Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Friday, December 1, 2017
MLS PLAYOFFS
Prep Roundup
Sounders to defend their MLS Cup title Phillips powers
Knights past Tigers
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Victor
Rodriguez scored on a nifty
give-and-go with Will Bruin
in the 22nd
Western
minute,
C l i n t Conf. Final
Dempsey
added his
third goal of
the playoffs
Houston
early
in
the second
half,
and
the Seattle
Sounders
advanced
Seattle
to the MLS
Cup final
with a 3-0
win
over
the Houston Dynamo on
Thursday night.
The defending champion
Sounders advanced 5-0
on aggregate after their
convincing two-goal win in
Houston last week. Bruin
added his second goal of
the series in the 73rd minute
as the Sounders advanced
to face Toronto in the final
and get the opportunity
to become the first repeat
MLS Cup champions since
the Los Angeles Galaxy in
2011-12 — and on the same
field Seattle won its first title
a year ago. The Sounders
and Toronto played to a 0-0
draw in the 2016 final before
Seattle won on penalty kicks.
The Sounders took any
nerves out of the second-leg
with Houston early. Rather
than packing in on defense,
East Oregonian
————
0
3
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
Seattle Sounders midfielder Victor Rodriguez, center, kicks a goal against the Hous-
ton Dynamo during the first half of the second leg of the Western Conference final
on Thursday in Seattle.
Seattle pushed forward and
aggressively tried to get
that third goal. It came on a
four-pass series, with Bruin’s
right-footed flick the key. It
found Rodriguez unmarked
on a diagonal into the penalty
area, and his right-footed shot
beat Joe Willis to give Seattle
the early advantage.
Rodriguez’s goal gave the
45,298 at CenturyLink Field a
collective exhale as Houston
would have needed to score
three goals to advance. That
number became four when
Dempsey finished a deft
cross from Joevin Jones in
the 52nd minute, and if that
didn’t put the match out of
reach, Bruin added his goal in
the 72nd minute to complete
the rout.
While Seattle’s goal
scoring deserved recognition,
its defense continued to be
stellar. The Sounders have
yet to allow a goal in the
playoffs and haven’t been
scored upon since a 2-0
loss at Philadelphia on Oct.
1. Seattle finished off the
Dynamo without defender
Roman Torres, who was out
due to yellow card accumu-
lation.
Houston played the final
24 minutes with 10-men
after Tomas Martinez was
sent off for shoving the head
of Seattle’s Jordy Delem
as he was lying on the field
following a foul. It was
the second red card in the
two-game series for Houston.
Jalil Anibaba was given a
red card in the first leg and
missed Thursday’s game.
Houston was also without
defender Philippe Senderos
(hamstring) and forward
Romell Quioto (illness).
Seattle also got a boost
with the return of forward
Jordan Morris after being
out for two months due to
a hamstring injury. Morris
played the final 15 minutes
of the match and should be
available for the final.
College Football
Stanford seeks revenge in Pac-12 title game
By JOSH DUBOW
Associated Press
SANTA
CLARA,
Calif. — The Stanford team
that walked out of the Los
Angeles Coliseum nearly
three months ago after being
overpowered by Southern
California seemed an unlikely
pick to get a rematch with the
Trojans.
Yet here Stanford is in the
Pac-12 title game ready to get
revenge against USC for that
42-24 loss in the second game
of the season after having
won eight of nine games with
a familiar formula.
“You’re talking about a
very hot football team right
now,” USC coach Clay
Helton said. “A lot of it can be
attributed to how the defense
is playing. I’ve always
thought a David Shaw team
is extremely strong down the
middle of the defense.”
An improved defense and
the switch at quarterback
to K.J. Costello are the
biggest differences for the
14th-ranked Cardinal (9-3,
7-2 Pac-12, No. 12 CFP)
5:30 p.m.
Pac-12 Championship
Stanford
USC
Cardinal
Trojans
(9-3, 7-2)
(10-2, 8-1)
• Friday, 5 p.m. (TV: ESPN)
• at Levi’s Stadium
heading into Friday night’s
title game at Levi’s Stadium
against No. 11 USC (10-2,
8-1, No. 10).
Stanford gave up 623
yards of offense to Sam
Darnold and the Trojans in
the first meeting, the highest
total allowed in coach David
Shaw’s seven seasons. USC
gained more than 300 yards
through the air and on the
ground and dominated the
line of scrimmage.
