SPORTS
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Excellence: Wilson
scored both of Heppner’s
touchdowns in the state
championship game
Continued from Page A8
position guys make plays.”
Yet again, another trait
that runs deep in the Hep-
pner program.
“It really can be cool
when it creates its own
inertia,” Grant said of tra-
dition. “You have kids who
inspire them, and they
inspire the next group.”
Just like 2015, the EO
Player of the Year acco-
lades were topped off with
a state title, which Wilson
said took a day or two to
sink in.
“Afterward, when I was
getting interviewed, I was
still in shock,” he said.
“Once I got back to the
locker room, we were all
dead, but so excited. It was
unreal. We worked so hard
for that.”
The win helped soothe
a first-round loss to Ken-
nedy last year, a game in
which Wilson broke his
fibula and missed the bas-
ketball season.
“That was hard,” he
said. “I couldn’t work my
whole body in the weight
room, so I did a lot of upper
body stuff. I dreamed of
having a comeback sea-
son. I wanted to make it
back and play to the best
of my ability. I feel I did
that.”
Wilson threw for 1,282
yards and 23 touchdowns,
and ran for 797 yards and
14 touchdowns this sea-
son. Defensively, he had
32 tackles, three intercep-
tions and three fumble
recoveries.
As a team, the Mus-
tangs averaged 41 points
a game, while limiting
opponents to just 7.5.
“Offense is my favorite,
but our defense was pretty
powerful this year,” Wil-
son said. “I liked getting
excited for defense.”
Football runs
through his veins
Wilson started playing
football in the third grade
when his family lived in
the Portland area. They
moved to Heppner the
summer before his fifth
grade year.
“That’s when I started
playing with the kids I play
with now,” Wilson said.
“We push each other.”
Wilson has grown into
a leader over the years, a
position he does not take
lightly.
“I’ve taken it on my
shoulders to lead every-
body,” he said. “I like to
stay confident and lead
others into that. We respect
all, but fear none.”
Grant said Wilson has
had that trait since the fifth
grade.
“He is not afraid to
step up and be responsi-
ble,” Grant said. “He is not
a rah-rah guy. He doesn’t
lead with his voice — he
leads with his actions.
Being yourself is the best
way. Being the first one
there, the last to leave,
work hard. He shoulders
a tremendous amount of
responsibility.”
Like playing quarter-
back, then jumping in on
defense in the secondary.
“He could be a really
good defensive end and a
linebacker too,” Grant said.
“You put him in a position
where he doesn’t have a lot
of contact. With his speed
and ability to cover it’s not
rocket science.”
In the state champion-
ship game, Wilson scored
both of Heppner’s touch-
downs, the first coming on
a 56-yard run less than a
minute into the game.
“On that touchdown
run, (center) Kevin Rea
ran all the way down the
field and made a block to
help me score. I thanked
ALL-EO
FOOTBALL
TEAM
Player of the Year: Jayden Wil-
son, jr., Heppner
Coach of the Year: Greg Grant,
Heppner
First Team
Quarterback — Jayden Wilson,
jr., Heppner. Running back —
Blake Wolters, jr., Heppner; Tya-
sin Burns, jr., Pilot Rock/Nixy-
aawii. Wide receiver — Garrett
Walchli, sr., Hermiston; Mason
Lehman, sr., Heppner, Trevor
Wagner, jr., Hermiston; Walker
Camp, sr., Pendleton. Offensive
line — Chase Bradshaw, sr.,
Hermiston; Dustyn Coughlin,
sr., Hermiston; Travis McGee, sr.,
Pendleton; Gavin Hanna-Robin-
son, sr., Heppner; Greysen Clark,
sr., Pendleton. Kicker — Trevor
Wagner, jr., Hermiston. Defen-
sive back — Garrett Walchli,
sr., Hermiston; Mason Lehman,
sr., Heppner, Trevor Wagner, jr.,
Hermiston; Walker Camp, sr.,
Pendleton. Linebacker — Ryan
Arnold, sr., Hermiston; Jason
Rea, sr., Heppner; Jackson Leh-
man, jr., Heppner; Kyle Liscom,
so., Pendleton. Defensive line
— Sean Stewart, sr., Hermis-
ton; Mario Sanchez, sr., Stan-
field; Sam Cadenas, so., Hermis-
ton; Blake Wolters, jr., Heppner.
