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Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Thursday, January 18, 2018 NFL Aggressive Eagles set to face a top-ranked defense By ROB MAADDI Associated Press PHILADELPHIA — Nick Foles threw a deep pass into the wind on the first play from scrimmage against the Falcons, LeGarrette Blount scored the only touchdown on fourth down and wide receiver Nelson Agholor ran 21 yards on a new play. The Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) are aggressive no matter what. They’ll need that approach when they face the Minnesota Vikings (14-3) and their top-ranked defense in the NFC championship game on Sunday. NFC Championship Minnesota Philadelphia Vikings Eagles (14-3) (13-3) • Sunday, 3:40 p.m. (FOX) • at Lincoln Financial Field “You’d probably call me unorthodox with some of the decisions I’ve made on fourth downs and going for it, 2-point conversions, things like that,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said Wednesday. “Sometimes you just don’t do the norm, you just don’t do what everybody expects you to do and sometimes that can help you. I’m calculated by it, but at the same time, I’m going to make sure that I’m putting our guys in a good position.” Foles underthrew the long pass to Torrey Smith to start the divisional playoff game, but a pass interference call gave the Eagles a 42-yard gain to the Falcons 25. Jay Ajayi fumbled on the next play or perhaps the game wouldn’t have come down to a defensive stand at the end to preserve Philadelphia’s 15-10 win. “Take a shot,” Pederson said explaining his decision to throw long into a stiff wind. On the touchdown drive early in the second quarter, Philadelphia faced third-and-3 from the Falcons 24. Foles faked a pitch to running back Corey Clement and handed off to Agholor on an inside counter with Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson pulling out and leading the way. Agholor took it to the Falcons 3. It was the first time Pederson called the play this season. “Coach has just had a knack of seemingly calling those at the right time,” offensive coordinator Frank Reich said. “It comes up different every week. We really work well as a staff together in game planning. Sometimes we think we like something and we go out on the practice field and it doesn’t quite look like it’s ready. So, we have to keep it in the crock pot for another week or start over with a new recipe.” Three plays later, tight end Trey Burton lined up at fullback and Blount followed his block into the end zone for a 1-yard TD run. Pederson didn’t think twice about going for it instead of kicking a game-tying field goal. “The ball was just inside the 1-yard line, and we had confidence to go for it in that situation,” Pederson said. “We were real close and the guys did a great job.” During the regular season, only Green Bay (28) went for it on fourth down more than Philadelphia (26). The Eagles converted 17 times for 65.4 percent, third- best behind New Orleans (80 percent on 12 for 15) and Jacksonville (76.9 percent on 10 for 13). Minnesota is 1 for 7 on fourth down, fewest attempts in the league. “You always want to be aggressive,” Foles said. “I love Coach’s calls.” Jaguars’ Ngakoue trying to turn heads on AFC’s biggest stage By MARK LONG Associated Press JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Yannick Ngakoue has a knack for the strip-sack, an innate ability to knock balls out of the hands of quarter- backs. The Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end has 11 forced fumbles in two seasons, including a momen- tum-turning one in a victory at Pittsburgh last week. Ngakoue led the NFL with six forced fumbles during the regular season to go along with 12 sacks, and could pose significant problems for