“I think we hit them and
they were hitting on all cylin-
ders, especially offensively,”
Shaw said. “You go back
and watch again and it was
just like, ‘Wow!’ Running it,
throwing it, the pass protec-
tion was outstanding. The
quarterback was as good as
you can play the position.”
Stanford hasn’t allowed
more than 430 yards or 24
points in a game over the past
eight contests.
The other big difference
has been the switch to
Costello, who has provided
more of a passing threat to
complement big-play running
back Bryce Love since taking
over for Keller Chryst at the
beginning of November.
Costello threw four TD
passes last week against
Notre Dame and is improving
each week, the same way the
rest of his team is improving.
“We started off the season
1-2, backs against the wall,”
Love said. “Just a testament
to the team that we have.
We’re resilient. We fought
back. We’ve come a long
way. We still have more to
prove.”
Here are some other things
to watch in the Pac-12 title
game:
LOTS OF LOVE: Love
has been slowed a bit in recent
weeks by a sprained ankle
but still is quite dangerous.
He ran for 125 yards on 20
carries last week and ranks
second in the nation with
1,848 yards rushing while
averaging 8.6 yards per carry.
He had a 75-yard TD run
against the Trojans, one of his
FBS-record 11 runs of at least
50 yards this season.
“He’s very patient,” safety
Chris Hawkins said. “They
love pitching him the ball
straight backward. Usually
you get pitches to the outside.
They pitch it backward and
let him use his eyes and his
footwork to good use. If
you’re not in your hole, he’s
going to find it.”
DOMINANT NORTH:
The team from the North
Division has won all six
Pac-12
championship
games since the conference
expanded to 12 teams,
including Stanford’s 41-22
win over USC two years ago.
That’s a fact not lost on the
Trojans.
“No South team has won
it since it became a game,”
Hawkins said. “Last time
we went, you all know what
happened last time we went,
but we’re not going to talk
about that.”
Johnny Phillips got his
senior season started in a
big way on Thursday night,
as he scored a game-high
28 points to push his Irrigon
Knights past the Stanfield
Tigers 73-43 at Stanfield
Secondary School.
The Knights (1-0) led by
just seven at the end of the
first quarter but outscored
the Tigers (0-1) 18-5 in
the second to gain some
cushion for the second
half. Behind Phillips, Leo
Carillo scored eight points,
Jesus Sandoval had seven
and Eric Carillo added six
points.
“We came out with
good energy and the kids
were ready to play,” Irrigon
coach Davie Salas said.
“Great first start, but we
still have a ways to go.”
Brody Woods led Stan-
field with 19 points and
Fernando Ramirez added
10.
Irrigon
next
plays
Weston-McEwen in the
Ione Basketball Bonanza
on Friday at 4:30 p.m. Stan-
field will play at Sherman
on Friday at 7 p.m.
————
IHS
22 18 17 16 — 73
SHS
15 5 11 12 — 43
IRRIGON — J. Phillips 28, L. Carillo
8, J. Sandoval 7, E. Carillo 6, A. Roa 5,
A. Gomez 5, D. Vera 4, P. Holcomb 4, L.
Covarrubia 2, K. Fleming 2.
STANFIELD — B. Woods 19, F. Ramirez
10, Eduardo Nunez 5.
3-pointers — IHS 5, SHS 3. Free throws
— IHS 10-15, SHS 10-23. Fouls — IHS
14, SHS 15.
TOUCHET (WA) 74,
HELIX 35 — At Helix,
the Grizzlies fought hard
in the first half but ran out
of steam in the second half
to fall to Touchet in their
season opener on Thursday
evening.
The Grizzlies (0-1)
trailed just 28-20 at half-
time, but Touchet (1-0)
came out of the gates in
the third quarter on fire
and outscored Helix 28-7
to take advantage of the
game. Helix was debuting
a new-look roster featuring
numerous first-time varsity
players, and head coach
Zach Orem said that the
inexperience showed.
“It was a lot of our guys’
first high school basketball
game, most skipped JV
and went right from middle
school to varsity,” he said.
“We’re super young ... the
guys played hard but just
ran out of gas.”
