Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
College Football
Saturday, September 2, 2017
College Football
Taggart ready for Beavers look to rebound against Vikings
debut with Oregon
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
EUGENE — As Willie
Taggart would say, it’s go
time.
The first-year coach and
his Oregon Ducks open
the season at home against
Southern Utah on Saturday
afternoon. And yes, he’s a
little bit nervous.
“I think the nerves are a
little different from a coach
than a player. Players, those
nerves you can control them
a bit. As a coach, you’re
counting on young men to
go out and execute and play
well,” he said at the first of
his weekly news conferences
this season. “You want that
for them, but if you prepare
right, those nerves don’t last
long. By the time you get to
the tunnel those nerves are
gone. “
The Ducks finished 4-8
last season and three days
after a 34-24 loss to rival
Oregon State in the Civil
War, they fired coach Mark
Helfrich.
Enter Taggart, whose
last two head coaching jobs
have also been rebuilding
projects. In four seasons, he
guided South Florida from
a 2-10 record his first year
to a 10-2 mark and a spot in
the Birmingham Bowl last
season.
He’s got a lot of talent to
work with in Eugene. Soph-
omore quarterback Justin
Herbert played in nine games
last season, taking over when
graduate transfer Dakota
Prukop struggled, and threw
for 1,936 yards with 19
touchdowns.
Running back Royce
Freeman returned for his
senior season with a shot at
breaking LaMichael James’
career rushing yards record
at Oregon. Freeman dealt
with injury but still ran for
945 yards and nine scores
last season.
The main issue will be
on defense. The Ducks had
trouble last year with the 4-3
scheme installed by former
Michigan coach Brady Hoke
in his lone season with the
Ducks. Taggart’s defensive
coordinator is Jim Leavitt.
The FCS-level Thunder-
birds, who play in the Big
Sky, are embarking on a
second season under coach
Demario Warren. Southern
Utah finished 6-5 and 5-3 in
South. Utah
Oregon
Thunderbirds
Ducks
(0-0)
(0-0)
• Saturday, 5:15 p.m.
• at Autzen Stadium
• TV: PAC-12 Network
the Big Sky in 2016.
“We are on the right path
and this will be a big season
for us to try and earn that
respect around the league
and the country. Our guys are
used to being the underdogs
and will be thrilled about
the challenges that brings,”
Warren said.
Taggart called the Thun-
derbirds “a feisty group.”
“They play hard and they
play with a lot of energy,”
Taggart said. “You like that
as a coach, seeing the effort
that they give.”
A few other items of note
this Saturday:
AGAINST
THE
PAC-12: The Thunderbirds
are not strangers to Pac-12
foes. They opened last
season at Utah, falling 24-0.
The year before, they visited
Washington State and lost
48-10.
THE FIRST ONE: Only
two of the last eight Oregon
coaches (since 1951) won
their debut game: Mike
Bellotti beat Utah 27-20 on
the road in 1995, and Helfrich
routed Nicholls 66-3 in 2013.
POINTS ON THE
BOARD: Warren has a
target for Saturday, in terms
of points. “We’ve got to go
get 30. That’s something that
we’ve got to have our sights
set on. We’ve struggled the
last three FBS games and
that can’t happen. If we want
a chance to win, we’ve got to
put points on the board. As
fast as we play and as much
talent as we have we’ve got
to put points on the board,”
he told the team’s website.
THE
DOWNSIDE:
Expect heat and smoke to
be a factor Saturday. The
temperature will be hovering
near 100 at game time — and
it will be hotter on the arti-
ficial turf surface at Autzen
Stadium. Additionally, the air
quality is expected to be poor
because of low humidity
and the numerous wildfires
burning across Oregon. The
Ducks moved a practice
indoors earlier this week
because of the smoky air.
CORVALLIS — Oregon
State coach Gary Andersen
is urging the Beavers to get
edgier now that the season’s
underway.
Already 0-1 after a loss
to Colorado State in Week
Zero, the Beavers look to
rebound Saturday when
they host the Portland State
Vikings.
Andersen says he’ll
never get over the 58-27
loss to the Rams, and he
hopes his players never do
either.
“We need to be even a
little bit more edgy than we
have been in the past. Am
I? Hell yeah I am. I’m more
edgy, and I’m not going
to stop. I’m not going to
stop pushing them. I’m not
going to stop expecting
them to carry themselves
at a high level,” Andersen
said at his weekly news
conference. “But I refuse
to let them make excuses.