the New England Patriots (14-3) in the AFC championship game Sunday. If so, he might even get the recognition he feels he deserves. A third-round draft pick from Maryland in 2016, Ngakoue has been some- what overshadowed with the Jaguars (12-6). Those perceived slights keep him motivated and define him like no one else in Jackson- AFC Championship Jacksonville Jaguars (10-6) N. England Patriots (13-3) • Sunday, 12:05 p.m. (CBS) • at Gillette Stadium ville’s locker room. “Those scouts who passed me up and didn’t think I was good enough probably feel stupid right now,” Ngakoue said Wednesday. The Jaguars feel fortunate to have him. Although cornerback Jalen Ramsey , defensive end Calais Campbell and linebacker Telvin Smith have garnered more accolades than Ngakoue, it would be easy to argue that the pass-rushing specialist is as important to one of the league’s top defenses as anyone. Ngakoue has been involved in five of the eight touchdowns scored by Jacksonville’s defense this season. Four of his strip- AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith In this Sept. 10, 2017, file photo, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue (91) celebrates after he recovered a fumble by Houston Texans quarterback De- shaun Watson. sacks went for touchdowns, and he recovered a fumble in Week 17 at Tennessee that he returned 67 yards for a score. Overlooked? Not by his coaches and teammates. “I tell him all the time, ‘When you start getting it like you’re going to get very soon, just make sure you stay focused cause that is a motivating factor and it should be,’” Campbell said. “Everybody wants to get your accolade and get your respect for how hard you work, but at the end of the day, his biggest motivation is providing for his family and his mother and really just trying to be the best. “He wants to hopefully have a gold jacket one day. He has the potential to do so, too.” Ngakoue has 20 career sacks, the most by anyone in franchise history during a two-year span. But his reputation around the league seems to be more as a hot-headed player than a can’t-block edge rusher. That was evident in the wild-card game against Buffalo, when Bills guard Richie Incognito seemingly targeted Ngakoue with trash talk that the defensive end said went over the line and became “weak racist slurs.” “He is a very emotional player,” Jaguars coach Doug Marrone said. “I think people can feed off of that. He has had a very good year. He is still the same type of guy that plays with a chip on his shoulder. I think we all know that when we see him. He plays extremely hard. He goes 100 mph every single play.” Ngakoue’s approach wasn’t ideal as rookie. He often missed tackles and ran past the ball in an attempt to get to quarterbacks. But he’s been more sound in his second season, although his 30 tackles is what probably kept him getting more Pro Bowl attention. He was a third alternate, which left him feeling snubbed. “I want to be the best at my position, period,” Ngakoue said. “When you talk about guys like Von Miller, you talk about guys like Khalil Mack, you’ve got to put my name in there. “I don’t feel like (I get enough credit). When you talk about our defense, when you talk about edge rushers, I should be one of the guys being talked about. There’s not too many guys who get the ball out and get strip- sacks. Why am I not being talked about with the other guys?” Another big game on the AFC’s biggest stage could change that. “I want to wake guys up and for people to see,” he said. Hilinski: Appeared in eight games, starting the Holiday Bowl this season Continued from 1B Numbers show why mental health has become such a serious issue on college campuses. According to National Data on Campus Suicide and Depression, one out of every 12 college students