E AST O REGONIAN
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2020
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B1
Heppner’s Knowles shares fi rst-round lead at NFR
Trio of steer
wrestlers post runs
of 3.9 seconds
By ANNIE FOWLER
For the East Oregonian
ARLINGTON, Texas — Blake
Knowles is making his fi fth trip
to the Wrangler National Finals
Rodeo, but Thursday night, Dec.
3, was the fi rst time the Heppner
cowboy won a round on the big-
gest stage for rodeo.
Knowles, 38, turfed his white
and brown steer in 3.9 seconds to
tie for the fi rst-round lead in steer
wrestling
with
Baker City’s Jesse
Brown and Dakota
Eldridge of Elko,
Nevada, at Globe
Life Field.
“It was fun,”
said Knowles, who
Knowles
fi nished second in
the fi rst round in
2018. “To be honest, I knew I had
a steer I should win money on. I
didn’t expect to win fi rst.”
For winning the round, each
man picked up a check for $20,872
and a belt buckle.
“To win a round is awesome,”
Knowles said. “Jesse is one of my
best friends and a guy I’ve tried to
help. I’m proud he is here, and to
have a go-round win with him is
awesome. Dakota is a Northwest
guy too. He went to Blue Mountain
(Community College). It’s a pretty
neat night for us.”
The payday moved Knowles to
third in the world standings with
$73,355. He trails leader Matt
Reeves ($96,944) and Eldridge
($80,956). Brown, who was 15th in
the world standings heading into
the NFR, jumped up to fi fth with
$70,366.
“He is jacked,” Knowles said of
Brown. “This is what we all work
for.”
Because of COVID-19, the
NFR was moved from Las Vegas
to Globe Life Field in Arlington.
The $1.1 billion venue is home to
the Texas Rangers. The NFR runs
through Dec. 12.
The NFR, which has been held
at the Thomas & Mack Center in
Las Vegas since 1985, had plenty
of room to spread out at Globe Life
Field.
“Actually, I think it takes a lit-
tle pressure off the horses and the
hazers,” he said. “The start isn’t
quite as fast. Some guys have
had trouble, but that can happen
anywhere.”
The bucking chutes are in shal-
low right-center fi eld, with timed
events running from both sides.
The steer wrestlers leave the
gate behind what would be third
base, and head toward home plate.
“It doesn’t matter where we
are,” Knowles said. “This is the
NFR this year, and it’s a big oppor-
tunity to win a gold buckle. I just
need to fi gure out the ins and out
and execute perfectly.”
Knowles, a 2001 Heppner grad-
uate, also qualifi ed for the NFR in
2009, 2011, 2015 and 2018, where
he placed third.
Brown, who won the 2019
Pendleton Round-Up title, is mak-
ing his fi rst trip to the NFR.
SHARPSHOOTER
Echo’s Emily Ray ranked 5th in
the state among female shooters
By ANNIE FOWLER
For the East Oregonian
E
CHO — It could be the
hours put in at the gun
range, or there could be
a little magic left in her
father’s Browning 12-gauge
shotgun. Whatever it is has
Echo High School senior Emily
Ray ranked fi fth among female
trapshooters in Oregon.
Ray fi nished second among
female shooters in Conference 3
of the Oregon State High School
Clay Target League with a 21.9
average out of 25 clay targets
during a makeshift fall season.
“Normally, we don’t do a fall
Contributed Photo
Contributed Photo
See Shooter, Page B2
Emily Ray poses for a portrait at the
Hermiston Gun Club on Sept. 20, 2020.
Emily Ray poses for a portrait at the Hermiston Gun Club on Sept. 20, 2020. Ray is ranked fi fth among
female trapshooters in Oregon.
OREGON FOOTBALL PREVIEW
After big win over Ducks, Oregon State visits Utah No. 21 Oregon looks to rebound
against winless Golden Bears
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
CORVALLIS — Still buzzing
over a big win over the rival Ducks,
Oregon State now visits Utah with-
out one of the players that helped
the Beavers claim that victory.
Quarterback Tristan Gebbia
is out of the Saturday night, Dec.
