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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2018
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B1
2018 YEAR IN REVIEW
New league, new adventures and state gold
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
The 2018 sports season
brought championships and
a change of venue for one
school in Eastern Oregon.
The Pendleton softball
team won its fi rst state title
since 2014, and individ-
ual titles were earned on the
track, but the most impact-
ful event of the year was
Hermiston moving into the
Mid-Columbia Conference
in Washington and severing
ties with the Oregon School
Activities Association.
That move leads the
East Oregonian‘s top sports
moments of 2018, along
with nine others that rose
above the rest when all was
said and done.
1. OVER THE RIVER
AND INTO THE MCC
Word came down in June
of 2017 from the OSAA and
WIAA, which governs high
school sports in Washington,
that Hermiston would be
competing in another state.
But that change did not take
effect until the start of the
2018-19 school year.
With the move to the
MCC came changes for the
Bulldogs. Boys soccer now
is in the spring, and girls
swimming is in the fall.
Hermiston also was able to
add girls bowling and girls
wrestling, both of which are
WIAA-sanctioned sports.
But the biggest benefi t to
Hermiston has been keeping
students in the classroom.
No MCC school is more
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
1
Hermiston’s Andrew James gets tackled by Pasco’s
Oscar Rodriguez in the Dawgs’ 45-0 win against the
Bulldogs in their Aug. 31, 2018, season opener.
than an hour away, reduc-
ing travel time and lost time
in the classroom for students
and teachers.
“I think overall, it’s
what’s best for the kids,”
Hermiston boys basketball
coach Casey Arstein said,
“They are in school more,
and they don’t get home
late. We had a 7:30 p.m.
game in Kennewick and I
was home by 10. The JV
kids, with their games start-
ing at 4, miss about an hour
of school, but the varsity
kids haven’t missed any.”
The Bulldogs also face
a different level of schedul-
ing in the MCC. The foot-
ball team played each league
opponent once, and though
they fi nished 5-3 in league
play, they missed the play-
offs because they lost to two
of the other 3A teams in the
league.
The Hermiston girls and
boys basketball teams play
on the same night at the
same venue, no longer split-
ting fans and families. They
play each team in the league
twice, home and on the road.
“We get to play two or
three times a week,” Arstein
said. “I’ve never had a kid
who would rather prac-
tice than play. Every team
has talent you have to pre-
pare for. It’s been a bless-
ing for the community, and
it brings fans to Hermiston
for games. I have heard so
many positive things from
the community.”
With Hermiston jump-
ing leagues and states, it
takes away the Bulldogs’
annual games against rival
Pendleton.
“People who coached
enough know the rivalry
wasn’t really a rivalry
See 2018, Page B4
Golden Eagles
fl y high over
Cardinals
Schimmel posts 20 points to lead the
victory at Echo tourney
By BRETT KANE
East Oregonian
I
t didn’t take long for Nixyaawii to claim the game
over Ione on Friday.
The Golden Eagles scored a resounding 79-32 win
to ring in day one of Echo’s Bouncin’ Cancer Tourna-
ment — an invite that raises money for families of can-
cer patients in Umatilla County.
“We’re fundamentally a stronger team all-around,”
said Nixyaawii coach Shane Rivera. “I can’t say we
were faster — Ione has speed — but our kids probably
have a little more experience.”
Ione brought the pressure to open the game, keep-
ing within one point of the Golden Eagles for the open-
ing 4 1/2 minutes. But Nixyaawii hit a 10-point streak
at the end of the fi rst quarter to leave Ione in the dust.
Junior Mick Schimmel, who posted a game-high 20
points, sank two straight shots from the inside for a
32-15 halftime lead.
But it was in the second half that the game really got
away from the Cardinals. Nixyaawii scored 19 points
and only allowed four in the third quarter. Schimmel
scored six points, including two on a turnover early on.
The Golden Eagles took a 51-19 advantage by the end
of the quarter.
“I think we just got ourselves together and realized
what we had to do to win,” said Schimmel, a 6-foot
guard, on his team’s second half. “We just ran from
there.”
The fourth quarter was Ione’s strongest — the Car-
dinals fought their way into double digits for 13 points,
including four from sophomore Hunter Padberg. But
Nixyaawii still dominated with 28 points in the game’s
fi nal eight minutes. Sophomore Reuben Bronson hit a
3-pointer at the buzzer to end the Golden Eagles’ game
on a high note.
Nixyaawii (9-1) will face Echo to close the tourney
before opening the Old Oregon League on Jan. 4.
“This was an easy win for us,” Schimmel said.
“Games like this help us sharpen and execute our plays
before going into the league.”
Sophomore Tyasin Burns followed Schimmel in
scoring with 18 points. Senior Nestor Ramirez had
seven for Ione (1-8, 0-3), which will play Pine Eagle
on Saturday to close out the Echo tourney.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Nixyaawii’s Tyasin Burns breaks past Ione’s Jake Heideman in the Golden Eagles’ 79-32 win against the Cardinals
on Friday in Echo.
Pendleton Bucks lose 79-76 to South Eugene in OT
By BRETT KANE
East Oregonian
The Pendleton boys bas-
ketball team dropped their
second Summit Holiday
Tournament game on Fri-
day, losing to South Eugene
79-76 in overtime.
The Bucks were up 18-7
at the end of the fi rst quar-
ter before things took a
turn for the worse. Starters
Tyler Newsom and Kason
Broncheau got into foul trou-
ble in the second quarter, as
South Eugene edged past
Pendleton for a 29-28 lead at
the half.
“That hurt us,” coach
Zach Dong said of his play-
ers’ foul trouble. “But the
bench did a good job fi lling
in, and Dakota Sams had an
awesome game — he really
stepped up for Tyler and
Kason.”
Sams led the Bucks with
26 points, and Newsom, who
returned to the court for the
second half, had 21.
The two teams were
neck-and-neck for the fi nal
two quarters until the score
ended up tied 69-69 at the
end of regulation. South
Eugene scored 10 points
over Pendleton’s seven in
overtime, taking the lead
with free throws down the
stretch.
“We had some chances
to take it, but didn’t follow
through,” Dong said. “And
we had some turnovers
towards the end when it
got tight. It’s a growing and
learning experience for us as
a team.”
Pendleton (6-4) plays
Ridgeview to fi nish the Sum-
mit tournament on Saturday.
Girls
The Buckaroo girls had
a rough night at the Summit
Holiday Tournament, falling
to host Summit Storm 56-34.
“It was just one of those
days,” said coach Kevin Por-
ter. “We just got off a road
trip, we’re staying at a differ-
ent house, and the girls had
no classes — it wasn’t a rou-
tine day.”
Summit jumped out early
with a 21-9 advantage at
the end of the fi rst quar-
ter, and took a 30-14 lead
into the locker room at the
half. Pendleton came close
to matching their scoring
14-10 in the fi nal quarter, but
couldn’t keep pace.
Natalie Neveau had 10
points and seven rebounds,
and Katie Bradt posted eight
points and fi ve rebounds to
lead the Bucks.
“I know one thing: my
girls gave it their best on
this day,” Porter said. “It
just wasn’t good enough for
Summit. They came ready to
play. I don’t doubt the abil-
ities of my team — it just
wasn’t our day.”
Pendleton (3-7) will close
the Summit tournament
against Hockinson, Wash.,
on Saturday.