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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 2016)
SPORTS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2016 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS Rematches on tap in semifi nals 2A Football Semifi nals STANFIELD HEPPNER Staff photo by E.J. Harris Staff photo by E.J. Harris In this fi le photo from Nov. 21, 2015, Heppner’s Logan Grieb breaks through a hole in the Regis line in the Mustangs’ 26-3 in the OSAA 2A football semifi nals in Hillsboro. In this fi le photo from Nov. 21, 2015, Stanfi eld’s Tyler Monkus attempts to break free from Kennedy’s Angel Mendez in the Tigers’ 34-20 loss to the Trojans in the OSAA 2A football semifi nals in Hillsboro. Mustangs ready for Rams Tigers look for revenge Heppner takes on No. 1 Regis By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian There are more than 230 schools that compete in football across Oregon’s six classifi cations, and out of that bunch a mere 24 get the chance to play in the state semifi nals each year. And out of those 230-plus schools, there are only two that have now reached the state semifi nals in their respective classifi cations in each of the past four years — North Bend in Class 4A and Heppner in Class 2A. The Mustangs will make Heppner #1 Regis Mustangs Rams (8-2) (9-2) • Saturday, Noon • at Liberty HS, Hillsboro • Radio: KOHU 1360 AM #4 their fourth appearance on Saturday afternoon when they face the No. 1 seed Regis Rams at Liberty High School in Hillsboro. Many expected the Mustangs to perhaps falter a bit in the state playoff picture this season, after losing as many starters and contributors to its 2015 state title as they did, but the Mustangs players are happy to prove the doubters wrong. “It’s pretty incredible,” Heppner senior Tim Jaca said after the team’s 46-0 win over Grant Union on Saturday. “We heard a lot of talk about how this group wasn’t going to be as good this year, but we didn’t really let that bother us. It’s never going to be easy, but we get here every year because of everyone working together.” Head coach Greg Grant knew his team had its work cut out for them this season, but he said he is not surprised that the Mustangs rose to the occasion again in 2016. “I know it seems cliché, See MUSTANGS/2B PENDLETON The Stanfi eld Tigers were one step away from reaching the state champi- onship game in 2015, until the No. 9 seed Tigers’ season was snuffed out by the No. 4 seed Kennedy Trojans in the state semifi nals. But on Saturday night, Stanfi eld will get a shot at redemption for last year as the No. 2 Tigers will once again face the No. 3 Trojans in the 2016 2A semifi nals with a trip to the title game on the line. Stanfi eld coach Davie Salas said that he couldn’t help but smile when he fi rst saw the match-up over the weekend. “I was excited,” Stan- fi eld coach Davie Salas said of the rematch. “It’s another challenge, they (Kennedy) got us last year in a game of two evenly-matched See TIGERS/2B Oregon overpowers Valparaiso Boucher, Bell lead No. 4 Ducks By RON RICHMOND Associated Press Blue Mountain sweeps Highline in fi rst round East Oregonian See T-WOLVES/2B By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian Kennedy #2 Stanfi eld Trojans Tigers (10-1) (10-1) • Saturday, 5 p.m. • at Liberty HS, Hillsboro • Radio: KOHU 1360 AM #3 teams. We’ve been wanting another shot at them and we’re happy we got what we wanted.” In that 2015 matchup, Kennedy’s balanced offen- sive attack became too much for the Tigers to handle as it ran 325 yards and passed for another 102 yards. Just like the Tigers, the Trojans returned a good portion of its core from last year led by quarterback Brett Traeger and running back Bishop Mitchell — who is a Port- land State commit. Salas said he is looking forward to seeing how much his team has grown from last year’s meeting. “Last year we were right College Basketball T-Wolves start hot at NWACs TACOMA, Wash. — The Blue Mountain volleyball team came ready to play in Thursday’s fi rst round at the NWAC Championships, and No. 3 seed Highline never fully recovered after getting blown away in the fi rst set at Greater Tacoma Trade and Convention Center. Stanfi eld determined to beat Kennedy AP Photo/Chris Pietsch Oregon’s Jordan Bell dunks against Valparaiso