BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A
SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2021
Happy to be
back in the
Baker no match for La Grande BHS bleachers
O
BAKER GIRLS SOCCER
By Corey Kirk
ckirk@bakercityherald.com
Baker’s girls soccer team,
playing for the second
straight day with a minimum
number of players, was no
match for the unbeaten La
Grande Tigers, losing 10-1
Wednesday, March 10, at the
Baker Sports Complex.
As was the case Tuesday at
Riverside, the Bulldogs (1-2
for the season) had only 11
players, meaning all 11 had
to play the entire 80-minute
match.
“Two games, back-to-back,
no subs on either, they were
absolutely gassed,” Baker
assistant coach Christine
Teegarden said.
During the fi rst half
Wednesday, the Tigers, who
didn’t allow a goal in their
fi rst three matches, stifl ed
Baker’s offense.
Meanwhile the Tigers
tested Baker’s defense consis-
tently, putting up six goals.
Despite the score, Baker
head coach Eric Layton said
he was proud of his team’s
effort.
“Knowing that they played
a big game yesterday, and
that was short notice, know-
ing that happened I thought
they played really well,”
Layton said. “We knew today
was going to be a struggle
because La Grande is good,
it’s kind of hard to keep that
energy going.”
La Grande won its fi rst
three matches, against Four
Rivers, Idaho, Pendleton and
Ontario, by a combined score
of 19-0.
Layton said his main focus
in talking with his team at
Corey Kirk/Baker City Herald
Baker’s Brooklyn Jaca, right, dribbles against the defense of La Grande’s Rosie Aguilera
during a girls soccer match on Wednesday, March 10, at the Baker Sports Complex.
halftime was to help them
maintain their perspective,
to remember that they’re
a young team taking on a
much more experienced La
Grande squad, with nine
seniors on its roster.
The Tigers advanced to the
Class 4A playoffs in 2019.
Baker has no seniors.
Layton said that during
his halftime talk he was
“reminding them that they
are mostly sophomores.
Reminding them we have
had two weeks of practice,
some of which were indoors.
I think perspective is really
healthy.”
As the second half began,
Baker had a newfound confi -
dence offensively and was
able to keep the ball on La
Grande’s side of the pitch.
Although La Grande
scored the fi rst goal of the
half to increase its lead to
7-0, Baker got on the board
16 minutes into the half
when freshman Daphne
Thomas scored. It was the
fi rst goal La Grande has
Corey Kirk/Baker City Herald
Baker’s goalkeeper Neah Thomas, left, leaps to try to block a shot by La Grande’s Abi-
gail Jorgenson during a match Wednesday, March 10, at the Baker Sports Complex.
Booker
leads Suns
past
Blazers
By Anne M. Peterson
AP Sports Writer
Devin Booker returned
from the knee injury that
kept him out of the All-Star
Game to score 35 points and
the Phoenix Suns beat the
Portland Trail Blazers 127-
121 on Thursday night for
their fi fth straight victory.
Chris Paul added 19 points
for Phoenix, and Mikal Bridg-
es scored 16 of his 18 points
in the fi rst half. Second in the
NBA behind the Utah Jazz,
the Suns have won 17 of their
last 20 games.
It was Booker’s 100th
given up this season.
Teegarden said she was
happy to see the burst of
energy this goal gave to the
Bulldogs.
“We keep telling them
that we are seeing these
good things and that they
are that capable, but until
they see that goal scored,
then the energy pops up,”
Teegarden said.
La Grande then scored
three straight goals to end
the match 10 minutes early
with a 10-1 lead.
Looking forward, knowing
that he has such a young
team, Layton chooses to
take the abbreviated season
day by day and not let the
frustration of losses get in
the way of teaching.
“We just have to take the
games for what they are, a
learning experience, and go
forward,” Layton said. “We
are proud of their work and
in every situation they’ve
been in they have had few
subs and they’ve been an
underdog. People should
know the hard work they
are putting in.”
Baker returns to Greater
Oregon League play Mon-
day, March 15, when the
Bulldogs travel to Ontario
for a 3 p.m. PDT match.
career game with 30 or more
points. Paul, who didn’t think
Booker would play Thursday
night, called it “smooth.”
Phoenix outscored the
Blazers 37-27 in the fi nal
period.
“I think we had some good
energy going into the fourth
ne year ago, in my fi rst week as the Baker
City Herald’s sports editor, I helped cover the
Class
1A state bas-
ketball tourna-
COREY
ments at Baker
KIRK
High School.
In the span of
four days I went
to over 12 games,
sitting in crowded bleachers, watching each game
unfold.
Fast forward 52 weeks — and a global pandemic —
later, and I was back in the BHS gym to cover a Baker
volleyball match. I knew about the drastic changes I
would see. Masks. Athletes and volunteers distanced.
But I was surprised by how much one other difference
affected me — the eerie silence of the stands, with no
spectators cheering.
The absence of fan noise is something professional
athletes have been dealing with for months. When the
NFL returned back in August, the approach varied
depending on the stadium. Some opened with limited
fan capacity, some played recorded fan noise through
their sound systems. Regardless, it didn’t feel even close
to seasons past.
“The atmosphere from the time we came out of the
tunnel was unlike anything any of us have felt,” New
England Patriots cornerback Jason McCourty told
NBC’s Peter King. “You can’t really envision what an
NFL game is like without fans. This felt more like a
high school scrimmage. Maybe you travel somewhere
for a scrimmage, and your parents come, but no other
fans.”
In Baker County, and elsewhere in Oregon, we’re
seeing high school athletes back in competition for the
fi rst time in a year.
Although not yet a parent, I can relate to the athletes
who are fortunate enough to have their parents watch-
ing them this month on local fi elds and courts.
I remember meeting a dad at one of the 1A tourna-
ment games in 2020. He couldn’t have been more proud
as he talked about his son, a junior, how much he, the
dad, loved basketball but even more how much he
enjoyed never missing one of his son’s games. What he
shared with me that day is a story that could be told
from so many parents’ perspective, in Baker City and
elsewhere.
I fully support allowing a limited number of fans,
mainly parents, to attend games as we try to get
through the pandemic. In the meantime, other fans can
still watch events, most of which, at the middle school
and high school level, are being shown live on various
online platforms.
The return of sports for the kids is a welcome sight.
It is vital for students to have a chance to participate
in sports, for the physical benefi ts but also because it’s
great for their mental health.
For me, being able to walk into Baker High School or
to the Sports Complex, covering these events and tell-
ing stories that are bigger than the sports themselves, I
am beaming with excitement.
Eventually, I know, there will be a moment when it
truly feels normal again, when I’m among a crowd of
parents, students and other fans, trying to collect my
own thoughts during the wildest moments of the game
and struggling due to the cacophony from the crowd.
I know that moment might still be months away. But
one thing is certain — fans are imperative at the high
school level, and I just didn’t realize the magnitude of
their absence until sports fi nally returned after nearly
a year of being away.
Corey Kirk is sports editor for the Baker City Herald.
quarter,” Booker said. “We
were really animated in the
huddle right before the fourth
quarter. I was saying ‘This is
winning time, time to lock in.’
That’s what we did.”
Damian Lillard had 30
points for Portland, and Enes
Kanter added 16 points and
11 rebounds. They had won
three in a row.
The Suns trailed by 11
points in the third quarter,
but pulled to 96-95 early in
the fourth on Abdel Nader’s
3-pointer. Cameron Payne fol-
lowed up with a 3 of his own
to put Phoenix in front.