THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — A5
SPORTS
POWDER VALLEY BOYS, GIRLS BASKETBALL
Future of 8-man football in question
after recent OSAA proposed change
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The (La Grande) Observer
WILSONVILLE — The
future of 8-man football in
Oregon is currently up in
the air.
The Oregon School
Activities Association Foot-
ball Ad Hoc Committee
released its first proposal
for the 2022-2026 football
time block on Tuesday,
Dec. 20, which suggested
doing away with 8-man
football among 2A and 1A
schools. The public meet-
ing on Dec. 20 proposed
divisions of 9-man and
6-man leagues, which
would alter the landscape
of football in Union and
Wallowa counties.
“It’s a bummer they’d
be getting rid of 8-man,”
Powder Valley head coach
Josh Cobb said. “People
are really starting to get
behind this.”
At the meeting, the
OSAA Ad Hoc Commit-
tee met virtually and
conducted a work session
to begin the initial stages
of reclassification. The
committee also took into
consideration the Oregon
Athletic Coaches Associa-
tion’s small school survey,
which took place in the
fall and collected trends
from the last five years of
11-man, 8-man and 6-man
football.
After reviewing the
information on hand, the
committee came away in
support of three divi-
sions between 2A and 1A
schools. Based on school
enrollment, two potential
sections of 9-man and one
division of 6-man teams
were drafted.
The potential divisions
slated Enterprise, Cove,
Elgin, Imbler and Union in
the 9-man leagues, while
Powder Valley, Wallowa and
Joseph would play 6-man.
In Baker County, Pine
Eagle, Huntington and
Burnt River already play
6-man football, and would
remain in that classifica-
tion under the OSAA
proposal.
Alex Wittwer/The (La Grande) Observer, File
Casey Vaughan (4) and Kaden Krieger (5) lead the Powder Valley Badgers
back onto the field following halftime at Baker High School on Saturday,
Nov. 27, 2021. Powder Valley lost to the Adrian Antelopes 46-38 during the
final match for the OSAA 1A State Championship in a heartbreaking finale
that saw a successful comeback attempt in the fourth quarter by Adrian.
9-man would allow easier
scheduling between 9-man
and 11-man non-league
opponents, while the junior
varsity levels could likely
avoid cancellations if the
roster size is smaller.
“The decreases in aver-
age team size over the
last 10 years have been
significant,” the statement
read.
The preference of keep-
ing 8-man football was
also expressed by Elgin
head coach Kirt McClure.
The Huskies are slated in
the 9-man division, which
could be a challenge for an
Elgin team that had only
11 players on the roster.
Even so, the Huskies went
4-4 in the regular season
and earned a spot in the
playoffs.
“I’m not really for it. It
doesn’t make sense to me,”
McClure said.
McClure expressed a
similar sentiment as Cobb
in that 8-man football has
seen a bump in popularity
in recent years. According
to Cobb, many of the other
1A coaches he spoke with
objected to the propos-
als. The 1A champion-
The proposal to do
away with 8-man football
raised eyebrows among
several local coaches, such
as Cobb and the 2021 1A
state football runners-up
Powder Valley Badgers.
“Eight-man just feels
right,” he said. “I see
6-man as a good thing for
schools that truly don’t
have the student body.”
The Badgers would
be bumped down to the
6-man league, which
Cobb is against, although
Powder Valley could
potentially request to jump
up to the higher division.
The Badgers are com-
ing off an 11-2 season of
8-man football. There is no
current deadline for teams
to opt up or down in divi-
sions, but the deadline will
be determined at the next
OSAA meeting in January.
“I don’t want to play
6-man,” Cobb said. “We
have 30 kids on the team.
There’s not a participation
issue.”
OSAA emphasized in
the proposal that par-
ticipation in football was
a key issue. The proposal
noted that a transition to
ship showdown between
Powder Valley and Adrian
on Nov. 27 drew a packed
stadium at Baker Bulldog
Memorial Stadium in
Baker.
“Eight-man is growing,
especially in our area,”
McClure said.
