SPORTS
THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018
1B
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS
PREP FOOTBALL
Hermiston
Bulldogs
(0-0)
Pasco
Bulldogs
(0-0)
Friday, 7 p.m., at Kennison
Field, Hermiston
Battle
of the
Bulldogs
Hermiston ready for WIAA
debut with Pasco
By BRETT KANE
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Official Tom Humphreys throws the coin during the opening coin toss of Hermiston’s 42-15 win against Pendleton on
October 27, 2017, in Pendleton. The Blue Mountain Football Officials Association has an extreme shortage of officials this
season, forcing games to be moved to different days while some games may get canceled.
Officials stretched thin
OSAA facing extreme
shortage of football officials,
forcing schedule changes
By BRETT KANE
East Oregonian
T
he number of officials working
OSAA football games in Eastern
Oregon this year is critically low,
so much so that games are having to be
rescheduled to days other than the stan-
dard Friday night to accommodate for the
smaller staff. And some might face can-
cellation altogether.
“It’s at a point where I have enough to
cover two of the eight Friday night games,
and for the other six, I have to ask teams to
move their games or ask the OSAA if they
have any extra officials to send to us,” said
Blue Mountain Football Officials Associ-
ation commissioner Michael Lieuallen.
So far this year, several schools have
had to move Friday night games to Thurs-
day nights just to adjust for the shortage in
the number of officials. Pendleton, Irrigon
and Stanfield did so this week, as Pendle-
ton’s season opener with La Grande and
Irrigon’s opener against Stanfield were
both moved to Thursday.
A specific number is needed for each
game. Football requires at least five offi-
cials in Class 6A-4A, and four for smaller
classes. Baseball, softball and basketball
require two. If that number can’t be met,
the game won’t happen.
“If La Grande and Baker were both
home on the same day, I couldn’t cover
anything else,” said Northeast Oregon
Basketball commissioner Dave Comfort
in a press release. “At some point, this will
affect the ability of schools to even sched-
ule games.”
Lieuallen says this shortage isn’t just
a statewide issue – where officials par-
ticipation is down 18 percent over nine
years, says Oregon Athletic Officials
Association executive director Jack Fol-
liard — it’s nationwide. According to a
study conducted by the National Associa-
tion of Sports Officials, over 70 percent of
new referees and officiates quit their jobs
within their first three years.
“Younger people don’t like the idea of
coaches and fans yelling at them. It comes
down to sportsmanship,” he said. “They
can’t take the abuse.”
When a new official signs on for the
season, they agree to a three-month deal.
They then receive training and are paid
$40-$60 per game, depending on the level.
Lieuallen says the Blue Mountain
Football Officials Association — which
See OFFICIALS/2B
“Younger people don’t like the idea of coaches and fans yelling at them ...”
When the Friday night lights shine
over Kennison Field, they’ll usher Herm-
iston into a new era with brand-new
opponents and brand-new stakes.
Friday marks Hermiston’s first game as
a member of the WIAA and its Mid-Co-
lumbia Conference, when the defending
OSAA Class 5A state champions host
Pasco High School for a Bulldog versus
Bulldog showdown at 7 p.m.
“The guys are excited to play, and the
coaches are anxious,” said Hermiston
football coach David Faaeteete follow-
ing Wednesday’s practice. “We want to
kick off the kids’ senior year with a good
start.”
There’s a lot at stake here, and it’s
not just to prove which school are the
stronger Bulldogs. Even though Pasco
is coming off of a 0-10 record last sea-
son, the school has three state champi-
onships to its name and a first-year head
coach in alumnus Leon Wright-Jackson
that should have the team more competi-
tive. And Hermiston knows it needs to be
ready for a fight.
“Pasco is full of energy. I know the
coach very well, and their kids are excited
about the game of football,” Faaeteete
said. “They’re a tradition-rich school and
one of the teams to beat this year.”
Faaeteete says Hermiston has a lot to
prove going into this season, being the
— Michael Lieuallen, Blue Mountain Football Association commissioner
See BULLDOGS/2B
MARINERS BASEBALL
Lucchesi, long balls carry Padres to win over Mariners
It’s Seattle’s fifth
loss in seven games
MLB
By BERNIE WILSON
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — Hunter
Renfroe homered and drove
in four runs, Manuel Margot
had a homer among his three
hits and prized rookie Luis
Urias had his first three hits
for the San Diego Padres, who
beat the Seattle Mariners 8-3
Wednesday for a two-game
sweep.
