SPORTS
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2018
BEAVERS AND DUCKS
BEGIN SEASON 2B
1B
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Adventure
of a lifetime
HERMISTON
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
slight lead after a touchdown and
a successful one-point conversion.
Echo’s lead didn’t last long, how-
On August 5, 2014, I walked
up to the brick building on
Southeast Byers Avenue that
houses the East Oregonian and
entered through the front dou-
ble glass doors, feeling nervous
and excited to
begin my first
day of my first
post-college
job as a sports
reporter.
At the end
of the night, I
walked back
Eric
to my room at
Singer
the
then-How-
Comment
ard
John-
son hotel and
sat on the old, lumpy mattress
while watching “SportsCenter”
on ESPN on an old 32-inch tube
television, wondering if I had
made a mistake in uprooting my
life to rural Oregon. I was more
than 2,000 miles away from
home with no family, no friends
and no fiancée by my side.
But now I know it was not a
mistake.
Over the past three years I
covered some of the best prep
athletes this state has to offer on
a regular basis. I had the oppor-
tunity to cover three state cham-
pionship winners, from Hep-
pner’s complete dominance
during the 2015 football season,
to Hermiston football’s historic
win its OSAA Farewell Tour
in 2017, to Pendleton continu-
ing its softball dynasty this past
spring. And I covered four more
championship games with Stan-
field’s football and boys basket-
ball team coming up just short
in 2016-17, and Pilot Rock soft-
ball and baseball making its
town proud this past spring.
Sometimes I had to leave my
comfort zone — and my com-
fortable clothes — to cover and
attend rodeos for the first time.
And though I was not thrilled
about dressing up like a cow-
boy for a week of the Pendleton
Round-Up or the Farm-City Pro
Rodeo, I’ve actually come to
enjoy rodeos — mainly because
cowboys and cowgirls are some
of the most interesting people
you’ll ever meet, filled with
some of the best stories you’ll
ever hear.
I even was lucky enough to
have the opportunity to spend
an hour with College Football
Hall of Famer, Pro Football Hall
of Famer and one of the greatest
Dallas Cowboys to ever play,
Bob Lilly, which turned into a
story that became my favorite
of my tenure.
And outside of the job, mov-
ing to Oregon allowed me see
some of the most beautiful scen-
ery this country has to offer. I’m
still in awe of the Columbia
River Gorge and Mount Hood
every time I take trips to Port-
land. Wallowa Lake and the
town of Joseph quickly became
a favorite of mine, especially in
the summertime, when a dip in
the cool lake is quite refresh-
ing. I got an up-close look at
the giant Mount Rainier, and a
road trip in the summer of 2017
to Bend and Crater Lake taught
me a lot about the volcanic his-
tory of in the Northwest.
All of those experiences are
what made it so hard to decide
See ECHO/3B
See ADVENTURE/3B
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Hermiston’s Daniel Faaeteete rushes the ball up field through a hole in the Pasco defense in the Dawgs’ 45-0 win against the Bulldogs .
Welcome to the MCC
Hermiston thumps
Pasco 45-0 in its Mid-
Columbia Conference
debut at home
PREP FOOTBALL
By ANNIE FOWLER
Special to the East Oregonian
HERMISTON – The Hermis-
ton Bulldogs wasted no time in
announcing their presence in the
Mid-Columbia Conference.
Wyatt Noland ran for four
touchdowns and 255 yards, and
Cash Campbell had four quarter-
back sacks as Hermiston pounced
on Pasco 45-0 on Friday night at
Kennison Field.
“We wanted to come out with a
bang coming off a state champion-
ship,” Noland said. “We wanted to
show we still had it.”
While the scoreboard looked
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Hermiston quarterback Andrew James eyes Pasco’s Nathan Aguirre
(30) while rushing the ball up field on Friday in Hermiston.
mighty pretty, Hermiston (1-0)
coach David Faaeteete said there
still is much work to do.
“From a winning standpoint,
it’s good to get a win and get off
on the right foot in the WIAA,” he
Hermiston
Pasco
45
0
said. “We played in spurts, not like
I wanted. But those are all things
that can be fixed.”
Hermiston has a week to
sharpen its game. It plays at
defending Class 4A state champion
Richland next Friday.
Noland, who took last sea-
son off, showed no rust in the first
half, scoring twice as Hermiston
stormed out to a 21-0 lead at the
half. One of his touchdowns was
an 80-yard run right up the middle
See BULLDOGS/3B
Hornets sting Cougars in
six-man football debut
By BRETT KANE
East Oregonian
Friday night marked the first
six-man football played in Oregon
since 1948, and it made a heated
return.
Opening with a coin toss deliv-
ered by Kaye McAtee, who played
in Echo’s last six-man game in
1948, the reduced number of play-
ers on the field resulted in a fast-
paced match between the Echo
Cougars and Harper Hornets. The
Hornets emerged victorious with a
final score of 38-13.
Harper running back Corbin
Palmer started the night off strong,
rushing the ball 27 yards to the
14-yard line. Chris Williams com-
pleted the run and put his team on
the scoreboard first with 8:33 left
on the clock.
Echo quarterback Devan Craig
PREP FOOTBALL
Harper
Echo
38
13
and running back Mason Smith
shone bright on the field, making
several strong attempts to score
against Harper. Smith rushed for
21 yards, and Craig gained 30
yards in one play. He was also able
to run the ball 37 yards, nearly
scoring, but received a penalty for
stepping out of bounds.
Craig suffered a minor elbow
injury in the second quarter, sitting
out for several minutes to recu-
perate. Meanwhile, Smith scored
the Cougars’ first touchdown after
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Devan Craig (2) carries the ball during Friday’s game against the
Harper Hornets.
rushing for 21 yards and scoring on
the next play.
Palmer scored the Hornets’
next touchdown, only for Craig to
return to the field to give Echo a
Sports shorts
Serena wins easy over
Venus in U.S. Open rout
NEW YORK (AP) — Serena
Williams kept booming big shots
for winners, never allowing herself
to feel sorry for the overmatched
player on the other side.
So what if it happened to be her
big sister?
The Williams sisters, long ago
in careers that have spanned 20
years and 30 meetings as profes-
sionals, learned they had to view
each other only as opponents —
and in Serena’s eyes, Venus is the
best one she’s ever played.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
LA Rams, Aaron Donald agree to
record contract, $87 M guaranteed
LOS ANGELES — All-Pro defen-
sive tackle Aaron Donald agreed to
a massive new contract with the Los
Angeles Rams on Friday, ending his
second consecutive preseason holdout
as the highest-paid defensive player in
NFL history.
The Rams announced a new six-
year deal through 2024 for Donald, the
reigning NFL Defensive Player of the
Year.
ESPN and the NFL Network
reported the new deal is worth $135
million over six years, with a $40 mil-
lion signing bonus and $87 million
guaranteed. Donald is already under
contract this season for $6.89 million
in the final year of his rookie deal.
Donald was chosen for the Pro
Bowl after each of his four NFL sea-
sons. The 27-year-old Pitt product is
the centerpiece of the Rams’ defense.
1977 — Renee Richards, the
43-year-old transsexual who
fought for more than a year for the
right to play in the women’s sin-
gles of a major tennis champion-
ship, is beaten in the first round
by Virginia Wade, 6-1, 6-4. Tracy
Austin, at the age of 14 years, eight
months, 20 days, becomes the
youngest player to play in the U.S.
Open, defeating Heidi Eisterleh-
ner, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, in the first round.
Austin’s mark is broken in 1979 by
14-year-old Kathy Horvath.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com