A6 BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
SPORTS
BAKER FOOTBALL
Bulldogs avenge loss to Cascade in season opener
Baker relies on potent
passing attack in
34-26 win on the road
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Baker had to cover more than 350
miles on the ground to get to its first
football game of the 2022 season, but
once the Bulldogs arrived at Cascade
High School they pretty much stayed
in the air.
Baker junior quarterback Paul
Hobson and a trio of receivers made
for a potent aerial attack as the Bull-
dogs held off the Cougars 34-26 on
Saturday, Sept. 3 in Turner.
The win avenged Baker’s 2021 sea-
son-opening 35-0 loss to Cascade at
Baker Bulldog Memorial Stadium.
Hobson completed 18 of 25 passes
for 260 yards and four touchdowns.
He had no interceptions.
“He played a great game,” Baker
coach Jason Ramos said of Hobson.
“He’s showing his maturity, making
better decisions. He looked like a sea-
soned quarterback.”
Fifteen of Hobson’s 18 completions
were distributed among the trio of
juniors Hudson Spike and Malaki
Myer, and freshman Rasean Jones.
Spike (six catches for 120 yards)
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald, File
Baker quarterback Paul Hobson, seen
here in a 2021 game, threw four touch-
down passes in the Bulldogs’ 34-26 win
over Cascade on Sept. 3, 2022.
and Myer (five catches for 64 yards)
each had two touchdown catches.
Jones had four catches for 57 yards.
The Cougars struggled to de-
fend Spike, at 6-foot-2, and Jones, at
6-foot-1.
Their height, combined with their
leaping ability, gives Baker a formida-
ble duo, Ramos said.
“Having two guys that can do that
is going to create match up problems
for any opponent,” he said. “We’re go-
ing to utilize that.”
Hobson also completed passes to
senior Tate Powell and junior Dash
Bloomer.
“We have a great collection of re-
ceivers,” Ramos said. “We’re really ex-
cited about that.”
Junior running back Kayden
Garvin had Baker’s other touchdown.
Baker took control in the first half,
leading 27-12 at the intermission.
Cascade was threatening to cut
the lead in the third quarter, but the
Baker defense stopped the Cougars
on fourth down inside the Baker 20
to preserve the lead.
“We got key stops at key times, and
that was a big one,” Ramos said.
After a Baker punt, Cascade scored
one of its four running touchdowns,
and the 2-point conversion narrowed
the lead to 27-20.
But Baker quickly responded with
its final touchdown to boost the lead
back to 34-20.
“I was very proud of them for their
answer in that moment,” Ramos said.
“We knew we could move the ball on
them.”
Cascade scored in the final minute,
but Baker recovered the ensuing on-
side kick and ran out the clock.
Ramos said he would have pre-
ferred to have put the game away ear-
lier, but he was pleased with how the
team handled the onside kick.
The game was a major contrast in
offensive styles.
Although total yardage was nearly
even — Cascade had 380 total yards,
Baker 373 — the Cougars relied al-
most exclusively on their rushing at-
tack, with 311 yards on the ground
and just 69 passing yards.
Ramos said he expected Cascade
would emphasize its rushing game,
and try to use its size advantage on
the offensive line.
“We knew coming in they were go-
ing to do what they do,” he said.
Ramos said he was generally happy
with Baker’s run defense, which held
the Cougars to an average of 4.9
yards per carry.
“We would like to tighten up some
things defensively, but we played
good enough to win,” he said.
Baker was slightly more balanced
on offense, with 260 passing yards
and 113 rushing yards.
The Bulldogs distributed the 24
carries fairly evenly.
Sophomore Jaxon Logsdon was
the leading rusher, with 36 yards on
eight carries. Hobson gained 34 yards
on five carries, Garvin had 17 yards
on seven rushes, and Powell had 26
yards on four carries.
Defensively, Logsdon and Powell
had seven solo tackles each. Junior
Izek Cleveland had six solo tackles,
and Myer and Jones five each.
Ramos said it was crucial for
Baker to take a two-score lead in
the first half, since Cascade, with its
limited passing attack, “isn’t built
to come back quickly” from a large
deficit.
He said the Bulldogs were excited
not only about avenging last year’s
loss to Cascade, but about playing
well against a solid team.