5, game because of a hamstring
injury he suffered in the fi nal
moments of the 41-38 upset of Ore-
gon on Nov. 27.
Gebbia’s injury occurred amid
chaos as Oregon State tried to
punch in a touchdown. The Ducks
stopped Gebbia twice before
he was injured. That brought in
backup Chance Nolan, who scored
on a fourth-down sneak into the
end zone with 33 seconds left —
his fi rst-ever play with Oregon
State.
Gebbia was on crutches as the
team celebrated, a sad ending to one
See Beavers, Page B2
By JANIE MCCAULEY
Associated Press
Amanda Loman/Associated Press, File
Oregon State quarterback Chance Nolan (10) celebrates his touchdown
with Trevon Bradford (8), Keli’I Montibon (55) and Teagan Quitoriano (84)
during the second half of the team’s NCAA college football game against
Oregon in Corvallis on Nov. 27, 2020.
BERKELEY, Calif. — Ore-
gon’s mistakes and costly turn-
overs on offense are perplexing
for third-year coach Mario Cris-
tobal, because it just hasn’t been
this way in recent seasons.
Five lost fumbles and four
interceptions in four games. The
Ducks have discussed the prob-
lems as a team, as position units.
“That is one of the more dis-
appointing things. We’ve been
really good about not turning
the ball over here for a couple of
years,” Cristobal said. “This year
we’ve gotten careless. ... The
things that have caused it have
been mental effort-oriented,
detail-oriented that can and will
be eliminated with work and
more effort and more attention to
detail. Those things are frustrat-
ing, they’re disappointing and
our players are upset about it.”
Oregon (3-1) will try to clean
up the miscues and learn from a
41-38 loss to rival Oregon State
last week that dropped the Ducks
from ninth in the AP poll to No.
21. The loss cost the Ducks what-
ever shot they had at a spot in the
College Football Playoff after
they had been ranked 15th in the
fi rst CFP rankings, but are now
23rd.
The realistic goal now as
they prepare to face California
on Saturday, Dec. 5, is a Pac-12
championship.
The winless Golden Bears
(0-3) have had their own issues
with special teams. They had
a would-be tying extra point
attempt blocked in the waning
moments of a 24-23 loss to rival
See Ducks, Page B2
SPORTS SHORT
Spence set to face Danny Garcia in 1st fight since car crash
By SCHUYLER DIXON
Associated Press
ARLINGTON, Texas — Errol
Spence Jr. changed his lifestyle
after escaping serious injury in
a high-speed car wreck that led
to misdemeanor drunken driv-
ing charges in Dallas and could
have derailed a promising boxing
career.
The welterweight champion
moved out of downtown Dallas
for a quieter life in the suburbs
and got back to training once
doctors cleared him to keep fi ght-
ing. Now it’s time for Spence to
get back in the ring.
Spence is set to defend his
WBC and IBF titles on Saturday
night, Dec. 5, against Danny Gar-
cia at AT&T Stadium, another
hometown bout for Spence and
his second on the home fi eld of
the NFL team that adopted him,
the Dallas Cowboys.
“This is the most important
fi ght of my life,” said Spence,
undefeated in 26 fi ghts with 21
knockouts. “This is my redemp-
tion fi ght. This is my comeback
fi ght. And I won’t accept any-
thing less than a victory.”
In September 2019, Spence
added the WBC welterweight
title to his IBF strap with a thrill-
ing split-decision victory over
Shawn Porter in Los Angeles.
A month after beating Porter,
Spence fl ipped his Ferrari while
speeding on a Dallas street in the
early morning hours. Spence was
ejected but didn’t suffer any bro-
ken bones or fractures and was
treated for facial lacerations. He
said the go-ahead for training
came after doctors told him he
had no bleeding on his brain.
The 32-year-old Garcia (32-6,
21 knockouts) is fi ghting for the
fi rst time since a 12-round deci-
sion in January over Ivan Red-
kach in which Garcia said his
opponent bit him.
Boxer Errol Spence Jr., pos-
es as he weighs in for a ti-
tle match against Danny
Garcia in Dallas on Friday,
Dec. 4, 2020.
Tony Gutierrez/ Associated Press