BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2022 A5
SPORTS
BAKER FOOTBALL
Bulldogs roll over The Dalles Riverhawks
Baker scores
touchdowns following
each of The Dalles’ 3
turnovers
POWDER VALLEY FOOTBALL
Badgers have little trouble
with Ione/Arlington
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Baker seemed to be stuck in the
football version of neutral, until
Kayden Garvin shifted into high gear.
The junior running back sprinted
through a hole that his blockers
blasted in The Dalles Riverhawks’
defense and raced into the south end
zone at Baker Bulldog Memorial Sta-
dium for the game’s first touchdown
Friday, Oct. 7.
That score midway through the
second quarter freed the Bulldogs
from their sluggish start, and Baker
cruised from there to a dominating
35-8 win.
The Dalles, one of four new mem-
bers of the Greater Oregon League,
scored its only points, via a touch-
down and two-point conversion run,
on the final two plays of the game.
Baker, playing at home for the first
time in almost a month, improved to
4-2 overall, 1-1 in league play.
“It was nice to be home,” Baker
coach Jason Ramos said. “We knew
we could move the ball on them.
Garvin ran the ball well. We’re going
to have to be more balanced on of-
fense.”
The Bulldogs, as they have all sea-
son, relied heavily on the passing at-
tack led by junior quarterback Paul
Hobson and a plethora of receivers.
Hobson completed 15 of 23 passes
— to five different receivers — for
249 yards and two touchdowns.
But the Bulldogs also rolled up
108 rushing yards, led by Garvin’s 60
yards on 12 carries. He scored Bak-
er’s first two touchdowns, the second
coming from 2 yards out just 3 min-
utes after the first.
Baker’s defense stifled the River-
hawks, who attempted just five passes
— two of which were intercepted.
The Dalles gained just 190 yards,
and 179 were on the ground.
The Riverhawks’ plodding style
was somewhat effective early — at
least in terms of taking time off the
clock and keeping the ball away from
Baker’s potent offense.
The Dalles took the opening kick-
off and gained two first downs on
six straight running plays. A hold-
ing penalty left the Riverhawks with
a fourth and 16, and Baker forced
a punt, but by then the first quarter
was already half over.
Baker started its first posses-
sion on its own 27. Hobson’s pass to
freshman Rasean Jones for 8 yards
gave the Bulldogs their initial first
down. A holding penalty on Baker
on fourth and 1 led to a punt, which
bounced backward and gave the Riv-
erhawks great field position at the
Baker 46.
BY JOHN BRAESE
EasternOregonSports.com
IONE — This season has fre-
quently seen games rescheduled
due to a lack of officials, but the
Saturday, Oct. 8, football matchup
between Powder Valley and Ione/
Arlington needed electricians, not
guys in black and white stripes.
Originally scheduled for Oct. 7,
the game was moved due to light-
ing problems on the Ione field
making a night game impossible.
Finally meeting on Oct. 8, the
Badgers dominated both sides of
the line during a 44-20 victory.
Senior quarterback Cole Mar-
tin finished an early day with two
rushing touchdowns, while soph-
omore back Tucker Martin added
an additional score for Powder
Valley. Junior Lizandro Rodri-
guez picked up two scores, one on
offense and a pick-six on an in-
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Baker’s Hudson Spike runs ahead of The Dalles’ Andre Niko after catching a pass
from Paul Hobson during the Bulldogs’ 35-8 win on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022.
But The Dalles fumbled on third
Taylor threw a long pass, and
down, leading to a loss of 16 yards
Garvin beat the receiver for the jump
and another punt.
ball, hauling in the interception at
Baker started on its own 14, and
the Baker 21 with 6:55 left in the first
on the second play Hobson hit junior half.
Hudson Spike on a slant route. Spike
On the first play from scrimmage,
broke loose and went for 38 yards
Hobson threw a similar pass ex-
before being tackled
cept his target, Jones,
from behind by Andre
leaped high and
Niko.
grabbed the ball for
The first quarter
a 43-yard gain to the
ended with no score,
Riverhawks’ 35.
and Baker facing a
Garvin scored the
third and 5 from The
first touchdown on the
Dalles 44.
next play. Spike’s extra
— Baker football coach
After an incomplete
point gave Baker a 7-0
Jason Ramos
pass, Hobson found
lead with 6:26 left in
junior Dash Bloomer
the half.
open in the flat. Bloomer rumbled
That sequence, with Baker taking
for 35 yards, giving Baker a first and
quick advantage of a turnover, was
goal.
repeated almost immediately.
But The Dalles intercepted Hob-
On the ensuing possession, The
son’s pass inside the 10 with 10:34 left Dalles’ center snapped the ball over
in the second quarter to thwart the
Taylor’s head, and Baker junior line-
Bulldogs’ scoring bid.
man Izek Cleveland recovered the
The Riverhawks took over on their ball at the Riverhawks’ 15.
own 15 and again moved slowly up-
The Dalles defense tightened,
field. Quarterback Joshua Taylor
though, and Baker faced a fourth
completed his first pass, to running
and 4.
back Manatu Crichton-Tunai, for 7
But Hobson’s hard count drew
yards for a first down to The Dalles
the Riverhawks offsides, and Garvin
37 with 9:10 left in the quarter.
scored two plays later. Baker led 14-0
After two runs netted 6 yards,
with 3:54 left in the half.
