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Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Thursday, February 2, 2017 College Football Oregon’s Taggart lures Florida recruits, Arizona flippers By ANNE M. PETERSON Associated Press Oregon’s recruiting class had such a Florida feel under new coach Willie Taggart that it had its own social media hashtag: Floregon. Oregon has been infused with new energy since Taggart was hired following a disheartening 4-8 season. He has been crisscrossing the country since he was hired away from South Florida. It’s perhaps unsurprising that he was able to bring in a few recruits — seven, actually — from the Sunshine State. Among them are defensive tackle Jordon Scott from Largo, running back Darrian Felix of Fort Meyers, athlete Bruce Judson of Cocoa, safety Billy Gibson of Miami, athlete Demetri Burch of Apopka, receiver Daewood Davis of Fort Lauderdale and wide receiver Darrian McNeal of Seffner. “There are a lot of guys down there that really, really like Oregon, they just haven’t been offered before,” Taggart said in announcing the class Wednesday. Taggart was also able to lure a group of players who had originally settled on Arizona, including four-star quarter- back Braxton Burmeister and outside linebacker Cody Shear of Eugene. Other things to know: Top 25 Class: Yes. Best in class: Braxton Burmeister, QB, La Jolla, California. Although Oregon has a young quarterback in Justin Herbert, who will be a sophomore next season, the Ducks demonstrated the need for developing talent at the position after bringing in graduate transfers for the past two seasons. Burmeister threw for 4,461 yards and 53 touchdowns while rushing for 1,470 yards with 27 touchdowns his senior year at La Jolla Country Day. Best of the rest: College of San Mateo transfer George Moore, considered the top JC offensive lineman in the country. Among the team’s four-star recruits were corner- backs Thomas Graham and Jaylon Redd, and linebacker Isaac Slade-Matautia from Honolulu. Late addition: Four-star athlete Deommodore Lenoir of Los Angeles waited until the afternoon to announce he had signed with Oregon, posting images of himself wearing Oregon uniforms on Twitter. Shear, who committed to Arizona, changed his mind on Wednesday morning after Taggart offered him a scholarship at 7:30 a.m. He announced that he had switched to the Ducks at a signing day gathering at Sheldon High School. One that got away: Sacra- mento’s Josh Falo, considered one of the top tight ends in the country, chose USC over Oregon on Tuesday night. How they’ll fit in: Oregon’s biggest needs are on defense, and the Ducks looked like they addressed that side of the ball. Scott has already enrolled at Oregon, as has defensive tackle Rutger Reitmaier from Nashville, Tennessee. Two more defen- sive tackles from California, Popo Aumavae and Austin Faoliu, signed Wednesday. Beavers focus on receivers, DBs MOUNTAINEERS: By ANNE M. PETERSON Asscoiated Press A four-star junior college defensive tackle expected to contribute right away is among the highlights of coach Gary Andersen’s third recruiting class at Oregon State. Craig Evans, a 6-foot-3, 305-pound four-star prospect out of Arizona Western College also had offers from Arkansas, Colorado, Ole Miss and Kentucky but selected the Beavers back in December. He posted a video on Twitter that proclaimed “Beaver Nation! Stand up!” Evans was recruited by Andersen when he was coach of Wisconsin, but academic issues got in the way. Andersen stayed in touch when Evans went to Michigan State and then to junior college. “I think he won’t miss a beat with the kids we have in the program,” Oregon State defensive line coach Chad Kauha’aha’a said. T h e Beavers finished 4-8 last season, including a 34-24 victory over Oregon in the final regular-season game that snapped an eight-game losing streak in the Civil War. Other things to know: Top 25 Class: No. Best in class: WR Isaiah Hodgins from Walnut Creek, California. Hodgins, who selected the Beavers over Oregon and Nebraska, is already enrolled. Hodgins originally committed to Washington State, but a visit to Corvallis changed his mind. His dad, James, played under Oregon State assistant Dave Baldwin at San Jose State. Best of the rest: The Beavers were