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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 2017)
SPORTS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS HERMISTON Prep All-League Teams Bulldogs one win from title Photo courtesy of Lisa Mittelsdorf Riverside’s Skylar Wightman (7) was vot- ed as 3A Special District 2 Player of the Year after scoring 11 goals with 14 assists for the league-champion Pirates. Photo courtesy of Chase Allgood/The Oregonian Riverside’s Wightman leads all- district team Hermiston’s Jonathan Hinkle tries to escape a tackle from a Wilsonville defender during the Bulldogs’ 35-27 win over the Wildcats in Saturday’s 5A semifi nal in Hillsboro. Unbeaten Churchill stands in Hermiston’s way of championship By ERIC SINGER & ALEXIS MANSANAREZ East Oregonian 5A Championship In 2014, the Hermiston Bulldogs captured the school’s fi rst-and-only football OSAA state championship. Now in 2017, the Bulldogs have a chance to capture their second and possibly fi nal OSAA state championship. Hermiston defeated No. 2 Wilsonville 35-27 on Saturday night at Hillsboro Stadium to advance to the Class 5A state championship game. Hermiston will take on No. 4 Churchill, a Eugene school that knocked off No. 1 Mountain View 35-28 in the other 5A semifi nal on Saturday. “It’s the state champion- ship,” senior Jonathan Hinkle said after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s what we’ve been working for all year and for us seniors, all four years, so it would be pretty awesome just to go out on top.” Churchill (12-0) is the only #4 Churchill #3 Hermiston Lancers Bulldogs (12-0) (10-2) • Saturday, 6 p.m. • at Hillsboro Stadium Collin Andrew/The Register-Guard Churchill quarterback Jack Blackburn #9 celebrates his touchdown run with teammate Quinn Parker #57 in the fi rst-half during Churchill’s 63-21 win over Crater on Oct. 27. unbeaten team in Class 5A and look similar to Wilsonville with a high-powered offense and a defense with some talented athletes. The Lancer offense is quarterbacked by Jack Black- burn, a junior that doesn’t pose much of a run threat but throws the ball very well, highlighted by his 10-for-20, 313 yards and three touchdown performance in the semifi nals. His favorite targets include Luke Schwin and Marshaun Tucker Jr., who combined for eight catches for 295 yards and three touchdowns last week. And in the backfi eld, Dalton McDaniel and Tyson Bennion make for a solid 1-2 punch. “They are a very explosive team,” head coach David Faaeteete said. “They have got multiple plays for 80-plus yards this season. They’re explosive on offense, they are very oppor- tunistic on defense. They create turnovers, they’re fast, they fl y around. We’ve got our work cut out for us.” On the defensive side, Churchill has proven in the playoffs that they are vulner- able in the run game. In the fi rst round against Pendleton, the Buckaroos struggled in the See TITLE GAME/2B East Oregonian Like their boy counterparts, the Riverside Pirate girls soccer team bulldozed their way through the Special District 2 play this season wrapping up the district title with a 5-0-1 record. A big reason for that success was of a ultra-talented group of upperclassmen, which showed in the numerous all-district selections that were released after the season. The Pirates earned fi ve fi rst team selec- tions, including seniors Skylar Wightman and Abby Hernandez, and juniors Faith Rosen, Alondra Caldera and Estrella Deltoso. The district champion have only two second team selections, with junior Brendy Avalos and sophomore Bianca Avalos. Wightman, a four-year varsity player at forward, also earned district Player of the Year honors after piling up 11 goals and 14 assists for the Pirates this season. Umatilla, the district runner up, had two fi rst team selections in seniors Mayra Ortiz and Celeste Rodriguez and fi ve second team selections. Irrigon, in its fi rst season as a standalone girls team, had two fi rst team selections with Olivia Luna and junior Ana Zacarias and two second team selections. ———— 3A Special District 3 Player of the Year — Skylar Wightman, sr., Riverside First Team Skylar Wightman, sr., Riverside; Kelsee Tucker, sr., Nyssa; Faith Rosen, jr., Riverside; Madisyn Hartley, jr., Nyssa; Sailor Hartley, sr., Nyssa; Olivia Luna, sr., Irrigon; Alondra Caldera, jr., Riverside; Estrella Deltoso, jr., Riverside; Ana Zacarias, jr., Irrigon; Mayra Ortiz, sr., Umatilla; Celeste Rodriguez, sr., Umatilla; Abby Hernandez, sr., Riverside. See ALL-LEAGUE/2B MLS PLAYOFFS Svensson, Bruin lead Sounders over Dynamo