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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 2018)
B4 SPORTS East Oregonian Saturday, December 29, 2018 2018: Year in Review, new league, new adventures and state gold Continued from Page B1 anymore,” Arstein said. “We have grown so much and they haven’t. Things started to dwindle the past fi ve years.” The Hermiston School District also is saving money. How much yet is to be determined. “By this time last year, we had already spent four nights in a hotel,” Arstein said. “We have always had a good budget, but the athletic budget as a whole has to look pretty good right now.” 2. BUCKING THE TREND: PENDLETON FOOTBALL HAS BEST YEAR SINCE 1977 It was a season to remem- ber for Pendleton, which enjoyed its fi rst trip to the state semifi nals since 1977. The Bucks (10-2) rolled through the Special District 1-East with a 6-0 record. Their only blemish head- ing into the playoffs was a 53-7 nonleague loss to Wilsonville. Pendleton beat Cres- cent Valley 27-14 in the fi rst round of the 5A play- offs, then edged Scappoose 21-14 in the quarterfi nals. “This is unbelievable,” Pendleton coach Erik Davis said after the Scap- poose win. “These kids and coaches deserve it. We have looked at this team for a long time — that they were special — and they are proving me right.” The last time Pendleton played in a state semifi nal was in 1977, a 13-7 loss to Medford in Class 3A, the highest classifi cation at the time. The semifi nals did not go as planned for the Bucks, who were looking for the school’s fi rst trip to the title game. Thurston used a potent run game to beat the Bucks 51-30 in Hillsboro. “This is the furthest the program has been in 41 years,” Davis said. “The kids can hold their heads high. Obviously, we’d love to play next week, but it’s not in the cards.” Pendleton had 11 play- ers earn all-state honors, with four — center Ever- ett Willard, running back Aiden Patterson, defensive lineman Beau Skinner and linebacker Kirk Liscom — named to the fi rst team. 3. BIG DAY ON THE DIAMOND FOR PEND- LETON SOFTBALL Not only did Pendleton beat Putnam 7-0 in the 5A title game in Corvallis, but the seniors also picked up their high school diplomas in a special ceremony after the game — including caps and gowns. The Bucks, who also won 5A titles in 2012 and 2014, put together a 28-2 record, with an early loss to Hills- boro (9-0), and a league loss to Hermiston (5-4). In the playoffs, the Bucks beat Sandy 19-3, Ridgeview 8-3 and Marist Catholic 20-10 in the semifi nals. Marist had a 7-3 lead in the third inning, but the Bucks came back with seven runs in the bottom of the third and never looked back. In the title game, Lau- ren Richards struck out 12, while Aspen Garton hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning. Richards was named the East Oregonian Player of the Year for the second year in a row. 4. TREVOR BRAZILE LASSOS 6TH PENDLE- TON ROUND-UP TITLE The King of the Cow- boys won his record sixth all-around title in Septem- ber, surpassing the legend- ary Yakima Canutt, who has fi ve trophies. Brazile is a fan favorite at the Round-Up, where he won his fi rst title in 1999. “That’s what I love about this rodeo — its his- tory,” Brazile told the EO after his win. “It is so well documented. You’ve got to respect the rodeo with its tradition and heritage. It’s so neat. I just love it. It’s unapologetic of what we do here. A lot of stuff changes, but the Pendleton Staff photo by E.J. Harris 2 Pendleton’s Beau Skinner, right, sacks Crescent Valley quarterback Sawyer Cleveland in the Bucks’ 27-14 win over the Raiders on Nov. 2, 2018, in Pendleton. Staff photo by Kathy Aney Staff photo by E.J. Harris 4 Trevor Brazile, of Decatur, Texas, waves to the crowd after winning All-Around honors on Sept. 14, 2018, at the Pendleton Round-Up. Nixyaawii’s Mary Stewart (13) passes the ball to Ermia Butler in the Golden Eagles’ 56-54 loss to Country Christian on March 3, 2018, at the state 1A championship. 5 Kathy Aney/East Oregonian 3 Pendleton softball players slap the batting helmet of Aspen Garton at home plate after she hit a home run against La Grande on April 4, 2018. Round-Up doesn’t.” Brazile’s performance may have been his last at Pendleton. In early Decem- ber, he announced he was scaling back his perfor- mance schedule to spend more time with his family. 5. NIXYAAWII’S WIN STREAK ENDS AT 56 The girls basketball team lived up to the Golden part of their name for two-plus seasons, winning 56 con- secutive games and looking for its second state title in as many years. The Golden Eagles, who gave up an average of 33 points a game, let Country Christian break free for 56 as the Cougars beat Nixy- aawii 56-54 for the 1A state title in March. Nixyaawii let an eight- point lead slip away over the fi nal 3 minutes of the game after Milan Schimmel fouled out. “I don’t know if anything went wrong, really, they (Country Christian) just played really well,” Nixy- aawii coach Jeremy Mad- dern said after the game. “It was a high-level game and it was back-and-forth. But obviously Milan going out in the fourth hurt.” The Golden Eagles fi n- ished the season 28-1. 