E AST O REGONIAN
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
FOLLOW US ON
TWITTER @EOSPORTS |
FACEBOOK.COM/EOSPORTS
A11
Showing
their true
character
W-m football players’
team breakfast turns
into a blessing
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
aTHeNa — In a time where
there is uncertainty and ugliness
in the world, the Weston-mce-
wen High school football team has
shown goodness still exists.
Two days before their 2a state
quarterfinal football game at
Heppner, the Tigerscots went for a
team breakfast Thursday, Nov. 11,
at denny’s in Pendleton.
The idea to go to denny’s was
that of senior Quinn Graham, with
fellow senior boone blankenship
helping to coordinate the outing.
“It’s not real fancy, but it’s the
best breakfast around and they
could fit us all in,” Graham said.
“We wanted to be respectful and
wanted to make sure we had enough
money and have a good time and not
go overboard.
They met at the school to make
sure everyone had a ride, and they
walked into the restaurant 25 strong.
“before they arrived, a young
man came in and gave me his credit
card and said,‘Please take care of
them,’” denny’s server Wendy
Christensen said. “The guys came
in and they were fantastic. When
they sat down, they said each bill
was separate and that they were
drinking water. I told them it has
been paid for and they were to enjoy
themselves.”
“We were surprised,” senior
boone blankenship said. “We didn’t
think a whole lot of people knew
about it.”
The players ordered breakfast,
had appetizers and some had milk
shakes.
See Character, Page A12
eou’s Quinn
cements
legacy with
last second
victory
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
La GraNde — It has been
far from a desirable season for the
eastern oregon university foot-
ball team, but one of the program’s
all-time great quar terbacks
secured his legacy in his final game
at Community stadium.
riding a six-game losing streak,
the mountaineers came into the
season finale against rival South-
ern oregon with little implications
on the season’s outcome. However,
Eastern walked off with a last-sec-
ond 14-10 victory on Saturday,
Nov. 13, to end the season on a high
note and send out 19 seniors on the
roster.
after a low-scoring bout
between the raiders and moun-
taineers, eastern managed one
final opportunity for a victory. In
front of a home crowd on senior
day, quarterback Kai Quinn and
the mountaineers took over at their
own 10-yard line down 10-3 with
53 seconds remaining.
Quinn was sensational in the
pocket on the winning drive,
connecting on three straight passes
to move the ball past midfield. A
20-yard run by Quinn down to the
southern 20-yard line with nine
seconds remaining set up east-
ern in prime field goal range with
a chance to tie the game. With
one play left before an imminent
field goal attempt, Quinn came
away with one of the biggest plays
See Quinn, Page A11
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Heppner players celebrate their win Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, at Les Payne Field, Heppner, over the Weston-McEwen TigerScots. Top-ranked Hep-
pner (11-0) won 40-0 in the quarterfinal round of the Oregon School Activities Association Class 2A state football tournament and next play Co-
quille (8-1) in the semifinals Nov. 20 at noon at McMinnville High School.
Mustangs punch ticket to 2A semifinals
Heppner shuts out
Weston-McEwen 40-0
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
H
ePPNer — Greg Grant admit-
ted he loses sleep this time of year.
The longtime Heppner football
coach said he wants to make sure he
doesn’t let his players down during
the state playoffs.
Grant should have slept soundly saturday,
Nov. 13, after the mustangs punched their ticket
to the oregon school activities association 2a
state semifinals with a 40-0 victory over Blue
mountain Conference rival Weston-mcewen.
“This is their last home game, and I wanted it
to be a win and a good experience,” Grant said
of his seniors. “This is a good group of kids.
Winning is a relief; I wanted to get them there.
They work hard and they care.”
The top-ranked mustangs (11-0) will play
Coquille (8-1) in the semifinals Nov. 20 at noon
at mcminnville High school.
“It’s incredibly exciting,” Heppner senior
Conor brosnan said of advancing. “It’s crazy
to think back to our sophomore year, and to go
this far again with these guys, it means a lot.”
and it’s not an easy thing to do.
“It takes a lot of brotherhood and teamwork,”
senior Jace Coe said. “We are nervous, but we
don’t acknowledge it. We stay in our own lane
and don’t talk about it.”
The TigerScots finished their season with
an 8-2 record.
HEPPNER 40, WESTON-MCEWEN 0
Score by quarter
Weston-McEwen: 0 0 0 0 – 0
Heppner:
6 8 6 20 – 40
Scoring plays
H — Caden George 1 run (kick failed).
H — Landon Mitchell 2 run (Brock Hisler pass
from Mitchell).
H — George 11 run (pass failed).
H — Hisler 13 run (run failed).
H — Jace Coe 58 run (Hisler run).
H — Conor Brosnan 25 fumble recovery
(kick failed).
“This senior class, I can’t say enough good
things about them,” Weston-mcewen coach
Kenzie Hansell said. “Three years ago, they
didn’t know me. I can’t thank them enough
for their leadership and character. Congratu-
lations to Heppner, they are well coached and
they execute well. best of luck to them in the
semifinals.”
The mustangs, who are on a 29-game win
streak, scored on their first possession of the
game as Caden George took the ball in from the
1-yard line. The ensuing kick failed as Heppner
took a 6-0 lead.
The Tigerscots ended up punting on their
first drive, and Heppner wasted no time find-
ing the end zone once again as Landon mitchell
ran the ball in from the 2-yard line on the first
play of the second quarter. mitchell connected
with brock Hisler on the 2-point conversion to
take a 14-0 lead.
