BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2022 A5
SPORTS
BHS honors fall athletes for academic achievements
BY IAN CRAWFORD
icrawford@bakercityherald.com
Athletes from Baker High School’s
fall sports teams gathered Wednesday
night, Nov. 9 in the BHS auditorium
but the purpose was to celebrate their
academic achievements as well as
what they did on the court and field.
Buell Gonzales Jr., the Baker School
District’s athletic director, said all
Bulldog teams — boys and girls soc-
cer and cross-country, volleyball and
football — had cumulative grade
point averages in the top 10 for the
Class 4A ranks.
“I want all the parents, and all the
kids, to celebrate the accomplish-
ments that all the kids had through-
out the season,” Gonzales said. “The
ultimate purpose of them doing well
in the classroom is what we’re all
about.”
Gonzales started, however, with
special appreciation for the staff help-
ing the whole way. This included rec-
ognition to Becky Cross of BHS food
services, to Wayne Paxton and his
bus drivers and transportation staff,
and to Summer Curry and the custo-
Ian Crawford/Baker City Herald Photos
Above: Baker School District athletic director Buell
Gonzales Jr. offers a bouquet and merit on Wednes-
day, Nov. 9, 2022, to athletic trainer Courtney Raley,
who is slated to start a new medical career.
Left: Buell Gonzales Jr., left, athletic director for the
Baker School District, recognized the Baker High
School volleyball team for athletic and academic
achievements during a fall sports dessert Wednes-
day, Nov. 9, 2022, in the BHS auditorium.
dial, maintenance and grounds crew,
noting the renovations completed in
the gym and well-maintained fields,
and thanks as well for those giving
their time at games to manage clocks,
scores, filming, and announcements.
The ceremony was also a farewell
for Courtney Raley, the high school’s
athletic trainer for the past four years.
In hiring Raley, Gonzales said,
“every prayer I ever asked was an-
swered. She has provided a level of
care that is unmatched in any high
school that you will ever go to or see.”
He sent Raley off with a bouquet of
CLASS 4A FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
flowers, and the students and parents
in attendance reacted with a standing
ovation.
Raley said she had been honored to
help care for Baker athletes.
OREGON FOOTBALL
Williams powers La Grande past
Pendleton in 4A quarterfinals
BY ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
LA GRANDE — The open-
ing play of the game set the tone
on a frigid night at Community
Stadium at Eastern Oregon Uni-
versity.
Pendleton quarterback Jack
Davis fumbled the snap, and La
Grande defensive lineman Myer
Whitmore pounced on the ball
for a touchdown just 4 seconds
into the game, and the Tigers
went on to beat the Bucks 28-13
in the 4A state quarterfinals on
Friday, Nov. 11.
“It was a turnover battle again,”
Pendleton coach Erik Davis
said. “You can’t let a team like La
Grande have opportunities like
that. Their offense ate the clock.
The third and fourth quarters
melted away.”
Tigers (9-2), who are on an
eight-game win streak, will play
Tillamook in the semifinals on
Saturday, Nov. 19. The Chee-
semakers (9-2) beat Gladstone
28-6, and will play in their first
semifinal game since 1989. The
game site and time have not been
determined.
“We will be somewhere,” La
Grande coach Rich McIlmoil
said of the semifinals. “We just
keep plugging away one game at
a time.”
The Bucks end their first sea-
son at the 4A level with an 8-3
record.
After the Tigers scored their
first touchdown, they turned
the ball over on downs, and
Pendleton’s Ben Jennings in-
tercepted a pass by La Grande
quarterback Logan Williams
to end the first quarter with a
7-0 lead.
Williams and the Tigers then
put their offense into high gear.
Williams scored on a 15-yard
keeper with 6:15 left in the sec-
ond quarter, then added a 54-
yard touchdown run with 42
seconds left before the half for a
21-0 lead.
“He’s a stallion,” McIlmoil
said of his quarterback, who ran
for 173 yards and threw for 70
on the night. “He wants every-
one to know he’s the best quar-
terback in the state. It all starts
up front. The offensive line has
been working extremely hard.
