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.
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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