Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
College Basketball
Timberwolves stumble, Mountaineers roll in league games
East Oregonian
MOSES LAKE, Wash. —
Big Bend crashed the boards
and used a plethora of extra
chances to take down Blue
Mountain 79-66 on Saturday in
NWAC East men’s basketball.
The Vikings (10-5, 2-0
East) used a 50-36 advan-
tage in rebounds to score
21 second-chance points in
the game while the Timber-
wolves (2-10, 0-2) totaled
just nine in the category.
Jacob McCord was a
force for Big Bend and
finished with 24 points and
21 rebounds while also
turning in three assists, three
steals and two blocks.
Joey Andrews also had
a double-double for the
Vikings with 14 points and
10 rebounds, and Big Bend
shot 41.2 percent (28-68)
from the field.
Jared Mathews led the
way for Blue Mountain with
a double-double of his own,
and went for a team-high
19 points and 13 rebounds.
La’Quan Hawkins added 17
points and three assists, and
Isaiah Harris had 11 points
and four steals and as a team
BMCC shot 37.9 percent
(25-66).
The
T-Wolves
will
play at Yakima Valley on
Wednesday at 8 p.m.
EASTERN OREGON
91, MULTNOMAH 71 —
At La Grande, the Moun-
taineers shot 50 percent
from the field to win 10th
game in a row on Saturday
in Cascade Collegiate
Conference action.
Bryan McGriff led first-
place Eastern (15-2, 8-0 CCC)
with 28 points and 12 rebounds
for his 10th double-double
of the season, and Kentrell
Washington added 16 points,
three assists and two steals.
Eastern shot 65.6 percent
from the field in the first half
to lead 48-25 at halftime and
blocked seven shots in the game.
Eastern plays at second-
place Oregon Tech on Friday
at 7:30 p.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
BIG BEND 72, BLUE
MOUNTAIN 69, OT — At
Moses Lake, Wash., the
Vikings came from behind in
the second half and did just
enough in overtime to keep the
Timberwolves hunting for their
first league win on Saturday.
Big Bend (10-5, 2-0 East)
used it defense and strong free
throw shooting to erase a 40-33
halftime deficit with a big third
quarter. Regulation ended with
the score tied 65-65.
The
Vikings
went
26-of-39 at the free throw
line in the game as BMCC
(0-2, 2-7) was whistled for
29 fouls. The T-Wolves
also turned the ball over 29
times as BBCC came away
with 20 steals.
Sunnie Martinez and
Hailey Garrity each scored
16 points to pace Big Bend.
Freshman guard Akira
McGee had a double-double
with 19 points and 11
rebounds for the T-Wolves,
and Miah Slater added 13
points and seven rebounds.
Blue Mountain will
play at Yakima Valley on
Wednesday at 6 p.m.
EASTERN OREGON
85, MULTNOMAH 49
— At La Grande, Eastern
Oregon shot 40 percent
beyond the 3-point line
and got 52 points from its
bench for a Cascade Colle-
giate Conference rout on
Saturday.
Darian Gasseling helped
lead the first-place Mountain-
eers (15-2, 8-0 CCC) to their
10th straight win with 14
points, six rebounds and five
assists. Khadija Neumeyer
added 11 points, and four
more had nine apiece.
Next up is a road game on
Friday at Oregon Tech that
tips off at 5:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP: Watson inspired by 2005 Rose Bowl
Continued from 1B
quarter, but Watson got the ball last.
Likely playing in his final college
game, the junior quarterback threw
for 420 yards and three touchdowns.
In two games against Alabama
and the most ferocious defense in
college football, Watson has thrown
for 825 yards and accounted for
eight touchdowns.
Coach Dabo Swinney, the native
Alabaman and former Crimson
Tide walk-on receiver, has built an
elite program at Clemson that was
missing only one thing. Now the
Tigers can check that box, too.
“Eight years ago we set out to
put Clemson back on top,” said
Swinney, who can turn postgame
interviews into a rousing sermon.