makes a suicide plan and 7.5 students per 100,000 kill themselves. Hainline said the stats are similar for athletes, some- thing Selmanovic found in her own research. The former swimmer and current pre-med student at the University of Cincinnati found 35 college athletes killed themselves from 2009- 15, which represents 7.3 percent of all deaths among college athletes during that time. Twenty-nine of the deaths were male athletes and 13 played football. Selmanovic revised her prepared remarks after hearing about Hilinski. But the solutions remain the same. “The lack of education that we believe exists right now will make it worse if it’s not solved,” she said. “Educating staff and coaches is just as important because they are the ones who are going to know when performance is slipping. And confidentiality is key. “Getting athletes to know the resources are out there, that’s the biggest thing,” she added. While some athletes may avoid asking for help because of worries about what coaches and peers think or whether they may lose a scholarship, the bigger problem might be the long-held stigma attached to mental illnesses. Former Clemson football player Jay Guillermo under- stands. The starting center on college football’s national runner-up in 2015 and the 2016 national champions stepped away from football during his sophomore year so he could be treated for depression. At his worst, he said he contemplated suicide but never attempted it. “The struggle, at least I know for myself, was more admitting that I needed to talk to someone,” he said in a tele- phone interview, noting the university and the coaching staff provided the support he needed. “Especially a male athlete, and a football player in such a physical rough sport, you never want to be the guy that’s having to admit that something’s wrong. You get that mindset of always pushing through. Nothing’s wrong. I’m good to go. I think that’s the toughest part. At least for me. Not that there wasn’t any resources there, but reaching out to those resources.” Hainline said college students are more vulnerable because a range of illnesses peak during the ages of 18 to 22. The stress of performing in school and on the field only ratchets up the pressure and if a student isn’t sleeping well, as often happens in college, studies show the suicide risk can double or triple even without a mental illness. Hainline believes schools shouldn’t just have a plan, they need to practice the plan and be prepared to help players before dealing with tragedy. “What’s it going to take? Is it going to take having a licensed sports psycholo- gist on campus? Maybe,” Selmanovic said. “But we have to hit the mark or sadly more (athletes) will end up like Tyler. I’m not sure about you, but I can’t take another Tyler.” AP Photo/Young Kwak In this Sept. 9, 2017, file photo, Washington State quar- terback Tyler Hilinski poses for a photo after an NCAA college football game against Boise State in Pullman, Wash. Hilinski has died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. SCOREBOARD Local slate PREP BOYS BASKETBALL Thursday Heppner at Culver, 4:30 p.m. Pendleton at Hood River, 7 p.m. Friday The Dalles at Hermiston, 7 p.m. Pilot Rock at Weston-McEwen, 7 p.m. Joseph at Nixyaawii, 7 p.m. Nyssa at Umatilla, 7:30 p.m. Vale at Riverside, 7:30 p.m. Burns at Irrigon, 7:30 p.m. Ione at Condon/Wheeler, 7:30 p.m. Arlington at Mitchell/Spray, 7:30 p.m. Echo at Cove, 7:30 p.m. Pine Eagle at Helix, 7:30 p.m. Saturday Vale at Umatilla, 3 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Stanfield, 4 p.m. Heppner at Pilot Rock, 4 p.m. Ontario at Mac-Hi, 4:30 p.m. Nyssa at Irrigon, 4:30 p.m. Burns at Riverside, 4:30 p.m. Nixyaawii at Wallowa, 5 p.m. Helix at Echo, 5 p.m. Condon/Wheeler at Horizon Christian, 5:30 p.m. Arlington