Associated Press HOUSTON — Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer would not call the Sounders’ dominant fi rst leg win on Tuesday night a statement. “I think it’s just who we are,” Schmetzer said. The Sounders are 90 minutes from the MLS Cup championship game. Gustav Svensson and Will Bruin scored in the fi rst half, and Seattle Sounders FC beat the 10-man Houston Dynamo 2-0 in the fi rst leg of the Western Conference championship. Western Conference Finals - 1st leg Seattle Houston 2 0 The second leg is Nov. 30 in Seattle. “We tried to dictate tempo throughout our strengths,” Schmetzer said. “It just manifested itself in a good way for us.” Svensson gave the defending MLS Cup cham- pion Sounders a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute, heading a Nicolas Lodeiro corner kick just right of the middle from eight yards out. “It feels like in the fi rst half that we played with a little bit more attacking, but that’s our goal from the outset,” Schmetzer said. “Home or away, we feel that we have a good enough team to score on our opponents.” Bruin upped the lead to 2-0 in the 42nd minute, heading a Joevin Jones crossing pass into the left net from just right of the middle eight yards out. “That one felt great,” Bruin, who played for the Dynamo his fi rst six seasons, said. “I started to peel back post, and me and Joevin had made eye contact. I knew he was going to put it up there. It’s my job to go back across the grain because it freezes the goalie. That’s what happened.” Seattle has yet to concede a goal through three games this postseason, outscoring its opponents 4-0 and missed opportunities to extend the lead further in the second half. “We will take the 2-0 See MLS/2B Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP Seattle Sounders defender Will Bruin (17) scores past Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Joe Willis (31) during the fi rst half of Tuesday’s match in the fi rst leg of the West- ern Conference championship in Houston. Sports shorts Seahawks unexpectedly waive veteran DE Dwight Freeney RENTON, Wash. (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks have made an unexpected roster move, waiving veteran defensive end Dwight Freeney just four games after signing him to help boost their pass rush. Seattle made the roster move Tuesday but no corresponding move was announced. Freeney was signed in late October to boost Seattle’s pass rush after Cliff Avril was lost to a neck injury earlier in the season. Freeney Freeney had three sacks in his fi rst two games, moving into 17th on the all-time sack list. But he did not record a tackle in each of his last two games. Seattle didn’t have much of a pass rush at all in Monday’s loss to Atlanta as quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked only once and the Seahawks recorded just three QB hits. “When you get down the way Miami did to Virginia two times, once in each half, and you have the poise and the ability to come back and win in a convincing manner, that is special.“ — Kirby Hocutt College Football Playoff com- mittee chairman on why Miami jumped Clemson for No. 2 in the latest CFP rankings. Alabama stays at No. 1, with Clemson now at No. 3, Oklahoma at No. 4 and Wisconsin at No. 5. Tarasenko, Schenn help Blues stay hot, beat Oilers 8-3 ST. LOUIS (AP) — Vladimir Tarasenko had two goals and two assists and got in a rare fi ght Tuesday night, helping the St. Louis Blues to an 8-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Brayden Schenn also had two goals and two assists, and Jake Allen stopped 26 shots for the NHL-leading Blues (16-5-1). Dmitrij Jaskin, Scottie Upshall and Paul Stastny also scored for St. Louis. Jaden Schwartz had three points, including his 100th career goal. Milan Lucic, Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse scored for the Oilers. Cam Talbot was pulled in favor of Lauren Brossoit after facing just three shots. Brossoit allowed six goals on 37 shots. Edmonton is 1-5 in its last six games. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1875 — Harvard beats Yale 4-0 in the schools’ fi rst football meeting. With 15 players on each side, the game is a mix of rugby and soccer. 1950 — The Fort Wayne Pistons edge the Minne- apolis Lakers 19-18 in the lowest-scoring game in NBA history. John Oldham leads the Pistons with fi ve points and George Mikan had 15 of the Lakers’ points. 1998 — John Elway of the Denver Broncos joins Dan Marino as the only players with 50,000 yards as the Broncos post a 40-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com