The proposals are still
in the works but could be
a looming issue for local
coaches and supporters of
8-man football. The next
OSAA Ad Hoc Football
Advisory Committee
meeting is set for 9 a.m.
on Jan. 5 at the Holiday
Inn in Wilsonville. The
meeting’s purpose is to
gather public input on
the proposed changes to
2A and 1A football.
“High school sports are
all about opportunities
for young adults. Six-
man football takes two
to three kids off the field
per team — just don’t see
how that is beneficial,”
Cobb said. “Creating
opportunities for kids to
compete, promoting the
desire to improve as a
team and individually is
the concept of high school
sports.”
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Powder Valley’s Kaden Krieger in action Tuesday evening, Dec.
28 against Burns.
Badgers split games
at Baker tourney
Powder Valley kept its foot on
the gas in the second quarter and
took a 35-16 lead into halftime.
The Powder Valley girls and
boys basketball teams both played Senior forward Kaden Krieger
a pair of games at the Baker
scored eight points in the first half
Holiday Tournament this week
and finished the contest with 15
at BHS.
points.
Both teams finished with 1-1
In the second half Powder Val-
records.
ley was able to contain its sizable
lead. The Badgers led 44-26 at the
Boys
end of the third quarter and held
In a rematch of the 1A football on to win by 22.
In a balanced scoring effort,
state championship, Adrian came
away with a similar result against senior Kaiden Dalke added seven
Powder Valley — a narrow victory points and both Clay Martin and
Case Olson scored seven.
on Monday, Dec. 27.
The Antelopes’ 80-75 comeback
win dropped top-ranked Powder
Girls
Valley’s record to 8-1.
After a difficult 0-6 start to the
Powder Valley started off the
season, the Powder Valley girls
game strong, but Adrian ultimate- capped a three-game winning
streak by cruising by Adrian 62-
ly pulled away with a big second
30 on Monday, Dec. 27.
half for the come-from-behind
Powder Valley jumped out to a
victory. The Badgers built up a
commanding early lead, holding
20-7 lead after the first quarter
behind seven points from Kaiden a 19-5 advantage after the first
quarter. Adrian kept it close in
Dalke. The senior from Baker
City finished the game with nine the second quarter as both teams
scored 11 points, but the Badgers
points.
The Badgers continued to
pulled away handily in the second
extend the lead in the second
half.
quarter, building up a 41-25 ad-
Powder Valley blew out Adrian
vantage by halftime. Senior Clay 23-10 in the third quarter to all
Martin hit three three-pointers in but seal the game, while a 19-4
the second quarter — he finished fourth quarter was the icing on
with a team-high 19 points.
the cake for a 62-30 victory.
In the second half, the Ante-
Junior Dallee Jo Bingham led
the Badgers with 16 points, while
lopes surmounted a comeback
that started with a 26-17 advan- sophomores Ayla Bingham and
Abby Cox both added 11 points.
tage in the third quarter. Adrian
Sophomore Paige Marlia led the
junior Carter Bayes scored 21 of
team with five rebounds.
his game-high 25 points in the
“We just knew with our youth
second half.
that it would take some time,”
In the fourth quarter, a 29-17
advantage for Adrian ultimately head coach Allen Bingham said.
“They’re putting some things to-
tipped the scales in favor of the
Antelopes. Junior Cole Martin
gether, I think we’re on an uptick.”
added eight of his 10 points in the
Powder’s winning streak ended
fourth quarter, but the Badgers
Tuesday night with a 41-31 loss to
ultimately came up short. Adrian Burns in the BHS gym.
senior Gavin Bayes scored nine
points in the fourth quarter along Pine Eagle scores
with 10 from Carter Bayes to lead
The Pine Eagle boys and girls
the Antelopes to the victory.
teams also competed in the tour-
The Badgers rebounded on
nament. The Spartan boys lost
Tuesday night, Dec. 28 to domi-
58-41 to Prairie City on Tuesday,
to drop to 3-4 on the season. The
nate Burns 57-35.
Pine Eagle girls lost 39-14 to Prai-
The Badgers got off to a fast
start, building up a 20-6 lead
rie City on Tuesday, falling to 1-6.
by the end of the first quarter.
