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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2022)
A5 Wednesday, January 12, 2022 SPORTS Outlaws take ninth, Eagles 11th at Jo-Hi By RONALD BOND Wallowa County Chieftain OSEPH — Cody Fent took third place at 170 pounds, Tegan Evans won three matches to take fourth at 145 and Enterprise came away from the Jo-Hi Tournament in Joseph on Friday, Jan. 7, and Satur- day, Jan. 8, in ninth place, while the host Eagles finished in 11th. Fent dropped his first match by fall to Elgin’s Joe Lathrop, but pinned his next two opponents — Sam McCracken and Riddick Hutchison, both of Grant Union, to claim third. Evans dropped his first match by fall to Jack Strong of Grant Union, then won three matches in a row, pinning both Cohen Simp- son of Pine Eagle and Tyler Boor of Heppner/Ione, then defeating Strong in a rematch in the conso- lation semifinals by a 7-6 decision. He dropped the third-place match to Reece McConnell of Elgin by a 5-3 decision. Alex Albanez went 2-2 to take fourth at 132. He pinned Mason Benge of Grant Union, dropped a semifinal match to Culver’s Noel J Ellen Morris Bishop/For the Wallowa County Chieftain Enterprise’s Tegan Evans, top, took fourth at 145 pounds at the Jo-Hi Wrestling Tournament Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022. Navarro by a 12-3 major deci- sion, then pinned Culver’s Jaden Scott. The third-place match was a rematch against Benge, who this time topped Albanez by decision, 4-0. Pearce Schnetzky went 2-2 and placed fifth at 138. He opened with a 9-0 major decision over Noah Gliddon of Union/Cove, then was pinned by Coy Butner of Pine Eagle and lost to Kadyn Trick of Imbler by a 14-4 major decision. In the fifth-place match, he got back into the win column with a win by fall over Grant Union’s Tristan Clarry. Will Ogden wrestled just one match — a loss to Union/Cove’s James Dempsey by fall, to take third at 195. For Joseph, Jett Peterson split two matches to take third at 113, falling to Culver’s Debren Sanabria, then later pinning Elgin’s Joshua Wilson in the third-place match. Jayden McNall (120) went 1-2 and took fourth, dropping a match by fall to Culver’s Santos Navarro, pinning Culver’s Austin Fosmark and losing by fall to Sam Schmid- gall of Santiam Christian. Dylan Rogers (126) took fifth, going 2-2. He dropped a match to Garrett Burns of Imbler by fall, pinned Tucker Whitaker of Cul- ver, lost to Culver’s Thadius Brown by fall, and pinned Jacob Jones of Union/Cove. Gavin Russell (152) dropped three matches by fall to take sixth. On the girls side, Enterprise’s Gabby Delapena went 1-1 to take second at 131-135 pounds, pinning Serenity Marcano of Grant Union, and losing by fall to Hensley Wach- ter of Culver. Megan Brock of Joseph dropped two matches by fall at 101-110 to take third. Both Enterprise and Joseph wrestle next at the Maniac Wres- tling Tournament in Orofino, Idaho, on Jan. 14-15. Nine-man Eagles outlast Cougars in thriller football off table Outlaws raced ahead to a 26-15 halftime lead. But Stanfield rallied, fueled by 11 second-half points by Maggie Sharp. The Tigers pulled even at 32-32 after three, and outscored Enterprise in the fourth, 9-2. The Outlaws were held to just one second-half field goal and were outscored 26-8 after the break. Enterprise (6-7 overall, 1-1 BMC) travels to Weston-McEwen Jan. 14 and hosts Union Jan. 15. Chieftain staff By RONALD BOND Wallowa County Chieftain SALEM — Nine-man football appears to be off the table. The OSAA Football Ad Hoc Com- mittee on Wednesday, Jan. 5, dropped support of a considered move that would have drastically altered the 2A and 1A game and divided the schools into a large and small school division of nine-man football. Instead, 2A schools will continue to play 11-man football, while larger 1A schools will remain at the eight- man level. Backing nine-man football was shelved after the vast majority of eight-man schools — about 95% — said they favored eight-man over nine, according to an Oregonian report last week. According to the update from the OSAA, schools will have an option to play nine-man “when necessary and appropriate.” Six-man football will continue to be offered by the OSAA for smaller 1A schools, and the OSAA is con- sidering sanctioning the sport, mean- ing schools at that level would have the ability to play for an official state championship. Six-man has been a pilot program the last four years, and the teams had played for a de-facto title. Enterprise, under the current pro- posal, is currently listed as part of the 2A ranks, and would be one of six teams in Special District 5, alongside Grant Union, Heppner, Irrigon, Stan- field and Weston-McEwen. The Out- laws had played down to eight-man the previous four years. The OSAA plans to keep play- down options in place for