Gavin Newtson put
together a double-double
with 17 points and 10
rebounds and Eli Springer
added 15 points and seven
rebounds. Helix’s only
other scorer was Logan
Davis with three points.
Helix next hosts Bick-
leton (WA) on Saturday at
THS
22 6 28 16 — 74
GHS
14 6
7
8 — 35
TOUCHET — Preciado 16, A. Acevedo
10, Warren 10, McKeown 9, Gutierrez 9,
Martinez 7, Arozco 7, Schaffer 6.
HELIX — G. Newtson 17, E. Springer
15, L. Davis 3.
3-pointers — THS 7, GHS 4. Free
throws — THS 9-13, GHS 5-9. Fouls —
THS 12, GHS 13.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
IRRIGON 61, STAN-
FIELD 25 — At Stanfield,
Jada Burns scored a game-
high 23 points to help her
Irrigon Knights run by the
Stanfield Tigers in both
teams’ season openers on
Thursday evening.
Behind Burns, Alyia
Munoz scored 10 points,
Taylor Davis and Natalie
Romero each had eight
and Kylie Wyant pitched in
seven for the Knights (1-0).
Kendra Hart led the Tigers
(0-1) with 13 points and
Savannah Sharp added five
points.
Irrigon
next
plays
Weston-McEwen at the
Ione Basketball Bonanza
on Friday at 3 p.m. Stan-
field plays Sherman at the
Sherman Tournament on
Friday at 6 p.m.
————
IHS
10 16 19 17 — 61
SHS
5 6
5
9 — 25
IRRIGON — J. Burns 23, A. Munoz 10,
T. Davis 8, N. Romero 8, K. Wyant 7, O.
Luna 4.
STANFIELD — K. Hart 13, S. Sharp 5,
A. Galarza 3, A. Griffin 1, C. Blankenship
1, J. Wallace 1.
3-pointers — IHS 2, SHS 4. Free throws
— IHS 8-9, SHS 5-12. Fouls — IHS 13,
SHS 8.
TOUCHET (WA) 66,
HELIX 35 — At Helix,
the Grizzlies dropped their
season opener as Touchet
(WA) left town with a
66-35 win on Thursday at
Griswold High School.
Helix (0-1) next plays at
Mac-Hi on Friday night at
6 p.m.
DESALES
58,
W E S TO N - M C E W E N
50 — At Walla Walla, the
Weston-McEwen
Tiger-
Scots erased a 20-point first
half deficit but ultimately
came up short in their
season opener at DeSales
(WA) on Wednesday night.
Chelsea
Quaempts
scored 21 to lead the Tiger-
Scots (0-1) as she sank six
field goals and made 7 of
12 attempts from the freee
throw line. Kate Vescio
added 11 points and Alyssa
Finifrock pitched in 10 for
the TigerScots.
Weston-McEwen next
plays Irrigon at the Ione
Basketball Bonanza on
Friday at 3 p.m.
————
W-M
12 5 20 13 — 50
DHS
17 18
7 16 — 58
WESTON-MCEWEN — C. Quaempts
21, K. Vescio 11, A. Finifrock 10, A. Coff-
man 5, J. Lambert 3, T. Hearn, T. Burke,
C. Davis, H. McIntyre.
DESALES — H. Buratto 22, K. Buratto
19, Jones 8, Lyons 4, Ness 3, Arceo 2,
Cortez.
3-pointers — W-M 3, DHS 7. Free
throws — W-M 9-19, DHS 9-17. Fouls
— W-M 17 (Coffman fouled out), DHS 19.
SMITH: Thought about possible return to Oregon State after Andersen resigned
Continued from 1B
Stanford in a close 15-14
loss. A group of players
started an online petition
supporting Hall, as well as
a Twitter hashtag #HALLin.
But Oregon State still
wasn’t able to muster a win.
The Beavers wrapped up
the season with a 69-10 loss
to Oregon in the Civil War
rivalry game to finish 1-11
overall and 0-9 in confer-
ence.
Smith admitted that he
wondered if a return to
Corvallis might be in the
offing following Andersen’s
resignation.
“I was very surprised
with Gary. I’ve met Gary a
Andy Cripe/The Corvallis Gazette-Times via AP
Media and guests attend a news conference announc-
ing Jonathan Smith’s hiring as football coach at Ore-
gon State, Thursday in Corvallis.
couple of times, I think very
highly of him,” Smith said.