6. STRIKING GOLD AT HAYWARD FIELD There was plenty of gold won by Eastern Oregon ath- letes, led by Weston-McE- wen’s Jacob Speed, who lived up to his name, mak- ing a clean sweep of the 2A sprints, winning the 100 (11.41), 200 (23.11) and 400 (51.70). He also ran the anchor leg on the Tiger- Scots’ winning 4x100 relay (45.03) along with Hadden Ball, Khai Robertson and Kelen McGill. Hermiston’s Tyler Rohr- man won the 110 hurdles in a time of 14.09, and was second in the 300s (39.22). Both times were personal bests. Pendleton’s Emanuela Casadei won the 5A jave- lin title with a toss of 145-4, while Hermiston freshman Jazlyn Romero was third (134-3). Hermiston’s Madi Wil- son was second in the 100 hurdles (14.98), and was part of the 4x100 relay team, along with Elsa Tor- res, MaKaylee Young and Scout Reagan, that placed second (49.05). The Bull- dogs fi nished third in the team standings. In the girls 3A 400, Uma- tilla’s Patty Burres took home the gold in a time of 1:00.35. Heppner’s Alex Lindsay won the boys 2A triple jump with a leap of 41-11, help- ing the Mustangs to second in the team standings. The girls 2A 800 title went home with Katie Vescio of Weston-McEwen (2:31.78). Vescio also was second in the pole vault (9-6 1/4). Hunter Nichols of Hep- pner was second in the 3,000 (9:05.20), and third in the 1,500 (4:14.80). At the 1A level, Gris- wold’s Hannah Christman won the 800 in a 2:34.61, while Lucy Case was sec- ond in the 3,000 (11:19.32), and Sadie Wilson third in the shot put (33-4 1/2). Griswold’s Sam Carlson was second in the boys shot put with a mark of 45-11 1/4. 7. THE PRIDE OF PILOT ROCK The Rockets had a chance to become only the seventh school in OSAA history to win a baseball and softball state championship in the same season. But it wasn’t meant to be. Pilot Rock’s baseball team fell to top-ranked Knappa 7-1 in the title game, while the softball team was shut out by Ken- nedy, 10-0 in fi ve innings. The Rockets’ baseball team, in the fi nals for the fi rst time since 2000, took a 1-0 lead in the fi rst inning, but that would be their only run of the day. “Hats off to Knappa,” said Pilot Rock coach Shane Leasy, whose team fi nished the season 20-3. “They played a better and cleaner game than we did.” The Rockets started state play with a 12-0 win over Western Mennonite, then followed with a 4-2 win over Sherman/Arlington/Condon in the quarterfi nals. In the semifi nals, Pilot Rock beat Bandon 6-1. Pilot Rock’s softball team had trouble with Kennedy pitcher Tressa Riedman, who recorded 11 strikeouts. “She was a better pitcher than we’ve seen in a while,” Pilot Rock coach Darin Fitz- patrick said. “I’m not going to take anything away from her. We just came in fl at. Our energy level wasn’t up where it should have been and it kind of showed in pre- game warmups, and then when we got behind.” The Rockets (23-4) put up a ton of runs leading up to the title game. They beat Siletz Valley/ Eddyville 19-3 in the fi rst round, then followed with a 13-6 victory over Union/ Cove. In the semifi nals, the Rockets edged Toledo 11-10. 8. EYE OF THE TIGERS The Stanfi eld baseball team has had a success- ful run at state the past few years, and this season was no different. The Tigers opened state play with a 2-1, eight-in- ning victory over Blanchet Catholic, but lost a 13-12, 12-inning affair to Horizon Christian in the quarterfi nals. The Tigers, who won the 3A title in 2016, played in the quarterfi nals for the fourth consecutive year. Stanfi eld won the Eastern Oregon League title for the fi fth year in a row, and won 36 consecutive league games over 2 1/2 years before drop- ping an 18-3 game to Joseph/ Wallowa/Enterprise on April 27. They fi nished the season 22-6. 9. QUARTERFINALS: THE BUCKS STOP HERE The Pendleton baseball team eased into the quarter- fi nals with a 5-0 victory over North Eugene in the fi rst round, as Daniel Naughton, Chris Large and Ryan Stahl combined for 13 strikeouts, three hits and one walk. Churchill did not go as quietly in the quarterfi nals. The Lancers beat the Bucks 2-1, ending Pendleton’s sev- en-game win streak. The Bucks, who won the Columbia River Conference title for the fi rst time since 2014, fi nished the season 18-9. Naughton, a senior, was named the CRC Pitcher of the Year, and shared Player of the Year honors with Con- nor Coerper of Hood River Valley. Pendleton’s T.J. Hague- wood was the CRC Coach of the Year. 10. WESTON-MCE- WEN VOLLEYBALL CARRYING ON THE TRADITION The TigerScots have advanced to the 2A state tournament 13 of the past 14 seasons, and have brought home their fair share of hardware. This year, Weston-McE- wen fi nished sixth at the 2A state tournament. The TigerScots lost their opening match to eventual champion Portland Chris- tian. They fi nished the sea- son 25-8. “Our team played great in a really deep and talented tournament,” coach Shawn White said. “We capped off an outstanding year with a trophy.” Bryce Thul, the East Ore- gonian Player of the Year, was named to the all-state second team, while team- mate Emma Olson was selected to the honorable mention team. The Irrigon Knights advanced to the 3A state tournament for the fi rst time in school history. They dropped a three-set match to South Umpqua in the fi rst round, failing to reach the main bracket.