schools that have struggled at their slotted classi- fications, but is considering adding criteria that schools who play down would be ineligible for the postseason. Wallowa is slated to stay in the eight-man ranks as part of eight-team Special District 3, joining Adrian, Cove, Crane, Elgin, Imbler, Powder Valley and Union. Joseph would remain at the six- man ranks as part of Special District 1. The rest of the district includes Dayville/Monument, Echo, Hunting- ton, Wheeler County, Pine Eagle, Prairie City/Burnt River, and South Wasco County. WALLOWA — The Joseph girls basketball team opened Old Oregon League play Tuesday, Jan. 4, with a hard-fought 43-42 road victory over county rival Wallowa. The contest was a tight back- and-forth battle that saw the teams trade the lead throughout. Wal- lowa trailed 14-11 after one, but was up 24-21 at the half. The Eagles inched ahead after three quarters, 30-28, and mustered up enough offense in the final quarter to outlast the Cougars. The free-throw line proved to be a deciding factor in the contest. Joseph was just 10-for-20, but was 6-for-8 in the final quarter. Wal- lowa was 12-for-28, but was just 5-for-10 in the fourth. Libby Fisher, who finished with a game-high 14 points, had seven in the fourth for Wallowa, including a key 3-pointer late. Sophie Moeller added 10 points and both Haley Brockamp and Zoe Hermens had eight points. Aimee Meyers was the leading scorer in the win for Joseph with 12 points. Molly Curry was close behind with 11 points, and both Saturday, Jan. 8 Ellen Morris Bishop/For the Wallowa County Chieftain Joseph’s Aimee Meyers, center, splits Wallowa defenders Libby Fisher, left, and Zoe Hermens, right, for a layup attempt Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. Sarah Orr and Cooper Nave had seven points. Orr had an import- ant 3-pointer early in the fourth for the Eagles (4-5 overall, 1-0 OOL) who visit Griswold on Jan. 14 and Imbler on Jan. 15. Also Monday, Jan. 10 Stanfield 41, Enterprise 34: The Enterprise girls basketball team saw a double-digit half- time lead dissipate and was held without a field goal in the fourth quarter of a 41-34 home loss to Stanfield in Blue Mountain Con- ference play Monday, Jan. 10. Jada Gray had nine of her team- high 15 points in the first half and Rilyn Kirkland has all six of her points in the opening half as the Wallowa 49, Cove 37: Zoe Hermens scored 12 of her game- high 23 points in the fourth quar- ter as the Wallowa girls basketball team used a strong fourth-quar- ter rally to fend off Cove, 49-37, Saturday, Jan. 8, in Old Oregon League action. Hermens’ offensive barrage keyed a 20-point fourth quarter for the Cougars, who entered the final period with a scant 29-28 lead. Sophie Moeller, who added 12 points, scored six in the final period. See Girls, Page A6 Eagle boys claim their first two OOL contests The Outlaws had eight play- ers score on the night, led by nine points — all in the second half — from Jackson Decker. Caden Fent added eight points and Gideon Gray scored six points. Enterprise (2-10 overall, 0-2 BMC) visits Weston-McEwen Jan. 14 and hosts Union Jan. 15. Chieftain staff HALFWAY — The Joseph boys basketball team completed a clean sweep of action in its first week of Old Oregon League play with an easy 59-27 win at Pine Eagle on Saturday, Jan. 8. The Eagles netted 23 first-quarter points and were in control from the outset. They led 38-11 by halftime, and were up by 33 after three quarters. Ten players scored for Joseph, with Storm Lynch putting in 13 points to lead the way. James Burney added 10 points and Chase Homan and Blade Suto each added eight points. Joseph (4-6 overall, 2-0 OOL) visits Griswold Jan. 14 and Imbler Jan. 15. Saturday, Jan. 8 Ellen Morris Bishop/For the Wallowa County Chieftain Also Monday, Jan. 10 Stanfield 70, Enterprise 41: Stanfield broke open its Blue Mountain Conference contest at Enterprise after halftime en route to a 70-41 victory Monday, Jan. 10. Joseph’s James Burney (21) glides in for a layup during the Eagles’ win at Wallowa on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. Enterprise hung close for the first half, trailing 11-7 after one and 27-13 at the break. But the Tigers scored 23 points in the third quarter and 20 more in the fourth to pull away. ADVERTISE TODAY in Wallowa County’s only newspaper! Call Jennifer Cooney today at 541-805-9630 to place your ad Cove 59, Wallowa 35: Wal- lowa dropped a second Old Ore- gon League game Saturday, Jan. 8, falling at home to Cove, 59-35. The Leopards dropped in 22 points in the opening quarter and added on from there. They led by 20 by halftime and held a 25-point lead, 51-26, after three. Two Cove players eclipsed the 20-point mark, led by 26 points from Patrick Frisch. Gabe Nobles scored nine points to lead Wallowa, while See Boys, Page A6