able to nab two running backs out of Texas, BJ Baylor out of Wharton and Calvin Tyler out of Beaumont. Recalling Oregon State history, the Beavers have had luck before with a running back from Texas: Jacquizz Rodgers. Oregon State also got three local in-state recruits: defensive tackle Josh Bowcut and safety David Morris from Sherwood, and outside linebacker Travis Mackay of Portland’s Central Catholic. Late addition: Three-star line- backer Kesi Ah-Hoy, who had previously committed to Hawaii. Andersen and his coaches got help landing Ah-Hoy from a fellow recruit from Hawaii, safety Charles Watson. One that got away: Safety Juliano Falaniko of American Samoa signed with USC. How they’ll fit in: Andersen said there were two major targets in the class, defensive backs and wide receivers. The Beavers signed three corner- backs and four safeties. In addi- tion to Hodgins, Oregon State also brought in Tino Allen from Belle Glade, Florida, Champ Flemings from Altadena, Cali- fornia, and Kolby Taylor from Chandler, Arizona. Continued from 1B all the family support, they kept pushing me every day,” he said. “I have to say thanks to my coach, Mark Sokoloski for always putting in the time to help with whatever I needed.” Corona is the only player EOU recruited as a specialist, with all other falling into the skill, combo or big categories used by Camp. Players range from six states with 11 from Oregon and 10 from Idaho. “We had good success (on the field) last year and that led right into recruiting,” said Camp. “Our coaches did a fantastic job. They’ve evaluated (the recruits) really well and found out what guys can help our program continue to get better. Overall this recruiting class fits what we needed.” Other Eastern Oregon products to sign with the Mountaineers were Zack Jacobs (La Grande), Zac Jacobs (Vale), Brandon McGilvray (Imbler), Tanner Owen (Elgin), Sage Delong (Vale), and Alec Cranford (La Grande). ENA SIGNS WITH WOLVES: Hermiston senior Vaemu Ena was announced as a member of the Western Oregon University signing class on Wednesday and will hold a signing party at Hermiston High School today at 3:30 p.m. ——— EOU Football 2017 signing class Skill Zack Jacobs, La Grande HS (La Grande, Ore.) Brycen Kelly, Southridge HS (Kennewick, Wash.) Bryson Comstock, Gooding HS (Gooding, Idaho) Quincy Backes, Eisenhower HS (Yakima, Wash.) Kody Arrellano, Glenns Ferry HS (Glenns Ferry, Idaho) Zac Jacobs, Western Oregon University (Vale, Ore.) Brandon McGilvray, Imbler HS (Imbler, Ore.) Tanner Owen, Elgin HS (Elgin, Ore.) Ashonte Williams, Lathrop HS (Fairbanks, Alaska) Jerred Monnier, Vallivue HS (Caldwell, Idaho) Tanner Zenke, Sheldon HS (Eugene, Ore.) Tommy Cefalu, South Tahoe, HS (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.) Josh Finley, Weber State University (Gooding, Idaho) Big Parker Smith, Meridian HS (Meridian, Idaho) Dillon Holliday, Sandy HS (Sandy, Ore.) Cade Knaphus, Corner Canyon HS (Draper, Utah) Marc Anthony Oriboi, Emmett HS (Emmett, Idaho) Ethan Gallant, Central Catholic HS (Portland, Ore.) Wyatt Dorsey, Homedale HS (Homedale, Idaho) Justin Hutton, Notus HS (Caldwell, Idaho) Auston Downs, Moses Lake HS (Moses Lake, Wash.) Sage Delong, Southern Oregon University (Vale, Ore.) Alec Cranford, La Grande HS (La Grande, Ore.) Colten Mallette, Delta CC (Stockton, Calif.) Combo Joey Lenker, Jerome HS (Jerome, Idaho) Bailey Bunkner, Battle Ground HS (Battle Ground, Wash.) Kendell Freelove, Homedale HS (Homedale, Idaho) Alec Yangos, Delta CC (Stockton, Calif.) Specialist Sebaztion Corona, Pendleton HS (Pendleton, Ore.) ———— Contact Matt at mentrup@eastorego- nian.com or 541-966-0838. ROCKETS: Fitzpatrick is second Nixyaawii athlete to sign with college program Continued from 1B it feels weird to actually be here now. A lot of people sometimes think that 2A schools because they’re so small we can’t do anything big but we did it.” Roe chose Mt. Hood over several other opportunities at the community college and Division III level, but said with aspirations of playing at the higher collegiate levels one day she felt that going to a highly successful Mt. Hood program — one that has averaged 38 wins over the past four seasons — was her best choice. “The coaches are awesome already and I’ve only met them a few times,” Roe