E AST O REGONIAN
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2021
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ROAD WARRIORS
Bucks hit the road to take on Hood River Valley
Both teams are 1-0
in conference play
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — It’s never
an easy week for Pendleton in the
Northwest Oregon Conference
East.
The Bucks, coming off play-
ing a team that features a Wing-T
off ense, now has to contend with
Hood River Valley quarterback
Trenton Hughes, who loves to
throw the ball and create plays
with his feet.
“He is a pretty quarterback,”
Bucks coach Erik Davis said. “I
coached him in the Les Schwab
Bowl. We are going to have to
contain him. He is athletic enough
to create some issues. He’s also a
great safety on defense and a great
kick returner.”
The Bucks will play at Hood
River Valley at 7 p.m. on Friday,
Sept. 24. Ranked No. 1 in the 5A
division by Oregon School Activ-
ities Association, the Eagles are
3-0 and coming off their league
opener — a 28-27 comeback win
over Ridgeview. Hughes threw for
three touchdowns in the game, all
to Mason Spellecy.
“They are ranked No. 1 per
the OSAA, and well deserved, I
suppose,” Davis said. “They beat
a good Scappoose team, and beat
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Last
week, Hermiston lost to
Chiawana and Richland lost
to Kamiakin. On Friday, Sept.
24, both teams will try and get
back in the win column as the
Bombers visit the Bulldogs in
Mid-Columbia Conference
action.
“We ran into a really good
team last week in Kamiakin,”
Richland coach Mike Neid-
hold said. “We did just about
everything we could do wrong.
Every conceivable thing that
could go wrong did. We need
another quality opponent this
week to fi nd out about us, and
Hermiston will give that to us.
We will have our hands full.”
Hermiston coach David
Faaeteete said he has seen
improvement in his team
every week, but at times their
youth and inexperience show
through.
“The kids played hard and
they competed,” Faaeteete said
of the game with Chiawana.
“From Week 1 to Week 3,
overall we have improved as
a team, but there’s still a lot
of room for improvement. We
have the smallest roster size
ON THE SLATE
Thursday, Sept. 23
Prep football
Irrigon at Grant Union, 7 p.m.
Prep volleyball
Pilot Rock a Heppner, 5 p.m.
Crook County at Pendleton, 6:30 p.m.
Walla Walla at Hermiston, 7 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Union, 5 p.m.
La Grande at Irrigon, 5 p.m.
Umatilla at Riverside, 6 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Cove, 6 p.m.
Mitchell/Spray at Ione/Arlington, 5 p.m.
Prep girls soccer
Walla Walla at Hermiston, 7 p.m.
Redmond at Pendleton, 4:30 p.m.
Prep boys soccer
Pendleton at Redmond, 4:30 p.m.
Prep slowpitch softball
Hermiston at Eisenhower (2), 4 p.m.
Prep cross-country
Heppner, Griswold, McLoughlin, Pilot
Rock, Riverside, Umatilla at Stanfi eld Fun
Country, TBD
Friday, Sept. 24
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Pendleton’s Collin Primus runs the ball for the Bucks on Sept. 16, 2021, during a 47-6 win over the Putnam Kings-
men at Pendleton High School. The Bucks, 2-1 overall, face Hood River Valley at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 24.
the biggest team in the 5A classi-
fi cation and sometimes gets over-
looked in Eastern Oregon.
“I think we are a good football
team,” Davis said. “If the senti-
ment around the state that we
are the underdog, we will relish
that. We have some unbelievably
talented kids. They have heart. We
Ridgeview in overtime. Coach
(Caleb) Sperry is a good buddy
of mine and he will have them
ready. They have changed up
their off ense to utilize their quar-
terback. We have to be ready to
battle.”
Pendleton, which is 1-0 in
league play and 2-1 overall, is not
will be the smallest team on the
fi eld every week, but we will battle
every week.
We have some outstanding
players. Their hard work is the
pillar of what we build our team
around.”
See Bucks, Page A9
Dawgs looking to get back
on track against Richland
Hermiston is off to
0-3 start to season
A8
wise in the MCC. We are not
going to be bigger than anyone
and we are super young. We
focus on what we can control.
There’s no replacement for
hard work.”
Hermiston is led by quar-
terback Chase Elliott, who at
times prefers to run than pass.
His favorite receiver is Caden
Hottman, who had four catches
for 98 yards and a touchdown
last week.
“Their quarterback is a
shifty little guy — we like him
a lot,” Neidhold said. “They
have a lot of motion, and they
have a lot of diff erent plays. I
told my team they do a lot of
things and we have to keep our
eyes on the ball. It will be a
48-minute game. Neither of us
are going to score 50 and have a
running clock. Anyone driving
through Hermiston on Friday
night, who wants to shell out
$5, will see a good game.”
Faaeteete said the Bombers
have the ability to break free
for explosive plays. The Bull-
dogs need to be able to stop
those, and not hurt themselves
with penalties.
“Their running back runs
hard and they give us matchup
problems,” Faaeteete said. “We
need to control the run and not
give up big plays.”
See Dawgs, Page A9
Prep football
Pendleton at Hood River Valley, 7 p.m.
Richland at Hermiston, 7 p.m.
Heppner at Kennedy, 7 p.m.
Baker at McLoughlin, 7 p.m.
Pilot Rock at Ione/Arlington, 7 p.m.
Umatilla at Riverside, 7 p.m.
Echo at Dayville/Monument, 1 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Stanfi eld, 7 p.m.
Prep volleyball
Nixyaawii at Elgin, 5:30 p.m.
