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WEEKEND, JANUARY 7-8, 2017
1B
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ALL-EO FOOTBALL
Line of forceful impact
Hermiston
senior put
fear in
opposing QBs
By MATT ENTRUP
East Oregonian
G
oing into his senior
season, Hermiston’s
John-Henry Line
was a third-year varsity
linebacker with one career
quarterback hurry.
But a position change to
defensive end one game into
the 2016 campaign revealed
his hidden potential, and
by the time he’d played his
final down as a Bulldog
the All-EO Player of the
Year would turn in the
most dominant seasons by
a Hermiston pass rusher,
perhaps ever.
Statistics don’t go back
far enough to say with
certainty, but his 15.5 sacks
this season is definitely the
most by a Bulldog in the
modern era.
Line, who at 6-foot,
195-pounds lined up at right
end in a two-point stance,
also showed his dominance
on the field by leading the
state’s No. 7 defense with
22 tackles for loss, 76 solo
tackles (99 total), seven
quarterback hurries and
a forced fumble for good
measure.
Special District 1
Defensive Player of the
Year and first-team honors
followed, then a first-team
all-state selection. His future
as a football player is also
looking up, as Division III
and NAIA programs from
around the state took notice
during his breakout season.
Hermiston head coach
David Faaeteete said his
initial reasons for moving
Line up in the defensive
formation was a vacuum of
experience created when the
previous season’s defensive
line graduated seven seniors.
“We needed to replace
our senior-heavy defensive
line with guys that had
played a lot of downs,”
Faaeteete said. “I think he
was hesitant at first but he
knew he had to make the
move for his team and it
ended up working out for his
advantage.
“When we made the
move to D-line I was knew
he would step up, I didn’t
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Hermiston High School’s John-Henry Line has been named the All EO Football Player of the Year.
Line by the numbers
Hermiston’s
John-Henry
Line wraps
up Rid-
geview’s
Jace Reitz in
the Bull-
dogs’ 54-0
win against
the Ravens
on Oct. 7,
2016, in
Hermiston.
15.5
Sacks
22
Tackles for loss
79
Solo tackles (99 total)
Staff photo by E.J.
Harris
2
Touchdowns
realize he would embrace
it.”
Defensive coordinator
Scott Hammond gave Line
a crash course in his new
assignments, but didn’t
put a lot on his plate at the
beginning.
“They (coaches) didn’t
really tell me too much,
they just wanted me to
play,” Line said. “Just keep
it simplified and let me do
what I do.”
Line’s ability to use his
hands and quickness to
shed blockers didn’t pay off
right away, and after getting
a crash course in his new
position he was able to turn
in a seven-tackle game but
went without a quarterback
hurry in a Week 2 loss to
Lewiston.
“I didn’t have that good
of a feel the first game, but
then that second game I
started figuring it out and I
had a pretty decent game. I
was like, ‘Dang this is pretty
fun,’” Line said of his 11
tackles (nine solo) and one
tackle for loss in a 35-21 win
over Mountain View.
Line didn’t get his first
sack until Week 4, which
was also the first of six
multi-sack games as he
dragged down Summit’s
John Bledsoe behind the line
of scrimmage twice.
“I knew it was a great thing
and I knew the crowd loved
it, everybody loved it, so I just
wanted more,” he said.
He had 10 tackles, two
for a loss, in a win over
Hood River the next week,
but was shut out in the sack
category. It would be the last
time in the season.
Over the next two weeks
he had 3.5 total sacks and
five tackles for loss in wins
over Ridgeview and Bend
while the defense gave up a
combined seven points and
Hermiston put itself in control
of its own playoff destiny.
By that point in the
season Line had started to
draw double teams, and
teams started running their
offense away from him. It
only made him want to try
that much harder, he said.
“All I wanted to do was
make plays and help our
team win.”
His season-high 14
tackles and three sacks
against Redmond came in a
loss, but Hermiston would
cap its regular season the
next week with a thrilling
13-12 win over rival
Pendleton thanks in no small
part to a monster output
from Line.
He terrorized Buckaroos
quarterback Nick Bower
for five sacks and four
quarterback hurries in front
of a standing-room only
crowd at Kennison Stadium.
Pendleton found itself in
third-and-long the entire
game thanks to Line and
his cohorts, and finished the
game with just 114 yards.
“That was by far my
favorite game, senior
night, stands crowded, it
was just awesome, a great
atmosphere,” Line said.
Hermiston’s season
ended with a 12-7 loss to St.
Helens in the first round of
the playoffs. Despite a wide
offensive-line formation
designed to spread out the
pocket, Line was still able to
rack up 12 tackles (10 solo),
two sacks, two tackles for
loss and one quarterback
hurry.
“At the beginning of the
season I tried finesse moves,
but towards the end I was
just bull rushing,” he said.
“Both worked out pretty
good.
“I faced a lot of good
linemen, some of them were
pretty big. But after every
game they’d pretty much tell
me I was the best defensive
lineman they’d ever played.
Just to hear that from
another player, I thought that
was a pretty good feeling.”
And even though it’s
his defensive skills that
are attracting interest from
schools like George Fox,
Western Oregon Eastern
Oregon and Southern
Oregon, it wasn’t all defense
for Line this season.