“I think they realized the impor-
tance of that game,” Ramos said. “It
was a chance to show where we’re at
as a team. It was a good statement
game.”
The Bulldogs will have a chance to
make perhaps an even bigger state-
ment this Friday, Sept. 9, when they
open their home schedule against
Homedale, Idaho.
Ramos said the Trojans will be a
formidable foe.
“They’re really good this year,” he
said. “It’s a next level challenge for us
this week.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Baker then returns to the road,
traveling to Vale to take on the Vi-
kings at 6 p.m. PDT on Friday, Sept.
16.
“Vale traditionally is good,” Ramos
said. “We don’t have any easy games
on our schedule.”
BAKER, POWDER VALLEY VOLLEYBALL
BAKER CROSS-COUNTRY
Badgers top Baker
in tournament
Bulldogs compete at Caldwell Twilight Invitational
Baker City Herald
The rivalry between Baker and Powder Valley high
schools played out again in the championship match of
a volleyball tournament Friday, Sept. 2 at BHS, with the
Badgers prevailing, 25-22, 25-15.
Pool play extended longer than expected, so bracket
play was abbreviated so each team in the tournament
had at least one regulation match.
That pitted Baker and Powder Valley, the two top
seeds, in the championship match.
“After a long, hot day, the Badger girls were able to re-
main focused and dup deep for some great energy and
amazing playing,” Powder coach Marji Lind said. “Over-
all, it was a great day. Girls had wonderful attitudes,
worked hard and grew as a team. Just where you want
a team to be at this point in the season, making some
mistakes but getting stronger as a unit each game. Love
their spirit and positive energy. “
The Badgers improved to 3-0 on the season. Powder
Valley swept Pine Eagle 3-0 on Sept. 1, and swept Nyssa
3-0 on Aug. 30.
In pool play during the Baker tournament, the Bad-
gers went undefeated, beating Mac-Hi 25-5, Nyssa 25-
13, Echo 25-22, Union 25-16, Ontario 25-17 and Uma-
tilla 25-5.
The Bulldogs will have a chance to avenge the loss
when the Badgers return to BHS for a 6 p.m. match on
Thursday, Sept. 8.
Prairie City tournament
Baker’s JV volleyball team placed second in a tournament
at Prairie City on Friday.
Baker lost in two sets to Prairie City in the champi-
onship match. The Bulldogs also lost to Prairie City in
their first match of the day, 25-19, 25-21. Baker then
beat Huntington, 25-16 and 25-15, and split with Jordan
Valley, losing 25-21 and winning 25-14, to finish second
in one pool.
In bracket play, Baker beat Dayville/Monument and
Wheeler/Mitchell/Spray to earn the rematch with Prai-
rie City.
Baker City Herald
CALDWELL, Idaho — The
Baker boys placed 11th out of
19 teams and the Baker girls
were 12th out of 15 teams at
the Caldwell Twilight Invita-
tional cross-country meet on
Thursday, Sept. 1.
In the boys varsity meet,
Thaddeus Pepera paced the
Bulldogs, finishing 38th over-
all in a time of 17:23.28.
Other Baker results:
• Daniel Brown, 42nd,
17:35.91
• Angel DeArcos, 80th,
18:32.39
• Hunter Bingham, 85th,
18:34.53
• Jordan Mills, 103rd,
19:07.57
• Karsten Cikanek, 109th,
19:17.24
• Seth Mastrude, 122nd,
19:55.08
In the girls varsity race, So-
fie Kaaen was Baker’s top fin-
isher, placing 35th overall with
a time of 21:40.89.
Results from the boys JV race:
• Nathaniel Jensen, 17th,
19:54.76
• River Clark, 69th,
21:57.90
• William Spriet, 75th,
22:03.60
• Caleb Hills, 81st, 22:18.34
• Tanner Lucas, 91st,
22:39.43
• David Farber, 98th,
22:55.26
• Kegan Bott, 119th,
23:44.34
• Clark Norton, 130th,
24:15.38
• Cade Hearne, 134th,
24.36.03
• Sam Nelson, 149th,
25:21.80
• Gideon Farber, 154th,
26:00.03
Baker boys soccer splits 2 games
The Baker boys soccer team traveled to Southern Oregon last week-
end for a pair of matches.
