Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
College Football
Baylor rolls over Boise State at Cactus Bowl
By JOHN MARSHALL
Associated PRess
PHOENIX — KD Cannon
had 14 catches for a Cactus
Bowl-record 226 yards and two
touchdowns, helping Baylor end a
difficult season with a 31-12 victory
over Boise State on Tuesday night.
Baylor (7-6) went into a
downward spiral the last half of
the season after opening with six
straight wins. Quarterback Seth
Russell suffered a season-ending
ankle injury, the sexual assault
scandal that cost coach Art Briles
his job continued to linger and the
losses piled up, six straight to end
the regular season.
The Bears ended on a positive
note by revving up their quick-hit-
ting offense again behind freshman
quarterback Zach Smith, who threw
for 375 yards and three scores.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these
guys,” Baylor interim coach Jim
Grobe said. “We’ve been through a
lot of adversity together. I love every
one of these guys and they know
that. This is a family win.”
Boise State (10-3) tried to keep
up with the Bears, but struggled in
the red zone: two field goals, an
interception in the end zone and a
failed fourth down try.
Boise State started with single
coverage on Cannon and the Bears
exploited it throughout the first
half.
The Baylor junior scored on a
30-yard pass from Smith in the first
quarter, out-leaping Boise State’s
Jonathan Moxey in the end zone,
then beat him on a 68-yard score in
the second to put Baylor up 14-3.
Cannon had eight catches for 182
yards and two TDs by halftime.
“We just had to prove a point,”
Cannon said. “Coming off a bad
season, we had to finish strong for
Baylor Nation and coach Briles.”
Smith had some ups and downs
in three games after Russell broke
his ankle, but had a month to
prepare for the Cactus Bowl. The
freshman from Texas was sharp
with the extra work, completing
28 of 39 passes. He also threw a
14-yard touchdown pass to Ishmael
Zamora in the fourth quarter to put
Baylor up 31-6.
Boise State’s Brett Rypien
moved the Broncos up and down
the field, but had his share of
mistakes.
He threw an interception at the
Baylor 5-yard line on Boise State’s
second drive and had an overthrow
on what would likely have been a
touchdown later in the first quarter,
forcing the Broncos to settle for a
field goal.
Baylor
defensive
end Tyrone
Hunt (90)
stands over
Boise State
quarter-
back Brett
Rypien (4)
after a sack
during the
second
half of the
Cactus
Bowl NCAA
college
football
game, Tues-
day, Dec.
27, 2016, in
Phoenix.
Baylor won
31-12.
AP Photo/Rick
Scuteri
FANTASY CAMP: College players go from campers to instructors
Continued from 1B
nothing more than a text message
to enlist the talents of former PHS
standouts Tommy Lane, Alex
O’Rourke and Lane Richards to
headline the hitting, catching and
fielding portions, respectively.
Spots in the camp were limited
to about 15 players, and were
items placed up for bid at the Buck
Booster auction held in February.
“This was something that the
opportunity was afforded and we
probably could expand on it, but it’s
something we do to help promote
Buck Boosters who support Pend-
leton athletics in general,” Zander
said. “It’s something that we want
to keep fairly exclusive to people
who go to Buck Boosters and
support Buck Boosters.”
With just a few hours to work
with the players, Straily said he
wanted to keep things simple and
focus on showing them exercises
and drills they could do on their
own and indoors.
“You don’t need a big facility,
you don’t need the Arizona weather.
You can get better at baseball in a
facility just like this,” he said of the
cozy indoor practice facility at Bob
White Field. “This has everything
you need to get better.
“As long as these kids come
here and I can motivate them, or
teach them one thing, I feel like I’ve
done my job. That’s all it’s really
about for me, is coming back here
and showing them something that I
wish I would have known at their
age.”
If that’s the case, Straily can
mark this one in the win column.
Kyle Field, an eighth-grader at
Sunridge Middle School, attended
the inaugural fantasy camp in 2015
“That’s all it’s
really about for
me, is coming
back here and
showing them
something that I
wish I would
have known at
their age.”
— Dan Straily,
Cincinnati Reds pitcher
who grew up in Pendleton
before his family moved
away while he was in high
school.
Staff photos by Kathy Aney
TOP: Dan Straily is shown during a brief moment of inactivity
during Tuesday’s pitching camp.
BOTTOM: Alex O’Rourke, who just signed to play baseball for
George Washington University, tosses a ball to Clayton Cooley, an
aspiring young catcher who attended Tuesday’s baseball clinics.
and said he asked his parents to bid
on the item again this year.
“It was a no-brainer, I really
wanted to come, it’s really fun
pitching with Dan,” he said. “I
learn a lot of stuff about training
and recovery, not so much pitching
in games but what to do before and
after.”
