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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 2019)
SPORTS Tuesday, December 3, 2019 East Oregonian B3 PERFECTION! 2A state title caps 13-0 season for Heppner Mustangs Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Heppner running back Blake Wolters (26) eyes a gap in the Kennedy defense. The Heppner Mustangs defeated the Ken- nedy Trojans 12-7 to win the 2019 OSAA Class 2A state title at Kennison Field in Hermiston on Saturday afternoon. Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Heppner’s Jace Coe (20) attempts to avoid a tackle on a run. The Heppner Mustangs defeated the Kennedy Trojans 12-7 to win the 2019 OSAA Class 2A state title at Kennison Field in Hermiston on Saturday afternoon. Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Heppner players cheer after receiving the OSAA trophy following Saturday’s state title game. The Heppner Mustangs defeat- ed the Kennedy Trojans 12-7 to win the 2019 OSAA Class 2A state title at Kennison Field in Hermiston on Saturday afternoon. Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Heppner coach Greg Grant, left, congratulates Mason Leh- man (24) following Saturday’s state title game. The Heppner Mustangs defeated the Kennedy Trojans 12-7 to win the 2019 OSAA Class 2A state title at Kennison Field in Hermiston on Saturday afternoon. Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Heppner’s Kevin Rea (61) waves his crutch in the air while cheering on the Mustangs in the final minutes of Saturday’s state title game. The Heppner Mustangs defeated the Ken- nedy Trojans 12-7 to win the 2019 OSAA Class 2A state title at Kennison Field in Hermiston on Saturday afternoon. Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Heppner linebacker Jace Coe (20) intercepts a pass intended for Kennedy running back David Reyes (24). The Heppner Mus- tangs defeated the Kennedy Trojans 12-7 to win the 2019 OSAA Class 2A state title at Kennison Field in Hermiston on Satur- day afternoon. Heppner cheerleaders cheer on their team from the sideline. The Heppner Mustangs defeated the Kennedy Trojans 12-7 to win the 2019 OSAA Class 2A state title at Kennison Field in Hermiston on Saturday afternoon. Tigers dethrone Banks, win first championship in 45 years La Grande defense forces four turnovers in 21-0 win By RONALD BOND EO Media Group HERMISTON — Eli Leavitt was like many La Grande Tigers on Saturday night — unable to find the words to express being part of a team that ended a 45-year championship drought. “I’m so speechless, man,” the senior defensive lineman said. “I want to thank the fans, my teammates, the coaches — we came in with a goal and we got it.” La Grande used an elite defensive effort to force the defending Class 4A cham- pion Banks Braves into four turnovers and held them to 167 yards — including just 50 in the second half — as the Tigers blanked the Braves 21-0 in front of a raucous pro-La Grande crowd at Ken- nison Field to win their first state football title since 1974. “It feels unbelievable,” said senior quarterback Parker Robinson, who threw two touchdowns in the game. “Especially to be with the group of guys that I’m with. They work so hard and put in the time. I’m so thankful to be with (this) group of guys.” La Grande’s defense, which has been solid all season and even more so in the playoffs, perhaps saved its best effort for last. The Tigers (12-0 over- all) flew around, confounding a Banks team (11-1) that had scored 56 points in the semi- finals a week before, and shut- ting down the Braves’ lethal passing attack. “We’ve taken great pride in our defense all year, and I take great pride in my coaching staff, and coach (Matt) Wol- cott and the things he’s put together for this team,” head Staff photo by Ben Lonergan The La Grande Tigers celebrate their first state title win since 1974 following a 21-0 shutout over the Banks Braves in the OSAA Class 4A Football State Championship at Kennison Field in Hermiston on Saturday night. coach Rich McIlmoil said. It was a new scheme, in fact, the Tigers drew up for the Braves, pressuring Banks quarterback Tanner Shook from multiple angles and forc- ing him to throw two sec- ond-half interceptions — one Nathan Reed took 27 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead late in the third quarter — while also throwing in a heavy dose of nickel defense with five defensive backs to slow the Banks’ pass offense. “We switched to that three- man (front) just trying to get more pass coverage because they pass a lot,” senior line- man Chris Woodworth said. “At first it was a little hard to get them stopped, but eventu- ally we just rolled.” That was especially true in the second half, when Banks had minus-9 rushing yards and only 50 yards total. The 167 yards came a week after the Braves had 444 against Marist. Both defenses came up with timely plays throughout the first half to keep the game scoreless, with Banks focused on slowing down the Tigers’ run game. The Tigers were limited to just 73 yards rush- ing in the opening half. “It wasn’t our best offen- sive game, but that’s what happens when you’re playing in the state championship,” said Reed, who had just 30 first-half rushing yards but finished with a game-high 87. “They were obviously a really good team. They played great. They had a great scheme defensively.” Robinson, who had 117 yards passing and 62 rushing, broke the stalemate when he connected with Blaine Shaw for a 4-yard touchdown pass — on fourth and goal — to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 3:41 to play in the second quarter, a margin they took into the half. Robinson said the play was “likely” to be a bubble route to Reed, but saw the matchup Shaw had, made an adjust- ment and delivered. “I knew Blaine was going to get off that press (defense),” he said. “He did and we scored.” A touchdown in a simi- lar scenario — off an audi- ble by Robinson — doubled the lead to 14-0 on the third play of the third quarter when Robinson found Shaw on a short slant and the receiver ran untouched 65 yards for a score. Reed capped the scoring by leaping to grab an inter- ception from Shook and tak- ing it to the end zone with 50 seconds to play in the third.