Punter — Wesley Goad, sr.,
Ione/Arlington. Return man —
Mason Lehman, sr., Heppner.
Second Team
Quarterback — Sam Schwirse,
jr., Hermiston. Running back
— Enrique Arellano, jr., Stan-
field; Zaanan Bane, jr., Pendle-
ton. Wide receiver — Jackson
Lehman, jr., Heppner; Ty Patrick,
sr., Pendleton; Logan Weinke,
sr., Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii; Theo
White, so., Weston-McEwen.
Offensive line — Mario San-
chez, sr., Stanfield; Kellen Grant,
sr., Heppner; Rene Sanchez, sr.,
Stanfield; Jason Rea, sr., Hep-
pner. Kicker — Wesley Goad,
sr., Ione/Arlington. Defensive
back — Kason Broncheau, sr.,
Pendleton; Jayden Wilson, jr.,
Heppner; Kason Cimmiyotti,
so., Heppner; Broc Remmer, sr.,
Hermiston. Linebacker — Nat
Hunsaker, sr., Pendleton; Koi
Mikami, so., Hermiston; Tya-
sin Burns, jr., Pilot Rock/Nixy-
aawii; Mikey Connell, sr., Stan-
field. Defensive line — Gavin
Hanna-Robinson, sr., Heppner;
Chris Charpentier, sr., Pendle-
ton; Junior Sepeni, sr., Herm-
iston; Roy Collins, jr., Heppner.
Punter — Trevor Wagner, jr.,
Hermiston. Return man — Gar-
rett Walchli, sr., Hermiston.
Honorable Mention
Quarterback — Tanner Cor-
win, jr., Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii.
Running back — Frank Chapa,
so., Irrigon. Wide receiver —
Wesley Goad, sr., Ione/Arling-
ton. Offensive line — William
Sigo, jr., Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii;
Roy Collins, jr., Heppner; Dar-
ian Smith, sr., Umatilla; Jack Cur-
tis, so., Irrigon. Kicker — Walker
Camp, sr., Pendleton. Defen-
sive back — Logan Weinke, sr.,
Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii; Ryan Hus-
sey, jr., Irrigon. Defensive line
— Cody Thacker, sr., Umatilla;
Rene Sanchez, sr., Stanfield;
Isaac Urbina, jr., Pendleton;
Caden Thornton, jr., Pilot Rock/
Nixyaawii. Return man —
Zaanan Bane, jr., Pendleton.
him for that. Our offen-
sive line is valuable to me.
It hurts that some of them
are graduating.”
Wilson has one more
year left with the Mus-
tangs, and he’d like to
make the most of it.
“Blake (Wolters), Roy
(Collins), myself, and
other key players, we need
to get the younger players
in the weight room and do
what we can,” Wilson said.
“We’d like to go back-to-
back (state champions),
that is the goal. We’ll take
it one game at a time and
play our hearts out.”
Coach of the Year
Grant was named
Coach of the Year, but he
does not take all the credit
for what the team did.
“That is a program
award, not a me award,”
he said. “It’s a great group
of people, I just get to be
in charge. Someone has
to make the decisions.
I’m just blessed to have
the people I do. Any good
football program has to
have a supportive admin-
istration and community,
and we have that.”
Wilson said Grant can
downplay his importance,
but he is the driving force
behind their success.
“His intensity pushes
us — he wants the best for
us,” he said. “He gets ner-
vous before every game.
He would rather have us
over-prepared. He will
break apart games to see
key plays. It’s great to play
for him. I want to soak it
all in while I can.”
Follow us on
Facebook!
East Oregonian
A9
Hermiston wins Oregon Trail tournament title
Tournament
featured teams
from Umatilla and
Morrow counties
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
ECHO — Hermiston
crowned two champions
Wednesday, and took home
the team trophy at the sec-
ond annual Oregon Trail
County Championships.