“But when that took place it
did cross my mind, ‘Maybe
this is the time to do this and
go after it.’”
Smith joined Petersen’s
staff as quarterbacks coach
in 2012 at Boise State then
moved with him to Wash-
ington in 2014. He helped
recruit quarterback Jake
Browning to the Huskies.
Smith also had stops as
an assistant at Montana and
Idaho. He was a graduate
assistant at Oregon State
from 2002-03.
A native of Pasadena,
California, Smith was
a walk-on in Corvallis,
playing for the Beavers
from 1998-2001. He was on
Oregon State’s 2000 team
that went 11-1 and defeated
Notre Dame in the Fiesta
Bowl under coach Dennis
Erickson.
A fan favorite during his
playing days, Smith ranks
third on Oregon State’s
career list with 55 touch-
down passes and 9,680
passing yards. He holds the
record for the longest touch-
down pass in school history
with a 97-yard TD pass to
Chad Johnson in 2000.
Johnson was one of those
who congratulated Smith
via Twitter: “Congratula-
tions boss, you deserve it,
love you man,” he said.
Oregon State athletic
director Scott Barnes said
Smith was among the first
candidates
interviewed
following
Andersen’s
departure. He spoke in
depth to Smith on Tuesday
night and ultimately offered
him the job.
“He
is
incredibly
authentic, he’s got grit,”
Barnes said. “He’s got
unparalleled passion for this
place.”
Hall’s future with the
Beavers is uncertain. Smith
said he had not yet met with
him.
“I feel very positive
about the future of that
football team in there,” Hall
said outside the Beavers’
locker room following the
Civil War loss Saturday,
“because I know they’ve
learned a lot and I know
they’ll be in good hands.”
HERMISTON: Fans able to take pictures with players, championship trophy
Continued from 1B
Bulldogs earned the school’s
second state title, he felt his
grandfather’s presence which
makes all the awards, all the
community support even
more special.
“It means everything,”
White said. “It means a lot
because there were a lot of
times this year where I got
tested and I had to make the
most of it and that’s what I
tried to do every week.”
Now a week removed
from the final game of the
season, the Bulldogs — who
finished the year 11-2 — got
to pay back a community that
has not only supported them
this year but over the last
three years under Faaeteete
and many more before him.
After a team dinner
where the coaches honored
their athletes with partici-
pation and team awards, the
Bulldogs filed into the gym
in front of a large crowd.
Erick Olson, the voice of
the Bulldogs spoke, along
with Faaeteete. Afterward
everyone poured into the
commons area for auto-
graphs, pictures with the
championship trophy and to
reminisce on Hermiston’s
title run.
“You know, when I first
got here I didn’t know how
long I was going to be here,”
he said. “I thought one
year, just coaching getting
experience and then find
somewhere else but this
community really accepted
me, took me in and nurtured
me into becoming the foot-
ball coach I am today and it’s
a credit to the people here
and their loving devotion to
their kids.”
The community showed
that love, and for the players
it was something they will
never forget.
“It’s just special because
it’s nights like these that I’ll
never get back in my high
school career,” senior Joey
Gutierrez said. “I’m just
glad to see that the whole
community supports our
football program, it’s just
great.”
Junior
quarterback
Andrew James echoed those
same sentiments as he is still
riding the high from winning
his first state title in just his
second year starting under
center.
“It’s amazing,” he said.
“We couldn’t have done it
without everyone. The fami-
lies of the team. The coaches,
(their) wives, and the kids
and just all the support from
the community. It’s so big
for all of us.
“The vibe around here,
it’s unlike any other,” James
added. “You go to different
towns and you see how
other teams work and stuff
— they’ve got good things
going but we feel like we’ve
got better things going here.”
As White, Gutierrez and
other stars like Dayshawn
Neal, Beau Blake and
Jonathan Hinkle hang up
their helmets, James will
be leading a new Bulldog
cast in the WIAA — where
Faaeteete wants to become
the first coach to win state
titles in two different states.
James feels good about
those odds.
“It is a legacy we’re
starting — two champion-
ships in five or whatever
years, that’s showing you’ve
got power,” he said, “and if
we show power throughout
a long period of time, it just
makes Hermiston look really
good.”
———
Contact Alexis at aman-
sanarez@eastoregonian.com
or 541-564-4542.