A10 Sports wallowa.com September 2, 2015 COUGARS: Coach says team even better than last year’s Continued from Page A9 “We were the most phys- ical team in the league last year and I don’t expect that to change,” Brockamp said. What is likely to change, however, is an offensive ap- proach nearly devoid of pass- ing. While Wallowa won’t be abandoning the high-pow- ered rushing attack that was successful in 2014, oppo- nents will no longer be able to assume that’s all that’ll be coming at them. In adding air capability, Wallowa becomes “a little bit more balanced rather than one-dimensional,” Brockamp says. Taking snaps for that new- ly balanced offense is a re- turning senior, quarterback Koby Frye, who has added about 20 pounds to his 6’4” frame and now tips the scales at around 180. Brockamp notes that Frye, who had only around 350 passing yards last year to go with his approxi- mately 3,500 yards rushing, was “throwing the ball very well over the summer” and is ready to help “open up our offense.” Brockamp mentions a number of other key players for 2015, including: • Chandler Burns, a junior RB/DE end who has good size (6’2”, 210 lbs.) and excellent speed (4.6 in the 40). He had over 1,500 yards rushing as a sophomore. He played safety on defense, but is moving to defensive end. • Cole Hafer, TE/OLB, a returning senior who was All- League both at tight end and linebacker. Fans take note: He’s good at pass-receiving. • Noah Allen, senior RB/ FS. He was rotated in at run- ning back, but at his free safe- ty spot he played continuous- ly. “He’s a real good tackler and does a good job getting to the football,” Brockamp said. Allen is another 4.6 40 guy. • Travis Haga, junior TE/ DE. He was All-League at de- fensive end, where he record- ed 23 sacks. • Joe Pendarvis, OL, a re- turning sophomore who was All-League as a freshman on the offensive line. • And three other returnees whose prominence ¿gures to increase this year: junior OL/ DL Bryce Melville, sopho- more OL/DL Ethan Burns, and sophomore RB/LB Pat- rick Ritthaler. The 2015 Cougars open their season Friday, Sept. 4, against Chiloquin in the Du- fur Classic. Their ¿rst home game is scheduled for Sept. 25, when they host Echo. ENTERPRISE: Team young, talented Continued from Page A9 “We have quite a few young- er kids who are good football players, and that JV schedule is hugely important for those guys,” Rowley said. At least eight or nine of the starters will play both offense and defense. “Some of those older kids will have to play both ways just from an expe- rience standpoint,” Rowley said. Although EHS is ¿elding a young team, Rowley is im- pressed with the talent of his younger players. Rowley hasn’t selected a quarterback from the two or three players in line for the position. “Until we get done with our ¿rst game, I real- ly don’t know,” he said. He added that the back¿eld and receiver corps remain essen- tially the same as last year’s squad. The team will run a twin back offense that Rowley will sometimes change to a dou- ble slot, in which the backs are widened out. He added a few new wrinkles to the team this year on both offense and defense, but nothing he deemed earth-shattering. Rowley also said the team will primarily ¿eld a running offense but this season will show more emphasis on the passing element. While the team lost a few players, Rowley has con¿- dence that other players will step up and assume responsi- bility. Players to watch for during the season include Will McCadden, Justin Exon and Isaac Rowley. “I’d also really keep an eye out for Trent Bales. I really expect him to step it up this year. We’ll also use Andrew Curtis on the line because he’s our big guy, and we’re expect- ing a lot from him this year,” Rowley said. Out on the practice ¿eld the team looked loose, with- out a hint of nervousness or early practice jitters. Nearly all the plays had the smooth- ness of repetition coupled with intensity. The team’s league opener is against Stan¿eld on Sept. 4, and Rowley thinks that spectators will get their mon- ey’s worth. “The last three of the last four years have been decided by two points or less,” Rowley said. Rowley wants the public to know the team appreciates their support. “We have a lot of kids out, which is a good sign, and good parental sup- port overÀowing with posi- tive people. That’s what we need,” Rowley said. Wallowa County Chieftain JOSEPH: Numbers down for 2015-16 likely back¿eld starters. Several veteran players are returning as linemen, as well as a transfer with play- ing experience from another high school. Five of the players are freshmen, the largest being about 125 pounds. Because of the team’s youth, Koehn plans to keep the offense simple, probably running a T-formation. “We’ve got a big learning curve, so we’ve really got to concentrate on doing things right,” he said. With the T-formation, Koehn plans to concentrate on the running game as the staple of his offensive attack. “We’ll mix it up and try to run some play-action stuff out of our run game when the defense is crowding the ball and cheating on us. We’ll keep them honest, but we’ll adjust as the season goes on,” Koehn said. JCS practice focused strongly on both fundamen- tals and cardio exercise for physical conditioning. All the players looked focused and no one uttered a complaint. Players needed little cajoling from Koehn or his assistant coach Jim Hite to stay en- gaged with the drills. Because the opening game against Wilder, Idaho, was canceled due to Wilder’s in- ability to ¿eld a team, Joseph only has a six-game schedule. Nevertheless, Koehn is con¿- dent that his team can make their presence known in their 1A Special District 1 league, as well as to Joseph football fans. “If you come out to sup- port us, I promise you’ll see some good