during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, in Eugene, Ore. EUGENE — An embar- rassing road loss to Baylor may prove to be a valuable lesson for Oregon. If the fourth-ranked Ducks want to meet their own lofty expectations, they’ll have to earn it on the boards. Two days after losing by 17 points to the unranked Bears, Chris Boucher had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead Oregon to its 27th consecutive home victory, 76-54 over Valparaiso on Thursday night. Boucher was coming off Valparaiso 54 #4 Oregon 76 a 12-point, two-rebound performance against Baylor. “His activity allowed him to him to have the 25 points,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “He had no defensive rebounds the other night and we lost the rebounding battle by 11. “Tonight we won it by 13, and that was the difference in the game.” Jordan Bell added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Ducks (2-1), who took control early in the second half with an 11-4 run fueled by Bell’s eight points to open a 52-38 lead. Bell scored 12 points in the second half as Oregon shot 15 of 27 from the fi eld. “That was our goal, just to go inside,” Bell said. “Against Baylor we went 3 for 21 at the 3-point line, so we just wanted to go inside.” Alec Peters led the Crusaders (3-1) with 24 points to become the school’s second-leading career scorer, but Valparaiso shot just 23.3 percent in the second half. Backup freshman point guard Payton Pritchard had nine points and fi ve assists for the Ducks, who led by as many as 25 points in the second half. Oregon had a 40-27 rebounding edge and blocked six shots. Sports shorts Houston upsets No. 3 Louisville HOUSTON (AP) — Duke Catalon scored three touchdowns and Houston hurried and harassed Heisman favorite Lamar Jackson all night to propel the Cougars to a stunning 36-10 victory over Louisville on Thursday night that dashed No. 3 Louisville’s playoff hopes. Louisville (9-2) entered the game ranked fi fth in the College Football Playoff rankings, but was outdone by a Houston team that saw its own playoff hopes foiled by two losses to unranked teams after a 5-0 start. “We blew it,” Louisville coach Catalon Bobby Petrino said. Things went wrong quickly for the mistake- prone Cardinals when they fumbled the opening kickoff to Houston (9-2). Greg Ward threw his fi rst touchdown pass on the next play to make it 7-0. Brandon Radcliff lost a fumble later in the fi rst and Houston added a fi eld goal on the ensuing drive to make it 10-0. Rams break ground in Inglewood “I want my kids to have that opportunity. Nothing better than going to an NBA basketball game and being able to see basketball players.“ — Russell Wilson Seattle Seahawks QB on joining an investment group looking to build a new NBA/NHL arena in Seattle. Wilson ultimately hopes to own a piece of a professional sports franchise. INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams have broken ground on their billion-dollar stadium and its surrounding entertainment district. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Rams owner Stan Kroenke and Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts donned hard hats and turned over ceremonial shovelfuls of dirt Thursday to mark the offi cial start of construction on the former site of the Hollywood Park racetrack, next door to the famed Forum. The huge site is already buzzing with crews working toward the scheduled August 2019 opening of the estimated $2.6 billion project. The stadium already is booked to host the Super Bowl in February 2021. The stadium is the fi rst built specifi cally for an NFL team in Los Angeles. Kroenke has returned the Rams to the market after a 21-year absence. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1978 — Vanderbilt’s Frank Mordica rushes for 321 yards and fi ve touchdowns in a 41-27 victory over Air Force. Mordica scores on runs of 48, 30, 6, 70 and 77 yards. 1990 — Monica Seles captures the fi rst fi ve-set women’s match since 1901, defeating Gabriela Sabatini 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the fi nal of the Virginia Slims Championships. 2006 — Top-ranked Ohio State beats No. 2 Michigan 42-39 in Columbus in the regular-season fi nale. The Big Ten rivals had the top two spots in The AP football poll since Oct. 15. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
