A6 — BAKER CITY HERALD
Bulldogs ready for regular
sports schedule this fall
Unlike the previous school year, when all sports took place in
late winter and spring, this year will start with usual fall sports
By COREY KIRK
ckirk@bakercityherald.com
Five months after the start
of the strangest high school
sports season, Baker High
School teams are preparing
for a schedule that looks, well,
normal.
Football on fall evenings
at Baker Bulldog Memorial
Stadium.
Volleyball in the BHS gym.
Soccer at the Sports Com-
plex.
Cross-country at Quail
Ridge Golf Course.
With the pandemic post-
poning both the traditional
fall and winter sports sea-
sons in 2020-21, all high
school sports were moved to
Boys and Girls
Cross-Country
THURSDAY, AUG. 26
at Vale Dash-N-Splash,
4 p.m. PDT
THURSDAY, SEPT. 2
at Caldwell, Idaho,
Twilight Invitational,
races starting at
3:30 p.m. PDT
FRIDAY, SEPT. 10
as Catherine Creek
Scamper, races start at
1 p.m.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 17
Wallowa County
Invitational, races start
at 1 p.m.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 25
Three Course Challenge
at Camp Rilea, near
Seaside, races start at
FRIDAY, OCT. 1
Baker Invitational at
Quail Ridge Golf Course,
FRIDAY, OCT. 8
at Tiger Invite at La
Grande Country Club,
races start at 11 a.m.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2021
SPORTS
Corey Kirk/Baker City Herald, File, March 2021
Football will return to Baker Bulldog Memorial Stadium
when the Bulldogs take on Cascade on Sept. 4.
the late winter and spring.
That meant the seasons
were shorter than usual.
Baker’s football team,
for instance, played just
six games, from March 5
through April 9.
Basketball, normally
played in the winter, didn’t
fi nish until well into June.
But as abnormal as the
abbreviated sports season
was, the enthusiasm of the
players, coaches and fans
reminded Buell Gonzales
Jr., the Baker School Dis-
trict’s athletic director, of
how important sports are.
“It more reveals a lot
about us, it reveals charac-
ter, sports have that ability,”
Gonzales said. “It affi rmed
to me that the role that
athletics play in our lives,
and in the development of
the kids, and the effect it
has on the culture of the
school and the community,
those were things I knew
already.”
Gonzales said the expe-
rience also showed that peo-
ple are willing to do what’s
necessary — including
wearing masks — to ensure
that high school athletes
have a chance to compete.
“I was proud that we were
able to pull off what we pulled
off within the guidance and
the framework,” Gonzales said.
“The kids were safe and the
coaches were safe.”
While students were enjoy-
ing summer vacation, Gonza-
les was striving to ensure that
fall sports teams would have a
regular slate of games.
“I worked hard to get a com-
plete schedule, and to get those
opportunities back where they
should be,” Gonzales said. “We
have gorgeous facilities here
and I am trying to increase the
number of home games. It’s
been nice to get back to some-
what normal preparation for
a year, it was what it normally
should look like.”
The Bulldog football team,
for instance, had just two
home games during its short-
ened spring season.
This fall’s nine-game sched-
ule includes fi ve home games,
including an Oct. 29 contest
against rival La Grande.
With the delta variant
driving a surge in COVID-19
cases, precautions will remain
in place, most notably affecting
volleyball players, who will
have to wear masks, Gonza-
les said.
Girls Soccer
Boys Soccer
Varsity Volleyball
THURSDAY, AUG. 26
vs Weiser, Idaho, 4 p.m.
SATURDAY, AUG. 28
vs. McCall, time TBD
TUESDAY, AUG. 31
vs. Pendleton/Weston-
McEwen, 4 p.m.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 2
at Four Rivers,
4 p.m. PDT
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 8
at Riverside, 5 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 14
at Fruitland, Idaho,
4 p.m. PDT
TUESDAY, SEPT. 21
vs. La Grande, 5 p.m.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 25
vs. Payette, Idaho, noon
MONDAY, SEPT. 27
at Weiser, Idaho,
4 p.m. PDT
TUESDAY, SEPT. 28
vs. Fruitland, Idaho,
5 p.m.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 30
vs. Ontario, 5 p.m.
