SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2017
1B
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PENDLETON
Buckaroos advance to playoffs
Volleyball
Pendleton beats Hillsboro
in 5A play-in game
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — One of the fi rst
goals that the Pendleton Bucakroos
volleyball team came up with prior
to the start of the 2017 season was to
make the playoffs.
On Tuesday night, Pendleton
achieved that goal.
The Buckaroos defeated the
Hillsboro
Pendleton
1
3
Hillsboro Spartans 3-1 (25-16, 25-7,
12-25, 25-17) in a Class 5A play-in
game at Warberg Court to advance
to the state bracket. Maureen Davies
notched another double-digit total in
kills with 14 to lead the Buckaroos,
while Ellie Nirschl followed with
seven and Kalan McGlothan and
Rylee Gentner both had four.
“It’s been one of our long-term
goals and we’re glad to get there,”
Pendleton coach Amanda Lapp said
afterward. “Now we just have to
make progress and see the consis-
tency come out in the next couple of
days to make sure that we’re really
showing up to the next match.”
Pendleton (15-6) shot out of the
gates and showed it was the better
team on the court with two quick
set wins 25-16 and 25-7, putting
See BUCKAROOS/2B
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Pendleton Buckaroo players celebrate after defeating the Hill-
sboro Spartans 3-1 on Tuesday in Pendleton.
World Series
HERMISTON
Dawgs enjoying bragging rights
Kershaw
powers
Dodgers to
Game 1 win
By BEN WALKER
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — No
sweat, Clayton Kershaw.
Changing jerseys to beat the
103-degree heat, the Dodgers
ace with a checkered playoff
history deliv-
Game 1 ered a signature
performance,
pitching Los
Angeles past
Houston
the Houston
Astros
3-1
Tuesday night
in the World
Series opener.
Boosted by
Los Angeles Justin Turner’s
tiebreaking,
two-run homer
in the sixth
inning off Dallas Keuchel,
Kershaw was in complete
control against the high-
est-scoring team in the majors
this season.
“Defi nitely feels good to say
it was the World Series, and it
feels good to say we’re 1-0,”
Kershaw said.
The left-hander had waited
his whole career for this
moment. And once he took the
mound in his Series debut, he
lived up every bit to the legacy
of Sandy Koufax, Orel Hersh-
iser and the greatest of Dodgers
hurlers.
The three-time Cy Young
Award winner struck out 11
, gave up just three hits and
walked none over seven innings,
featuring a sharp breaking ball
that often left Houston batters
taking awkward swings. His
lone blemish was a home run by
Alex Bregman in the fourth that
made it 1-all.
No matter, with Koufax in
the house, Kershaw did his pal
proud.
“He was as good as adver-
tised,” Keuchel said.
A sweltering, pulsating
crowd at Dodger Stadium dotted
with Hollywood A-listers was
fi lled with Kershaw jerseys, and
he drew loud cheers all evening.
Kershaw got one more
ovation when he walked
through a corridor to a postgame
interview. There, fans applauded
a fi nal time.
“I felt good. It’s a tough
lineup over there,” Kershaw
said. “The way Keuchel was
1
3
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
In this 2016 fi le photo, Hermiston’s Dayshawn Neal turns up fi elds as Pendleton’s Aiden Patterson prepares to make the hit in the Bull-
dogs’ 13-12 win against the Bucks.
Hermiston controlling Pendleton rivalry after six winless decades
By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ
East Oregonian
On Friday night, the “War on
84” will have one last victor.
When Hermiston and Pendleton
meet on the Round-Up grounds
one last time it will be an equally
matched showdown, which hasn’t
always been the case in their
95-year rivalry.
A win for Pendleton will give
the Buckaroos their fi rst playoff
berth since 2014, but a win for
Hermiston will mean more than
just a chance at another state title. A
win would cap off an all-time series
that has only been in the Bulldogs’
favor recently.
Over the years, league titles,
winning records, and playoff berths
have all been on the line, which
adds to the richness of the rivals’
unique history that has outlasted
six major wars and eclipsed nine
decades. This will be the two teams’
92nd meeting, with Hermiston only
taking the upper hand in the recent
millennium and winning eight of
the last 13 games.
“The rivalry was a big brother,
Hermiston’s
Cody Hawes
runs after
blocking a
Pendleton
punt during
Hermiston’s
33-21 win
over the
Buckaroos in
1997 at the
Round-Up.
