allen, a two-time NCAA
champion in the 110-meter
hurdles who placed fi fth in the
event at the Rio Olympics this
summer,
s a i d
Wednesday
he does not
yet have an
agent. He
is recov-
ering from
surgery to
repair a torn
ACL in his
Allen
left knee.
Allen
said his aim is to win the gold
medal in the 2020 Games, and
then perhaps return to playing
football professionally. He feels
that turning pro and training full
time gives him the best chance
to medal.
“My ideal scenario is to run
track for the next couple of years,
and then in the 2020 Olympics
See ALLEN/3B
See TIMBERWOLVES/3B
In this Jan.
16, 2016,
fi le photo,
BMCC’s
Brook
Haringa
drives to
the basket
guarded by
Big Bend’s
Mackenzie
Windley
and Dean-
na Man-
ning (32) in
a women’s
basketball
game in
Pendleton.
BMCC turns up pressure
Defense expected to be a
strength in 2016-17
By MATT ENTRUP
East Oregonian
Blue Mountain women’s basketball
coach Adam Driver used everything he
knew in trying to draw up a defense that
could mask his roster’s physical shortcom-
ings in 2015-16.
Despite his best efforts, the Timber-
wolves struggled on that end allowing 71.4
points a game and losing four of their last
six games to fi nish four games out of the
playoff hunt.
“Last year towards the end of the year
we switched to a lot of zone, mainly
because we couldn’t keep
people in front of us,”
Driver said. “We had
some good moments with
it, and some not very good
moments.”
With the Timberwolves
Women’s
set to open the 2016-17
Basketball
campaign on Friday when
they play Chemeketa at
the Yakima Valley tournament, Driver
said defense should be one of the team’s
strengths thanks to a speedy freshman class
that has the coach liking what he’s seeing in
practices and scrimmages.
“Our defensive pressure has been a lot
better, the energy on the defensive end has
been better than it was at any point last
year,” he said. “And we’re a little quicker.”
See BMCC/2B
Staff photo by
E.J. Harris
NFL
Seahawks putting hopes of run game on Prosise, Rawls
A New
Engald de-
fender chas-
es Seattle
Seahawks
running
back C.J.
Prosise (22)
during Sun-
day’s game
in Foxbor-
ough, Mass.
Seattle looking for
boost in underachieivng
ground game
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
RENTON, Wash. — Thomas
Rawls is back practicing with
Seattle for the fi rst time since Week
2. C.J. Prosise showed last week
that he could be a solution for the
Seahawks’ underachieving run
game.
And Christine Michael has
once again been discarded by the
AP Photo/Charles
Krupa
Seahawks.
There are defi nitive changes
that Seattle has made in an attempt
to spark the 30th-ranked running
offense in the NFL, centered on the
belief that the combo of Rawls and
Prosise can be the answer.
“We’re going with guys that
we want to go with,” Seattle coach
Pete Carroll said. “We’re excited
about where we’re moving and
think it’s going to fi t together really
well. You’ll fi nd out. You’ll have a
chance to see what you think here
in a couple weeks.”
The makeover of Seattle’s run
game took a drastic turn in the
past few days. First was Prosise
becoming the primary ball carrier
in last Sunday’s 31-24 victory over
New England , relegating Michael
to a supporting role. Prosise had 17
carries for 66 yards, while Michael
was on the fi eld for only 11 plays
and touched the ball just six times.
See SEAHAWKS/3B
Sports shorts
Mariota named Player of the Week
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Titans
quarterback Marcus Mariota has been named
the AFC Offensive Player of the Week after
throwing for 295 yards and four touchdowns
in a 47-25 win over the Green Bay Packers.
The award was announced
Wednesday.
Mariota completed his fi rst
10 passes for 196 yards and two
touchdowns. He fi nished with
a 149.8 passer rating. This is
Mariota’s third offensive player
of the week award. Warren Moon
Mariota
(six) and Steve McNair (four) are
the only Oilers/Titans quarterbacks with more.
The second-year quarterback has 17
touchdowns and three interceptions over his
past six games, along with two TDs rushing.
Mariota is the fi rst in NFL history to score
four total touchdowns in six of his fi rst 22
career starts.
Scherzer, Porcello take home
MLB’s Cy Young Awards
“I always want to run
the ball more, but I also
want to throw it 55 times
a game, too.“
— Mike McCarthy
Green Bay Packers head coach
addressing the team’s offensive
struggles on Wednesday. Later in
the day the Packers’ waiver claim
to running back Christine Michael
was approved. Michael was
released by Seattle on Tuesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Rick Porcello of the
Boston Red Sox has won the AL Cy Young
Award by a narrow margin and
Max Scherzer of the Washington
Nationals has taken the NL prize.
Porcello led the majors with
22 wins, and beat out Detroit’s
Justin Verlander and Cleveland’s
Corey Kluber in results
announced Wednesday.
Scherzer become the sixth pitcher to win
the Cy Young in both leagues, earning the NL
honor by a wide margin. He led the majors
with 284 strikeouts and topped the league
with 20 wins, and beat out Chicago Cubs
teammates Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks.
Scherzer won the AL honor in 2013 while
pitching in a Detroit rotation with Porcello and
Verlander.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1968 — The “Heidi”
television special starts on time
and cuts off the NBC broadcast
of the Oakland-New York Jets
game in the fi nal minutes,
leaving viewers in the dark and
unaware that the Raiders score
two touchdowns in the last
minute for a 43-32 comeback
victory.
1990 — David Klingler
of Houston throws an
NCAA-record 11 touch-
down passes as the Cougars
trounce Eastern Washington
84-21. Klingler completes
41 of 58 passes for 572 yards
and ties the NCAA record
for touchdown passes in a
season with 47.
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