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Saturday, January 8, 2022
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B1
OSAA
Potential
football
changes
frustrate
1a schools
By NIK STRENG
The Oregonian
Mike Baleztena/Contributed Photo
Pilot Rock football coach Mike Baleztena talks with quarterback Tanner Corwin and lineman Caden Thornton before a game during the
2020 season. Baleztena is stepping away from coaching to spend more time with his family.
Time for family
Pilot rock football coach Mike Baleztena steps down
boys since the third grade. It will be rough.
I sent out a message to the boys. they
understood. I am not bailing on them, but
ILOt rOCK — For the past I want to spend more time with Bryson.
seven seasons, Mike Baleztena Especially after being sick.”
has walked the sidelines as the
Baleztena was diagnosed with stage 4
kidney cancer during the summer of 2020.
Pilot rock football coach.
On aug. 28, 2020, doctors removed a
this coming fall, Baleztena
5-inch tumor, his left kidney and
will be cheering on his son Bryson
on the cross-country course, leaving
both of his adrenal glands. Fortu-
the rockets in the capable hands of
nately, the tumor was not attached
a yet-to-be-named coach.
to the pancreas.
“For the last couple of years, I
a few weeks ago, his most
only got to see three of Bryson’s
recent Ct scans and blood work
came back good.
cross-country meets,” Baleztena
said. “during hunting season, I can
“Hopefully that is the way it
only go one or two days. I want to
Baleztena
stays,” Baleztena said. “the past
spend the next couple of years hang-
18 months, I have been very happy
ing out with him until he goes to wherever. and very blessed. I can’t even put into words
I love football, but I don’t get to spend a lot how lucky I am to get a second chance.”
of time with my son.”
A Rocket for life
Baleztena sent his players a message a
few weeks ago, and he let them know he
Baleztena grew up in Pilot rock, grad-
uating in 1986.
always will be there for them.
“When you coach, it doesn’t stop,”
He played football, did track and played
Baleztena said. “I have been with these basketball his senior year.
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
P
“There was no finesse there,” he said of
his time on the basketball court.
after high school, Baleztena spent four
years in the navy as an electrician for
C-130s — a four-engine turboprop mili-
tary transport aircraft.
When he returned from his military
service, he went to Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College, where he was a thrower on the
track team.
Baleztena, who works for the umatilla
County road department, started with the
rockets football program in 2012 as the line
coach. He took over as head coach in 2015.
That first year, the Rockets played in the
Columbia Basin Conference with power-
house Heppner, Weston-McEwen, Stanfield
and Irrigon. They finished 0-8.
In 2017, Pilot rock dropped from 11-man
ball to 8-man ball, which had Baleztena
scrambling to adjust his game plan.
“that year, we played an independent
schedule,” he said. “We were going out of
the gate trying to figure it out.”
See Coach, Page B2
POrtLand — during a
Wednesday, Jan. 5, meeting of the
Oregon School activities associa-
tion’s Football ad Hoc Committee,
coaches and administrators from
Oregon’s Class 1a schools voiced
concerns over a proposal that could
completely change how small-
school teams operate.
In december, the ad hoc
committee met and officially
supported a reorganization of the
state’s smallest football teams. this
would combine Oregon’s 2a and 1a
schools into three groups: a nine-
man football Division 1 classifi-
cation mostly made of 2a teams,
a nine-man football division 2
classification made of smaller 2A
teams and bigger 1a teams, and a
six-man football classification for
the smaller 1a programs. teams
that do not want to participate in
See Changes, Page B2
ON THE SLATE
Schedule subject to change
SATURDAY, JAN. 8
Prep girls basketball
Ellensburg at Hermiston, 1 p.m.
McLoughlin at Ontario, 3 p.m.
Heppner at Grant Union, 4 p.m.
Pilot Rock at Union, 4 p.m.
Elgin at Nixyaawii, 4 p.m.
Echo at Bickleton, 4 p.m.
Spray/Mitchell/Wheeler at Ione/Arlington, 4 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Stanfield, 4 p.m.
Prep boys basketball
Ellensburg at Hermiston, 2:45 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Stanfield, 4 p.m.
McLoughlin at Ontario, 4:30 p.m.
Heppner at Grant Union, 5:30 p.m.
Pilot Rock at Union, 5:30 p.m.
Elgin at Nixyaawii, 5:30 p.m.
Echo at Bickleton, 5:30 p.m.
Spray/Mitchell/Wheeler at Ione/Arlington,
5:30 p.m.
College men’s basketball
EOU vs. Multnomah, 3 p.m.
Preps boys wrestling
Echo/Stanfield, Heppner/Ione, Riverside at Jo-Hi
Invitational, noon
Hermiston at Rollie Lane, Nampa, Idaho, TBD
Prep swimming
Pendleton at Jay Rowen Invite, Redmond, TBD
MONDAY, JAN. 10
Prep girls basketball
Stanfield at Enterprise, 5 p.m.