Andy Nelson/Associated Press
Oregon running back Bucky Irving (0) rushes as Washington defend-
ers Tuli Letuligasenoa (91), Carson Bruener (42) and Kristopher Moll
(9) pursue during the first half Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022, in Eugene.
Huskies rally
late to shock
No. 6 Ducks
he makes it, I’m good.”
Penix, the national leader for
EUGENE — Peyton Henry
passing yards per game, threw
got his redemption kick.
for 408 yards and two touch-
The senior made a 43-yard
downs as Washington stopped
a 13-game losing streak against
field goal with 51 seconds
ranked Oregon teams. The last
left and No. 24 Washington
win was in 2002 when the Hus-
snapped No. 6 Oregon’s eight-
game winning streak with a 37- kies beat No. 23 Oregon 42-12.
Washington was 0-7 against
34 victory Saturday, Nov. 12,
the Ducks when they’re ranked
dealing a blow to the Ducks’
in the top 10.
chances for a spot in the Col-
Nix fell after a 2-yard run on
lege Football Playoff.
In 2018, Henry had a chance third-and-5 on the Washing-
ton 10 and he limped off the
to beat the Ducks but his 37-
field. Camden Lewis’ 26-yard
yard field goal attempt on the
field goal fin-
final play in
the drive
regulation was
“Well, certainly not ished
to make it 34-27
wide right and
with 3:54 left.
Oregon went
the result we had
Washing-
on to win 30-27
hoped for. I think our After
ton’s game-ty-
in overtime.
“That (miss)
guys played the entire ing touchdown
Nix was re-
is always in
game. They certainly placed for a se-
the back of the
ries by backup
mind, espe-
didn’t quit, didn’t
Ty Thompson.
cially because
throw in the towel.”
Nix threw for
when people
280
yards and
think of me
— Dan Lanning,
two scores, and
they think of
Oregon coach
ran for 59 yards
that kick. So
and another
hopefully they
touchdown. The loss snapped a
remember me for this kick,”
23-game home winning streak,
he said.
Michael Penix Jr. threw a 62- the third-longest streak in the
nation and a win shy of the
yard scoring pass to Taj Davis
to tie it at 34 with 3:07 to go af- school record.
Oregon coach Dan Lan-
ter Oregon quarterback Bo Nix
limped off the field on the pre- ning said after the game he was
waiting for a further evaluation
vious series.
on Nix’s injury, but trainers had
Nix returned after Henry’s
field goal and got the Ducks (9- determined he was able to re-
2, 6-1, No. 6 CFP) to the Wash- turn to the game for the final
series.
ington 38 but the final drive
“Well, certainly not the re-
fizzled with an illegal touch
sult we had hoped for. I think
penalty. The Huskies (8-2, 5-2,
No. 25 CFP) won in Eugene for our guys played the entire
game. They certainly didn’t
the first time since 2016.
quit, didn’t throw in the towel,”
“I didn’t know he missed it
Lanning said. “You have to give
here four years ago and some-
Washington credit, they played
body was telling me ‘This is
a complete game and we made
a redemption field goal. He’s
more mistakes at the end of the
going to make it,’ “ Penix said.
game that hurt us.”
“And I was like, OK, as long as
BY ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
La Grande’s Sam Tsiatsos (3) runs the ball during a state playoff game against Pendleton on Friday, Nov. 11,
2022.
They don’t get the glory, but
they make the glory happen.”
The Bucks looked to make
something happen in the last few
seconds of the first half.
Chas Corbett returned the
ensuing kickoff 62 yards to the
La Grande 18-yard line. Payton
Lambert lost 5 yards on the next
play, and a holding penalty on
the Bucks moved the ball back
to the 34.
On the final play of the half,
Davis was scrambling to find a
receiver when he was tackled by
a streak of Tigers and fumbled
the ball with a half second left on
the clock.
Davis was out cold and was
taken to the local hospital for
treatment.
Coach Davis said tests showed
no brain bleed, and Jack Davis
was released to go home.
The Tigers received the sec-
ond-half kickoff, and chewed
up 5 minutes during their drive
before Williams found a seam
between his linemen, eluded the
grasp of Jennings and motored
29 yards to the end zone for a
28-0 lead.
