SPORTS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2017
1B
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College Football
Rodeo
Hermiston
girl to
compete
at JrNFR
East Oregonian
Collin Andrew/The Register-Guard via AP
Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens fi elds a question from a reporter at the Hatfi eld-Dowling Complex in Eugene on Tuesday after
head coach Willie Taggart accepted the same position at Florida State, less than a year after he accepted the Oregon job.
Here the Ducks go again
Oregon begins search for another football coach with a long list of candidates
By STEVE MIMS
The Register-Guard
EUGENE — Oregon quickly
promoted Mario Cristobal to
interim head coach for the Las
Vegas Bowl after Willie Taggart
left for Florida State on Tuesday.
Cristobal, the former Florida
International coach, appears to be
one of many candidates for the
full-time job.
Oregon athletic director Rob
Mullens is seeking a football
coach for the second year in a row
after pulling Taggart out of South
Florida last year only to see him
head back home with the Semi-
noles following a 7-5 season with
the Ducks.
Mullens hired Taggart on Dec.
7 last year, eight days after fi ring
Mark Helfrich. There is a greater
sense of urgency this season
because of the new NCAA early
signing period that runs Dec.
20-22.
Taggart compiled a recruiting
class ranked No. 1 in the country
by 247Sports.com, but after the
coach’s departure, Oregon has
already lost some players who
committed to the program. Because
of that, the next coach will have to
be hired quickly to keep as many
commitments as possible.
Some candidates that might
have intrigued Mullens are off
the market, including former UO
offensive coordinator Scott Frost,
who was hired by Nebraska on
Saturday after he took Central
Florida from winless to undefeated
in two seasons.
TCU’s Gary Patterson has
been rumored to be on Oregon’s
radar during each of the past two
coaching searches because of his
friendship with UO boosters Phil
See DUCKS/3B
AP Photo/Chris Pietsch, File
In this Nov. 18 fi le photo, former Oregon head coach Willie Taggart,
center, greets his players during warmups before a game against
Arizona in Eugene. Taggart accepted the head coaching position at
Florida State on Tuesday after just one season in Eugene.
The National Finals Rodeo
week in Las Vegas will have a
bit of local fl air added into it this
year.
Hermiston barrel racer Alyson
Terry is one of 120 cowgirls that
earned a spot
to compete at
the KK Run for
Vegas/JrNFR
Barrel
Race,
Dec.
12-16,
held in conjunc-
tion with the
main event, the
Alyson Terry
NFR. All 120
cowgirls
are
aged 16-and-under from all parts
of the United States, Mexico and
Australia and will be competing
for more than $130,000 in prizes
on top of a chance to qualify for
The American Semifi nals in Forth
Worth, Texas in February.
The top 20 cowgirls with the
fastest times on two runs will
advance to the championship
round on Dec. 16. Terry, 12, will
be competing at 9 a.m. on Dec.
13 and then again at 10:45 a.m.
on Dec. 15, riding her mare IMA
Biankus Babe.
“This is the culmination of a
lot of hard work by these kids,
and they have all earned the right
to compete in Las Vegas,” said
Kelly Kaminski, event organizer
and a two-time world champion
barrel racer said in a press release.
Terry qualifi ed for the JrNFR
by competing in a KK Run For
Vegas American Qualifi er compe-
tition back in September in Moses
Lake, Washington, where she
made it into one of the necessary
top fi ve spots. It was the fi rst time
that Terry had entered one of the
competitions and it was the fi nal
qualifi er of the season.
“I am still in shock and must
pinch myself every now ad then
to realize just how fortunate I
am to have an opportunity to
participate in the JR NFR,” Terry
said in a statement. “I feel very
luck to have such a great horse
and support from my parents and
friends.”
Prep Football
Pendleton native to play in All-American Bowl
Draco Bynum one of
100 to earn the honor
East Oregonian
Each January, 100 of the top
high school football seniors get
the chance to play in the presti-
gious U.S. Army All-American
Bowl, played at the Alamo
dome in San Antonio, Texas.
This coming January, there
will be a Umatilla County
native among the exclusive
group. Draco Bynum was
selected to play in the game
earlier in the year and received
his game jersey at a ceremony
on Wednesday at Wilsonville
High School, part of the Army
All-American Selection Tour
Presented by American Family
Insurance. Bynum was born
and raised in Pendleton by his
parents Rob and Sue Bynum
until prior to his freshman
year in 2014, when the family
moved to Wilsonville.
In his four years playing
for the Wilsonville Wildcats
football program, Bynum has
developed into one of the top
defensive linemen recruits in
the nation. He is a four-star
prospect according to the
national recruiting sites 247
Sports and Rivals, ranking No.