“We came up a little short last year,
but today on top of the mountain,
the Clemson flag is flying.”
After three quarters of vicious
hits and tight defense, Tigers-Tide II
ended up looking a lot like the first
meeting when the teams combined
for 40 points in the fourth quarter.
Clemson took its first lead when
Watson found Mike Williams for a
4-yard touchdown a minute into the
fourth quarter to make it 24-21.
The Tigers took a 28-24 lead
with 4:38 left in the fourth quarter
when Wayne Gallman surged in
from a yard out.
The Tide’s offense, which had
gone dormant for most of the
second half, came to life with the
help of a sweet call from newly
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Clemson head coach Dabo
Swinney holds the champi-
onship trophy after the NCAA
college football playoff champi-
onship game against Alabama
Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, in Tampa,
Fla. Clemson won 35-31.
promoted offensive coordinator
Steve Sarkisian. Receiver ArDarius
Stewart took a backward pass from
Jalen Hurts and fired a strike to O.J.
Howard for 24 yards.
On the next play, Hurts broke
free from a collapsing pocket and
weaved his way through defenders
for a 30-yard touchdown run to
make it 31-28 with 2:07 left.
More than enough time for
Watson.
“I was calm,” Watson said.
He said he thought about Vince
Young’s last-second touchdown for
Texas that derailed the Southern
California’s championship run in
the 2005 championship game at
the Rose Bowl. He told his team:
“Let’s go be great.”
Watson hooked up with
Williams and Jordan Leggett, who
made great catches for big gains
to get to first-and-goal with 14
seconds left.
A pass interference on Alabama
made it first-and-goal at the 2 with
six seconds left. Time for one more
play to avoid a game-tying kick
and potential overtime. Renfrow
slipped away from the defense
at the goal line and was alone for
an easy toss. It was the walk-on
receiver’s second TD catch of the
night, adding to the two he had last
season against Alabama.
When it ended, Clemson’s
315-pound defensive lineman
Christian Wilkins did a cartwheel
and Ben Boulware, one of the
toughest linebackers in the country,
was in tears.
The Tigers had snapped
Alabama’s 26-game winning streak
and beaten a No. 1 team for the first
time ever.
“It’s been 35 long years!” Boul-
ware screamed. “It’s coming home
baby! It’s coming home!”
ABOVE: Clemson’s Hunter Renfrow catches a touchdown pass in
front of Alabama’s Tony Brown during the second half of the NCAA
college football playoff championship game. AP Photo/John Bazemore
BELOW: Clemson’s Deshaun Watson is stopped near the goal line
during the second half against Alabama. AP Photo/Chris O’Meara
BULLDOGS: Would be tough to keep rivalry going with Pendleton
Continued from 1B
“You take the good with
the bad to be honest, while
a lot of school districts have
declining enrollment, we are
increasing enrollment, our
district is healthy and our
community is pretty happy
about it,” Usher said. “At the
same time the move up will
be tough for us with travel
and possible missed class
time for the student athletes.”
In the most recent
proposal, Hermiston would
join the Mt. Hood Conference
along with Portland-area
schools including Barlow,
Centennial, Central Catholic,
Clackamas, David Douglas,
Gresham, Oregon City and
Reynolds. The amount of
trips to the Portland area
that would necessitate is
concerning for Usher.
“As it is right now we do
a lot of travel to the west side
of the state for non-conference
games, but we do anticipate
a significant increase in our
travel expenses,” Usher said.
“And because the RPI and
Colley Rankings force us to
play teams in our state and in
our classification, we would
still continue to have half of our
non-conference games played
on the west side of the state.
“So for some of our team
sports we’d be looking at
anywhere from 13, 14, or
15 trips to the Portland area,
which is a big concern for us.”
Usher says his concerns
are shared by several athletic
directors from Mt. Hood
Conference schools he’s
been in contact with.
“It was the topic of
conversation at one of their
meetings recently and it’s
not a move that they’ll
completely oppose, but it’s
not something they’re all
in favor of,” Usher said.
