SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — A5
SPORTS
BAKER BOYS SOCCER
BAKER CROSS-COUNTRY
Tigers nip Bulldogs, 1-0
Baker girls take top 4
spots to win team title
By COREY KIRK
ckirk@bakercityherald.com
Baker City Herald
For most of the match, the Baker
boys soccer team was the equal of the La
Grande Tigers Wednesday, Sept. 22 at
Community Stadium in La Grande.
But a header from La Grande senior
Brady Hutchins was the difference as
the Tigers claimed a 1-0 win over Baker
in the Greater Oregon League opener
for both teams.
La Grande improved to 3-1 overall.
Baker fell to 1-4.
“It was a good game, I thought we
played well, we just couldn’t finish,”
Baker coach Victor Benites said. “We
came really close and we just lost 1 to 0
on a corner kick.”
Neither team scored during the first
half, although La Grande had six shots
on goal to Baker’s one.
With just 10 minutes left in the
second half, Hutchins made contact with
the corner kick and put the ball in the
net for the lone goal.
Baker will return to the Baker Sports
Complex Monday, Sept. 27 for a non-
league match against Weiser at 4 p.m.
STANFIELD — Baker
girls claimed the top four
places at the Stanfield Fun
Country cross-country meet on
Thursday, Sept. 23, giving the
Bulldogs the team title.
The Baker boys, led by
Thaddeus Pepera’s sixth-place
finish, placed second overall.
Alex Wittwer/The (La Grande) Observer
Baker senior Wyatt Hawkins, right, collides with La Grande’s Gage
Smithson during a Greater Oregon League soccer match Wednesday,
Sept. 22 at Community Stadium in La Grande.
Girls
Baker senior Emma Baeth
was first across the finish
line in a time of 20:34.6. She
was followed by fellow senior
Sydney Lamb in 20:50.5, fresh-
men Sofia Kaaen in 21:07.5,
and sophomore Emma Timm
in 21:36.7 as Baker dominated
the race.
The Bulldogs finished with
24 points to easily outdistance
second-place Enterprise (46).
Heppner was third in the team
standings with 52 points.
Other Baker runners: 17th,
Paige Marlia, sophomore,
26:14.2; 18th, Katie Spaugh,
sophomore, 26:14.5; 19th, An-
nastasia Johnson, freshman,
26:17.2; 22nd, Lilly Collins,
freshman, 27:41.0; 24th, Avery
Collier, freshman, 29:11.8.
Boys
Pepera, a junior, was the
first Bulldog to finish, in
17:35.4. Freshman Daniel
Brown placed eighth in
18:07.9.
Other Baker runners: 12th,
Jordan Mills, junior, 18:40.7;
19th, Seth Mastrude, junior,
19:20.3; 21st, Peyton Waters,
freshman, 20:22.2; 27th, Reeve
Damschen, junior, 21:12.2;
32nd, Tanner Lucas, sopho-
more, 21:25.8; 44th, Mathew
Wernicke, freshman, 21:56.2;
59th, Seth Holden, freshman,
26:53.5; 65th, Tristan Mulkey,
freshman, 32:55.4.
Baker finished with 55
points. Enterprise won the
boys team title with 21 points.
NFC West fan? Get ready for a wild ride
Ask any fan of the Na-
tional Football League as we
move into the third week of
the regular season, and the
consensus is pretty clear on
which division is the most
entertaining.
That’s the NFC West.
Being a fan of either
the Arizona Cardinals, Los
Angeles Rams, San Francisco
49ers or, of course, the Seattle
Seahawks, we get to see
these teams battle each other
twice during the season. As
it stands, the division’s four
teams have a combined re-
cord of 7-1. The really intrigu-
ing part is looking forward to
the games pitting these rivals
against each other.
The 49ers have been one of
the most injury-ridden teams
in recent years, so staying
healthy is clearly their goal.
When quarterback Jimmy
Garoppolo is under center,
First off, the Seahawks
really focused on maintain- they have been at their most
successful, with a 24-8 record.
ing their core during the
On the other side of the
offseason. Though quarter-
back Russell Wilson was the ball, defensive end Nick
subject of the rumor mill, he Bosa’s injury last year
knocked the wind out of their
put the speculation to rest
sails, and having him line up
and stayed in Seattle.