Straily’s largest impact may
have been not what he taught, but
just his presence.
“It’s pretty cool just for him to
come here to Pendleton. I mean it’s
pretty small, so to have a big leaguer
all the way from Cincinnati come
over here, it’s pretty neat,” said
Field, who also said he’d like to one
day pitch in the majors. “I mean, if
he did it why can’t anybody else?”
That’s a good question, and
one Lane and O’Rourke are still
pursuing the answer to at the
collegiate level. They were both
participating as instructors for the
second time during their holiday
breaks.
“I would have loved to have
something like this when I was a
kid,” said Lane, the PHS home-run
record holder who is going into his
final season at Marshall University.
“I’m going to teach them the same
thing I’m being taught right now,
make them learn muscle memory
and become good hitters.”
O’Rourke, who took a redshirt
as a freshman at Oregon State, is
playing a transition season at Linn-
Benton Community College before
transferring back to Div. I at George
Washington University.
“It’s always important seeing
the kids have fun, and they like
hanging out with us so we try to be
good role models and show them
what it takes, and try to keep the
dream alive for them,” he said. “It
seems like I should still be in high
school, and I’m still their age, but
it’s fun to be back and help the kids
get better.”
Richards, a four-year starter at
shortstop for Notre Dame (2013-16)
who now works for an accounting
firm in Seattle, said these types of
camps were crucial to his devel-
opment as a player so he’s always
willing to give his time when it’s
available.
“Dating all the way back to
Little League, every year I went
to the local high school camp and
I loved doing those,” he said. “I
loved seeing the older guys and
what they’re doing, just feeling like
I was part of the community. And I
think that’s just something that our
community does really well with
baseball. We grow as a whole and
the older guys are always helping
the younger guys.”
And at least in one way, the
younger guys gave an assist to one
of the vets as well.
“I’m learning a little bit better on
how to coach and do a little bit of
stuff like that, because that’s defi-
nitely not my forte,” Straily said.
“But it’s helped me. Talking about
baseball helps me become a better
baseball player, a better pitcher.”
For Zander, watching that inter-
action play out has been the true
dream come true during this fantasy
camp.
“Nobody in Pendleton coaches
for money,” he said. “It’s for the
relationships they build with other
people and the youngsters they help
raise. And it’s nice when they come
back and you can actually call them
your friends and sit down and have
adult conversations with them, and
then watch them execute and pass
down things they’ve learned to the
future Buckaroos. It’s very, very
rewarding.”
———
Contact Matt Entrup at
mentrup@eastoregonian.com or
(541) 966-0838.
EAGLES: Defense keys win for girls HOLIDAY BOWL:
Continued from 1B
Continued from 1B
quarter.
Case finished with just five
points but had a team-high 10
rebounds. Mick Schimmel
scored a game-high 17 points
to lead the team.
Austin Carter was high-
point for Ione with 13.
Next up for Nixyaawii is
a tournament game against
South Wasco in Echo on
Thursday at 6 p.m. Ione is at
Riverside for a non-league
game on Thursday at 4 p.m.
———
players were suspended after a sexual
assault investigation, won 17-12 on
Tuesday night.
The Golden Gophers (9-4) were
looking to regroup after backing down
from a threat to skip this game if their
teammates suspended after the investi-
gation weren’t reinstated. Their boycott
lasted less than 36 hours, with university
leadership never blinking. The players
backed down amid pressure from many
who read details of the allegations.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of anybody
not wanting to be here. It’s just a matter
of wishing our brothers could be here
with us as well,” Leidner said. “I love
this team, these coaches. You couldn’t ask
for a better way to go out. I’m just really
proud of these guys.”
Brooks’ TD catch was one of the few
exciting plays in an otherwise pedestrian
edition of what traditionally has been
one of the country’s most exciting bowl
games.
WSU cornerback Marcellus Pippins
reached up with his right hand and
deflected Leidner’s pass in the end zone
but it went right to Brooks for the TD
and a 10-6 lead. That capped an 84-yard,
10-play drive on Minnesota’s first posses-
sion of the second half.
The Gophers had to face Falk and
WSU’s normally high-powered Air Raid
offense without starting defensive backs
KiAnte Hardin and Antoine Winfield Jr.,
and key backup Antonio Shenault, who
were among the suspended players.
Their replacements stepped up.
“You’ve got to go off practice, and
those kids practiced awfully well,” coach
Tracy Claeys said. “They did a tremen-
dous job. All of them played their tails
off. When you get in those situations and
you’re missing people, it all goes back to
that the next person’s got to step up and
you ask them to do things, they’re going
to do it. Nobody’s going to be successful
if you ask them to do things you’re not
very good at.”