“When you start looking
at traditional Tuesday and
WRESTLING: Oregon
Classic this weekend
Continued from 1B
win the 2015-16 OSAA
state championship match.
Jones won that one with
a pin, and Flynn returned
the favor on Saturday
using a head and arm hold
to stick Jones on the mat
at the 3:15 mark. After
initially falling behind
6-1, Flynn ended a spirited
first round with a 7-6 lead.
Heppner coach Mark
Lemmon said Flynn was
able to roll Jones into a
cradle from the top starting
position in Round 2, and
the spent the next minute
working for the pin without
giving up any points.
Flynn won his first two
matches by pin (1:06)
over Enterprise’s Drew
Widener and a 19-3 tech-
nical fall over Culver’s
Cylus Hoke.
Antonucci wrestled his
way into the final round
with an injury default in
the quarterfinals, then a
pin (3:36) of Culver’s
Johan Jaimes in the semis.
He ran up against
defending district champion
Shane Lund in the champi-
onship where he fell 5-0.
The first round ended with a
scoreless tie as the wrestlers
fended off each others’
shots. A takedown gave
Lund the lead in the second
round, and a reversal and
penalty point on Antonucci
in the third gave the match
its final score.
Ranger went 4-2 with
every match decided by pin.
He made it to the third-place
match with a pin (1:30)
over Imbler’s Seany Willis,
but lasted just 51 seconds
against Adrian’s Marcus
Furtado. Smith’s placing
came despite an 0-3 record.
Heppner will join
several other local teams
at the Oregon Classic
on Friday-Saturday at
Deschutes County Fair-
grounds. Echo will wrestle
at the Bonanza Tournament
on Saturday.
Friday schedules for sports
like volleyball, basketball,
softball, and baseball, are
they going to be excited
about having to travel out
to Hermiston on a Tuesday
night? Probably not.
“I think that when it comes
around, hopefully schools
over that way would be open
to some creative scheduling
ideas to limit the amount of
missed class time or else it
could be devastating for the
student-athletes.”
At this point, the biggest
question that remains is which
classification will be the top
group starting in 2018, as the
OSAA committee is consid-
ering proposals with both five
and six classifications. One
other option being considered
is a five classification model
for all sports excluding
football, which would have a
six-classification system.
The latest proposal in that
department still had Hermiston
in the 6A Mt. Hood Confer-
ence with the same schools
minus Reynolds, which
would move down to Class
5A because of lack of recent
success and lower participa-
tion turnouts in comparison to
other 6A schools. Usher says
he and many athletic directors
across the state are in favor of
this proposal.
“One thing I like about
it, and other AD’s agree, is
you end up getting rid of
situations where schools like
The Dalles have to go inde-
pendent in football because
of safety issues being low
on numbers,” he said. “Good
example for us we consis-
tently suited up one sopho-
more full-time and that was
starting quarterback Andrew
James, where if we go play
schools like La Grande or
Baker that have 700 kids
fewer than us, they’ll be
consistently suiting up soph-
omores and freshmen.
“It creates some safety
issues when you have some
big, strong 17-18-year-old
men going up against
15-year-old kids and that’s
tough to do.”
Another consequence that
could come out of a Herm-
iston move is the possible
hiatus of the rivalry with
Pendleton in some cases,
mainly football. The two
teams have met on the foot-
ball field nearly every year
since 1922, but as Pendleton
projects an enrollment of 779
in 2018 it would remain in
the second-highest classifica-
tion and play it’s way out of
Hermiston’s schedule.
“It was something that
was brought up with our
boosters earlier, that it’s a real
possibility that last year could
very well be the last time we
host a football game against
Pendleton for a while,” Usher
said. “We could end up in a
situation where we’re in a
nine- or 10-team league and
we have eight or nine confer-
ence games. We wouldn’t
be playing them anymore,
maybe not in any sports.
“Looking at non-confer-
ence opportunities, we’re
still going to be like we are
now, forced to find in-state
teams in the same classifica-
tion as much as possible. If
it provides opportunities to
continue playing schools in
a lower classification, then
by all means we’ll do that
because it’s a great way to
minimize travel and costs.”