We’re past all that.”
Andersen was clearly
frustrated by the loss.
Oregon State’s strength, the
running game, wasn’t what
it should be — although
Andersen said some credit
for that should go to the
Rams.
Ryan Nall ran for 115
yards and a score. Thomas
Tyner, the former Oregon
Duck now playing for the
Beavers, ran for eight yards
on four carries in his debut.
New quarterback Jake
Luton threw for 304 yards
and two scores.
And the defense clearly
struggled, allowing 34
points in the second half.
Portland St. Oregon State
Vikings
Beavers
(0-1)
(0-1)
• Saturday, 11 a.m.
• at Reser Stadium
• TV: PAC12 Network
AP Photo/David Zalubowski
Oregon State running back Ryan Nall, front, looks
for an opening as Colorado State defensive lineman
Jakob Buys comes in for a stop in the first half of a
game on Aug. 26, 2017, in Fort Collins, Colo.
The Rams racked up 525
total yards on offense.
“I love coaching this
team. I’m excited about
them. And that’s never
going to change, because
they’re my kids,” Andersen
said. “We’ll keep on
swinging to get better, and
I expect us to get better.
Period.”
The Vikings also played
in Week Zero, losing at
BYU 20-6. Portland State
coach Bruce Barnum was
encouraged by what he saw.
“I saw some good things,
on both sides of the ball,”
Barnum said in his weekly
assessment for the team’s
website. “The poise of the
freshman quarterback was
great. Our secondary —
our entire defense — there
were some guys over there
playing that I never thought
would play, but they
made a great turnaround
at Portland State and put
together a pretty darn good
defensive performance.”
NFL
Seahawks get Richardson from Jets for Kearse
Associated Press
SEATTLE — The Seattle
Seahawks have made a big
splash for their top-notch
defense just before the start
of the regular season.
The Seahawks acquired
defensive tackle Sheldon
Richardson from the New
York Jets on Friday in
exchange for wide receiver
Jermaine Kearse and a
second-round draft pick,
bolstering a defense that
was already considered
among the best in the NFL.
Seattle will also send
a
2018
McDowell,
second-
who
was
r o u n d
injured in
pick to the
a July ATV
Jets
and
accident.
the
clubs
Richardson
will swap
has spent
seventh-
his entire
round picks Richardson Kearse
career with
in 2018 as
the
Jets
part of the deal.
after being picked in the
Landing
Richardson first-round pick in 2013 and
solidifies the interior of was a Pro Bowl selection
Seattle’s defensive line and after the 2014 season, when
quells some of the concerns he recorded a career-high
raised by the uncertainty eight sacks.
surrounding rookie second-
Richardson is entering
round draft pick Malik the final year of his rookie
MLB
Mike Leake gives Mariners
7 innings in debut, beats A’s 3-2
SEATTLE (AP) — Mike
Leake overcame a shaky
beginning to throw seven
innings in his Seattle debut,
and the Mariners snapped a
five-game losing streak with a
3-2 victory over the Oakland
Athletics on Friday night.
Acquired from St. Louis
earlier in the week to help
Seattle’s beleaguered rotation,
Leake gave the Mariners
the kind of performance
they desperately needed to
remain on the fringes of the
AL wild card race. Leake
(1-0), who was 7-12 with St.
Louis, allowed two runs in the
first inning, but held the A’s
scoreless the rest of the way. It
was just the fourth time since
the All-Star break a Mariners
starting pitcher has gotten
through seven innings and the
first since James Paxton did it
on July 24.
Leake matched his season-
high with seven strikeouts and
scattered eight hits. He struck
out Marcus Semien to end the
seventh with the tying run on
third base.
Leake’s performance was
exactly what Seattle needed
playing its first home game
since Aug. 16. The right-
hander stumbled through the
first inning giving up three
straight hits to open the game,
including an RBI double to
Jed Lowrie. But he retired 13
of the final 16 batters he faced.
Marc Rzepczynski and
Nick Vincent pitched the
eighth and Edwin Diaz
pitched the ninth for his 31st
save.
Seattle got all of its runs
in the third inning against
Oakland starter Sean Manaea.
Mike Zunino led off the
inning with an opposite-field
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Mike Leake throws to
the Oakland Athletics during the first inning of a base-
ball game, Friday in Seattle.
and Ryan Garton — while
also adding C Mike Marjama.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Athletics: RHP Paul
Blackburn is likely done for
the season. Blackburn took a
line drive off his right hand
last week against Baltimore
and has a deep bone bruise. ...
