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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 17, 2016)
SPORTS WEEKEND, DECEMBER 17-18, 2016 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS Prep Wrestling Irrigon squeaks by Riverside in dual action Knights earn ‘sloppy’ win against Pirates East Oregonian BOARDMAN — Wednesday’s winter storm wiped out numerous prep sporting events across the state of Oregon on Friday night, but the lights were still on at the Riverside High School gymnasium for some wrestling duals. The Irrigon Knights made the short 11 mile trek to Boardman to take on the Riverside Pirates, and the young Knights squad drove back home with a happy team following a 39-36 victory. Irrigon coach Jason Dunten said that his Knights didn’t have their best night on the mat, but added that “We won where we needed to.” Riverside started the night off strong with three victories by pin through the fi rst four matches as Fernando Ortega (106), Abraham Silva (113) and Kevin Altamirano (126) made quick work of their Irrigon opponents. But then Irrigon began to piece together some stronger matches with wins by Silvestre Vasquez at 132 pounds and Jose Romero at 145 pounds each winning with pins of their own. But Riverside’s experi- ence in the middle weights really showed, too, as state qualifi ers A.J. Rockwell (138), Ulises Calvillo (152), and Ivan Escobedo (160) each picked up easy wins over the Knights. “Riverside’s a real tough team,” Dunten said, “and we’re trying to get there. We feel we’re on an upward swing.” Irrigon fi nished the night on an upward swing to earn the win, as the Knights earned four straight wins on the backs of Franco Sanchez (170), Cristian Michaels College Basketball (182), Tanner Mills (195), and Kevin Murgia-Ortega (220). Riverside’s Anthony Kernal fi nished off the night with a 8-7 win by decision over Tucker McAllister at the heavyweight class. “There’s a lot more to come from Irrigon wres- tling,” Dunten said, “and the coaches are real excited for the future.” College Football Beavers slide continues Taggart Oregon State’s Stevie Thomp- son rises to shoot against Long Beach State in Friday’s game as part of the Dam City Classic at the Moda Center in Portland. Long Beach won 71-67. changing recruiting approach New Ducks coach embracing social media sharing Corvallis Gazette-Times via AP Oregon State can’t hold halft ime lead, losing streak hits 4 Dam City Classic Long Beach Oregon State 71 67 By ANNE M. PETERSON Associated Press PORTLAND — Evan Payne scored 19 points and Long Beach State rallied in the fi nal minutes to beat hosts Oregon State 71-67 in the Dam City Classic at the Moda Center on Friday night. Stephen Thompson Jr. and Drew Eubanks had 17 points apiece for the Beavers, who have lost four straight. Oregon State (3-8) led by as many as seven points in the second half, but Jordan Griffi n’s 3-pointer tied it at 52 before Justin Bibbins hit a pair of free throws to give the 49ers (3-10) the lead with 4:06 left. JaQuori McLaughlin’s layup got the Beavers within 62-61, but Gabe Levin got a basket and a free throw with 1:31 to go. After See BEAVERS/2B By RYAN THORBURN The Register-Guard EUGENE — It’s safe to say that Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich didn’t enjoy some aspects of recruiting in the age of social media. Hitting the recruiting trail and tweeting all about it is a part of the job new Oregon coach Willie Taggart relishes. “I love recruiting, I’ve always loved recruiting. It’s great,” Taggart said. “I feel like I have the best job in America. Every year you get to meet families and friends and probably the most important thing, you get to change somebody’s life every year.” Ducks fans curious about Taggart’s recruiting efforts can track some of his visits and breakthroughs by following the 40-year-old coach on Twitter (@ CoachTaggart). “Ring, Ring, Ring. Great phone call for the Ducks from So. Cal,” Taggart tweeted late Thursday. “I love Duck hunting. Go Ducks! #QuackQuack.” Oregon received its second verbal commitment for the 2017 class since See TAGGART/2B NFL Seahawks’ division title overshadowed by Sherman outburst Veteran cornerback upset with goal-line playcall By TIM BOOTH Associated Press RENTON, Wash. — Instead of spending the day after wrapping up another division title celebrating and talking about what comes next for the Seattle Seahawks, Pete Carroll was again forced to address another sideline outburst by Richard Sherman. This time, Sherman’s display had Carroll considering discipline for his standout cornerback. Seattle clinched its third NFC West title in the past four seasons with a 24-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night. It’s the fourth division title for the franchise since Carroll arrived in 2010 and a fi fth straight playoff appearance dating back to 2012 and the arrival of quarterback Russell Wilson. The victory also kept alive Seattle’s hopes of landing the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a fi rst-round bye in the playoffs. Yet, that accomplishment seemed to get overshadowed by a second visible sideline blowup by Sherman this season, this one directed at the plays being called by Seattle’s offense near the goal line. “There was a moment in the game there where he got really worked up and emotional,” Carroll said. Carroll met with Sherman on Friday morning to talk over what happened. Carroll indicated Sherman’s response during the meeting determined whether there would be any discipline for what some might view as insubordination. “The meeting went very well and was very clear,” Carroll said. “And I know the guy I’m talking to. I know him as well as you could know a guy. I know how he feels about it and I’m fi ne about what happened. That doesn’t mean it was OK. That doesn’t mean it was something that didn’t need to be addressed. He was the only guy in my offi ce this morning. We went right after it. I was going to make my decision on how to move forward based on what happened.” See SHERMAN/2B Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times via AP Seattle Seahawks’ cornerback Richard Sherman lays a big hit on Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff knocking him during the second half of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016, in Seattle. Sports shorts Sarkisian named new offensive coordinator for Alabama TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama is hiring another former USC head coach as offensive coordinator. Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban announced Friday that Steve Sarkisian will replace Lane Kiffi n, who has taken over the Florida Atlantic program. Sarkisian will also coach the quarterbacks. Sarkisian was an offensive analyst for Alabama this season. Sarkisian USC fi red Sarkisian in October 2015 after athletic director Pat Haden said he showed up in school in no condition to lead practice following an embarrassing public display earlier at a pep rally where he appeared to be intoxicated while giving a speech. He later sought treatment for alcoholism. “Although no one from Louisville sought the information, once it was provided, we did not do what should have been done. The information should not have been accepted. It should have been rejected.“ — Tom Jurich University of Louisville athletic di- rector after suspending offensive cooordinator Lonnie Galloway for the bowl game for his role in accepting information from the Wake Forest radio analyst on Nov. 12 of this season. Oregon’s hire of Leavitt offi cial EUGENE (AP) — Oregon formally announced Friday that Colorado defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt will join Ducks coach Willie Taggart’s staff in the same capacity. The announcement makes the hiring offi cial after reports fi rst surfaced Wednesday. Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre issued a statement thanking Leavitt on Thursday. Leavitt has spent the past two seasons with the Buffaloes. This season, Colorado is ranked 17th nationally for total defense, Leavitt allowing an average of 328.3 yards per game, and 18th in scoring defense at 20.5 points per game. Taggart, who spent the past four seasons at South Florida, was hired last week to take over the Ducks following a disappointing 4-8 season and the dismissal of coach Mark Helfrich. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1933 — The Chicago Bears win the fi rst NFL cham- pionship with a 23-21 victory over the New York Giants. The Bears score the winning touchdown on a 36-yard play that starts with a short pass from Bronko Nagurski to Bill Hewitt, who then laterals to Bill Kerr for the score. 2012 — Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim becomes the third Division I men’s coach to reach 900 wins. Boeheim, 68 and in his 37th year at his alma mater, reaches the mark when his third-ranked Orange post a 72-68 victory over Detroit in the Gotham Classic. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