15 among all strongside defen-
sive ends and No. 7 overall in
the state of Oregon. Bynum
verbally committed to the
University of Washington on
April 22, choosing the Huskies
from more than 15 Division I
offers including schools such
as Nebraska, Oregon, UCLA
and USC.
Bynum is one of four Oregon
prep stars that were selected
for the game, joining South
Medford wide receiver Chase
Cota, Crescent Valley fi ve-star
athlete Talanoa Hufanga, and
Jesuit four-star running back
and Washington commit Trey
Lowe.
Bynum, standing six-feet,
fi ve-inches tall, fi nished his
four-year career with the Wild-
cats with 152 total tackles, 27
tackles-for-loss and 15 sacks.
His best year came as a junior,
where he had 82 tackles, 19
tackles-for-loss and 10 sacks
as he burst onto the national
recruiting scene.
As a senior, Bynum often
faced doubleteam blocks from
the opponents, which limited
him to just 41 total tackles
but he still helped his team to
a 10-2 record and a trip to the
state semifi nal. In the semifi nal
loss to Hermiston, Bynum was
the team’s top tackler with nine
total.
In an email to the East
Oregonian on Wednesday,
Draco and his family wanted
to mention all of Draco’s
coaches from his youth days
in Pendleton that helped shape
his path to becoming a prep
star, including Jason Villers,
Jim Malcom, Mark Kirsch,
Matt Liscom, Rick Keilm, Jon
Cortazar, Devin Correa, Mitch
Sanders, Randy Crawford,
John Summerfi eld, Michael
Blanc, Aaron Schmidt and
Coach Reeser.
The 2018 All-American
Bowl will be broadcast nation-
ally on Jan. 6 NBC at 10 a.m.
Photo contributed by Rob Bynum
Wilsonville High senior and Pendleton native
Draco Bynum smiles after receiving his U.S.
Army All-American Bowl jersey on Wednesday.
Sports shorts
Mariners, Angels trade for bonus
pool money in race for Otani
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Seattle Mariners
and Los Angeles Angels each have acquired $1
million in international bonus pool
money from the Minnesota Twins,
aiding their pursuit of Japanese
outfi elder and pitcher Shohei Ohtani.
The teams announced the deals
Wednesday night. Seattle sent minor
league catcher David Banuelos to Minnesota,
while the Angels traded minor league outfi elder
Jacob Pearson to the Twins.
Seattle can now offer Ohtani $2,557,500 and
Los Angeles can spend $2,315,000. The Texas
Rangers have the most slot money available with
$3,535,000. Seattle, Los Angeles and Texas are
among seven teams in the running for Ohtani.
Banuelos was a fi fth-round draft pick this year
from Long Beach State. He is considered a strong
fi elder and was a fi nalist for the Johnny Bench
Award as one of the nation’s top amateur catchers.
“I play a lot of NBA
2K. It’s the most realistic
basketball game you
could ever play. I mix
and match a lot of
lineup changes and
things of that nature
to see how we can be
really good.“
— LeBron James
The Cleveland Cavalier said
of awaiting the return of all-
star point guard Isaiah Thom-
as. Thomas played 4-on-4 on
Wednesday, which is another
step closer to returning to the
court after a severe hip injury.
BMCC men top Multnomah JV
PENDLETON — The Blue Mountain
men’s basketball team snapped a two-game
losing streak with a 89-83 victory over
Multnomah JV on Wednesday
night at McRae Activity Center.
Trey Wolfman had a
game-high 27 points for the
Timberwolves (2-3), making
9-of-13 shots and going a perfect
8-of-8 from the free thow line.
Dedi Seme added 22 points
and six rebounds Jalil Massey had 14 and
Anthony Landeros scored nine points in a
team-high 31 minutes of playing time.
The Timberwolves shot an effi cient 47
percent in the game and scored 16 points off of
22 Multnomah turnovers.
Blue Mountain next plays on Dec. 28-30
at the North Idaho College New Year’s
Tournament.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1991 — AJ Kitt becomes
the fi rst American in seven
years to win a men’s World
Cup race, taking the fi rst
downhill of the season In Val
D’Isere, France.
2008 — The Arizona Cardi-
nals clinch their fi rst division
title in 33 years by beating the
woeful St. Louis Rams 34-10.
The Cardinals earn their fi rst
playoff berth since 1998 and
fi rst divisional title since they
won the NFC East in 1975.
2014 — Robbie Keane
scores on a breakaway in the
111th minute, and Landon
Donovan wins his record
sixth MLS title in the LA
Galaxy’s 2-1 victory over the
New England Revolution.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com