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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 2019)
143rd Year, No. 292 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2019 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019 HEPPNER TOPS KENNEDY 12-7 FOR STATE 2A CHAMPIONSHIP, PERFECT 13-0 SEASON | B1 FOUR MEMBERS OF MUSTANGS’ 1992 STATE CHAMPION TEAM HAVE SONS ON 2019’S CHAMPIONSHIP SQUAD | B1 PHOTOS FROM MUSTANGS’ SATURDAY WIN OVER KENNEDY | B3 Heppner’s Blake Carter (78) cheers following his team’s state title win on Saturday. The Heppner Mustangs defeated the Kennedy Trojans 12-7 to win the 2019 OSAA Class 2A state title at Kennison Field in Hermiston. Staff photo by Ben Lonergan The Heppner Mustangs have won three state titles since 1992 By ANNIE FOWLER East Oregonian H ERMISTON — It was stand- ing room only on the Heppner side of Kennison Field on Sat- urday for the Class 2A state championship game against top-ranked Kennedy. The small farming community loves its football team, and the Mustangs feed off of its support, which included alumni, family and neighbors at the title game. LA GRANDE Struggling to help the homeless The Mustangs needed every ounce of love from their fans Saturday to beat Ken- nedy 12-7 and bring a third state title to the school. “I have a community that wraps their arms around the kids,” Heppner coach Greg Grant said. “It makes it that much better. That’s why I’m here. I never really looked anywhere else, or found anything better.” The Mustangs also won state titles in 1992 and 2015. They have been to the playoffs 38 times since their fi rst trip in 1947, and have been every year since 1997. In 30 years under Grant, the Mustangs have never had a losing season, which keeps the fans coming back for more. “The fi nality of high school football for small town kids, is now all they do is talk about it,” Grant said. “They will have a sweet memory. They never let each other down, and they worked their tails offs.” The victory wasn’t cemented until the fi nal minute of the game when the Mus- tangs recovered an onside kick. While there is no trip to Disneyland for winning the state title, Grant is cer- tain the community will make the team feel special. “There will be a lot of cool moments, T-shirts and hats,” Grant said. “What they (the players) have is their relationship with each other. Whether they win or lose, our motto is ‘Don’t let each other down.’” Heppner quarterback Jayden Wilson, who scored two touchdowns, said win- ning a title is a dream come true. “I’ve been working for this since the eighth grade,” he said. “This is crazy.” Oregon cat owner gets a purr-fect ending Cat found after slipping out of car two months ago at Deadman Pass rest area By DICK MASON AND PHIL WRIGHT EO Media Group LA GRANDE — His chapped and reddened hands trembled as he grasped the soiled cans and bottles and stuffed them one by one into the recycling machine at the La Grande Safeway. He is 27, he said, from La Grande, went to high school here but did not make it past his junior year. He is one of La Grande’s homeless. “Basically, I ended up making some bad fi nancial choices when I was working, and I’ve been pay- ing for it ever since,” he said. He talked Wednesday night on condition of anonymity. Even a photo of his hands would be too By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian P Contributed photo ENDLETON — Antonio Martinez had only a glim- mer of hope he would ever see his cat again. Two months ago, he stopped at the Deadman Pass rest area 18 miles east of Pendleton to stretch his legs. He and his father had driven from Texas and were on their way to Beaverton where Antonio was moving. Korra, his 4-year-old tabby cat, had meowed unhappily the entire trip. When Martinez got out, his cat saw her chance, slipping unseen through the open door. Martinez didn’t notice she was gone until he got back into the car. “It was too quiet,” he said. He and his father searched the rest area for a long while but fi nally had to continue on. Mar- tinez posted details about Korra’s escape on the Eastern Oregon Pet Lovers Facebook page and con- tacted PAWS, a Pendleton animal shelter, to leave information about his cat. He moved in to his new Beaverton home. The hope of get- ting Korra back dimmed as time passed. “I started to lose a bit of hope, especially with the colder months coming up,” Martinez said. He didn’t dare ponder Korra’s chances against coyotes, birds of Antonio Martinez, of Beaverton, stopped at the Deadman Pass rest area to stretch his legs and Korra, his 4-year-old tabby, slipped out. Two months later, they were reunited. See Cat, Page A10 See Homeless, Page A10