On Friday, Sept. 2, the Bulldogs beat Mazama, of Klamath Falls, 4-1.
On Saturday, Sept. 3, Baker lost 9-1 to Henley, also of Klamath Falls. That
game was moved to Lakeview due to poor air quality in Klamath Falls.
Baker has two straight home games scheduled this week, Thursday
at 5:30 p.m. against McCall, Idaho, and Saturday, Sept. 10 at noon
against Payette, Idaho. Both will be on the pitch at the Baker Sports
Complex.
Results from the girls JV race:
• Avery Collier, 72nd,
31:16.31
• Gwen Rasmussen, 85th,
33:40.17
• Sage Cuzick, 92nd,
34:52.20
• Riley Hurliman, 94th,
35:53.04
• Lilly Collins, 100th,
36:53.21
Baker is slated to compete
in the annual Catherine Creek
Scamper on Friday, Sept. 9 at
Catherine Creek State Park
near Union.
TIRE SALE
Other Baker runners:
• Emma Timm, 76th,
23:54.75
• Anna Belding, 82nd,
24:04.32
• Katie Spaugh, 89th,
24:50.43
• Tyler Gressley, 93rd,
25:10.24
• Paige Marlia, 25:25.12
Baker also had a large con-
tingent of runners in the JV
races.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Washington rolls Kent State, 45-20
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Whether
Washington is any good
won’t be answered for a cou-
ple more weeks.
It is pretty clear after the
first game that the Huskies
appear to be a lot more fun.
Michael Penix Jr. threw for
345 yards and four touch-
downs, and Washington
opened the Kalen DeBoer
era with a 45-20 win over
Kent State in a season opener
on Saturday night, Sept. 3.
DeBoer’s debut as Wash-
ington’s head coach was
highlighted by an enter-
taining, innovative offense
that Penix — also making
his Huskies’ debut — ran
flawlessly against the over-
matched Golden Flashes.
Penix led Washington on
scoring drives on all five
first-half possessions and
touchdowns on the first
four as the Huskies built
a 31-13 halftime lead and
cruised.
Only some shaky ball se-
curity kept the first half from
being even more lopsided.
*Select Tires: Back Country A/T2, Open Range, Pinza AT, Reputation, Road Control and HiTrac.
Limited time offer. While supplies last. Purchase four qualifying tires and get a $75, $100 or $150 Prepaid Mastercard® by mail. Limit 1 Prepaid Mastercard® per
vehicle at participating Les Schwab Tire Center locations. Your rebate submission must include a copy or original, dated, paid, itemized receipt and invoice for the
purchase of qualifying tires from a participating Les Schwab Tire Center and a completed rebate form including the offer number (22-20622). Four qualifying tires
must be purchased in a single transaction. Rebate form must be postmarked or submitted online by October 3, 2022. Offer not valid on purchase by wholesalers, deal-
er, fleets, OEM customers, or other commercial entities or on returned merchandise. Rebates previously issued for qualifying tires will be charged against any refunds
provided in connection with the return of such merchandise. The Prepaid Mastercard® will be sent to your U.S. mailing address within 4 to 8 weeks after receipt of the
completed rebate form. If the Prepaid Mastercard® is not received after 8 weeks, call 1-866-665-0009 or visit lesschwab.sendmyrewards.com to inquire about status.
See rebate form or store for details. This offer is void where prohibited. Les Schwab Tire Centers is not responsible for lost, damaged, illegible, postage due or delayed
mail. Save an additional $50 when using a new or existing Les Schwab credit account. Subject to credit approval. Void where restricted or prohibited by law.
GARAGE DOORS
This Card is issued by Sunrise Banks N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard is a registered trademark,
and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. This card may be used everywhere Debit Mastercard is accepted. Registration, activa-
tion, acceptance, or use of this card constitutes acceptance of the terms and conditions stated in the Prepaid Card Agreement.
With Thermospan TM doors, you have your choice
of styles, colors and customizing options.
N E -H I E NTERPRISES
LEW BROS TIRE
(541) 523-3679
CCB#155399
2122 10th • Baker City • 541-523-6008
210 Bridge St., Baker City, OR 97814