The offensive outburst
made a winner of rookie left-
hander Joey Lucchesi (7-7),
who stayed in the game after
needing a few minutes to
recover from Ryon Healy’s
comebacker that glanced off
his glove and then his groin.
Lucchesi fielded the ball and
Padres
Mariners
8
3
threw to first for the out, and
then went down in a heap. He
was tended to by the training
staff for a few minutes, threw
a few warmup pitches and
remained in, striking out the
next two batters.
The big southpaw held
the Mariners to one run and
six hits in a career-high 6⅔
innings, matched his career-
best with nine strikeouts and
walked two.
The teams, deemed natu-
ral rivals by MLB, meet again
in Seattle on Sept. 11-12.
The Mariners lost their third
straight and for the fifth time
in seven games.
“Disappointment might be
an understatement,” Seattle
manager Scott Servais said.
“We just didn’t play good
baseball here at all. We didn’t
swing the bat particularly
well. Obviously we strug-
gled on the mound today early
in the ball game. It is very
frustrating.”
Eric Hosmer also had
three hits for the Padres, who
worked over Mariners starter
Erasmo Ramirez (1-3) for
seven runs and nine hits in
three innings.
San Diego took a 7-1 lead
after three innings.
Hosmer had an RBI single
and Renfroe a sacrifice fly in
the first. Margot homered into
the second deck in left field
with one out in the second, his
seventh, and Renfroe drove a
three-run home run into the
balcony on the third level of
the brick warehouse in the left-
field corner. Urias was aboard
on his first big league hit, a
single to right, and Hosmer on
a double to the left-center gap.
San Diego loaded the bases on
three straight singles and Luc-
chesi hit a sac fly for his first
career RBI.
Urias, promoted Tuesday
from Triple-A El Paso, hit a
drive to right leading off the
fourth that was initially ruled a
home run. But the umps hud-
dled and then went to video
review, and it was ruled a foul
ball. Urias then grounded out.
Urias doubled leading off the
sixth and singled in the eighth
to finish 3 for 5. He went 0
for 3 with a walk in his debut
Tuesday night.
Margot’s third hit was an
AP Photo/Gregory Bull
San Diego Padres’ Hunter Renfroe, right, celebrates
with teammate Austin Hedges (18) after hitting a
three-run home run in the third inning.
RBI double in the fifth.
Robinson Cano and Nel-
son Cruz hit RBI singles and
Kyle Seager had a run-scoring
double for the Mariners.
UP NEXT
Mariners: LHP Wade LeB-
lanc (7-3, 3.92) is scheduled
to start the opener of a four-
game series Thursday night at
Oakland, which is second in
the AL West behind Houston.
The Mariners remain in third
place.
Sports shorts
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
U.S. great Clint Dempsey retires from soccer
SEATTLE (AP) — Former
U.S. national team captain and
Seattle Sounders striker Dempsey
announced Wednesday that he’s
retiring at age 35 after 15 years of
playing professionally, effective
immediately. He was mostly a sub
with the Sounders this summer,
and that, combined with age and
injury, prompted him to decide
now was the time to walk away
even with two months left in the
MLS regular season.
Dempsey is tied with Landon
Donovan as the greatest U.S. goal
scorer, scoring 57 international
goals in 141 appearances. He cap-
tained the U.S. in the 2014 World
Cup in Brazil when the Americans
reached the knockout stage before
losing to Belgium in the round of
16.
Dempsey had a decorated
career overseas in England, most
notably with Fulham, before
returning to MLS in 2013 with
the Sounders. He
missed the second
half of the 2016 sea-
son with a heart con-
dition that put his
career in jeopardy, but returned to
Seattle the next season after being
cleared by doctors. Dempsey was
the MLS Comeback Player of the
Year last season when he again
became the leading scorer for the
Sounders and reclaimed a place
on the U.S. national team.
1937 — Joe Louis wins a
15-round unanimous decision over
Tommy Farr at Yankee Stadium
in the first defense of his heavy-
weight title.
1981 — Bill Shoemaker
becomes the first jockey to win a
$1 million race when he rode John
Henry to a nose victory over The
Bart.
2001 — Ashley Martin becomes
the first woman to play in a Divi-
sion I football game, kicking three
extra points without a miss.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com