The Spartan girls were
Senior point guard Reece Dixon slated to play the Baker JV team
led the charge early, scoring nine Wednesday morning, and the Pine
of his team-high 16 points in the Eagle boys played Burns Wednes-
first quarter.
day afternoon.
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The (La Grande) Observer
Arizona Bowl off, Boise State
pulls out with COVID issues
The Associated Press
The Arizona Bowl has
been canceled after Boise
State pulled out and shut
down all team activities
due to COVID-19 issues
within the program.
The Broncos were
scheduled to play Cen-
tral Michigan at Arizona
Stadium on Friday, Dec.
31, but instead joined
numerous college basket-
ball programs that have
been hit with coronavirus
issues coming out of the
Christmas break.
“We feel for the young
men in our program who
were very much look-
ing forward to closing
out their season, and for
some, their football ca-
reers,” Boise State athletic
director Jeramiah Dickey
said Monday, Dec. 27 in a
statement. “I would per-
sonally like to thank Kym
Adair and her team at the
Arizona Bowl for put-
ting together a first-class
student-athlete and fan
experience that we are
That included No. 2
Duke’s game Wednes-
day night at Clemson.
Other ACC matchups
that won’t take place as
scheduled Wednesday
include Florida State
at Boston College and
Virginia Tech at North
Carolina. The Georgia
Tech-Syracuse game
scheduled for Wednesday
was postponed earlier.
UConn’s game against
No. 23 Xavier scheduled
for Tuesday was scrapped
because of COVID-19
issues involving the
Huskies.
Most major college
conferences, including
the Big East, Atlan-
tic Coast Conference,
Southeastern Conference,
Big 12 and Pac-12, have
changed their policies re-
cently to say that games
that can’t be played
because of COVID-19 will
be rescheduled — and if
they can’t be rescheduled,
they’ll be considered a no
contest.
extremely disappointed to
miss.”
Barstool Sports, the
sponsor of the Arizona
Bowl, tweeted that it
made the “difficult deci-
sion” to cancel the game,
which would have been
streamed on its platforms.
It becomes the fourth
bowl canceled this season
after the Hawaii, Fenway
and Military bowls.
Central Michigan will
instead play Washington
State in the Sun Bowl in
El Paso, Texas, on Friday,
replacing Miami in a
game that will be broad-
cast on CBS.
College basketball also
will have a notably lighter
schedule this week after
the pandemic caused
numerous games to get
canceled or postponed.
The Atlantic Coast
Conference and Big East
announced Monday they
were scrapping three and
four games, respectively,
scheduled to take place
over the next several days.
BACKED BY A YEAR-ROUND
CLOG-FREE GUARANTEE
R GU
15
2
% &
OFF
RD
TH
TE
1
’S
GU
T
EXCLUSIVE LIMITED TIME OFFER!
NATIO
N
E
A
YOUR ENTIRE
PURCHASE *
FINANCING THAT FITS YOUR BUDGET! 1
Promo Code: 285
1
Subject to credit approval. Call for details.
CALL US TODAY FOR
A FREE ESTIMATE
+
5
% OFF
10
%
OFF
SENIORS &
MILITARY!
Since Dec. 15, more
than 120 men’s college
basketball games and
100 women’s games have
been canceled or post-
poned.
The number of people
a men’s or women’s
basketball team needs for
a game ranges from six
scholarship players and
a coach in the Big 12 to
a minimum of seven in
the ACC, Pac-12 and Big
East. The SEC requires
teams to play if they have
seven, while an ACC
team can choose not to
play even if they have
the minimum number of
players, though it would
be a forfeit.
It wasn’t just on the
men’s side that the Big
East had to cancel games.
Four women’s games
were wiped out over the
next week as well, with
Providence losing its
contests at Xavier and
Butler. Georgetown lost
games against St. John’s
and Seton Hall.
One solution for oxygen at home, away, and for travel
Introducing the INOGEN ONE – It’s oxygen therapy on your terms
No more tanks to refi ll. No more deliveries. No more hassles with travel.