Cole
Abbott
(132
pounds)
and
Jaxson
Gribskov (170) won titles
for the Bulldogs, who sent
their junior varsity team
to the tournament that fea-
tured teams from Umatilla
and Morrow counties.
Hermiston rolled up 211
points, followed by Pend-
leton (202), McLoughlin/
Weston-McEwen/Griswold
(107), Irrigon (104), Riv-
erside (103), Heppner/Ione
(64) and Echo/Stanfield
(50).
“It was a good tourna-
ment,” Echo/Stanfield coach
Monte Toombs said. “There
were some great matches
and some good finals
matches. We accomplished
what we wanted to do.”
Abbott earned a 19-9
major decision over Hep-
pner/Ione’s Saul Lopez in
the 132-pound title bout,
while Gribskov recorded a
12-5 decision over River-
side’s Jose Puerta.
Pendleton had four
champions on the day —
Dawson Tremper (106),
Gabe Browning (126), Pat-
rick Simpson (182) and
Isaac Urbina (195), but the
Bucks didn’t have enough
secondary points to catch
Hermiston.
Simpson put in less than
1 minute on the match. He
had a pin of 32 seconds
in the semis, then pinned
Roberto Ayala of Irrigon in
17 seconds in the finals.
Mac-Hi/Weston-McE-
wen/Griswold’s Jesse Jones
won the 145-pound title,
while teammates Tanner
Wells (220) and Isaac Wood
finished first.
Asher Hall (113) and Tim
Standley (285) were victori-
ous in the finals for Irrigon.
Standley pinned Hermis-
ton’s Chase Bradshaw in 1:12
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Hermiston’s Gavin Doherty (in red) wrestles Isaac Wood of Mac-Hi during Wednesday’s Or-
egon Trail County Championships in Echo. Wood pinned Doherty in 5:35 in the 120-pound
finals.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Heppner’s Saul Lopez (in red) wrestles Cole Abbot, of Hermiston, during Wednesday’s Ore-
gon Trail County Championships in Echo. Abbott won the 132-pound match 19-9.
in the championship match.
“We held our own,”
Knights
coach
Jason
Dunten said. “If we can
keep the momentum going,
I’ll be happy. The more time
we can put on the mat, the
better. They are improving
every day.”
Heppner’s Jace Coe won
the 160-pound title, pinning
Hermiston’s Avant Ortiz in
4:17.
For Riverside, Jacob
Harris (152) and Ethan Sny-
der (138) won gold. Snyder
eked out a 1-0 decision over
Pendleton’s Jack Lieuallen.
OREGON TRAIL COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Championship matches
106 — Dawson Tremper (Pend) p. Ethan Jones (MH/WM/G),
:40. 113 — Asher Hall (Irr) p. Oscar Cota (Herm), 3:25. 120
— Isaac Wood (MH/WM/G), p. Gavin Doherty (Herm), 5:35.
126 — Gabe Browning (Pend) d. Trevor Kirkpatrick (Herm),
8-3. 132 — Cole Abbott (Herm) md. Saul Lopez (Hepp/I),
19-9. 138 — Ethan Snyder (Riv) d. Jack Lieuallen (Pend), 1-0.
145 — Jesse Jones (MH/WM/G), p. Trayton Bale (Pend), 2:37.
152 — Jacob Harris (Riv) d. Tama Tuia (Herm), 8-1. 160 —
Jace Coe (Hepp/I)p. Avant Ortiz (Herm), 4:17. 170 — Jaxson
Gribskov (Herm) d. Jose Puerta (Riv), 12-5. 182 — Patrick
Simpson (Pend) p. Alan Murguia (Irr), :17. 195 — Isaac Ur-
bina (Pend) p. Roberto Ayala (Irr), 2:12. 220 — Tanner Wells
(MH/WM/G), p. Rafael Pereyda (MH/WM/G), 4:29. 285 — Tim
Standley (Irr) p. Chase Bradshaw (Herm), 1:12.