Garvin made what turned out to be
The Bulldogs weren’t quite fin-
the play that shifted momentum.
ished.
“It was nice
to be home.”
Baker’s defense forced a punt on
the next possession, and the Bulldogs
had the ball at their own 42 with 2:05
left.
Hobson, running the 2-minute of-
fense, completed three straight passes
for first downs — 13 yards to Spike,
19 yards to senior Tate Powell and 11
yards to Jones, the last giving Baker a
first down at The Dalles’ 13 with just
over a minute left.
Hobson then found Bloomer open,
and he dragged a defender for a cou-
ple yards, stretching the ball across
the goal line with 57 seconds left.
Baker went into the locker room
leading 21-0.
The Bulldogs quickly forced an-
other punt on the first possession of
the second half.
Then Baker, running a fast tempo
offense, moved steadily down the
field on a 70-yard drive. Hobson
converted a fourth and 2 by racing
around right end on a quarterback
keeper to keep the drive alive.
Junior Malaki Myer ran for 17
yards, and Powell took a short pass
from Hobson for 2 yards for the
touchdown. Baker led 28-0 with 9:06
left in the third quarter.
Spike completed the scoring, this
time from his defensive back posi-
tion. He stepped in front of Taylor’s
pass and ran for 39 yards for a touch-
down with 5:48 left in the third quar-
ter. He then kicked the extra point to
make the score 35-0.
The rest of the game was anticli-
mactic.
terception and run back. Cooper
Secl added a receiving score also
in the first quarter.
“The younger guys on the team
saw a lot of playing time,” said
Powder Valley coach Josh Cobb.
“Orrin Cobb ran the ball hard
during his time in the game.”
Cobb was also impressed with
the play of freshman Mason Mar-
tin playing in his first year of foot-
ball action.
“Mason had some huge saving
tackles playing in the safety posi-
tion,” Cobb said. “We see a great
future for him and it is just amaz-
ing this is the first year he has ever
played football.”
The victory keeps the Badgers
with a perfect 6-0 overall record
and, 4-0 Special District 2-West
mark. Next up is Enterprise (4-2
overall, 2-1 district) on Oct. 14 in
Powder Valley.
Ramos said he was happy to see
sophomore running back Sage Jo-
seph take advantage of his changes,
gaining 25 yards on two carries, in-
cluding a 20-yard gain.
Baker was without another sopho-
more running back, Jaxon Logsdon,
with a shoulder injury sustained in
the loss at La Grande on Sept. 30.
A key factor in the win over The
Dalles was Baker’s ability to capitalize
on turnovers. The Bulldogs scored
touchdowns after each of the River-
hawks’ three miscues.
“We want to be opportunistic,” Ra-
mos said.
He attributed Baker’s slow start on
offense in part to The Dalles using
a defense that’s a bit different from
what other teams have employed.
“We had to figure out what they’re
doing, and adjust,” Ramos said.
The Riverhawks didn’t do anything
that Baker hadn’t seen on game tapes,
he said, but turning what you’ve
practiced into performance during a
game can sometimes take time.
Baker will complete its regular
season schedule with three league
games, two at home, and Ramos said
“every game is really important.”
Baker will play host to Madras in
the homecoming game on Friday,
Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs
travel to Prineville to take on Crook
County on Saturday, Oct. 22 at
2 p.m., then return home for the
regular season finale on Friday,
Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. against Pendleton/
Nixyaawii.
BAKER VOLLEYBALL
OREGON FOOTBALL
Bulldogs fall to Vandals at McCall
Ducks dominate Arizona
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
McCALL, Idaho — Baker’s
volleyball team battled, but
the Bulldogs’ rally wasn’t quite
enough against a determined
McCall-Donnelly squad on
Saturday, Oct. 8.
After the Vandals won the
first two sets, Baker responded
by taking the third set.
But McCall-Donnelly ral-
lied from an early deficit to
win the fourth set and the
match, 26-24, 25-17, 20-25,
25-22.
The nonleague loss snapped
Baker’s four-match winning
streak.
But Baker coach Ali Abrego
said the defeat, which has
no effect on Baker’s bid for a
Greater Oregon League title
and a home match in the first
round of the Class 4A playoffs,
can serve as an important les-
son for the Bulldogs.
“There’s a lot to be learned
in games like this, as frustrat-
ing as it is to lose,” Abrego
said. “If we make it to the fi-
nal site (for the Class 4A state
tournament) we’re going to
have to deal with unfamiliar
gyms and a different atmo-
sphere. It’s really easy to let
that influence how you play,
but we did a really good job
adjusting.”
The Bulldogs had more
than one thing to adjust to.
