A14
Sports
wallowa.com
November 8, 2017
Wallowa County Chieftain
Enterprise falls to Kennedy in Round 1
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
Lost opportunities, mainly
in the form of turnovers,
brought an end to the Outlaws
2017 2A state football cham-
pion hopes Saturday. The Out-
laws lost to Kennedy High
School from the Salem area in
the first round, 33-0.
The game started evenly
with neither team scoring until
Kennedy hit paydirt with 4:32
remaining in the first quarter.
The Trojans controlled the
rest of the game. Although
they passed the ball enough to
keep the defense honest, they
focused on a running game
that ate up both huge chunks
of yardage and clock time.
Enterprise
opportuni-
ties included a fumble after
a 20-yard kick return, which
later became a touchdown. An
intercepted pass had the same
result. The score stood 20-0 at
the half.
The Outlaws held Kennedy
scoreless in the third quar-
ter and a good portion of the
fourth quarter, but the sput-
tering offense left the defense
on the field for extended peri-
ods, which contributed to the
two fourth-quarter Trojans
scores. The offense sustained a
drive to the Kennedy 34-yard
line but stalled on an Outlaws
fumble.
Both Cole Farwell and
Trace Evans ran well for the
Outlaws and quarterback Jus-
tus Even saw some success
with short yardage passes
up the middle. The defense
remained steadfast for the most
part but spent the vast majority
of the game on the field.
Senior Brett Greenshields
blocked two PAT attempts.
Farwell led the rushing
with 44 yards and Jake Cog-
gins gained 27. Dylan Marr
had 21 yards receiving and
Trace Evans was good for 34
yards airmail. The offense
gave up two fumbles and three
interceptions.
“We were in the football
game, but we didn’t do any-
thing to give ourselves more
momentum,” Coach Rusty
Eschler said. “Anytime we
started a drive or had anything
positive, we’d turn the ball
over.”
Eschler gave his team
credit for a hard-fought game.
He noted that the Outlaws last
appeared in a playoff game in
2013 and last hosted a playoff
game in 2002 or 2003.
“We came out and fought
a lot harder in the second half,
and the first half was turnovers.
We easily could have gone
into half time only down 7-0,”
Eschler said. Those back-to-
back turnovers ended up being
14 points –– that killed us.”
Eschler noted that the team
is young and played without
one of its leading rushers.
“Considering no one
expected us to be here in the
first place, the kids played well
–– all season,” Eschler said.
“The kids did an outstanding
job. They’re pretty special.”
Paul Wahl/Chieftain
Brett Greenshields strips the ball out of the hands of Kennedy running back Emorej Lynk during Saturday’s state championship playoff game in Enterprise.
The ball is behind Lynk’s right foot. The Outlaws took possession on the play.
“Considering no one expected us to be here in the first place, the kids played well –– all
season. The kids did an outstanding job. They’re pretty special.”
Rusty Eschler
Enterprise football coach
Paul Wahl/Chieftain
Paul Wahl/Chieftain
Cole Farwell hangs on to the ball after a rough tackle in the early going of Saturday’s state
champion playoff game in Enterprise against Kennedy High.
Enterprise quarterback Justus Even makes a play in Satur-
day’s state playoff game against the Kennedy Trojans.
Cougar gridders trounce Elkton, 44-6
Will face top-ranked
Triad in quarterfinals
Saturday afternoon
By Paul Wahl
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa High School’s varsity
football team met with huge success
in the opening salvo of the Class 1A
football playoffs Saturday in Elkton.
Patrick Ritthaler sparked the
44-6 win with a season-high 235 of
the team total 441 yards rushing and
another 20 yards receiving. Ritthaler
also led the Cougars defensively with
seven tackles and eight assists. He
was key player in three of the team’s
six touchdowns, including a 65-yard
run.
Wallowa scored twice in the first
quarter and three times in the second
with a final touchdown in the third
quarter.
Austin Brockamp tallied 134
yards rushing, along with quarterback
Gus Ramsden’s 69 yards.
A feckless Elkton squad managed
one touchdown in the second quar-
ter and came up short with only 154
yards rushing in the game, 56 yards
passing.
Coach Matt Brockamp said the
Michael Sullivan/The News-Review
Wallowa High School’s Gus Ramsden, middle, leads a blitz on Elkton
quarterback Austin Luzier during a playoff game in Elkton on Saturday.
second half degenerated into a hostile
environment for the Cougars.
“We just ran the clock out and got
out of there without any problems,”
he said.
The team had traveled Friday,
played Saturday and returned at
around midnight.
“We had a good crowd and really
appreciated the fans who traveled that
far,” Brockamp said.
The Cougars will be back on the
road this week traveling to Klamath
Falls to play Triad at Klamath Union
High School’s Modoc Field 1 p.m.
Saturday.
Triad advanced to quarterfinal
play Friday night defeating Yoncalla,
70-22.
Brockamp said Triad came to
Michael Sullivan/The News-Review
Wallowa High School’s Patrick Ritthaler gains yards for the Cougars
during a playoff game against Elkton on Saturday. Ritthaler was key in
three of the team’s touchdowns.
Wallowa two years ago for a playoff
game and the Cougars came out on
top. He’s hoping for a similar result in
this year’s matchup.
Triad is 9-1 thus far on the sea-
son. Wallowa is 8-2. Triad came into
post-season play ranked No. 1 in the
state.