SCOREBOARD
LOCAL SLATE
THURSDAY, DEC. 19
Boys basketball
Echo at Stanfield, 7:30 p.m.
Myrtle Point at Heppner, 7:30 p.m.
Girls basketball
Echo at Stanfield, 6 p.m.
Myrtle Point at Heppner, 6 p.m.
Boys wrestling
Hermiston, Kennewick at Richland, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, DEC. 20
Boys basketball
Bickleton at Helix, 3:30 p.m.
Mac-Hi vs. Dallas (at Cascade Holiday
Classic), 4 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Toldeo Invitational, 5:15 p.m.
Joseph at Ione/Arlington, 5:30 p.m.
North Salem at Pendleton, 6:30 p.m.
Stanfield at Riverside, 7:30 p.m.
Umatilla at White Swan, 7:30 p.m.
Class 2A Preview
At Pendleton Convention Center
Weston-McEwen vs. Gervais, 9:45 a.m.
Heppner vs. Illinois Valley, 4:45 p.m.
Pilot Rock vs. Myrtle Point, 8 p.m.
Girls basketball
Long Creek/Ukiah at Helix, 2 p.m.
Dallas vs. Mac-Hi (at Cascade Holiday
Classic), 2:30 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Toldeo Invitational, 3:45 p.m.
Joseph at Ione/Arlington, 4 p.m.
Lyle/Wishram at Echo, 5 p.m.
Stanfield at Riverside, 6 p.m.
Umatilla at White Swan, 6 p.m.
Pendleton at St. Helens, 7 p.m.
Class 2A Preview
At Pendleton Convention Center
Weston-McEwen vs. Gervais, 8 a.m.
Heppner vs. Illinois Valley, 3 p.m.
Pilot Rock vs. Myrtle Point, 6:15 p.m.
Boys wrestling
Pendleton at Banks, 5 p.m.
Hermiston at Tri State Tournament
Girls wrestling
Hermiston at Lynden Tournament, 5 p.m.
SATURDAY, DEC. 21
Boys basketball
Klickitat/Glenwood at Helix, 3:30 p.m.
Riverside at White Salmon, 4:30 p.m.
Liberty Christian at Irrigon, 4:30 p.m.
Hermiston at Lewiston, 5:30 p.m.
Mac-Hi at Cascade Holiday Classic, 7 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Toldedo Invitational, TBD
Class 2A Preview
At Pendleton Convention Center
Weston-McEwen vs. Myrtle Point, 11:30
a.m.
Pilot Rock vs. East Linn Christian Acad-
emy, 3 p.m.
Wallowa at Ione/Arlington (at Arlington),
1:30 p.m.
Heppner vs. Gervais, 6:15 p.m.
Girls basketball
Wallowa at Ione/Arlington, noon
Klickitat/Glenwood at Helix, 2 p.m.
Liberty Christian at Irrigon, 3 p.m.
Riverside at White Salmon, 3 p.m.
Hermiston at Lewiston, 4 p.m.
Mac-Hi at Cascade Holiday Classic, 5:30
p.m.
Nixyaawii at Toldeo Invitational
Class 2A Preview
At Pendleton Convention Center
Weston-McEwen vs. Myrtle Point, 1:15 p.m.
Pilot Rock vs. East Linn Christian Acad-
emy, 4:45 p.m.
Heppner vs. Gervais, 8 p.m.
Boys wrestling
Hermiston at Tri State Tournament
Girls wrestling
Hermiston at Lynden Tournament, 10
a.m.