The remainder of the second quarter saw
Statistics
PASSING — W-M, Blane Peal 5-20-1-38. Hep-
pner, Mitchell 6-11-1-45.
RUSHING — W-M, Levie Phillips 14-46, Peyton
Sincleir 5-22, Aiden Wolf 1-6, Peal 2-(minus-1).
Heppner, Hisler 18-110, Coe 3-81, Mitchell 7-40,
George 6-34, Hayden McMahon 1-(minus-4).
RECEIVING — W-M, Cameron Reich 1-35, Theo
White 1-5, Chase Fehrenbacker 1-0, Phillips 1-0,
Dylan Youncs 1-(minus-2). Heppner, George
2-15, Coe 2-13, Zander Fisher 1-10, Ty Boor 1-7.
Weston-mcewen punt twice, and quarterback
blane Peal was intercepted by Zander Fisher to
stall another drive.
The Tigerscots got the ball back when
Taylor McGill picked off Mitchell to give the
team the ball on its own 29 with 13 seconds left
in the first half.
“our team came out ready to play,” Hansell
said. “It was 14-0 at the half, and with a minute
to go in the third quarter. We’d move the ball,
then stall. It got away from us in the fourth
quarter.”
Weston-mcewen did a good job of bottling
up Hisler in the first half. Brosnan said the
offensive line was partially to blame.
“We weren’t playing well as a team,” he
said. “The line wasn’t communicating. We
were trying to do fancy stuff instead of what
we know — grit and hard work.”
See Mustangs, Page A12
Hermiston’s Pasena-Littlesky named MCC’s top goalie
Gonzalez, seavert
named to second team
MID-COLUMBIA
CONFERENCE
GIRLS SOCCER
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
HermIsToN — Hermiston
goalkeeper Lindsey Pasena-Lit-
tlesky was named to the mid-Co-
lumbia Conference first team by a
vote of the coaches.
It’s the third time Pasena-Lit-
tlesky has earned first-team
all-conference honors. she was a
two-time Goalie of the year in the
Intermountain Conference when
she played at Pendleton.
Pasena-Littlesky transferred to
Hermiston during the summer. she
allowed an average of .80 goals per
game.
“It was a lot of fun,” she said of
the season. “I got a lot of support
from the Pendleton girls and
Hermiston girls. It was a great time
for me to have the opportunity to
play for Hermiston.”
richland’s Hayden Crowly was
named the mCC Player of the year,
while Justin almquist of richland
was named Coach of the year.
Pasena-Littlesky, who would
like to pursue a degree in tribal
law or business after graduation,
Player of the Year: Hayden Crowly, sr.,
Richland.
Coach of the Year: Justin Almquist,
Richland
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
Hermiston goalie Lindsey Pasena-Littlesky stops the ball from going
into the net Oct. 9, 2021, while playing Richland at Kennison Field, Herm-
iston. Coaches voted her to the Mid-Columbia Conference first team.
also would like to continue to play
soccer in college.
“I haven’t had any contact,” she
said. “I’m hoping to reach out to
schools. I want to go to Ivy League
school for academics, but I still
want to play.”
Hermiston forward Jizelle
Gonzalez, and midfielder Sydney
seavert were named to the second
team.
Gonzalez finished the season
Gonzalez
Seavert
with five goals and two assists,
while seavert had three goals and
eight assists.
First Team
Forwards — Hayden Crowly, sr., Rich-
land; Kate Christian, jr., Kamiakin; Isa-
bella Hoag, so., Chiawana; Claire Nguyen,
sr., Hanford; Ava Suarez, jr., Chiawana.
Midfielders — Ellie Cortes-Muniz, sr.,
Chiawana; Violet Duran, sr., South-
ridge; Kelsey Fulton, jr., Richland; Han-
nah Whitemarsh, jr., Kamiakin. Defend-
ers — Kaylie Pearson, sr., Richland; Claire
Eerkes, sr., Kamiakin; Emma Haertling, jr.,
Chiawana; Olivia Mendoza, jr., Chiawana.
Goalkeeper — Lindsey Pasena-Littlesky,
sr., Hermiston.
Second Team
Forwards — Margot Massey, jr., Kami-
akin; Angelina Hopwood, so., Southridge;
Jizelle Gonzalez, sr., Hermiston; Chel-
sie Baker, fr., Kennewick. Midfielders —
Sierra Larios, jr., Chiawana; Claire Potter,
sr., Pasco; Kylie Hay, sr., Richland; Sydney
Seavert, sr., Hermiston. Defenders — Ken-
dal Smith, jr., Richland; Maggie Perryman,
sr., Richland; Candace Carlson, sr., Kami-
akin; Chloe Bond, so., Southridge. Goal-
keeper — Devyn Chelin, jr., Kamiakin.
Honorable Mention
Midfielders — Kaitlyn King, jr., Walla
Walla; Marlee Boyd, jr., Walla Walla; Kayla
Anema, jr., Southridge. Defenders —
Riley Heidegger, jr., Richland; Maya Wun-
schel, jr., Hanford; Rylee Siefken, sr., Kami-
akin; Mikailyn O’Dell, sr., Walla Walla.
Goalkeepers — Alyssa Marsh, so., Rich-
land; Crystal Kelly, sr., Walla Walla.