at South Wasco, 5:30 p.m. Sherman at Ione, 5:30 p.m. PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL Thursday Heppner at Culver, 6 p.m. Hood River at Pendleton, 7 p.m. Friday Pine Eagle at Helix, 5 p.m. Burns at Irrigon, 6 p.m. Vale at Riverside, 6 p.m. Nyssa at Umatilla, 6 p.m. Ione at Condon/Wheeler, 6 p.m. Arlington at Mitchell/Spray, 6 p.m. Joseph at Nixyaawii, 6 p.m. Echo at Cove, 6 p.m. Hermiston at The Dalles, 7 p.m. Pilot Rock at Weston-McEwen, 7:30 p.m. Saturday Nyssa at Irrigon, 3 p.m. Burns at Riverside, 3 p.m. Ontario at Mac-Hi, 3 p.m. Nixyaawii at Wallowa, 3 p.m. Helix at Echo, 3:30 p.m. Sherman at Ione, 4 p.m. Condon/Wheeler at Horizon Christian, 4 p.m. Arlington at South Wasco, 4 p.m. Vale at Umatilla, 4:30 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Stanfield, 5:30 p.m. Heppner at Pilot Rock, 5:30 p.m. PREP WRESTLING Thursday Mac-Hi at Baker, 5 p.m. Friday Heppner at Grant Union Tournament Echo at Padilla Invite (ID) Hermiston at Liberty Invitational Saturday Mac-Hi, Riverside, Irrigon, Echo at Hep- pner Tournament Hermiston at Liberty Invitational Pendleton at Wilsonville Invite PREP SWIMMING Saturday Pendleton, Hermiston at Hood River Valley COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL Friday EOU at Corban, 7:30 p.m. Saturday BMCC at Walla Walla CC, 4 p.m. EOU at Northwest Christian, 7:30 p.m. COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Friday EOU at Corban, 5:30 p.m. Saturday BMCC at Walla Walla CC, 2 p.m. EOU at Northwest Christian, 5:30 p.m. COLLEGE WRESTLING Saturday EOU vs. Warner Pacific/Embry-Riddle (AZ) (at Portland), 1 p.m. Basketball NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Boston 34 11 Toronto 30 13 Philadelphia 20 20 New York 20 25 Brooklyn 16 29 Southeast Division Pct GB .756 — .698 3 .500 11½ .444 14 .356 18 Miami Washington Charlotte Atlanta Orlando Central Division W 26 25 18 13 13 L 18 20 25 31 31 Pct GB .591 — .556 1½ .419 7½ .295 13 .295 13 W L Pct GB Cleveland 26 17 .605 — Indiana 24 20 .545 2½ Milwaukee 23 21 .523 3½ Detroit 22 21 .512 4 Chicago 17 28 .378 10 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pct GB Houston 30 12 .714 — San Antonio 30 16 .652 2 New Orleans 23 21 .523 8 Memphis 15 28 .349 15½ Dallas 15 30 .333 16½ Northwest Division W L Pct GB Minnesota 29 17 .630 — Oklahoma City 25 20 .556 3½ Portland 23 21 .523 5 Denver 23 22 .511 5 Utah 18 26 .409 10 Pacific Division W L Pct GB Golden State 37 9 .804 — L.A. Clippers 23 21 .523 13 Phoenix 16 29 .356 20½ L.A. Lakers 15 29 .341 21 Sacramento 13 31 .295 23 ——— Wednesday’s Games Charlotte 133, Washington 109 Atlanta 94, New Orleans 93 San Antonio 100, Brooklyn 95 Toronto 96, Detroit 91 Golden State 119, Chicago 112 Memphis 105, New York 99 Miami 106, Milwaukee 101 Oklahoma City 114, L.A. Lakers 90 Utah 120, Sacramento 105 L.A. Clippers 109, Denver 104 Thursday’s Games Orlando at Cleveland, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at Boston, 4 p.m. Minnesota at Houston, 6:30 p.m. Indiana at Portland, 7 p.m. NCAA Men’s Basketball Top 25 Schedule Wednesday No. 1 Villanova 88, Georgetown 56 Alabama 76, No. 17 Auburn 71 SMU 83, No. 7 Wichita State 78 Texas 67, No. 8 Texas Tech 58 Creighton 80, No. 19 Seton Hall 63 No. 11 Xavier 88, St. John’s 82 No. 22 OSU 71, Northwestern 65 Missouri 59, No. 21 Tennessee 55 No. 14 Arizona 79, Cal 58 No. 24 TCU 96, Iowa State 73 No. 16 Arizona State at Stanford, late finish Thursday No. 2 UVA at Georgia Tech, 5 p.m. (ACCNE) No. 23 Michigan at Nebraska, 6 p.m. (BTN) Saint Mary’s at No. 13 Gonzaga, 6 p.m. (ESPN) Pac-12 Schedule Wednesday No. 14 Arizona 79, Cal 58 No. 16 Arizona St at Stanford, late finish Thursday Washington State at Colorado, 5 p.m. (PAC12) USC at Oregon, 6 p.m. (ESPN2) Washington at Utah, 7 p.m. (PAC12) UCLA at Oregon State, 