Boys swimming
Hermiston at Whitman, noon
NFL STANDINGS
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
NBA STANDINGS
NHL STANDINGS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic
Toronto
Philadelphia
Boston
Brooklyn
New York
W
19
20
17
15
7
L
8
9
7
12
21
Pct
.704
.690
.708
.556
.250
GB
—
—
½
4
12½
East
x-New England
x-Buffalo
N.Y. Jets
Miami
W
11
10
5
3
L
3
4
9
11
T
0
0
0
0
Pct
.786
.714
.357
.214
PF
372
291
247
241
PA
181
222
343
435
Southeast
Miami
Orlando
Charlotte
Washington
Atlanta
W
20
12
13
8
6
L
8
16
18
18
22
Pct
.714
.429
.419
.308
.214
GB
—
8
8½
11
14
South
Houston
Tennessee
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
W
9
8
6
5
L
5
6
7
9
T
0
0
0
0
Pct
.643
.571
.462
.357
PF
341
339
296
250
PA
330
279
295
353
North
y-Baltimore
Pittsburgh
Cleveland
Cincinnati
W
12
8
6
1
L
2
6
8
13
T
0
0
0
0
Pct
.857
.571
.429
.071
PF
472
269
297
211
PA
257
259
329
359
Central
Milwaukee
Indiana
Detroit
Chicago
Cleveland
W
24
19
11
11
7
L
4
9
17
19
21
Pct
.857
.679
.393
.367
.250
GB
—
5
13
14
17
West
y-Kansas City
Oakland
Denver
L.A. Chargers
W
10
6
5
5
L
4
8
9
9
T
0
0
0
0
Pct
.714
.429
.357
.357
PF
394
274
239
299
PA
284
386
284
290
PF
378
334
283
215
PA
288
328
382
347
South
W L T Pct PF
y-New Orleans 10 3 0 .769 344
Tampa Bay
7 7 0 .500 416
Atlanta
5 9 0 .357 329
Carolina
5 9 0 .357 324
PA
296
398
365
390
North
x-Green Bay
Minnesota
Chicago
Detroit
PF
330
378
256
304
PA
283
259
253
373
West
W L T Pct PF
x-San Francisco 11 3 0 .786 419
x-Seattle
11 3 0 .786 371
L.A. Rams
8 6 0 .571 332
Arizona
4 9 1 .321 310
x-clinched playoff spot
y-clinched division
———
Saturday, Dec. 21
Houston at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m.
Buffalo at New England, 1:30 p.m.
L.A. Rams at San Francisco, 5:15 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 22
N.Y. Giants at Washington, 10 a.m.
Cincinnati at Miami, 10 a.m.
New Orleans at Tennessee, 10 a.m.
Pittsburgh at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m.
Baltimore at Cleveland, 10 a.m.
Carolina at Indianapolis, 10 a.m.
Jacksonville at Atlanta, 10 a.m.
Oakland at L.A. Chargers, 1:05 p.m.
Detroit at Denver, 1:05 p.m.
Arizona at Seattle, 1:25 p.m.
Dallas at Phila., 1:25 p.m.
Kansas City at Chicago, 5:20 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 23
Green Bay at Minnesota, 5:15 p.m.
PA
258
345
306
398
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
East
Dallas
Phila.
N.Y. Giants
Washington
W
7
7
3
3
W
11
10
7
3
L
7
7
11
11
L
3
4
7
10
T
0
0
0
0
T
0
0
0
1
Pct
.500
.500
.214
.214
Pct
.786
.714
.500
.250
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Southwest
Dallas
Houston
San Antonio
Memphis
New Orleans
W
18
18
10
10
7
L
8
9
16
18
22
Pct
.692
.667
.385
.357
.241
GB
—
½
8
9
12½
Northwest
Denver
Utah
Oklahoma City
Portland
Minnesota
W
18
16
13
12
10
L
8
11
14
16
16
Pct
.692
.593
.481
.429
.385
GB
—
2½
5½
12
8
Pacific
W
L
Pct
GB
L.A. Lakers
24
4 .857
—
L.A. Clippers
21
8 .724
3½
Sacramento
12 15 .444 11½
Phoenix
11 16 .407 12½
Golden State
5 24 .172 19½
———
Wednesday’s Games
Chicago 110, Washington 109, OT
Cleveland 100, Charlotte 98
Miami 108, Philadelphia 104
Toronto 112, Detroit 99
New Orleans 107, Minnesota 99
Oklahoma City 126, Memphis 122
Denver 113, Orlando 104
Portland 122, Golden State 112
Thursday’s Games
Utah at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Milwaukee, 5 p.m.