It was the
fi rst win in
13 years over
the Bucka-
roos for the
Bulldogs.
EO fi le photo
little brother type of thing,” said
Paul Barnett. “Finally, we were
able to compete against them. For
years it was a game we circled on
the calendar and we’d hope to come
out with a win”
Barnett was a part of the Class of
2000 and traveled with the varsity
team his sophomore year (1997)
and senior year (1999) — both
years Hermiston came away with
a victory at the Round-Up grounds.
In
fact,
every Barnett that went on to play
for Hermiston never lost a rivalry
game. Paul was the oldest to make
his way through Hermiston’s foot-
ball program, and when his brothers
reached high school the Bulldogs
were no longer the underdog.
But it wasn’t always like this.
Many begrudgingly remember the
Bulldogs’ 62-year skid where even
in winning seasons they weren’t
Coming Thursday:
• Former Pendleton players look
back on decades of dominance
able to top the Buckaroos.
When the pair met for the fi rst
time in 1922, Hermiston claimed
the fi rst ever bragging rights. But
as seasons came and went the Bull-
dogs stopped celebrating.
Despite successful seasons and
blowouts over numerous teams,
the Bulldogs couldn’t get anything
going when it came time to face the
Bucks.
The closest game during the
winless drought was in 1941 when
the game ended in a tie — the only
tie in the rivalry’s long history.
Prior to this meeting, Pendleton
was nothing but dominant and
highlighted its run by winning eight
consecutive games with a shutout
from 1929-38.
The decades without a win were
draining, which made the rivalry
endured the years of defeat.
“You felt it more from the
See RIVALRY/2B
See WORLD SERIES/2B
Sports shorts
Walla Walla bullrider jumps to
No. 1 in PBR world standings
SAN JOSE, Calif. — It would not be a
stretch to call Derek Kolbaba the best bull rider
in the world right now.
The Walla Walla native jumped to the No. 1
spot in the Professional Bull Rider
Built Ford Tough Series world
standings over the weekend after
winning the Cooper Tires Take
the Money and Ride event in San
Jose, California on Saturday. The
two-time Pendleton PBR classic
Kolbaba
champion came into the weekend
No. 4 in the standings.
Kolbaba, 21, now has more won more than
$300,000 on the PBR tour this year and leads
Brazilian rider Eduardo Aparecido by 102.5
points in the standings.
Kolbaba will next head to Las Vegas to
compete in the world fi nals Nov. 1-5.
“This is the roster that I put
together. I’m the reason
we’re 1-6. We do have to
play better as a team. So
we lose together, we win
together. I believe everyone
is accountable here for
what goes on. We’re 1-6
together. But you can put it
all on me.“
— Jerry Reese
The New York Giants GM is
taking all the blame for his team’s
dreadful start as the Giants go
into their bye week this week with
the third-worst record in the NFL,
behind only San Francisco and
Cleveland, both winless.
Seahawks sign veteran Freeney
RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Veteran defensive
end Dwight Freeney is back in the NFL after
agreeing to a deal to join the Seattle Seahawks.
The Seahawks announced they had agreed
to terms on a deal with Freeney on Tuesday
night after bringing him in for
a visit earlier in the day. The
37-year-old has been without a
job after spending last season with
Atlanta.
Freeney will have a specifi c
role as a pass rusher with the
Seahawks, adding depth after
Freeney
defensive end Cliff Avril was
placed on injured reserve last
week with a neck injury. Seattle played last
week against the New York Giants with just 52
players on its roster.
Last year with the Falcons, Freeney
appeared in 15 regular season games and had
three sacks. He started two of Atlanta’s three
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1990 — Evander Holyfi eld
knocks out Buster Douglas
in Las Vegas to become the
undisputed heavyweight cha
1998 — Jerry Rice sets
an NFL record for receptions
in consecutive games with
his 12-yard catch from Steve
Young on San Francisco’s fi rst
offensive play. Rice has caught
passes in 184 straight games,
breaking the mark set by Art
Monk from 1980-95. mpion.
2003 — Pitching on three
days rest, Florida’s Josh
Beckett throws a shutout to
lead the Marlins to a 2-0 victory
over the New York Yankees to
win the World Series.
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