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Thursday, March 25, 2021
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A8
PENDLETON FOOTBALL
Bucks look to
stay on top of
SD1 standings
Pendleton-redmond
matchup is a davis
family affair
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
has been great to have. Linemen are pretty
humble. They are natural protectors — it’s
something that sets linemen apart from skill
guys and how they play. They are able to be
caring and nasty at the same time.”
While Fernandez typically lines up at
guard, he also has played center. He just
asks that you don’t put him at tackle.
“I prefer both,” he said. “I don’t like
tackle. you need to be faster and agile.”
In his first full year at quarterback,
Elliott said he appreciates everything
Fernandez has done this season.
“his build is a luxury and a comfort to
have,” Elliott said. “Just having him back
PENdLETON — Pendleton is
sitting pretty atop the special district
1 standings with a 3-0 record, but if
the Bucks want to stay there, they will
have to get past redmond on Friday,
March 26.
“We truly believe redmond is a
very good team,” Pendleton coach
Erik davis said. “They are fast, phys-
ical and they throw the ball more than
other teams we have faced. They run
a fast-paced, no-huddle offense that
can be tough when your kids play both
ways.”
The Bucks are coming off a big
26-6 win over hood river Valley last
week. They have a backfield full of
weapons, led by senior Tyasin Burns,
who is in good company with Payton
Lambert and Zaanan Bane.
“Our team speed is as good as it
has ever been,” davis said. “We have
a dual threat quarterback (Brogan
Biggerstaff). We aren’t going to throw
for 300 or 400 yards a game, but you
have to be balanced to play off our run
game. Our offensive line did a good
job of handling Hood River’s big
bodies. We ran for 200-plus yards.”
The great thing is you never know
who will carry the ball.
“We are a little more run heavy, but
the different formations and the differ-
ent people we have running, they can’t
key on one player. I know we have to
score because redmond can put some
points on the board.”
Pendleton scores an average of 30
points a game, but the stat that opens
See Protector, Page A9
See Bucks, Page A9
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
Hermiston’s Josh Fernandez plays during a Saturday, March 20, 2021, game against Kennewick at Kennison Field in Hermiston.
NATURAL PROTECTOR
Josh Fernandez is the heart of the Hermiston offensive live
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
H
ErMIsTON — When the ball
is snapped, Josh Fernandez goes
into protection mode.
The 6-foot-3, 340-pound
senior guard for hermiston high school
doesn’t want anyone going through him to
get to quarterback chase Elliott. during the
Kennewick and hanford games, Elliott did
not get sacked once.
While Elliott appreciates the protection,
not many notice the efforts of the offensive
line.
“Linemen don’t really get in the spot-
light,” Fernandez said. “you never get your
name in the paper.”
hermiston coach david Faaeteete, who
played on the defensive line at the univer-
sity of Oregon, said it doesn’t matter what
level you play at, linemen are the last to
make the headlines.
“It’s a glory less job,” he said. “You don’t
get the big articles in the paper. you hang
your hat on keeping your quarterback clean
and opening holes for the running backs.
Without the trench warfare, it’s not the same
game.”
Fernandez is a two-year starter on the
offensive line. It would have been three had
he not injured his right knee at the start of
his sophomore year.
“he is steady Eddie,” Faaeteete said. “he
Heppner, W-M put perfect seasons on the line
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
hEPPNEr — Weston-McEwen
is putting its 3-0 record on the line
saturday, March 27, against 2019 2a
state champion heppner.
Then again, the Mustangs are
putting their 3-0 record on the line
in the Blue Mountain conference
game.
“Two undefeated teams playing
against each other in March,” W-M
coach Kenzie hansell said. “When
was the last time you could say that.
It should be fun. We are looking
forward to it.”
heppner coach Greg Grant said it
should be a fun game for the players.
“They are a formidable oppo-
nent,” Grant said. “They have been
successful, and they will be bringing
a lot of effort and talent to the field.”
The TigerScots are coming off
a 33-6 win over riverside. They
also have wins over Stanfield and
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Weston-McEwen’s Theo White (15) catches a touchdown pass. The
Weston-McEwen TigerScots defeated the Riverside Pirates 33-6 in Athe-
na on Friday, March 19, 2021.
umatilla, but know playing heppner
will not be like the other games.
“We are going to have to run the
ball to throw the ball, and throw the
ball to run the ball,” hansell said.
“We will have to limit our mistakes
with the football. That will be
important to control drives.”
The Mustangs have outscored
their opponents 116-16, but Grant
said his team still has a few kinks
to work out.
“Our kids have been playing
hard and putting out a good effort,”
Grant said. “Maybe we could tackle
better and make better decisions on
defense. Just small things like that.”
If nothing else, hansell is excited
to see how his team compares to one
of the best small-school teams in the
Northwest.
“all respect to heppner,” hansell
said. “We respect what they have
done. coach Grant is a great coach,
and his program is going in the right
direction. as a younger coaching
staff, we respect what he has been
able to build.”
STANFIELD AT MCLOUGH-
LIN: The Tigers (1-1), who played
with 12 players last week in a 20-0
win over umatilla, will move
forward with their small squad the
rest of the season, starting Friday,
March 26, against the Pioneers.
“Barring anymore injuries, this is
what we have going forward,” stan-
field coach Davie Salas said. “I told
my kids we are going to play as hard
as we can and not make excuses.
This is who we have, and this is who
we are going to finish with. You can’t
complain about playing time right
now.”
The Tigers have gotten good
production from senior running back
Enrique arellano, and sophomore
Gator Goodrich has played a multi-
tude of positions.
also stepping up to play
unconventional roles are sopho-
mores Isaiah Lemmon and Bodie
Braithwaite.
“Isaiah was a running back,
and when we had injuries, we had
to move him to guard,” salas said.
See Heppner, Page A9
SPORTS SHORT
Betting sites offer software blocks for compulsive gamblers
By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press
aTLaNTIc cITy, N.J. — some
sports betting companies are offering
tools that allow compulsive gamblers to
block themselves from most online sites.
unibet last week announced it was
making software from u.K.-based
Gamban available to customers in the
u.s. The tools allow customers to in
effect ban themselves from gambling
sites across multiple devices.
On Wednesday, March 24, Fanduel
did so, as well. The software blocks
thousands of licensed and unlicensed
gambling sites and is constantly updated
to add new ones as they appear.
“Educating customers about the
importance of gambling responsibly
and within limits is a business imper-
ative and ethically the right thing to
do,” said carolyn renzin, chief risk
and compliance officer with FanDuel
Group. “Offering Gamban’s software
to those customers signaling they need
help adds another layer of protection for
our customers, our program, and to the
industry.”
“This is a massive moment for the
industry and one we’ve been pushing to
achieve since the launch of Gamban,”
added Jack Symons, Gamban’s
co-founder.
Most licensed sports betting and
online casino companies already offer
ways for compulsive gamblers to either
pause or halt their behavior, including
“cool-down” periods in which customers
can have their accounts suspended for a
length of time.
and states, including New Jersey,
offer state-administered self-exclu-
sion lists where gamblers can prohibit
themselves from gambling for differ-
ing periods, or permanently. While they
are on the list, casinos and sports books
cannot accept bets from them or send
them marketing materials enticing them
to gamble.
Unibet’s parent company, Kindred
Group said last week that its provision of
blocking software to its customers is “an
important step for the industry.”
Wayne Parry/Associated Press, File
A betting board lists the odds on college basketball
games in the sports betting facility at the Tropicana
casino in Atlantic City, N.J., on March 8, 2019.