C Josh Phegley and OF Jake
Smolinski were activated
from the disabled list on
Friday. Phegley had been
sidelined by an oblique strain
while Smolinski has not
played in the majors in 2017
due to shoulder surgery.
Mariners: Seattle will have
an array of pitchers throwing
bullpen sessions through the
weekend. Felix Hernandez
was first on Friday, followed
by Paxton and Tony Zych
on Saturday. The Mariners
goal is to try and get Paxton
and Hernandez back into the
rotation by the middle of the
month, but that means no
setbacks in their throwing
programs.
deal and had played well
during the preseason.
Kearse was a polarizing
figure among fans but
one of the most consistent
wide receivers during Pete
Carroll’s tenure in Seattle.
Kearse’s best season was
2015 when he had 49 recep-
tions and five touchdowns
in the regular season.
Kearse signed a $13.5
million, three-year deal
with the Seahawks before
the 2016 season but became
expendable because of
Seattle’s depth at wide
receiver.
SCOREBOARD
Local slate
PREP FOOTBALL
Friday
Hermiston at Union (WA), 4:30 p.m.
La Grande at Pendleton, 7 p.m.
Mac-Hi at Dayton-Waitsburg (WA), 7
p.m.
Umatilla at Union, 7 p.m.
Irrigon vs. Amity (at Hood River), 7 p.m.
Grant Union at Weston-McEwen, 7 p.m.
Stanfield at Enterprise, 7 p.m.
St. Paul at Heppner, 7 p.m.
Elgin at Pilot Rock, 7 p.m.
Echo vs. Arlington (at Condon), 7 p.m.
PREP VOLLEYBALL
Saturday
Weston-McEwen, Pilot Rock at Heppner
Tournament, 9 a.m.
Tuesday
South Wasco at Heppner, 4 p.m.
Mitchell/Spray at Ione, 5 p.m.
Mac-Hi at Umatilla, 5:30 p.m.
Tri-Cities Prep (WA) at Riverside, 6 p.m.
Baker at Pendleton, 6:30 p.m.
Hermiston at La Grande, 7 p.m.
Irrigon at Heppner, TBD
home run, his 20th of the
season. Jean Segura followed
with a single, stole second and
scored on Mitch Haniger’s
single. A hit batter and walk
loaded the bases and Haniger
scored on Kyle Seager’s
sacrifice fly.
Otherwise, Manaea (9-9)
was the equal of Leake.
Manaea’s outing was his
longest since throwing seven
innings on July 27 against
Toronto. It was his third
straight start allowing three
earned runs or less.
CALLED UP
Athletics: Oakland added
top prospect INF Franklin
Barreto and LHP Sam Moll
from Triple-A Nashville.
Barreto will be making his
second appearance in the
majors, while Moll made his
major league debut entering in
the eighth inning.
Mariners: Seattle added
four pitchers for its bullpen
— RHPs Shea Simmons,
Andrew Moore, Dan Altavilla
Other things to consider
in advance of the game:
VIKINGS VS. FBS:
The FCS-level Vikings
are facing two FBS-level
opponents (BYU and
Oregon State) for the
fourth straight season, and
overall the team is 4-35
against top-tier teams. But
in Barnum’s first season as
head coach of the team in
2015, the Vikings knocked
off both Washington State
and North Texas. Portland
State went 9-3 that season
and reached the FCS play-
offs. Overall, Oregon State
is 4-0 against Portland
State.
COLLINS
OUT:
Oregon State receiver Seth
Collins was ruled out for
the second straight week
because of a finger injury.
Collins missed the final two
games of last season with
an undisclosed illness that
hospitalized him for nearly
two weeks. Collins grabbed
attention as a dynamic
playmaker as a freshman
when he played at quarter-
back. He has moved to slot
receiver this season.
OLD MAN RIVER:
Darnell Adams caught the
lone touchdown pass for
the Vikings last weekend
against the Cougars. This
week, the 6-foot-2 receiver
was named one of Port-
land State’s captains for
Saturday’s game. Because
of various injuries, Adams
has been with the Vikings
for six seasons, prompting
Barnum to nickname him
“Old Man River.”
STOPPING
THE
BEAVS: With a freshman
quarterback and an offense
still establishing itself, look
for the Vikings’ defense to
focus on stopping Oregon
State. Portland State’s D
looked competent against
BYU, holding the Cougars
to 13 first downs and 365
yards. The team also has
a pair of talented starting
cornerbacks
in
Chris
Seisay, who used to play
at Oregon, and Division II
transfer Donovan Olumba.
