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E AST O REGONIAN Friday, November 8, 2019 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS | FACEBOOK.COM/EOSPORTS B1 TigerScots making a return trip to state Weston-mcewen is in the final 8 for the 14th time in 15 years By ANNIE FOWLER East Oregonian aTHeNa — The Weston-mce- wen volleyball team earned a wild-card spot in the 2a state tournament last week. The Tiger- Scots are making the most of their opportunity. W-m went on the road last Sat- urday and knocked off Sunset Conference champion Coquille 25-9, 25-21, 25-18 in the first round to advance to the main bracket Fri- day and Saturday at ridgeview High School in redmond. “Any time you are in the final eight, it’s a good day,” W-m coach Shawn White said. “We played really well against Coquille. The last two sets, we finished on 9-2 runs.” The No. 10 TigerScots (18-11) will take on the No. 2-ranked Cen- tral Linn Cobras (20-3) at 6 p.m. Friday night in the quarterfinals. “They were third last year,” White said. “We know a little bit of what we are getting into. The girls are ready to compete and do the best we can.” W-m is making its 14th trip to the final eight in 15 years. The TigerScots finished sixth last year, and the competition is just as tough, but the blue mountain Con- ference schedule of three-team Saturdays will come into play. “In the state tournament field, there are no easy teams,” White said. “We win our first match, we play back-to-back. That’s where our league schedule helps us out — that is an advantage for us. i like our chances.” The TigerScots are led by first- team bmC selections Jesse man- ning and emma olson, but a good portion of the team has state experience. “everybody at least traveled with us to state last year,” White said. “They know what it’s like. They are aware and ready.” The bmC has three teams in the final eight. League cham- pion Union is in the same half of the bracket as W-m and will play vernonia. Grant Union, which is on the opposite side of the bracket, opens against Port- land Christian in a rematch of last year’s title match, which the roy- als won in five sets. Staff photo by Kathy Aney, File Trinity Hearn (10), of Weston McEwen, blocks a hit by Grant Union’s Kenna Combs (3) during their Sept. 28, 2019, match in Stanfield. Undefeated Heppner not overlooking Bandon in first round Hermiston splits matches at district tournament bulldogs will play a loser-out match next week against Kennewick By ANNIE FOWLER East Oregonian Photo courtesy of Kirsti Cason Heppner’s Jason Rea (62) takes down Stanfield running back Enrique Arellano (23) during their Nov. 1, 2019, game in Heppner. The Mus- tangs will host Bandon at 1 p.m. Saturday in the first round of the 2A state playoffs. mustangs have earned a trip to the playoffs every year since 1997 By ANNIE FOWLER East Oregonian H ePPNer — The Heppner mus- tangs are 9-0 this season. They have outscored opponents 387-66, and have recorded five shutouts. Not exactly the team one wants to face in the first round of the state foot- ball playoffs, but the bandon Tigers will give it a go. “They aren’t scary, but they are a solid football team,” Tigers coach aaron Freitag said. “Eleven of them, 11 of us on the field at the same time. in the playoffs, you can’t overlook anyone, especially a team like Heppner. We have played Coquille and Toledo, and they are right up there with Heppner.” The third-ranked mustangs will host the Tigers (5-4) at 1 p.m. Saturday in the first round of the 2A playoffs at the Mor- row County Fairgrounds. “i don’t think people should look at their record and judge them,” Heppner coach Greg Grant said of the Tigers. “They had their top lineman and quar- terback out at the beginning of the year. They are going to be very tough.” Grant, who has been at Heppner for 30 years, has led his team to the state playoffs every year since 1997. “it’s bonus football,” Grant said. “Last year doesn’t do you a lot of good. you work all year and you hope it pays off; you hope you are ready. We are always excited.” Freitag, who played high school ball at bandon, is in his third year coaching his alma mater. He’s taken the Tigers to the playoffs each year, and admits he is look- ing forward to going up against a veteran like Grant. “He has a lot of experience,” Freitag See Football, Page B2 Hermiston’s Nygard, Sanchez to make WIAA state debut on Saturday Heppner, Stanfield to send runners to 3a/2a/1a championships By BRETT KANE East Oregonian PaSCo, Wash. — it’s been seven years since the Hermiston’s girls cross-country team has placed a runner in the top 10 at state. on Sat- urday, they’re hoping to change that. The bulldogs will send two ath- letes to the 3a Wiaa State XC meet on Saturday at Sun Wil- lows Golf Course in Pasco. Junior amanda Nygard and sophomore Cydney Sanchez will represent the bulldogs in a lineup full of Wash- ington’s best runners. “This is the first time since 2012 that we’ve had the confidence that we’ll place a girl in the top 10,” Hermiston cross-country coach Troy blackburn said. “We didn’t make the progress that we were hop- ing to (as a team) this year, but we shortened the distance between us and those elite teams.” With the girls’ race scheduled to start at 1 p.m., Nygard and San- chez will once again be pitted against North Central, who topped the team standings at last week- end’s 3a district 8 Championships with 17 points, well ahead of the sec- ond-place winners from Kennewick (65). The Hermiston girls finished fourth with 91 points. Sanchez’s personal record of 19:19 earned her seventh place, and Nygard placed 13th at 19:57. See Cross-country, Page B2 Staff photo by Kathy Aney, File Cydney Sanchez and Amand Nygard, of Hermiston, run a hill during the Bulldog Fest cross-country race on Oct. 10, 2019. The two runners will compete in the 3A WIAA State XC Meet in Pasco on Saturday. KeNNeWiCK, Wash. — The Hermiston bulldogs split their matches Thursday at the mCC/ GSL district 8 tournament, extending their season into next week. Hermiston opened play at Kamiakin High School with a sweep of North Central, and then dropped a hard-fought match to the host braves in three sets. “They are fierce competitors,” bulldogs coach amy dyck said of her team. “Sometimes it takes them a while to get going, but they don’t get discouraged.” The bulldogs (8-11) will play a loser-out match next Thursday at Kennewick, while Kamiakin (10- 6) will take on mt. Spokane in the district title game. “They are the big dogs,” braves coach morgan Schauble said of undefeated mt. Spokane, which won the 3a state title last year. “They are good.” The bulldogs who were without Grace vertrees (illness) and daisy Maddox (vacation), put up a good fight against the Braves, losing all three sets by identical scores of 25-19. “We knew they would be after us,” Schauble said. “They don’t let the ball drop. We have been work- ing extremely hard this week on defense and our hitting.” The teams traded blows in the first set, which Hermiston led 10-5 at one point. Kendall dowdy and Kambree baker put up a pair of blocks on delaney Frame, and Courtnee West had a string of four points to take the lead. Frame later served to tie the score, and yajaira meraz gave the braves a 17-13 lead with three points. From there, Frame had four kills as Kamiakin held on for the win. it would be the braves who jumped out to an early lead in the second set — 13-5 before a tip by emma Combes helped turn the tide. The bulldogs would get no closer than seven points the rest of the set. in the decisive third set, Kami- akin led 10-2 before the bulldogs got into a rhythm. dowdy served eight consec- utive points to make the score 16-15. The teams traded points until a kill by Frame gave the braves a 21-19 lead. Frame then served out the match. See Volleyball, Page B2