“How could I not see those
holes they created?” Williams
said of his line of Whitmore, Jar-
ett Armstrong, Kenai Huff, Jack
Sunderman, Ryan Vanderzanden
and tight end Elijah Bisenius.
With Jack Davis out of the
lineup, Jace Otteson took over at
quarterback.
During Pendleton’s next drive,
Otteson hit Corbett with a 29-
yard pass to put the Bucks at the
La Grande 3, but a sack by Wil-
liams on Otteson put the ball at
the 15. A false start put the Bucks
back at the 20.
A roughing the passer pen-
alty on the Tigers moved the
Bucks to the 10-yard line, where
Otteson took the ball into the
end zone with 27 seconds left in
the quarter for a 28-7 ball game.
The Bucks had a golden op-
portunity to put some points
on the board early in the fourth
as the La Grande long snapper
sailed the ball over the punter’s
head. The ball was downed at the
Tigers’ 18-yard line, where Pend-
leton took over.
A short run and two pass plays
brought up fourth-and-6, where
Otteson, under pressure by the
La Grande defensive line, threw
an incomplete pass.
Pendleton would score on its
final drive as Otteson hit Luke
Bensching with a 62-yard touch-
down pass with 1:01 left in the
game.
“They played more physi-
cal,” Davis said of the Tigers. “It’s
frustrating, but it’s not for a lack
of trying. It’s a special group of
seniors we have. I’m just sorry it
didn’t end the right way.”
Otteson threw for 132 yards,
while Lambert ran for 73. Ben-
sching caught five passes for 83
yards, and Corbett caught three
for 54. Defensively, Benching had
six tackles, while Andrew Demi-
anew had five.
Sunderman led the Tigers with
six tackles and two quarterback
sacks, while Jace Schow had four
tackles. Dominic Fields added 62
yards rushing on six carries.
Doncic leads Mavericks past Trail Blazers
Portland wraps up their road trip with 4-2 record
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic had 42
points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his
third triple-double of the season, and the
Dallas Mavericks beat the Portland Trail
Blazers 117-112 on Saturday night, Nov. 12.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 20 points,
capped by three 3-pointers in the final 2½
minutes.
The first of those tied it at 106 with 2:35
to play. His next, with 1:52 to go, put the
Mavericks ahead for good.
Christian Wood scored 19 points off the
bench after missing Dallas’ previous two
games with a knee sprain.
Jerami Grant scored a season-high 37
points for the Trail Blazers, who finished
a six-game road trip 4-2 and remain one
game behind first-place Utah in the Western
Conference. Damian Lillard had 29 points
and 12 assists, and Anfernee Simons added
24 points.
Doncic scored 30 or more points for the
10th time in 12 games after being held in
the 20s in Dallas’ previous two games, losses
at Orlando and Washington.
“He had 42, a triple-double — I mean,
it’s just a little walk in the park,” Mavericks
coach Jason Kidd said of his 23-year-old su-
perstar.
Dinwiddie was 6 of 8 from behind the arc
after having his two highest-scoring games
of the season with 29 at Orlando and 33 at
Washington.
“They trapped Luka. He makes the right
read, the right pass,” Dinwiddie said of his
late flurry. “We then were just swing, swing-
ing and it just found me.”
Portland played its third consecutive
game without Jusuf Nurkic, seventh in the
NBA in rebounding, who is sidelined by a
“They trapped Luka. He makes the
right read, the right pass. We then
were just swing, swinging and it just
found me.”
— Spencer Dinwiddie
right hip adductor.
The Blazers ran off the game’s first seven
points thanks to grabbing the first four re-
bounds and led 23-20 with 4:23 left in the
opening period.
Wood, who plays the most minutes at
center but doesn’t start, then entered for the
first time and scored 10 points as the Mav-
ericks went on a 15-2 run to lead 35-25 at
the quarter.
Dallas led 49-33 midway through the
second quarter following two 3-pointers by
Tim Hardaway Jr. and another by Dinwid-
die. The Blazers cut it to 59-57 at the half.
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