HOME OPENER: It’s
Breakfast with the Beavs.
The message to fans for
the early game (11 a.m.
local time) is: Wear orange.
The early start will likely
benefit both teams because
temperatures are expected
to near 100 on Saturday.
PREP BOYS SOCCER
Saturday
Oregon Episcopal at Riverside, 1 p.m.
Tuesday
Mac-Hi at The Dalles, 4 p.m.
La Grande at Pendleton, 4:30 p.m.
Baker at Umatilla, 5 p.m.
Hermiston at Century, 7 p.m.
PREP GIRLS SOCCER
Saturday
Umatilla at Pendleton, Noon
Riverside at Stevenson (WA), 1 p.m.
Tuesday
Baker at Umatilla, 3:30 p.m.
Pendleton at La Grande, 4 p.m.
The Dalles at Mac-Hi, 5:30 p.m.
Hermiston at Century, 7 p.m.
PREP CROSS COUNTRY
Saturday
Hermiston, Umatilla, Heppner at Ulti-
mook Nike Invitational, 8 a.m.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Saturday
Eastern Oregon at Oregon Tech, 5 p.m.
COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER
Tuesday
Eastern Oregon at Puget Sound, 5 p.m.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Saturday
Eastern Oregon vs. Southern Oregon (at
Sherwood), 6 p.m.
Baseball
MLB
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East Division
W
Boston
77
New York
71
Baltimore
69
Tampa Bay
68
Toronto
62
Central Division
W
Cleveland
78
Minnesota
70
Kansas City
66
Detroit
58
Chicago
52
West Division
W
Houston
80
Los Angeles
69
Texas
67
Seattle
67
Oakland
58
L
58
63
66
68
73
Pct GB
.570 —
.530 5½
.511
8
.500 9½
.459 15
L
56
64
67
76
81
Pct GB
.582 —
.522
8
.496 11½
.433 20
.391 25½
L
53
66
67
68
76
Pct GB
.602 —
.511 12
.500 13½
.496 14
.433 22½
Friday’s Games
N.Y. Mets at Houston, ppd.
Cleveland 3, Detroit 2, 1st game
Baltimore 1, Toronto 0, 13 innings
Boston 4, N.Y. Yankees 1
Cleveland 10, Detroit 0, 2nd game
Texas 10, L.A. Angels 9
Kansas City 7, Minnesota 6
Tampa Bay 3, Chicago White Sox 1
Seattle 3, Oakland 2
Saturday’s Games
Boston (Pomeranz 14-4) at N.Y. Yankees
(Tanaka 10-10), 10:05 a.m.
N.Y. Mets (Harvey 4-3) at Houston (Pea-
cock 10-2), 11:10 a.m., 1st game
Cleveland (Kluber 13-4) at Detroit (Zim-
mermann 8-11), 3:10 p.m.
Toronto (Stroman 11-6) at Baltimore
(Miley 8-10), 4:05 p.m.
Kansas City (Garcia 0-0) at Minnesota
(Gibson 8-10), 4:10 p.m.
Tampa Bay (Archer 9-7) at Chicago
White Sox (Rodon 2-5), 4:10 p.m.
L.A. Angels (Nolasco 6-12) at Texas
(Griffin 6-5), 4:15 p.m.
N.Y. Mets (Lugo 5-3) at Houston (Mor-
ton 10-6), 5:10 p.m., 2nd game
Oakland (Cotton 7-10) at Seattle (Gallar-
do 5-10), 6:10 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East Division
W
L Pct GB
Washington
81 53 .604 —
Miami
66 68 .493 15
Atlanta
59 74 .444 21½
New York
58 75 .436 22½
Philadelphia
51 83 .381 30
Central Division
W
L Pct GB
Chicago
74 60 .552 —
Milwaukee
71 64 .526 3½
St. Louis
67 66 .504 6½
Pittsburgh
63 72 .467 11½
Cincinnati
58 77 .430 16½
West Division
W
L Pct GB
Los Angeles
92 41 .692 —
Arizona
77 58 .570 16
Colorado
72 62 .537 20½
San Diego
59 75 .440 33½
San Francisco
53 83 .390 40½
———
Friday’s Games
N.Y. Mets at Houston, ppd.