Prep boys basketball
Stanfield at Enterprise, 6:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, JAN. 11
COVID-19 impacts EOU’s sports season again
By JEFF BUDLONG
For The Observer
La Gr andE — Some-
thing returned to Eastern Oregon
university’s athletic schedule it
wishes could have left behind in
2021 — forfeits due to COVId-19.
the women’s basketball team
will not play both home Cascade
Collegiate Conference games
this weekend against Warner
Pacific and Multnomah because of
outbreaks in those programs. the
men’s game with Warner Pacific
also was canceled while the Mult-
nomah contest on Saturday, Jan. 8,
still is on. the wrestling team lost
a dual with Warner Pacific sched-
uled for Jan. 12.
“It is really disappointing, but
it is something that we are all deal-
ing with,” said Mountaineers head
women’s basketball coach and
EOu athletics director anji Weis-
senfluh. “It could and most likely
will happen to all of us because the
new variant is highly contagious.”
Conference COVId-19 guide-
lines state that anytime a school
elects not to participate or has
been required to cease based on
federal, state or county mandate,
the contest will be a forfeit for
record and standing purposes.
“It doesn’t feel good to win by
forfeit,” Weissenfluh said. “It never
feels good to any coach or team.
Student-athletes and coaches do
Prep girls bowling
Kennewick at Hermiston, 3 p.m.
Prep girls basketball
Hermiston at Chiawana, 5:45 p.m.
McLoughlin at Umatilla, 6 p.m.
Heppner at Riverside, 6 p.m.
Echo at Ione/Arlington, 6 p.m.
Pendleton at Walla Walla, 7:30 p.m.
Prep boys basketball
Hermiston at Chiawana, 7:30 p.m.
McLoughlin at Umatilla, 7:30 p.m.
Heppner at Riverside, 7:30 p.m.
Echo at Ione/Arlington, 7:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 12
Prep girls basketball
Nixyaawii at Griswold, 6 p.m.
Prep boys basketball
Nixyaawii at Griswold, 7:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, JAN. 13
Prep boys swimming
Hermiston at Hood River Valley, 3:15 p.m.
Prep girls bowling
Hermiston at Hanford, 3:30 p.m.
Prep girls wrestling
Kamiakin at Hermiston, 6 p.m.
Prep boys wrestling
Kamiakin at Hermiston, 7 p.m.
La Grande at Pendleton, TBD
FRIDAY, JAN. 14
Eastern Oregon University Athletics/Contributed Photo
Eastern Oregon University’s Leilani Padilla controls the ball Dec. 18, 2021, during the home game against Wal-
la Walla University. EOU was set to play home games Friday and Saturday, Jan. 7 and 8, 2022, against Warner
Pacific and Multnomah until COVID-19 outbreaks on those teams led to forfeits.
this because they love this and they
want to play.”
the EOu women’s basketball
team sits at 10-7 overall and 7-2 in
conference play after receiving the
pair of forfeits. It is the third forfeit
the Mountaineers have received
this season after Corban forfeited a
dec. 31 contest. the men are losing
a game because of COVId-19 for
the first time this season.
Weissenfluh said the start-stop
nature the season can take creates
problems with conditioning for all
athletes. the Mountaineer women
are not scheduled to return to the
See EOU, Page B2
Prep girls basketball
Burns at Umatilla, 5 p.m.
Ridgeview at Pendleton, 5 p.m.
Walla Walla at Hermiston, 5:45 p.m.
Baker at McLoughlin, 6 p.m.
Irrigon at Riverside, 6 p.m.
Heppner at Pilot Rock, 6 p.m.
Enterprise at Weston-McEwen, 6 p.m.
Joseph at Griswold, 6 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Cove, 6 p.m.
Echo at Klickitat/Glenwood, 6 p.m.
Ione/Arlington at Trout Lake, 6 p.m.
Grant Union at Stanfield, 6 p.m.
Prep boys basketball
Pendleton at Ridgeview, 6:30 p.m.
Burns at Umatilla, 6:30 p.m.
Walla Walla at Hermiston, 7:30 p.m.
Baker at McLoughlin, 7:30 p.m.
Irrigon at Riverside, 7:30 p.m.
Heppner at Pilot Rock, 7:30 p.m.
Enterprise at Weston-McEwen, 7:30 p.m.
Joseph at Griswold, 7:30 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Cove, 7:30 p.m.
Echo at Klickitat/Glenwood, 7:30 p.m.
Ione/Arlington at Trout Lake, 7:30 p.m.
Grant Union at Stanfield, 7:30 p.m.