The OSAA has seven
more reclassification meetings
scheduled this year starting
on Jan. 30 and finishing up on
Sept. 30, before making its final
recommendation to the Execu-
tive Committee in October.
———
Contact Eric at esinger@
eastoregonian.com or (541)
966-0839. Follow him on
Twitter @ByEricSinger.
SEAHAWKS: Rawls sat in Week 6 win over Falcons
Continued from 1B
For Rawls, that meant
getting a significant dose of
carries early on. In the final
six games of the regular
season, Rawls had more than
15 carries once. Rawls had
15 carries for 107 yards by
halftime against the Lions.
The dominance on the
ground also gave Seattle a
major advantage in time of
possession, holding the ball
for more than 36 minutes.
“We just haven’t been
able to get him enough
opportunities,” Carroll said.
“You can see what happened,
as soon as he gets going,
and he gets feeling it, and
he looks exactly like the guy
that we saw last year. He
just had a hard time getting
rolling, for a number of
whatever reasons, it doesn’t
matter now.”
For Seattle’s offensive
line, that meant more straight
ahead blocking and pushing
around of a Detroit defensive
front that finished the regular
season 18th at stopping the
run.
“I’m really fired up for the
guys up front,” Carroll said.
“They had a lot of garbage
come their way, a lot of talk
about them, and they’re
really pumped up about what
they did.”
Whether Seattle can
sustain that kind of success
on the ground will be
crucial against Atlanta. The
Seahawks have just one
playoff victory under Carroll
when they rushed for less
than 100 yards. And in that
victory — last year’s wild-
card win at frigid Minnesota
— the Seahawks finished
with 97 yards on the ground.
The Seahawks had just
72 yards rushing in the Week
6 win over the Falcons.
Rawls was a spectator that
day while still recovering
from a fracture in his leg and
Wilson was limited to being
a pocket passer dealing with
a sprained MCL in his left
knee. Christine Michael,
now with Green Bay, was
Seattle’s leading rusher with
64 yards on 18 carries, but 21
of those yards came on one
carry. His other 17 rushes
netted an average of 2.5
yards per attempt.
Stopping the run has not
been one of the Falcons’
strengths. Atlanta allowed
at least 100 yards rushing in
five of its last six games to
finish off the regular season.
And Seattle knows what the
formula of getting the run
game established does for the
rest of the offense.
“It opens up everything
for us,” wide receiver Doug
Baldwin said. “I’ve told you
guys before that everything
runs through our run game.
When Thomas Rawls is
doing that, they can’t help
but put another safety in the
box, and then that gives us
one-on-one matchups on the
outside.”
UP NEXT
SEAHAWKS
at
FALCONS, Saturday, 1:35
p.m., Fox (opening line:
Falcons, -4)
All-Pro
quarterback
Matt Ryan, a leading MVP
contender, and wideout
Julio Jones put up NFC
South champion Atlanta’s
high-powered
offense
against NFC West champion
Seattle’s “Legion of Boom”
defense, which is missing
injured safety Earl Thomas
but still features Richard
Sherman and Kam Chan-
cellor.
In the first meeting, Ryan
threw for three TDs, while
Jones finished with seven
catches for 139 yards and a
score. But most memorable
was an incompletion on
fourth down with 90 seconds
left, when Sherman grabbed
Jones’ arm on a deep pass.
Definitely a 1-on-1 matchup
to keep an eye on this time.
Also worth monitoring:
How Atlanta’s so-so defense
deals with Seattle’s offense,
which seemed reborn as
Thomas Rawls ran for 161
yards in a 26-6 win over
Detroit in the wild-card
round. Falcons head coach
Dan Quinn used to be Seat-
tle’s defensive coordinator.
“Such a hard-nosed,
tough coach, and his team
embodies him out there,”
Seahawks defensive end
Michael Bennett said. “It’s
like playing ourselves.”