Brooklyn at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m.
Houston at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m.
Friday’s Games
Memphis at Cleveland, 4 p.m.
Sacramento at Indiana, 4 p.m.
Detroit at Boston, 4:30 p.m.
Washington at Toronto, 4:30 p.m.
Dallas at Philadelphia, 5 p.m.
New York at Miami, 5 p.m.
Phoenix at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m.
Minnesota at Denver, 6 p.m.
Orlando at Portland, 7 p.m.
New Orleans at Golden State, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Utah at Charlotte, 2 p.m.
Atlanta at Brooklyn, 3 p.m.
Chicago at Detroit, 4 p.m.
Washington at Philadelphia, 4 p.m.
Milwaukee at New York, 4:30 p.m.
Sacramento at Memphis, 5 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m.
Houston at Phoenix, 6 p.m.
Minnesota at Portland, 7 p.m.
Atlantic
Boston
Buffalo
Montreal
Toronto
Tampa Bay
Florida
Ottawa
Detroit
GP
35
35
34
35
32
33
35
36
W L OT Pts GF GA
21 7 7 49 118 90
16 12 7 39 110 108
16 12 6 38 108 108
17 14 4 38 115 112
17 12 3 37 114 103
16 12 5 37 115 109
14 18 3 31 94 113
9 24 3 21 79 141
Metropolitan GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Washington 35 24 6 5 53 125 100
N.Y. Islanders 32 22 8 2 46 95 80
Carolina
34 21 11 2 44 113 89
Pittsburgh
34 20 10 4 44 114 90
Philadelphia 34 18 11 5 41 105 100
N.Y. Rangers 33 16 13 4 36 105 106
Columbus
34 14 14 6 34 87 101
New Jersey
33 11 17 5 27 80 116
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
St. Louis
36 22 8 6 50 109 96
Colorado
34 22 9 3 47 123 92
Winnipeg
34 20 12 2 42 104 97
Dallas
35 19 12 4 42 91 82
Nashville
33 16 12 5 37 115 106
Minnesota 35 16 14 5 37 107 115
Chicago
35 13 16 6 32 95 114
Pacific
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Arizona
36 20 12 4 44 100 86
Vegas
37 19 13 5 43 112 105
Edmonton 37 19 14 4 42 109 112
Calgary
36 18 14 4 40 96 108
Vancouver 35 16 15 4 36 111 108
San Jose
36 16 18 2 34 98 125
Los Angeles 36 15 18 3 33 94 114
Anaheim
35 14 17 4 32 89 104
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point
for overtime loss. Top three teams in
each division and two wild cards per
conference advance to playoffs.
Wednesday’s Games
New Jersey 3, Anaheim 1
Colorado 4, Chicago 1
St. Louis 2, Edmonton 1
Thursday’s Games
Buffalo at Philadelphia, 4 p.m.
Los Angeles at Columbus, 4 p.m.
Dallas at Tampa Bay, 4 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at Boston, 4 p.m.
Nashville at Ottawa, 4:30 p.m.
Chicago at Winnipeg, 5 p.m.
Carolina at Colorado, 6 p.m.
Montreal at Calgary, 6 p.m.
Minnesota at Arizona, 6:30 p.m.
Vegas at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Friday’s Games
Washington at New Jersey, 4 p.m.
Dallas at Florida, 4 p.m.
Toronto at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Edmonton, 6 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Anaheim vs. N.Y. Islanders at Nassau Vet-
erans Memorial Coliseum, 10 a.m.
Los Angeles at Buffalo, 10 a.m.
Winnipeg at Minnesota, 11 a.m.
Florida at Carolina, 4 p.m.
Nashville at Boston, 4 p.m.
Detroit at Toronto, 4 p.m.
New Jersey at Columbus, 4 p.m.
Montreal at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Philadelphia at Ottawa, 4 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Washington, 4 p.m.
Chicago at Colorado, 6 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
St. Louis at San Jose, 7:30 p.m.