WSU (8-5) ended on a three-game
losing streak and was held to its lowest
point total of the season. The Cougars had
IHS
7 4 10 13 — 34
NCS
12 9
5 21 — 47
IONE — A. Carter 13, T. Carter 8, D. McElli-
gott 8, H. Aguilar 5, C. Hollis, T. Epperson, M.
Orem, J. Heideman.
NIXYAAWII — M. Schimmel 17, D. Barkley
7, J. St. Pierre 6, N. Enright 6, C. Case 5, J.
Church 3, A. Matamoros 3, S. Hoisington.
3-pointers — IHS 2; NCS 5. Free throws —
IHS 4-12; NCS 6-11. Fouls — IHS 15; NCS 10.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
NIXYAAWII 68, IONE
24 — AT Mission, the
undefeated Golden Eagles
used their full-court press to
rack up some quick points
and kept the tempo fast even
after backing off to pick up a
non-league win on Tuesday.
Mary Stewart led Nixy-
aawii (6-0) with 31 points, 10
steals and seven assists, and
Milan Schimmel added 12
points and seven assists while
Kaitlynn Melton chipped in
18 more points.
As a team the Golden
Eagles had 29 steals, 18 assists
and only four turnovers,
and coach Jeremy Maddern
said he was pleased to see
everyone getting involved on
the defensive end.
Maggie Flynn had 13
points to lead Ione (0-7),
which trailed 26-11 at the end
of the first quarter.
Nixyaawii’s next game
is Thursday against South
Wasco. They’ll play the game
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Ermia Butler (30), of Nixyaawii, comes down with a re-
bound Tuesday night in a non-league girls’ basketball
game against Ione in Mission.
in Echo with a 6 p.m. tip-off
as part of the annual Bounc’n
Cancer Tournament to raise
funds that will go toward
helping local caner patients.
Ione will be at Riverside
on Thursday for a non-league
game starting at 4 p.m.
———
IHS
11 2
4
6 — 24
NCS
26 15 23
4 — 68
IONE — M. Flynn 13, M. Orem 5, K. Gilbert
2, S. Knop 2, S. Qualls 2, I. Sandford, M.
Heideman, E. Taylor, A. Medina.
NIXYAAWII — M. Stewart 31, K. Melton
18, M. Schimmel 12, T. Melton 4, E. Looney
3, S. Fitzpatrick 2, A. Tonasket, S. Patrick, T.
Broncheau, E. Butler, K. Mountainchief.
3-pointers — IHS 3; NCS 4. Free throws —
IHS 3-10; NCS 6-7. Fouls — IHS 9; NCS 8.
scored more than 50 points four times this
season, a school record.
The Golden Gophers frustrated Falk
most of the game, holding him to 264
yards — 86 below his average — on
30-of-51 passing. Falk didn’t crack 200
yards until the final minutes, when he led a
drive capped by an 8-yard TD pass to Kyle
Sweet. After three tries due to Minnesota
penalties, the conversion attempt failed.
Minnesota then recovered an onside kick.
Falk came in having completed 71
percent of his passes in throwing for
4,204 yards and 37 touchdowns. The
Cougars were ranked second in the nation
in passing.
Falk was intercepted by Adekunle
Ayinde on fourth down with 3:05 left.
That set up Rodney Smith’s 9-yard TD
run with 2:06 left for a 17-6 lead.
“I don’t think we played well offen-
sively at all,” coach Mike Leach said. “We
never got any rhythm. We were frantic.
You can say we were rusty and had some
time off, whatever it is. We tried to make
things happen and then when it didn’t
happen, we got frantic. We unraveled. We
were pouting on the sidelines.”
WSU lead 6-3 after a lackluster first
half that included just three field goals.
The Cougars crossed the 50 just twice,
getting field goals of 26 and 41 yards by
Erik Powell.
Powell’s second field goal was set up
when Nnamdi Oguayo hit Leidner and
forced a fumble that Isaac Dotson recov-
ered at the Golden Gophers’ 38.
Minnesota got a 43-yard field goal by
Emmit Carpenter in the second quarter.
TAKEAWAY
Minnesota: The Golden Gophers had
only 110 yards of total offense in the first
half before finally coming alive in the
second half. Smith gained 74 yards on 17
carries. He came in averaging 90 yards.
Washington State: The Air Raid offense
was a no-show. After Powell kicked a
field goal to cap WSU’s first drive, the
Cougars went three-and-out on their next
four possessions. The Cougars had to
settle for Powell’s 41-yard field goal at
the end of the first half after Falk’s pass to
Tavares Martin Jr. to the 1 was overturned
after review.