said. “I enjoy the Port- land area and I have family over there. I also want to study psychology and they have a good program and they’ve been good at softball for a while now.” Roe, the defending Class 2A/1A Player of the Year, tore through her junior season with a .593 batting average and 21 extra base hits to help the Rockets earn the state title. Her season also earned her a MaxPreps Small School All-American selec- tion, which she said gave her some confidence as she was knee-deep in the recruting process. “I always knew I was athletic and good at softball, but I never thought I’d be an Oregon Player of the Year or an All-American,” she said, “so it was a real eye-opener to tell me that ‘I can do this.’” Ostrom also boosted her college reputation with a tremendous junior campaign last season, earning a perfect Staff photo by Eric Singer Nixyaawii senior Stacy Fitzpatrick signs her National Letter of Intent to play softball at Blue Mountain Com- munity College at a ceremony prior to a girls’ basket- ball game in Mission on Saturday, Jan. 28. 12-0 record with a 1.01 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 75.2 innings pitched, earing first team all-district and all-state along the way. The pitcher said she was originally all set on going away from home to play college ball, considering WRESTLING: Bulldogs also blank The Dalles Continued from 1B The Dalles that saw numerous forfeits and only five weight classes actually compete. “I think we got out there and imposed our will,” Larson said. “I think we pushed the pace, scored a lot of points in all positions, top bottom and on our feet, so I think they did a good job.” Pendleton coach Fred Phillips said he hopes his younger wrestlers were taking notes, because Hermiston’s 10 state titles can’t be attributed to good genetics or luck. “We had some kids look really good out there tonight but we’re still a young team and it showed. The difference is that our kids hopefully understand, their kids in most of the matches they won were more physical,” he said. “You could just tell they looked bigger, more physical, stronger kids. And I think that cost us and that’s something our kids have to take a grasp on and take advantage of their (training and conditioning) classes because we need to get bigger and stronger if we’re going to run with the big dogs.” Hermiston’s bonus points started accu- mulating in the first match when sopho- more Alice Todryk beat Caleb Tremper 16-5 in the 106-pound weight class. She scored her first take-down 36 seconds into the match, but wasn’t able to gain much of an edge on the scoreboard until the third period when used leg holds to turn Tremper into a pair of near-falls. Tremper scored a reversal to make the score 11-5 with less than a minute left, but Todryk got the major decision with a reversal that led to a near-fall as the match ended. “I was trying for the cradle, that’s my go-to move on top, and I couldn’t get it,” she said. “So I tried a few other moves, mostly once I figured out that I couldn’t get him pinned I chose to try and score as many points as I could. I heard the coaches saying, ‘Get the extra points, get the extra points.’ “I felt that I had a little bit more pressure because I was the first one going, trying to set the motion going, but other than that I thought it carried well into the rest of the dual.” Larson said he knew Todryk, who was starting in place of an ill Ruben Madrigal, would set the right tone. “Alice is very mentally tough,” he said. “We know she’s going to fight and do her best and try hard, and she did tonight.” The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 19-0 before Pendleton would get its first win of the night at 132 pounds, but Pendleton’s Alex Rendon was plenty physical while earning a quick pin. When Hermiston’s Silas Smith moved in for lock-up, Rendon force- fully slapped his arms away and went right into a hard single shot for the take-down. Before Smith could react he was looking at the rafters and Rendon earned the pin after just 10 seconds for the night’s quickest win. Jeff Kovach earned a second-round pin for the Bucks in the next bout to make it 19-12, but that was as close as the Bucks would get. The most action-packed match came at 152 pounds as Hermiston’s C.J. Hendon moved