The INOGEN ONE portable oxygen concentrator is designed to provide
unparalleled freedom for oxygen therapy users. It’s small, lightweight,
clinically proven for stationary and portable use, during the day and at night,
and can go virtually anywhere — even on most airlines.
Inogen accepts Medicare and many private insurances!
FEEL THE SPEED,
EVEN AT PEAK TIMES.
TO THE FIRST 50
CALLERS ONLY! **
Reclaim Your Freedom And
Independence NOW!
LIFETIME
WARRANTY
Power multiple devices at once—
everyone can enjoy their own screen.
Number of devices depends on screen size/resolution.
AT&T
INTERNET 100
††
45
$
1-855-536-8838
Mon-Thurs: 8am-11pm, Fri-Sat: 8am-5pm, Sun: 2pm-8pm EST
For those who qualify. One coupon per household. No obligation estimate valid for 1 year. *Off er valid at time of estimate only 2The leading consumer reporting agency
conducted a 16 month outdoor test of gutter guards in 2010 and recognized LeafFilter as the “#1 rated professionally installed gutter guard system in America.” Manufac-
tured in Plainwell, Michigan and processed at LMT Mercer Group in Ohio. See Representative for full warranty details. CSLB# 1035795 DOPL #10783658-5501 License#
7656 License# 50145 License# 41354 License# 99338 License# 128344 License# 218294 WA UBI# 603 233 977 License# 2102212986 License# 2106212946 License#
2705132153A License# LEAFFNW822JZ License# WV056912 License# WC-29998-H17 Nassau HIC License# H01067000 Registration# 176447 Registration# HIC.0649905
Registration# C127229 Registration# C127230 Registration# 366920918 Registration# PC6475 Registration# IR731804 Registration# 13VH09953900 Registration#
PA069383 Suff olk HIC License# 52229-H License# 2705169445 License# 262000022 License# 262000403 License# 0086990 Registration# H-19114
/mo *
For 12 mos, plus taxes & equip.fee.$10/mo equip. fee applies.
Limited availability in selectareas. *Price after $5/mo
Autopay & Paperless bill discount (w/in 2 bills).
Call Inogen Today To
Request Your FREE Info Kit
1-855-839-0752
Limited availability in select areas. May not be available inyour area.
Call or goto att.com/internetto see if you qualify.
© 2020 Inogen, Inc.
All rights reserved.
MKT-P0108
No annual contract.
Based on wired connection to gateway.
WE INSTALL
YEAR-ROUND!
Get strong, fast Wi-Fi to work and
play throughout your home. ^
Over 99% reliability.
Excludes DSL. Based on network availability.
Contact your local DIRECTV dealer
IV Support Holdings
888-486-0359
INTERNET OFFER: Subj. to change and may be discontinued at any time. Price for Internet 100 for new residential customers & is after $5/mo. autopay & paperless bill discount. Pricing for first 12 months only. After 12 mos., then prevailing rate applies. Autopay & Paperless Bill
Discount: Discount off the monthly rate when account is active & enrolled in both. Pay full plan cost until discount starts w/in 2 bill cycles. Must maintain autopay/paperless bill and valid email address to continue discount. Additional Fees & Taxes: AT&T one-time transactional fees, $10/mo.
equipment fee, and monthly cost recovery surcharges which are not government-required may apply, as well as taxes. See www.att.com/fees for details. Installation: $99 installation for full tech install, plus tax where applicable. Credit restrictions apply. Pricing subject to change. Subj. to Internet
Terms of Service at att.com/internet-terms. ^AT&T Smart Wi-Fi requires installation of a BGW210, 5268AC, or NVG599 Wi-Fi Gateway. Standard with Internet plans (12M or higher). Whole home Wi-Fi connectivity may require AT&T Smart Wi-Fi Extender(s) sold separately. ††Internet speed claims
represent maximum network service capability speeds and based on wired connection to gateway. Actual customer speeds are not guaranteed and may vary based on several factors. For more information, go to www.att.com/speed101.
©2021 DIRECTV. DIRECTV and all other DIRECTV marks are trademarks of DIRECTV, LLC. AT&T and Globe logo are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property.