TUESDAY, OCT. 5
at Mac-Hi, 5 p.m.
TUESDAY, OCT. 12
at La Grande, 5 p.m.
TUESDAY, OCT. 19
at Ontario, 4 p.m. PDT
TUESDAY, OCT. 26
vs. Mac-Hi, 5 p.m.
THURSDAY, AUG. 26
at Weiser, Idaho,
4:30 p.m. PDT
SATURDAY, AUG. 28
vs. McCall, time TBD
THURSDAY, SEPT. 2
vs. Four Rivers, 5 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 7
at Four Rivers, 4 p.m. PDT
THURSDAY, SEPT. 9
at Pendleton, 4 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 14
vs. Fruitland, Idaho,
6 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 22
at La Grande, 4 p.m.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 25
vs. Payette, Idaho,
12:30 p.m.
MONDAY, SEPT. 27
vs. Weiser, Idaho, 4 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 28
at Fruitland, 4 p.m. PDT
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 29
at Ontario, 4 p.m. PDT
SATURDAY, OCT. 2
at Payette, Idaho,
11 a.m. PDT
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 6
vs. Mac-Hi, 5 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 13
vs. La Grande, 5 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 20
vs. Ontario, 5 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 27
at Mac-Hi, 5 p.m.
THURSDAY, AUG. 26
vs. Powder Valley, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, AUG. 28
at McCall-Donnelly, Idaho,
1:45 p.m. PDT
THURSDAY, SEPT. 2
at Union, 5:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 7
vs. Burns, 5:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 8
vs. Weiser, Idaho, 6:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 9
vs. Pendleton, 6:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 10
Baker Invitational
tournament at BHS, times
TBD
SATURDAY, SEPT. 11
vs. McCall-Donnelly, 2:45
p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 14
vs. Ontario, 6:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 21
vs. La Grande, 6:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 28
at Vale, 5:30 p.m. PDT
THURSDAY, SEPT. 30
vs. Mac-Hi, 6:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, OCT. 5
at Ontario, 5:30 p.m. PDT
SATURDAY, OCT. 9
at Powder Valley
tournament, times TBD
THURSDAY, OCT. 14
at La Grande, 6:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, OCT. 21
at Mac-Hi, 6:30 p.m.
Volleyball spectators will
also have to wear masks, but
Gonzales said that as of now,
there will not be limits on the
number of spectators as was
the case this spring.
The other fall sports take
place outdoors, and neither
players nor fans will be
required to wear masks,
Gonzales said.
Offi cials will work to
ensure distancing among
spectators, but Gonzales
said he doesn’t expect this to
result in any restrictions on
the number of fans at outdoor
events.
“We’ve done this before,”
Gonzales said. “It’s going to be
tough, but if we focus on the
things that we can control,
like our attitude and our ef-
fort, then we will be OK.
“We have to continue to
provide the safest environ-
ment for our student athletes,
so at the same time follow
the guidance outlined by the
OHA, the governor’s offi ce, the
school district and the (Oregon
School Activities Association),”
Gonzales said.
With the fi rst contests sched-
uled for Thursday, Aug. 26,
Gonzales encourages parents
to support their kids and make
sure they enjoy the experience.
“Making it through what
we did last year, I would
say that parents just need
to release their kids to the
experience,” Gonzales said.
“Let them enjoy it, and enjoy
watching them play. These
opportunities are fl eeting, and
you only get so many opportu-
nities as a parent.”
Varsity Football
SATURDAY, SEPT. 4
vs. Cascade, 2 p.m.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 10
at Homedale, Idaho,
6 p.m. PDT
FRIDAY, SEPT. 17
vs. Weiser, Idaho, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 24
at Mac-Hi, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCT. 1
vs. Nyssa, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCT. 8
vs. Vale, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCT. 15
at Ontario, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCT. 22
at Burns, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCT. 29
vs. La Grande, 7 p.m.
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