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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2018)
SPORTS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS Hermiston to host OSAA semifinal games on Saturday By BRETT KANE East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton running back Shawn Yeager hits a gap in the Crescent Valley defense in the Bucks’ 27-14 win against the Raiders on Nov. 2 BUCKS ON A MISSION Pendleton ready for semifinal showdown with Thurston By ANNIE FOWLER East Oregonian T he Pendleton football team is one win away from play- ing in its first state champi- onship game. To get there, the Bucks (10-1) will have to get past Thurston (8-3), which knocked off Churchill 49-48 last Friday. “It’s a special time right now,” Pendleton coach Erik Davis said. “I’m excited for the kids and I’m excited for Pendleton. They are a good football team. I truly believe it will be a dog fight.” Pendleton and Thurston will play at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Hills- boro Stadium. The winner will play in the Class 5A title game against the winner of the Wilsonville-West Albany game. The last time the Bucks played in the semifinals was 1977 — a 13-7 loss to Medford. “They are excited about the opportunity, but they have been laser-focused,” Davis said of his team. “Let’s hope the outcome is different than last chewed up a few 5A SEMIFINALS time.” yards of his own. The Bucks got “Our run game good news earlier has gotten us this week when where we are,” quarterback Trent Davis said. “We Sorey’s knee injury are going to ride was diagnosed as Pendleton those guys and see Thurston a bone bruise. In Buckaroos what they can do. Colts addition, defensive (10-1, 6-0) There’s definitely a (8-3, 5-0) ends Beau Skinner sense of urgency in (ankle) and Ruger the pass game. We Saturday, 5:30 p.m., at Deming (shoulder) Hillsboro Stadium, Hillsboro have athletes out have been cleared there and we need to play. to get them the ball. If we can estab- Pendleton also will get reinforce- lish our run game, it will open up ments on the offensive and defen- the pass.” sive lines as junior Chris Charpen- Like Pendleton, Thurston has tier was cleared after suffering a had a bit of a dry spell in the play- offs. The Colts’ last semifinal concussion a couple of weeks ago. “I expect to be full go on Satur- appearance was 2008. day,” Davis said. “Trent came out “This is special,” Thurston coach today and looked great. We have Justin Starck said. “As coaches, we had a good week of practice. Today have been around since the 2008 was real crisp. You are not going team, but this is all new and special to reinvent the wheel this time of for the kids. They are thrilled as can year.” be.” The Bucks, who had little suc- The Colts used a bit of skill and cess throwing the ball in their 21-14 luck to get past Churchill. Trailing quarterfinal win over Scappoose, 48-46 with less than a minute left went back to their strength — run- in the game, the Colts successfully ning the ball. recovered an onside kick. They Aiden Patterson ran for two then drove down the field, where touchdowns, and caught another freshman Gavin Levesque kicked in the win, while Shawn Yeager a 21-yard field goal with 9 seconds left on the clock. The Colts have come down off cloud nine, and are getting ready for their battle with the Bucks. “I think we were there through the weekend and Monday, but now reality has set in for Pendleton,” Starck said. “They have a lot of weapons on offense, their offensive line is enormous, they have great running backs and can throw the ball. No. 10 (Skinner) is so amazing and plays with a tremendous motor. We have to watch out for him.” The Colts have gotten good pro- duction from junior quarterback Cade Crist this season. Against Churchill, he threw for 368 yards and five touchdowns, and ran for another. Caleb Scott and D.J. Stedman are two of Crist’s favorite targets, while junior running back Wes Kommer (5-11, 200) has covered a lot of real estate. He had 130 yards in last week’s win, getting good blocking up front from Joey Peter- son (5-11, 215), Colby Howard (6-1, 270), Grant Starck (6-5, 280) and Patrick Antone (6-4, 255). “We are similar to Pendleton in that we run and throw,” Starck said. “Matchups determine a lot — what teams give and what we think we can take. We will be ready.” Although the Bulldogs are not in the running for a state high school football title this year, Hermiston will host four other teams