Chicago Cubs 2, Atlanta 0
Cincinnati 7, Pittsburgh 3
Philadelphia 2, Miami 1
Milwaukee 1, Washington 0
Arizona 9, Colorado 5
L.A. Dodgers 1, San Diego 0
St. Louis at San Francisco,late
Saturday’s Games
N.Y. Mets (Harvey 4-3) at Houston
(Morton 10-6), 11:10 a.m., 1st game
Atlanta (Sims 2-4) at Chicago Cubs
(Lester 8-7), 11:20 a.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Stewart 0-0) at San Diego
(Richard 6-13), 12:40 p.m.
St. Louis (Lynn 10-6) at San Francisco
(Stratton 2-3), 1:05 p.m.
Cincinnati (Mahle 0-1) at Pittsburgh
(Taillon 7-5), 4:05 p.m.
Philadelphia (Nola 10-9) at Miami (Straily
8-8), 4:10 p.m.
Washington (Fedde 0-1) at Milwaukee
(Woodruff 1-1), 4:10 p.m.
Arizona (Corbin 12-11) at Colorado (Gray
6-3), 5:10 p.m.
N.Y. Mets (Lugo 5-3) at Houston (Pea-
cock 10-2), 5:10 p.m., 2nd game
L.A. Dodgers (Darvish 8-10) at San
Diego (Chacin 11-10), 7:10 p.m.
MiLB
NORTHWEST LEAGUE
North Division
W
L
Spokane
21 15
Tri-City
20 16
Vancouver
20 16
Everett
19 17
Pct. GB
.583 —
.556
1
.556
1
.528
2
South Division
W
L Pct. GB
Hillsboro
18 18 .500 —
Boise
17 19 .472
1
Eugene
17 19 .472
1
Salem-Keizer
12 24 .333
6
———
Friday’s Games
Boise 3, Hillsboro 2
Everett 5, Spokane 4, 12 innings
Eugene 12, Salem-Keizer 4
Vancouver 1, Tri-City 0
Saturday’s Games
Hillsboro at Boise, 6:15 p.m.
Everett at Spokane, 6:30 p.m.
Eugene at Salem-Keizer, 6:35 p.m.
Vancouver at Tri-City, 7:15 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Eugene at Salem-Keizer, 5:05 p.m.
Hillsboro at Boise, 6:15 p.m.
Everett at Spokane, 6:30 p.m.
Vancouver at Tri-City, 7:15 p.m.
Soccer
MLS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L
T Pts GF GA
Toronto FC 16 3
8 56 55 26
New York City FC 14 7
5 47 48
35
Columbus 13 12
3 42 42 42
Chicago
12 9
5 41 47 36
New York
12 10
3 39 38 33
Atlanta United FC 10 8
6 36 44
32
Montreal
10 9
6 36 42 41
Philadelphia 8 12
7 31 36 38
Orlando City 8 11
7 31 27 39
New England 8 12
5 29 39 41
D.C. United 8 15
4 28 22 44
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L
T Pts GF GA
Seattle
11 7
9 42 41 34
Portland
11 9
8 41 48 45
Sporting K.C. 10 5 10 40 31 19
Houston
10 8
8 38 46 37
Vancouver 11 9
5 38 37 35
FC Dallas
9 7
9 36 37 33
San Jose
10 11
6 36 31 44
Real Salt Lake 10 13
5 35 40 48
Minnesota United 7 14
4 25 32
52
Los Angeles 6 14
5 23 32 47
Colorado
6 15
4 22 24 38
NOTE: Three points for victory, one
point for tie.
———
Saturday’s Games
Chicago at Montreal, 4 p.m.
Orlando City at New England, 4 p.m.
New York at FC Dallas, 6 p.m.
Colorado at Los Angeles, 8 p.m.
Basketball
WNBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W
L Pct
x-Connecticut
21 12 .636
x-New York
21 12 .636
x-Washington
18 15 .545
Atlanta
12 21 .364
Chicago
12 21 .364
Indiana
9 24 .273
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W
L Pct
x-Minnesota
26
7 .788
x-Los Angeles
25
8 .758
x-Phoenix
17 16 .515
x-Dallas
16 17 .485
x-Seattle
14 19 .424
San Antonio
7 26 .212
x-clinched playoff spot
————
Friday’s Games
Washington 110, Seattle 106, OT
New York 81, San Antonio 69
Minnesota 110, Chicago 87
Phoenix 86, Connecticut 66
Los Angeles 81, Atlanta 56
GB
—
—
3
9
9
12
GB
—
1
9
10
12
19