The Seahawks also kept once again has rejuvenated
San Francisco’s defense.
the rest of their backfield
Unfortunately, injuries,
in place by retaining run-
notably in the secondary and
ning back Chris Carson.
at running back, continue to
Seattle is ready to make a
run despite a disappointing plague the franchise.
The Rams might have
overtime loss to Tennessee
made one of the best trades
on Sept. 19.
COREY
KIRK
of the year, with Matthew
Stafford taking over behind
center for Jared Goff, who
moved to the Motor City.
The Rams’ offense con-
tinues to shine, and all three
division foes will have their
work cut out for them in
defending the L.A. passing
attack.
A year ago the Arizona
Cardinals were the wild card,
the most unpredictable team
of the division. But quarter-
back Kyler Murray continues
to improve, and the tandem
of Chandler Jones with newly
acquired defensive end JJ
Watt has made their defen-
sive line very dangerous.
The Cardinals also were
able to add wide receiver AJ
Green to line up with star
receiver DeAndre Hopkins,
a combination that solidifies
Arizona as a contender.
There is a strong possibil-
ity that the NFC West could
take every wildcard spot. Be-
ing a fan of any team in this
division is pretty stressful.
There is no easy game in the
division. As the smoke settles
at the end of the season, the
last place team could have a
winning record — but look at
this in the wider scope.
To survive this division
with potentially the best re-
cord, your team likely will be
considered a favorite to rep-
resent the NFC in the Super
Bowl. Even if your team goes
to the playoffs as a wildcard,
it could be a very dangerous
squad come January.
So, regardless of the team
that you root for, buckle your
seatbelt, and firmly place
yourself on the edge of your
seat. We are destined for
incredible divisional football
play in the NFL West, and if
your team finds itself at the
top of this division, that alone
will be an incredible feat to
accomplish on a potential
path to the Super Bowl.
It’s going to be a wild ride.
Corey Kirk is the sports
editor for the Baker City
Herald.
No. 3 Oregon opens Pac-12 play Kedon Slovis, USC return
against struggling Arizona
home to face Oregon State
this season was going to be
• Arizona at No. 3 Oregon
a great challenge for us and
• Saturday, Sept. 25,
our goal is, each week to get
Heading into the Pac-12
7:30 p.m.
better.”
season, the No. 3 Oregon
• TV on ESPN
Oregon (3-0), the two-time
Ducks are mostly happy with
defending Pac-12 champion,
where they’re at.
is the lone unbeaten team left
What Fisch doesn’t want is
And why wouldn’t they
in the conference. The Ducks a revolving door.
be? Oregon put Ohio State
“It’s a very frustrating situ-
away in Week 2 and survived have a 14-game unbeaten
streak at Autzen.
the nonconference season
ation being in this quarter-
at 3-0.
back derby,” Fisch said. “You
don’t want to get to the point
Now the idea is to im-
Healthy?
where it’s like, how do you
prove on the details.
The biggest question for
ever get into that rhythm?”
Oregon heading into the
“We’ve started fast and
we’ve closed out games well, week was the health of quar-
but somewhere in the middle terback Anthony Brown, who On the sidelines
we’re not up to our standard left Saturday’s victory over
Arizona will be without
and we’ve been focusing on
Stony Brook at halftime after defensive end Mo Diallo
that and trying to get the re- he was sacked twice to end
and safety Jaxen Turner for
the first half of the game at
sult that we want by focusing the second quarter.