Echo at Bickleton, 5 p.m.
College volleyball
Treasure Valley at Blue Mountain, 6 p.m.
Eastern Oregon at Oregon Tech, 7 p.m.
Prep girls soccer
Stanfi eld/Echo at Umatilla, 1 p.m.
Irrigon at Nyssa, 2 p.m.
Riverside at Four Corners, 4 p.m.
Prep boys soccer
Irrigon at Nyssa, 4 p.m.
Riverside at Four Rivers, 2 p.m.
College men’s soccer
Bushnell at Eastern Oregon, 4 p.m.
College women’s soccer
Bushnell at Eastern Oregon, 6:30 p.m.
Prep cross-country
Heppner at Bridgette Nelson, The
Dalles, 10 a.m.
Weston-McEwen, Nixyaawii at Champs
Invite, Lebanon, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 25
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Pilot Rock quarterback Jace Otteson hands the ball to running back Efren
Castro during the fi rst half against the Outlaws. The Pilot Rock Rockets on
Sept. 9, 2021, defeated the Enterprise Outlaws 36-32 in Pilot Rock.
Rockets head to Ione
for 8-man showdown
Pilot Rock loses two
players for the rest
of the football season
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
IONE — It was supposed to be a
showdown between two of the best
8-man players this season — Pilot
Rock linebacker Wyatt Stillman
and Ione/Arlington running back/
linebacker Taylor Rollins.
Come Friday, Sept. 24, Roll-
ins and the host Cardinals will see
what they can do against the Rock-
ets, who have lost Stillman for the
season for violating a team policy,
and Brave Pereria, who suff ered a
season-ending injury two weeks
ago against Enterprise. Also miss-
ing for just this week is Austin Ford,
who also violated a team policy.
See Rockets, Page A9
College football
College of Idaho at Eastern Oregon,
1 p.m.
Prep volleyball
Enterprise at Heppner, noon
Union at Heppner, 4 p.m.
Pendleton at Oregon City Tournament,
7 a.m.
Weston-McEwen vs. Grant Union at
Stanfi eld, 1:30 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Stanfi eld, 3 p.m.
Dayton-Waitsburg at McLoughlin,
12:30 p.m.
Joseph at Nixyaawii, 10 a.m.
Wallowa at Nixyaawii, 1 p.m.
Wallowa at Griswold, 10 a.m.
Joseph at Griswold, 1 p.m.
Prep girls soccer
Hermiston at Richland, 1 p.m.
Pendleton at Lewiston, noon
McLoughlin at Ontario, 11 a.m.
Stanfi eld/Echo at Trout Lake, 1 p.m.
Irrigon at Four Corners, 10 a.m.
Riverside at Nyssa, 1 p.m.
Prep boys soccer
Lewiston at Pendleton, noon
McLoughlin at Ontario, 12:30 p.m.
Irrigon at Four Rivers, noon
Riverside at Nyssa, 11 a.m.
Prep cross-country
Pendleton at Three Course Challenge,
TBD
McLoughlin at Connell Invite, 1 p.m.
Pilot Rock at John Hascall Memorial 3K,
TBD
College men’s soccer
Blue Mountain at Spokane, 2:15 p.m.
Corban at Eastern Oregon, 4 p.m.
College women’s soccer
Blue Mountain at Spokane, noon
Corban at Eastern Oregon, 6:30 p.m.
College volleyball
Eastern Oregon at Southern Oregon,
7 p.m.
SPORTS SHORT
Several Mountaineers take home player of the week honors
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
EOU Athletics/Contributed Photo
Morgan Farrington attempts a
penalty kick in the 12th minute of a
match at Multnomah on Saturday,
Sept. 18, 2021. Farrington’s two
goals in the 10-0 win helped her
earn conference off ensive player of
the week honors on Sept. 20.
LA GRANDE — After a solid
week of Mountaineer sports action,
several players took home player of
the week honors on Monday, Sept.
20.
The No. 14-ranked Eastern
volleyball team has been on a roll,
winning five matches in a row.
The Mountaineers are 6-1 in the
Cascade Collegiate Conference
through their fi rst seven conference
matchups, second only to Corban.
Freshman Alexis McMurtrey was
named setter of the week follow-
ing her solid performances over the
week.
Across a weekend series in
Portland against Multnomah
and Warner Pacifi c, McMurtrey
recorded 16 digs and 60 assists.
Against the College of Idaho on
Sept. 14, she tallied 25 assists and
10 digs. In her second year with the
program, McMurtrey has recorded
396 assists and 188 digs through the
team’s fi rst 15 games.
In women’s soccer, midfi elder
Morgan Farrington and goalkeeper
Madeline Barker were named
off ensive and defensive players of
the week.
The Mountaineers shut out
five straight opponents after a
season-opening loss to Spring
Arbor, including a 1-0 victory
over No. 17 Westmont on Sept. 13.
Barker recorded six saves in East-
ern’s biggest win of the season. She
recorded three saves in a 2-0 win
over Warner Pacifi c and helped the
team shut out Multnomah 1-0.
On off ense, Farrington has led
the way during her senior season.
Through three games this past
week, Farrington scored in every
contest. Her score in the 77th minute
against Westmont was the deciding
goal in the 1-0 win. Farrington also
scored two goals within the fi rst 12
minutes in a 10-0 blowout against
Multnomah on Sept. 18. The strong
week of competition propelled the
Mountaineers to a tie for fi rst with
Oregon Tech in the Cascade Colle-
giate Conference heading into the
team’s matchup with Bushnell on
Sept. 24.