8 p.m. (FS1) NCAA Women’s Basketball Top 25 Schedule Wednesday No. 12 Oklahoma State 79, No. 17 West Virginia 73 No. 4 Baylor 79, Iowa State 50 Thursday No. 6 Tennessee at No. 5 Notre Dame, 4 p.m. (ESPN) No. 25 Rutgers at Penn State, 4 p.m. No. 2 Louisville at Pitt, 4 p.m. (ACCNE) No. 15 Duke at Virginia Tech, 4 p.m. (ACCNE) No. 12 FSU at Wake Forest, 4 p.m. (ACCNE) Tulsa at No. 1 UConn, 4 p.m. (ESPN3) No. 23 Green Bay at Detroit Mercy, 4 p.m. (ESPN3) No. 16 Texas A&M at Alabama, 5 p.m. (SECN+) No. 10 South Carolina at Vanderbilt, 5 p.m. (SECN+) No. 11 Missouri at Ole Miss, 6 p.m. (SECN) Pac-12 Schedule Wednesday Washington St. 78, Washington 75, OT Thursday No games scheduled. Hockey NHL Wednesday’s Games Boston 4, Montreal 1 Anaheim 5, Pittsburgh 3 Thursday’s Games Washington at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Dallas at Columbus, 4 p.m. Toronto at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Boston at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. St. Louis at Ottawa, 4:30 p.m. Buffalo at N.Y. Rangers, 4:30 p.m. Vegas at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. Arizona at Nashville, 5 p.m. San Jose at Colorado, 6 p.m. Pittsburgh at Los Angeles, 7 p.m. Football NFL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS Sunday Jacksonville at New England, Noon (CBS) Minnesota at Philadelphia, 3:40 p.m. (FOX) Golf PGA TOUR CareerBuilder Challenge Site: La Quinta, Calif. Courses: Stadium Course at PGA West (Yardage: 7,113. Par: 72), Nicklaus Tourna- ment Course at PGA West (Yardage: 7,159. Par: 72), La Quinta CC (Yardage: 7,060. Par: 72) Purse: $5.9 million. Winner’s share: $1,062,000. Television: Thursday-Sunday, 3-7 p.m. (Golf Channel). Ski Report Oregon Anthony Lakes Tue Reopen 1/18 variable machine groomed 30-30 base 4 of 21 trails 3 of 3 lifts, 19% open, Thu-Fri: 9a-4p Sat/ Sun: 9a-4p Open Thu-Mon Mt Bachelor Wed 5:23 am packed powder machine groomed 41-61 base 30 of 101 trails 1800 acres, 7 of 11 lifts, 30% open, Mon-Fri: 9a-4p Sat/Sun: 9a-4p Mt Hood Meadows Wed 5:11 am variable machine groomed 39-64 base 50 of 87 trails 5 of 12 lifts, 57% open, Mon/Tue: 9a- 4p Wed-Fri: 9a-9p Sat/Sun: 9a-9p Mt Hood Skibowl Wed Reopen 1/18 machine groomed 8-13 base 7 of 57 trails 4 of 8 lifts, 12% open, Mon-Thu: 9a-10p Fri: 9a-11p Sat: 9a-11p Sun: 9a-10p Timberline Wed 6:18 am machine groomed 48-48 base 5 of 9 lifts, 56% open Mon-Thu: 9a-4p Fri: 9a-9p Sat: 9a-9p Sun: 9a-4p Washington 49 Degrees North Tue Reopen 1/19 packed powder machine groomed 38-70 base 70 of 82 trails 3 of 7 lifts, 85% open, Mon/Tue, Fri: 9a-3:30p Sat/Sun: 9a-3:30p Open Fri-Tue Badger Mountain Mon Reopen 1/20 powder machine groomed 10-14 base 3 of 5 trails 3 miles, 35 acres, 3 of 3 lifts, 60% open, Sat/Sun: 11a-4p Open Sat/Sun Bluewood Mon Reopen 1/18 hard packed machine groomed 26-50 base Thu-Sun: 9a-4p Sat/Sun: 9a-4p Open Thu-Sun Crystal Mountain Wed 9:48 am hard packed machine groomed 34-68 base 20 of 57 trails 1600 acres, 4 of 11 lifts, 50% open, Mon-Thu: 9a-4p Fri 9a-6p Sat: 9a-8p Sun: 9a-6p Loup Loup Ski Bowl Wed Reopen 1/19 machine groomed 20-20 base 10 of 10 trails, 3 of 3 lifts, 100% open, Wed, Fri: 9a-3:45p Sat/Sun: 9a-3:45p Open Wed, Fri-Sun Mission Ridge Tue Reopen 1/18 machine groomed 28-32 base 43 of 41 trails 6 of 6 lifts, 127% open, Mon, Thu-Fri: 9a-4p Sat: 9a-8p Sun: 9a-4p Open Thu-Mon Mt Baker Wed 4:55 am 3 new machine groomed 93-115 base 38 of 38 trails 1000 acres, 5 of 8 lifts, 100% open, Mon-Fri: 9a-3:30p Sat/ Sun: 9a-3:30p Mt Spokane Wed 5:55 am machine groomed 45-55 base 50 of 51 trails 4 of 5 lifts, 98% open, Wed-Fri: 9a-9:30p Sat: 9a-9:30p Sun: 9a-4p Open Wed-Sun Stevens Pass Wed 7:36 am 1- 3 new ma- chine groomed 59-86 base 52 of 52 trails 9 of 10 lifts, 100% open, Mon/Tue: 9a-4p Wed-Fri 9a-10p Sat/Sun: 9a-10p