up a weight class to face Pendleton’s Scott Chambers. Using a reactive style of wrestling called scrambling, both grapplers tumbled around the mat while trying to find a weakness to exploit. The second round ended just before Chambers could score a take-down, but Hendon in the lead 3-2. But Hendon ended it 14 seconds into the third period when he caught Cham- bers in a cradle and turned him for a pin. Phillips said he and the coaches tried to warn Chambers. “We knew it, we talked to him, ‘C.J.’s a great cradler, you cannot get cradled,’” he said. “You know, and it happened. Hats off to C.J., he’s a tough kid.” “When he gets on top he’s got a lot of confidence,” Larson said, “and he tends to get what he wants and put the guy on their back kind of like he did with that cradle.” Hendon said he knows opponents are expecting him to use the move, but he’s taken measures to make sure they’re not ready for it. “There’s a lot of positions where I can hit it that most people aren’t used to it coming from, so that’s where it’s more effective than just your basic cradle,” he said. The next four matches ended via first- round pin with three of those going to the Bulldogs. Joey Gutierrez secured the mathematical victory at 182 pounds when he used a half nelson to turn and pin Josh Mendoza in 1:10. The dual closed out the league portion of the schedule for both teams, which will be at a tournament in Oregon City this weekend before returning to the Dawg House for the Special District 4 tourna- ment on Feb. 10-11. Larson said he’s hoping for an even better showing from the Bulldogs there. “There was a couple weights in there that we didn’t win (Wednesday) and we’ll get back in the wrestling room and do what we have to do before the district tournament here in a couple weeks.” ——— HERMISTON 53, PENDLETON 21 106 — A. Todryk (HHS) def. C. Tremper, MD 16-5 (4-0) 113 — A. Blackhurst (HHS) wins by forfeit (10-0) 120 — G. Shipley (HHS) def. C. Chambers, 7-4 (13-0) 126 — J. Rodriguez (HHS) pins B. Davis, 3:42 (19-0) 132 — A. Rendon (PHS) pins S. Smith, :10 (19-6) 138 — J. Kovach (PHS) pins O. Lopez, 2:57 (19-12) 145 — A. Tuia (HHS) def. S. Yeager, MD 10-2 (23-12) 152 — C. Hendon (HHS) pins S. Chambers, 4:16 (29-12) 160 — M. Holcomb (PHS) pins Z. Kirkpatrick, :42 (29-18) 170 — V. Wyse (HHS) pins J. Whaley, 1:06 (35-18) 182 — J. Gutierrez (HHS) pins J. Mendoza, 1:10 (41-18) 195 — K. Bevan (HHS) pins G. Lee, 2:00 (47-18) 220 — J. Vann (PHS) def. C. Mason, 4-3 (47-21) 285 — B. Blake (HHS) pins T. Ulicni, 1:02 (53-21) HERMISTON 84, THE DALLES 0 106 — A. Todryk win by forfeit (6-0) 113 — A. Blackhurst win by forfeit (12-0) 120 — G. Shipley win by forfeit (18-0) 126 — J. Rodriguez pins S. Preston, 1:44 (24-0) 132 — S. Smith wins by forfeit (30-0) 138 — O. Lopez pins A. Richman, 5:36 (36-0) 145 — W. Kirkpatrick pins M. Cope, 1:32 (42-0) 152 — D. Parker pins O. Silapath, 1:57 (48-0) 160 — Z. Kirkpatrick pins M. Carrera, 1:57 (54-0) 170 — V. Wyse wins by forfeit (60-0) 182 — J. Gutierrez wins by forfeit (66-0) 195 — K. Bevan wins by forfeit (72-0) 220 — C. Mason wins by forfeit (78-0) 285 — B. Blake wins by forfeit (84-0) offers to Mt. Hood CC, Trea- sure Valley CC, Columbia Basin College among others. “BMCC was actually the last place I thought I’d end up,” Ostrom said, “but I just decided that I wanted to stay home and keep that support from my family.” The proximity to home was also the key selling point for Fitzpatrick, who said that she chose BMCC over a few other offers so that she could stay near her parents and her family. Fitzpatrick tallied a .333 batting average with four doubles, 19 RBI, and 11 runs scored for the Rockets last season, and by signing on Saturday became just the second athlete in Nixyaawii Community School to sign on to play collegiate athletics. “It feels so amazing,” Fitzpatrick said on Saturday. “I never thought that I would’ve made it this far. Softball has always been the sport since I was 10.” Both Ostrom and Fitzpat- rick join a Blue Mountain program that has had its share of struggles, though, as the team is 33-111 in NWAC East play over the past five seasons and has earned a .236 winning percentage overall in that time frame. But neither player seems to mind. “I think that being able to help BMCC start having a better