still in the running for championships. Kennison Field will serve as neutral ground for two OSAA semifinal games on Saturday. The game between the Wallowa Cougars and St. Paul Bucka- roos will kick off at noon, fol- lowed by the Vale Vikings and Rainier Columbians at 4 p.m. The No. 2 ranked Cougars (9-2,6-0) will be looking to avenge a 54-20 loss earlier this season to the undefeated and No. 3 ranked Bucks (11-0, 6-0) in a 1A matchup. Wallowa coach Matt Brock- amp says his team is ready for the rematch. “We’re excited to get another shot,” Brockamp said. “We’re a much better football team than we were back in week one. It’s going to be a great game.” Later in the afternoon, the undefeated Columbians (11-0, 5-0) will continue to push for their first state title since 2010. They came close last year, but lost in the semifinals to San- tiam Christian, 30-14. Coach Mike King is eager to make it all the way to the end this time. “It’s a playoff game, so you gotta prepare yourself and hit the field strong,” King said. The Columbians are the No. 1 ranked team in 3A. Their rivals from Vale (7-4, 3-1) are ranked No. 5. “Vale is super athletic,” King said. “They run the ball well, and their quarterback’s a playmaker. They’re a really solid team.” Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and chil- dren five and older. LeBron passes Wilt Chamberlain in win over Blazers NBA all-time leading scorers By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer 1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 38,387 2. Karl Malone, 36,928 3. Kobe Bryant, 33,643 4. Michael Jordan, 32,292 5. LeBron James*, 31,245 * Scored 44 points on Wednesday AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James reacts to an inadvertent whistle by a referee Wednesday. LOS ANGELES — LeBron James had a season-high 44 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, pass- ing Wilt Chamberlain for fifth place on the NBA’s career scoring list and leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 126-117 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. James scored 28 points in the sec- ond half and vaulted past Chamber- lain on a three-point play with 3:55 to go, finishing the night with 31,425 career points. James also fell just short of the 75th triple-double of his career during his most impressive performance since joining the Lakers in the offseason. James has moved from seventh to fifth on the career scoring list land to make a final during his debut NBA run during the Lak- season with Los ers’ fourth consecu- Angeles, passing tive win. Dirk Nowitzki and Damian Lil- Chamberlain. Five lard had 31 points, of the top six scor- ers in NBA history 11 assists and eight suited up for the rebounds, and CJ Lakers Blazers Lakers, and James McCollum scored 126 117 reached his latest 23 points in the Trail Blazers’ first road milestone during a dominant performance that had loss to the Lakers since Feb. 22, 2013, chants of “M-V-P!” raining down ending a nine-game streak at Staples. Portland has lost two straight to the from the Staples Center crowd. Before the Lakers embark on a Lakers after winning 16 in a row. JaVale McGee scored 20 points three-game trip including his return to Cleveland on Nov. 21, James and Brandon Ingram added 17 in the showed his new home fans what they Lakers’ sixth win in seven games. can expect in big games, as if they After a slow start, Los Angeles (8-6) didn’t already know. James scored is already finding its groove in its first 16 points in the third quarter and 12 season with James and his fellow vet- in the fourth, never allowing Port- erans joining the young core. Sports shorts Chiefs-Rams game moved from Mexico City to LA due to field LOS ANGELES (AP) — The NFL has moved the Los Angeles Rams’ Mon- day night showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs from Mexico City to Los Ange- les due to the poor condition of the field at Azteca Stadium. The league announced the extraordinary decision Tuesday, six days before one of the most anticipated regular-season games of the year. In a news release, the league says it determined that the recently re-sodded field at Mexico City’s historic stadium “does not meet NFL standards for playability and con- sistency, and will not meet those standards by next Monday.” Recent rains and several big events at Azteca combined to damage the field. The Rams (9-1) will host the Chiefs (9-1) at the Coliseum instead. Mexico’s Azteca Stadium. AP Photo/Christian Palma