He carried the ball in
short yardage situations
five times for 11 yards and
scored touchdowns against
Hood River and Bend.
“I really enjoy playing
defense but I like carrying
the ball,” he said. “Scoring
touchdowns is fun. I wish
I could have done more
running but it is what it is.”
Line said he’s getting the
sense teams will want him
to play either linebacker
or a hybrid end-linebacker
position in college, and
Faaeteete said they’d not
only gain a superb athlete,
but a great teammate.
“He’s a great kid, coach-
able, always willing to listen
and learn,” he said. “You get
a kid with a great work ethic
who puts it all on the field
for his team. John-Henry’s
not very vocal, he does more
of his talking with his pads
and his play. He’s got that
silent warrior mentality.”
Line’s experience
this past season may be
influencing his approach
to other sports as well.
Along with joining the
lacrosse team as a goalie, he
decided he wanted to take
up snowboarding this winter
and dove into the powder
head first.
“I’m learning pretty fast
and I’m enjoying it. My
friends and I are just going
down the hill,” he said. “I
feel like it’s a better way to
learn too.”
———
Contact Matt Entrup at
mentrup@eastoregonian.
com or (541) 966-0838.
2016 ALL-EO FIRST TEAM
Andrew James
Quarterback
Hermiston, soph.
Logan Grieb
Running back
Heppner, senior
Thyler Monkus
RB/DB
Stanfield, senior
Shaw Jerome
WR/DB
Pendleton, junior
Dayshawn Neal
Wide receiver
Hermiston, junior
Dylan Grogan
ATH/LB
Stanfield, senior
Jose Garcia
OL/DL
Stanfield, senior
Noe Sanchez
OL/DL
Stanfield, senior
Kevin Murray
OL/LB
Heppner, senior
AJ Fernandez
Offensive line
Hermiston, junior
Kaden Caldwell
Offensive line
Hermiston, senior
Alec Williams
Defensive line
Umatilla, senior
John-Henry Line
Defensive line
Hermiston, senior
Trent Durfey
Linebacker
Umatilla, soph.
Vaemu Ena
Defensive back
Hermiston, senior
Joey Gutierrez
Defensive back
Hermiston, junior
Kirk Scott
Punter, soph.
Weston-McEwen
Sebaztian Corona
Kicker
Pendleton, senior
SECOND TEAM
DEFENSE
DL — Wyatt Steagall, jr., Heppner
DL — Damian McLeod, sr., Hermiston
DL — Tim Jaca, sr., Heppner
DL — Greg Lee, jr., Pendleton
LB — Morgan Holcomb, sr., Pendleton
LB — Bradlee Guitsee, sr., Hermiston
LB — Johnathan Hinkle, jr., Hermiston
DB — Justin Keeney, jr., Stanfield
DB — Logan Grieb, sr., Heppner
DB — Tyler Rohrman, jr., Hermiston
DB — Kaden Webb, jr., Umatilla
P — Damian McLeod, sr., Hermiston
HONORABLE MENTION
OFFENSE
QB — Nick Bower, jr., Pendleton
RB — Trent Durfey, soph., Umatilla
RB — Deven Page, sr., Pendleton
WR — Brody Woods, jr., Stanfield
WR — Tucker Salinas, sr., Hermiston
ATH — Jerry Ramirez, sr., Hermiston
OL — Alec Williams, sr., Umatilla
OL — Braydon Postma, sr., Pilot Rock
OL — Beau Blake, sr., Hermiston
OL — Spencer Wells, sr., Mac-Hi
OL — Hunter Sater, sr., Weston-McEwen
K — Kirk Scott, soph., Weston-McEwen
DEFENSE
DL — Donnie Clark, sr., Mac-Hi
DL — Elijah Pine, sr., Umatilla
DL — Beau Blake, sr., Hermiston
DL — Trevin Horne, sr., Heppner
LB — Kolby Currin, sr., Heppner
LB — Grant Kennedy, sr., Pendleton
LB — Cade Anderson, sr., Pendleton
LB — Sam Carlson, sr., Mac-Hi
DB — Chris Weinke, jr., Pilot Rock
DB — Jacob Speed, jr., Weston-McEwen
DB — Riley Chester, sr., Mac-Hi
DB — Nick Lani, sr., Pendleton
DB — Jake Lindsay, sr., Heppner
P — Brody Woods, jr., Stanfield
OFFENSE
QB — Kaden Webb, jr., Umatilla
OB — Brett Speed, jr., Weston-McEwen
RB — Johnathan Hinkle, jr., Hermiston
RB — Carlos Zacarias, sr., Irrigon
RB — Adrian Renner, jr., Stanfield
RB — Coby Dougherty, jr., Heppner
WR — Nick Lani, sr., Pendleton
WR — Justin Maret, sr., Umatilla
WR — Chris Weinke, jr., Pilot Rock
WR — Cam Sandford, soph., Pendleton
ATH — Devan Craig, soph., Echo ATH — Cord Flynn, sr., Ione
OL — Elijah Pine, sr., Umatilla OL — Tristan Cole, jr. Umatilla
OL — Hunter Barnes, sr., Stanfield OL — Wyatt Steagall, jr., Heppner
OL — Tim Jaca, sr., Heppner
K — Enoel Angel, sr., Stanfield