Cristobal said this week
Oregon because of targeting
on the process,” coach Mario
that the sixth-year senior
calls last week in the loss
Cristobal said. “But all in
would be back against the
to NAU.
all, we’re in a solid position
Wildcats.
and one that we have the
Meanwhile, Ducks defen- Be like Barnes
opportunity to improve on on
Saturday.”
sive end Kayvon Thibodeaux
Fisch pointed to examples
of teams that struggled in
Next up is Arizona, which remains day-to-day with
an ankle injury. Freshman
transitioning to a new head
fared terribly during its
Brady Swinson, who started coach, including Arizona
nonconference slate, falling
coach Adia Barnes, an alum
to BYU, San Diego State and for Thibodeaux against the
Buckeyes but missed the
who led the Wildcats to a
Northern Arizona.
game against Stony Brook
berth in the NCAA Tourna-
In fact, Arizona (0-3, 0-0
with an unspecified injury, is ment final in the spring.
Pac-12) has lost a school-
doubtful.
Barnes also struggled
record 15 straight games,
Mase Funa and Keith
early on at Arizona, going
most in FBS, heading into
the meeting Saturday night, Brown, who also sat out last 6-24 in her second season.
Just three years later, she had
Sept. 25 at Autzen Stadium. week’s game after injuries
against Ohio State, are both the Wildcats in the champion-
The Ducks are four-touch-
available, Cristobal said.
ship game.
down favorites.
Similarly, Fisch is looking
Arizona is playing this
at the big picture.
season under new head
Quarterback questions
“We’re gonna try to emu-
coach Jedd Fisch, who rightly
Arizona’s depth chart in-
maintains that rebuilding
cluded all three quarterbacks late and replicate what Adia
takes time.
Barnes did,” Fisch said.
as possible starters. Will
Plummer, Gunner Cruz and
“No one thought this
Jordan McCloud.
was going to be an easy
History
Plummer started last
turnaround just because of
Arizona has surprised
weekend’s game against
the fact that we’re able to
Oregon before.
Northern Arizona, throwing
catch a football from 600
The last time the Wildcats
feet in the air, or because we for 191 yards and a touch-
beat a ranked opponent was
were able to have incredible down but he also had a pair
in 2018 when they routed the
energy and enthusiasm in
of interceptions. McCloud was No. 19 Ducks 44-15. Arizona’s
the offseason, or have a great inserted in the fourth quarter, last win over a top-5 team
bunch of recruits that want
was in 2014 when they came
throwing for 66 yards and a
to be a part of our program,” score. Cruz started the Wild- to Eugene and beat the No. 2
Fisch said. “We knew that
Ducks 31-24.
cats’ first two games.
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
By DAN GREENSPAN
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — The
last time Southern California
played at home, there were
so few fans left at the end of
a 42-28 loss to Stanford that
individual critiques could be
heard as Clay Helton headed
up the tunnel for what would
be the last time as head
coach.
Whether the stands are
full to embrace the Trojans
under interim coach Donte
Williams in his first game at
the Coliseum against Oregon
State on Saturday, Sept. 25 is
one of the questions lingering
for a program that seems to
attract drama.
“I hope everybody’s in
there, is happy to cheer on
the Trojans, and we play
the way that everybody is
accustomed to us playing,”
Williams said.
A 45-14 win at Washing-
ton State in Williams’ first
game in charge of USC (2-1,
1-1 Pac-12) seemed capable
of generating the enthusiasm
that had been lacking for
nearly all of Helton’s tenure.
However, freshman quar-
terback Jaxson Dart, who
ignited the Trojans by coming
off the bench to throw for 391
yards and four touchdowns,
isn’t expected to play against
the Beavers (2-1). Dart hasn’t
practiced this week after
injuring his right knee in his
collegiate debut, and Wil-
liams has not provided any
details about the nature of
Dart’s injury.
That means junior Kedon
Slovis should remain the
starter. Although Slovis was
• Oregon State at USC
• Saturday, Sept. 25,
7:30 p.m.
• TV on Fox Sports 1
the target of some booing
along with the rest of the
offense for poor play against
the Cardinal, running back
Keaontay Ingram believes
the new energy Williams
has brought should lead to a
more positive atmosphere.
“Even though Coach
Helton got fired, we still got
to keep pushing, keep moving
forward,” Ingram said. “And
Coach Donte coming in with
new rules, new traditions,
new circumstances and stuff,
and everybody on the team is
buying into that, so I feel like
it’s gonna be one fun week-
end this weekend.”