SPORTS
WEEKEND, DECEMBER 17-18, 2016
1B
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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.
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