football,” he said. Continued from Page A9 “We’re large enough we could easily have 20-25 kids, and we’re trying to change that mentality and get kids excit- ed about competition ² most things in life are competitive,” Koehn said. Media focus on injuries has probably dampened some enthusiasm for the sport, ac- cording to Koehn. Because of parental concerns, the team is participating in the “Heads Up” program that focuses on football injury reduction as well as instituting new rules on blind-side blocking and blocks away from the ball, with an emphasis on hands- ¿rst blocking rather than helmet or shoulder blocking. Koehn says these measures should make the game con- siderably safer. While not without his hopes, Koehn considers this a rebuilding year. “We’re fo- cusing on getting our funda- mentals down ² getting solid on our basics to build a good foundation,” he said. Because of the team’s small numbers, Koehn is heavily focused on getting players in shape. Most of the players will play both sides of the ball for most of the game. The players understand this as well. “They know where they need to be to get in shape and be mentally prepared for the games,” Koehn said. The JCS team is young, sporting only two seniors, Raymond Seal and Sam Beckman. The latter is the team’s probable starter at quarterback. Caden DeLury and Logan Welch are the OUTLAWS: Coach will focus on scrappiness, ‘smart ball’ Continued from Page A9 “They want to make it to dis- trict. They’re coming in every day and giving 100 percent in practice.” That “scrappy/happy” de- termination was evident at HELLS CANYON MULE DAYS EVENT SCHEDULE SEPTEMBER 11-12-13, 2015 35th Annual Wallowa County Fairgrounds Enterprise, Oregon Featuring Tennessee Mule Artist Bonnie Shields Free Raffle Ticket With HCMD Program Purchase All Day Events 9:00 am Old World Oxen Living History Company 9:00 am Exhibitors/Artisans & Western Gear Show 10:00 am Vintiques Show, Cloverleaf Hall Friday 9:00 am 6:00 pm Mule Show – Full day of competition Driving Events - Singles, Teams & Youth Classes Trail & Timed Trail Classes Log Pull, Mule Races & More! Max Walker Memorial Cowboy Poetry Gathering Traditional toe-tappin’ cowboy tunes & western poetry Saturday 8:00 am 9:00 am 11:00 am 12:31 pm 1:00 pm Halter and Showmanship Events Matt Fournier Mule Clinic - Warm Up Arena Non-Motorized Parade - Downtown Enterprise Spectator Kids Events - Main Outdoor Arena Grand Entry & Mule Show - Main Outdoor Arena Thursday night practice (Aug. 27) as the girls ran defensive drills, did rundowns, prac- ticed hard shots and tips and performed a vigorous serve and receive. There were wide smiles on sweaty faces as girls dove for shots and showed some real moxie. Shouts of “close up!” echoed in the gym ty ¿gured out already ² usu- ally we struggle with that.” Last year’s team had only two seniors, this year’s team has four Andrea %utter¿eld, Jacki Jenson, Stefany Christ- man and foreign exchange student Eszter Nagy. Return- ing senior Jane Kissinger opted to join Paul Stangel in management. Jane is senior manager and Paul is junior this year. The junior section includes many experienced players: Darby Gassett, Gwen Jen- son, Sarah Aschenbrenner, Tiffanie George and Sharon Hurley. Sophomores Ashey Exon, Gracie Carlsen, Heidi Niezen, Reece Christman and Riley Gray ¿ll out the ranks and help inspire freshmen Deidre Schreiber, Hero Peters, Lexi Gassett, Shelby Moncrief and Meredeth Brann. Neither numbers nor posi- tions had been issued at press time, but it will all be lined out by Sept. 1 when they play the EHS Alumni at 6 p.m. in Enter- prise. (The JVs play at 5 p.m.) The team’s ¿rst tourna- ment is scheduled for Sept. 5 at Heppner. Play starts at 9 a.m. and younger players seemed quick to take direction from the older players and coaches. “We had the skills all along and we have some strong leaders on the team. That helps with young players on the team,” Gill said. “We mesh together really well. We have our rotation for the varsi- ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Our features athlete of the week is Jack McAfee, new manager of the Joseph Charter School football team. McAfee , 15, is a sophomore at JCES and is the son of Ron and Laurie McAfee of Joseph. Whether getting water or gathering footballs McAfee is quick to finish his tasks. His teammates appreciate his efforts, nearly all of them stopping to say hello before practice begins. McAfee enjoys playing video games and finds mowing lawns is a pleasurable occupation. JCS football coach Toby Koehn is impressed with McAfee’s dedication. “He’s really a pleasure to have around, and he really cares about what he’s doing.,” Koehn said. McAfee said keeping his job simple is the key to enjoying it. “It’s all about helping, caring and sharing,” he said. JACK MCAFEE Proudly Sponsored By: Eastern Oregon’s Full Service Propane Supplier 201 E. Hwy 82, Enterprise 541-426-0320 www.edstaub.com SHOP LOW PRICES ON CANNING, LAWN AND LAUNDRY SUPPLIES! 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Regular Scent Bleach W 172 522; 186 743 B6 W 185 095 F6 SONDRA LOZIER 541-426-3271 / 541-263-0104 • Visit our website - HELLSCANYONMULEDAYS.COM Souvenier Admission Button - Weekend return privileges Children 6 & Under - FREE • Youth 7-12 - $3.00 • Seniors - $8.00 • Adults -$10.00 While supplies last. While supplies last. Daily Admission - Children 6 & Under - FREE • Youth 7-12 - $2.00 • Adults & Seniors - $5.00 Free parking • Covered seating 092 M-F 8AM-6PM • SAT 8AM-5PM • SUN 9AM-3PM Sale Ends 01/31/2014 9/30/2015 Sale ends Sale ends 01/31/2013 ® Company. ©2012 by True Value All ©2013 True Value Company. All rights rights reserved. reserved. ® ® Company. All rights reserved. ©2012 True by True Value ©2013 Value Company. All rights reserved. ®