The McCall-Donnelly gym
has lower ceilings than the
Baker gym and most others
the Bulldogs play in, and sev-
eral passes that would have
been in good position for a set
instead caromed off the ceil-
ing at angles that are hard to
react to.
The Vandals’ student sec-
tion was loud, too — just as it
was in August 2021 when Mc-
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Baker seniors Jozie Ramos, left, and Campbell Vanderwiele go up for
a block against La Grande on Oct. 6, 2022.
“There are always things
that we can’t control. We
did a lot of things right. We
covered well, we swung well.
After losing the first two sets
it’s hard to come back and
win the third set. I can’t be
disappointed with that kind
of effort.”
— Baker volleyball coach
Ali Abrego
Call-Donnelly swept the visit-
ing Bulldogs.
“There are always things
that we can’t control,” Abrego
said. “We did a lot of things
right. We covered well, we
swung well. After losing the
first two sets it’s hard to come
back and win the third set. I
can’t be disappointed with that
kind of effort.”
It wasn’t the only time Baker
rallied.
McCall led for almost the
entire first set, but after the
Vandals went ahead 14-11,
Baker came back to forge ties
at 18, 19 and 21.
The Bulldogs then took
their first lead at 22-21 on a
Vandal attack error. Baker led
23-21 but McCall-Donnelly
tied it at 23.
A kill by Baker senior Jozie
Ramos gave the Bulldogs a set
point at 24-23, but the Vandals
scored the final three points.
The set winner was on a Ra-
mos kill attempt that went
long, although Abrego and
Baker’s bench argued that a
Vandal blocker tipped the ball
at the net.
The second set was a differ-
ent matter, as McCall-Don-
nelly never trailed.
Baker senior Taylor Dalton’s
hard serves briefly got Baker
to within 7-5, but the Vandals
dominated thereafter.
Baker took control early in
the third set, leading 12-5, but
the Vandals rallied to tie the
score at 19 and 20.
The Bulldogs closed out the
set to force a fourth.
Baker led 4-1 in the fourth
set but the Vandals went on a
run to lead 13-8 and prompt
Abrego to call timeout. Baker
rallied to within 20-17, forc-
ing a McCall timeout, and the
Bulldogs got as close as two
points, at 20-18 and 22-20, but
the Vandals were fortunate
when a serve at 23-20 clipped
the net and dropped straight
down on the Baker side of
the court for match point.
Baker scored two straight but
couldn’t finish the rally.
Baker dropped to 13-4 on
the season. Three of those four
losses were to Idaho teams
— Fruitland, Cole Valley and
McCall-Donnelly. Baker’s only
loss to an Oregon team was
a 2-0 defeat against Powder
Valley during a tournament at
BHS on Sept. 2.
Baker avenged that loss with
a 3-2 win over the Badgers on
Sept. 8. The two teams will
play the rubber match Friday,
Oct. 14 at North Powder.
First, though, Baker returns
to Greater Oregon League
play against Pendleton on
Thursday, Oct. 13 at 6:30 p.m.
in the Baker gym. Baker, 4-0
in league play, can clinch the
league title with a win over the
Buckaroos.
In the other matches at Mc-
Call, the Baker JV lost in three
sets, 26-24, 23-25, 15-12.
The Baker JV2 team beat
the Vandals in three sets, 25-
18, 7-25, 15-11.
BY DAVID BRANDT
Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. — Noah
Whittington surveyed the
field while running to his
right, making a quick cut to
evade a tackle before sprint-
ing up the field.
Then the Oregon running
back reached a speed no one
else on the field could match,
bursting past a half-dozen Ar-
izona defensive players on the
way to the end zone. It was the
first rushing touchdown of
the game for the Ducks.
There would be many,
many others before the night
was through.
Bo Nix threw for 265 yards
and ran for three touch-
downs, Whittington added
the superb 55-yard touch-
down run and No. 12 Oregon
rolled to a 49-22 victory over
Arizona on Saturday, Oct. 8.
“We were able to impose
our will at times tonight,”
Oregon coach Dan Lanning
said. “We were able to run
the ball the way we wanted to
run the ball. Our guys played
with physicality, and that’s
what we’re looking for. We
definitely saw that.”
The Ducks (5-1, 3-0 Pac-
12) scored touchdowns on
seven consecutive drives
starting midway through the
first quarter, building a 49-
13 lead by late in the third.
All seven scores were on the
ground.
Oregon piled up 580 yards
of total offense — including
306 yards rushing — do-
ing pretty much whatever it
wanted against Arizona (3-3,
1-2).
Nix was great on the
ground for a second straight
game, scoring on a pair of
2-yard runs before breaking
free for a 25-yard touchdown
in the third quarter. He ran
for a career-high 141 yards
and two touchdowns last
week against Stanford.
The Ducks have won five
straight since a season-open-
ing loss to Georgia, scoring
more than 40 points in every
game. They built a 28-13 lead
by halftime Saturday. Nix
completed 13 of 14 passes
for 187 yards as the offense
racked up 346 total yards be-
fore the break.
UP NEXT
Oregon: Plays at home vs.
UCLA on Oct. 22.
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