outlook is exciting,” Ostrom said. “I don’t care where I go, as long as I’m playing the sport that I love and getting my education.” ————— Contact Eric at esinger@ eastoregonian.com or (541) 966-0839. Follow him on Twitter @ByEricSinger. SCOREBOARD Local Slate BOYS BASKETBALL Today Nixyaawii at Echo, 7:30 p.m. Friday Culver at Stanfield, 6 p.m. Umatilla at Nyssa, 6:30 p.m. The Dalles at Hermiston, 7 p.m. Pendleton at Hood River, 7 p.m. Riverside at Irrigon, 7:30 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Heppner, 7:30 p.m. Horizon Christian at Arlington, 7:30 p.m. Ione at Dufur, 7:30 p.m. Condon/Wheeler at Mitchell/Spray (Spray), 7:30 p.m. Powder Valley at Helix, 7:30 p.m. Mac-Hi at Baker, 8:15 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL Today Nixyaawii at Echo, 6 p.m. Friday Culver at Stanfield, 4:30 p.m. Umatilla at Nyssa, 5 p.m. Riverside at Irrigon, 6 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Heppner, 6 p.m. Horizon Christian at Arlington, 6 p.m. Ione at Dufur, 6 p.m. Condon/Wheeler at Mitchell/Spray (Spray), 6 p.m. Powder Valley at Helix, 6 p.m. Mac-Hi at Baker, 6:30 p.m. Hood River at Pendleton, 7 p.m. Hermiston at The Dalles, 7 p.m. PREP WRESTLING Friday Irrigon, Riverside at Echo/Stanfield, 5 p.m. Mac-Hi at La Grande, 6 p.m. Saturday Hermiston, Pendleton at Oregon City Tournament, 10 a.m. Mac-Hi, Irrigon, Riverside, Echo/Stanfield, Heppner at BEO Invite (Heppner), 10 a.m. PREP SWIMMING Saturday Pendleton, Hermiston at Baker, Noon COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL Friday Eastern Oregon at Multnomah, 7:30 p.m. Saturday Big Bend at Blue Mountain, 4 p.m. Eastern Oregon at Warner Pacific, 7:30 p.m. COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Friday Eastern Oregon at Multnomah, 5:30 p.m. Saturday Big Bend at Blue Mountain, 2 p.m. Eastern Oregon at Warner Pacific, 5:30 p.m. COLLEGE WRESTLING Saturday Eastern Oregon at Southern Oregon, TBA Football NFL Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 5 At Houston Atlanta vs. New England, 3:30 p.m. (FOX) Basketball NBA Wednesday’s Games Cleveland 125, Minnesota 97 Indiana 98, Orlando 88 Boston 109, Toronto 104 Detroit 118, New Orleans 98 Miami 116, Atlanta 93 New York 95, Brooklyn 90 Dallas 113, Philadelphia 95 L.A. Clippers 124, Phoenix 114 Memphis 119, Denver 99 Utah 104, Milwaukee 88 Chicago 128, Oklahoma City 100 Golden State 126, Charlotte 111 Today’s Games L.A. Lakers at Washington, 4 p.m. Atlanta at Houston, 5 p.m. Philadelphia at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Golden State at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. College Men NCAA AP Top 25 Wednesday’s Games No. 3 Kansas 73, No. 2 Baylor 68 No. 4 Villanova 66, Providence 57 No. 9 Virginia 71, Virginia Tech 48 No. 11 UCLA 95, Washington State 79 No. 14 Cincinnati 57, Tulsa 55 No. 15 Florida State 75, Miami 57 No. 19 South Carolina 88, LSU 63 No. 23 Purdue 80, No. 25 Northwestern 59 Today’s Games No. 1 Gonzaga at BYU, 8 p.m. No. 5 Arizona at Oregon State, 6 p.m. No. 13 Oregon vs. Arizona State, 8 p.m. No. 18 Saint Mary’s at Pacific, 8 p.m. No. 24 Florida vs. Missouri, 4 p.m. College Women NCAA AP Top 25 Wednesday’s Games No. 1 UConn 97, Temple 69 No. 2 Baylor 83, Iowa State 52 No. 12 Texas 85, Oklahoma State 71 No. 14 Ohio State 87, Penn State 72 No. 18 Oklahoma 89, Kansas 52 No. 20 South Florida 72, Cincinnati 52 Today’s Games No. 3 Maryland at Purdue, 5 p.m. No. 4 South Carolina at No. 25 Kentucky, 4 p.m. No. 5 Mississippi State at Auburn, 6 p.m. No. 6 Florida State at Boston College, 4 p.m. No. 7 Notre Dame at Virginia Tech, 4 p.m. No. 9 Louisville vs. No. 19 N.C. State, 4 p.m. No. 15 Duke vs. Clemson, 4 p.m. No. 16 Miami at Wake Forest, 4 p.m. No. 21 Green Bay at Oakland, 4 p.m. No. 24 Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. Hockey NHL Wednesday’s Games Washington 5, Boston 3 Calgary 5, Minnesota 1 Los Angeles 5, Colorado 0 Today’s Games Montreal at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at Buffalo, 4:30 p.m. Ottawa at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Edmonton at Nashville, 5 p.m. Winnipeg at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Chicago at Arizona, 6 p.m. Toronto at St. Louis, 6 p.m. San Jose at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
