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B1
BREATH OF FRESH AIR
FOR RIVERSIDE FOOTBALL
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Riverside High School head football coach Cole Ashby leads a weight room workout for the team Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, at the high school in Boardman.
Cole Ashby replacing longtime coach David Boor, who stepped down after last season
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
B
OARDMAN — It’s time for a
change.
Dav id Boor, who ha s
coached football at Riverside High
School and at the middle school,
stepped down after last season, saying
it’s time for someone else to try and
change the culture at the high school.
“They need a change,” said Boor,
who has spent the past 20 years
between the high school and middle
school. “It was hard for me to stay
positive. They need a fresh approach.
I had a hard time being positive with
COVID and all. If you can’t be posi-
tive, you shouldn’t be coaching.”
During his tenure the past few years,
the wins have been few, and the number
of athletes turning out also has dipped.
“You have to get the community,
the coaches, parents and administra-
tion on the same page, and I couldn’t
make that happen,” Boor said.
“Bottom line, you want to win games.
There are enough kids to fi eld a qual-
ity team, it’s a matter of getting them
on the same page. Hopefully Cole can
get that done.”
That would be Cole Ashby, 28, who
was an assistant under Boor the past
two years.
See Coach, Page B2
Heppner’s Nichols earns academic honors at EOU
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
James Cimburek/Contributed Photo
Hunter Nichols, second from left, runs during the
semifi nals of the 1,000 meters at the NAIA Indoor
Track & Field Championships in March 2021 in Yank-
ton, South Dakota. Nichols attends Eastern Oregon
University, and the College Sports Information Di-
rectors of America selected the 2019 Heppner High
graduate as a second-team academic All-American.
LA GRANDE — Hunter
Nichols kept getting texts
congratulating him. For what,
he didn’t know.
A couple of days later,
his coach at Eastern Oregon
University let Nichols know
he was named a College
Sports Information Directors
of America — or CoSIDA
— second-team academic
All-American.
“I was was out on fi res and
I didn’t know what they were
talking about,” said Nichols, a
2019 graduate of Heppner High
School. “The school hadn’t told
me. I think it’s cool. Finally, all
the hard work pays off . Every-
one always sees your name for
sports. It’s all the behind the
scenes stuff they never see.
It pays off a little more when
people see it.”
To qualify, student-athletes
must have a minimum 3.30
GPA to be nominated, and
should be a signifi cant contrib-
utor to their teams.
Nichols, who is studying
biology, has a 3.83 GPA.
He was named to the U.S.
Bank All-Academic Team
in both cross-country and
track and fi eld for the 2020-
21 academic year. He was
also named to the CoSIDA
academic all-district fi rst team.
Nichols was a top-two
runner for the Mountaineers’
cross-country team, and he
qualifi ed for the NAIA indoor
nationals in the 1,000 meters.
He earned All-American
honors in March by fi nishing
fi fth at nationals with a time of
2 minutes, 32.51 seconds.
During the outdoor season,
Nichols placed second in the
Cascade Collegiate Conference
Championships in the 800 and
1,500, helping EOU win the
CCC outdoor title.
He qualifi ed for the NAIA
track and fi eld national meet in
the 800, where he placed 14th.
Nichols, who has been fi ght-
ing fi res all summer, said he is
ready to get back to running.
“I had a really good start
to my summer running,” he
said. “Then the fi res started. I
haven’t done much since.”
Nichols, who will be a
junior at EOU, has not been
in the midst of the smoke and
fl ames. He has been operating
the heavy equipment to make
fi re breaks.
He spent nearly three weeks
on the Bootleg Fire in Southern
Oregon, and Thursday, Aug.
12, he was headed to the fi re
outside of Dayton, Washington.
“I haven’t seen a frickin’
fl ame,” he said. “I’m operating
the heavy equipment, that’s
where the money is. I have had
all sorts of work experience in
the past 4-5 years and none of it
applies to medical school.”
SPORTS SHORT
Stu Barnes returns to coach Tri-City Americans
East Oregonian
KENNEWICK — Tri-City
Americans General Manager Bob
Tory announced Aug. 7 that the
team hired Americans alum and
co-owner Stu Barnes as the team’s
head coach.
Barnes, 50, began his hockey
career with the St. Albert Saints
of the Alberta Junior Hockey
League in 1986 before jumping to
the Western Hockey League the
following season.
After one year with the New
Westminster Bruins, Barnes relo-
cated with the franchise to Tri-City
for the 1988-89 season.
He posted 59 goals and 141
points in 70 games for the Amer-
icans in their inaugural season.
Barnes was awarded the Four
Broncos Memorial Trophy that
year, given to the WHL’s Player of
the Year.
After his impressive season
in Tri-City, Barnes was selected
fourth overall in the 1989 NHL
Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets.
He fi nished his junior career
by collecting 144 points in 63
games in 1989-90, a total that sits
second all-time in Americans fran-
chise history for points in a single
season.
Barnes went on to enjoy a 16-year
professional career that saw him
play 1,136 games in the NHL with
the Winnipeg Jets, Florida Panthers,
Pittsburgh Penguins, Buff alo Sabres
and Dallas Stars. During his NHL
career, he totaled 575 points (261
goals, 336 assists) and reached the
Stanley Cup Final twice (Buff alo,
1999; Florida, 1996).
“Stu had a tremendous impact
on the Americans organization as
a player and fan favorite,” stated
Tory. “As a fierce competitor
himself, he understands the devel-
opment process of today’s young
players and will bring relentless
passion and energy to the job.”
After retiring from his playing
career in 2008, Barnes spent fi ve
years as an assistant coach with the
Dallas Stars.
Barnes will be the 15th head
coach in Americans franchise
history.
Tri-City Americans/Contributed Photo
Stu Barnes acknowledges fans Aug. 7, 2021, as he was introduced as
the coach of the Tri-City Americans at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.