FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT
A5
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN • TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2021
bendbulletin.com/sports
HIGH SCHOOL
FOOTBALL
NFL
Redmond and
Ridgeview players
earn honors
BELIEVING IN
‘THE IMPOSSIBLE’
Nine players from ei-
ther Redmond High or
Ridgeview High earned
first team all-conference
honors in 5A Special Dis-
trict 1 football, accord-
ing to a Monday news
release.
Redmond’s Seth Wom-
ack was named the coach
of the year in the confer-
ence, leading Redmond
to a 5-1 overall record and
a first-place finish in Spe-
cial District 1.
Redmond play-
ers earning first-team
all-conference honors
were all seniors: running
back Austin Carter, wide
receiver/safety Kole Da-
vis, defensive lineman Jax
Cummings, linebacker
Blaine Aamodt and cor-
nerback Charlie Rawlings.
Panthers’ quarterback
Hayden Parrish was sec-
ond-team all conference.
La Salle quarterback Ryan
Rosumny was first team
and the offensive player
of the year in Special Dis-
trict 1.
Ridgeview finished 2-4
overall, in fifth place in
Special District 1.
First team all-con-
ference players for the
Ravens were all seniors
as well: running back/
linebacker Gannon Jeter,
wide receiver Josh Biever,
offensive tackle Chuck
Sheldon and offensive
guard/defensive lineman
Logan Shenk.
Quarterback Alex Smith retires after incredible comeback from gruesome leg injury
He was hospitalized for almost a
month and survived a life-threatening
infection in addition to the operations.
Smith spent the next year and a half re-
habbing and was back at practice when
Washington assembled for training
camp last summer.
Smith’s first game action since the
injury came Oct. 11 when Kyle Allen
was injured, and he made his first start
at Detroit on Nov. 15. He went 5-1 as
the starter, including a victory at Phila-
delphia in Week 17 on a strained right
calf that clinched the NFC East title for
Washington.
“He accomplished the greatest
comeback in professional sports his-
tory and was a huge part of our team’s
success this past season,” owners Dan
and Tanya Snyder said in a statement.
“We witnessed every step of Alex’s
comeback, and he personifies perse-
verance, strength and the will to never
give up.”
The injury prevented Smith from
playing against Tampa Bay in the wild-
card round the next week, which Tay-
lor Heinicke started and impressed
enough to earn another contract.
BY STEPHEN WHYNO
Associated Press
A
lex Smith retired Monday after
making an improbable come-
back from a gruesome broken
leg, saying he’s ready to leave
the NFL but believing he’s still able to
play quarterback.
Smith made the announcement on
Instagram a few weeks shy of his 37th
birthday, hoping to enjoy more time
with his family.
“I want to say thank you for believing
in me, and thank you for helping me
believe in myself — and in the impossi-
ble,” Smith said. “Because even though
I’ve got plenty of snaps left in me, after
16 years of giving this game everything
I’ve got, I can’t wait to see what else is
possible.”
Smith earned AP Comeback Player
of the Year honors for getting back on
the field last season, two years removed
from an injury that required 17 opera-
tions. After breaking his right tibia and
fibula in a game Nov. 18, 2018, against
Houston, he said he wondered if he’d be
able to take walks with his wife or play
with his kids in the yard — let alone
play in the NFL again.
— Bulletin staff report
See Smith / A7
COLLEGE
MEN’S SOCCER
OSU earns berth
in NCAA tourney
Oregon State is
headed to the NCAA
men’s soccer tournament
for the fifth time in school
history, as the Beavers
were selected Monday as
one of 36 teams to partic-
ipate in this year’s field.
The Beavers (9-4)
earned a first-round bye.
OSU opens with a sec-
ond-round match against
Virginia Tech (6-6-3) on
Sunday, May 2. Time and
site is TBA. Oregon State
was one of 14 at-large
teams to earn a tour-
nament berth, and join
Stanford and Washington
from the Pac-12.
The OSU-Virginia Tech
winner advances to the
third round, where it
faces the Seton Hall-Air
Force winner on May 6.
Seton Hall is an overall
No. 6 seed.
Because of the pan-
demic, the NCAA tourna-
ment was pared from 48
to 36 teams. The entire
tournament takes place
in Cary, N.C., and sur-
rounding areas. It was
moved from last fall, as
most teams played soccer
this spring. The tourna-
ment will be known as
the 2020 champion, as it
was originally scheduled
for last fall.
This is Oregon State’s
second NCAA appear-
ance in three years under
coach Terry Boss. The Bea-
vers previously partici-
pated in the 2002, 2003,
2014 and 2018 playoffs.
Oregon State (6-4
Pac-12) placed third in
the conference, behind
Pac-12 champion Stan-
ford and Washington. The
Beavers have wins over
the top 10-ranked Hus-
kies and Cardinals this
season. Stanford (4-seed)
and Washington (7-seed)
were among the eight
teams to earn tourna-
ment seeds.
The Beavers are No.
19 in last week’s coaches’
poll.
— The Oregonian
Alex Smith announced his
retirement Monday on
Instagram, saying he still
has plenty of snaps left
in him just shy of his 37th
birthday but is calling it
quits to enjoy time with
his family. NFLPV AP
NFL
OLYMPICS
Seahawks have deepest defensive
line since winning the Super Bowl
Will Japanese
Olympians be
vaccinated
before public?
BY BOB CONDOTTA
The Seattle Times
SEATTLE — As the Seahawks
entered the 2020 regular season,
one of the big questions looming
over the team was this — did they
have enough defensive linemen?
As the NFL offseason hits mid-
April, a new question hovers over
the Seahawks’ defensive line — how
will they fit everyone in?
After a 2020 offseason that be-
gan with a futile pursuit of Jadeveon
Clowney, the Seahawks opened
the regular season at Atlanta with
just eight players listed as defensive
linemen on their 53-player ros-
ter, which included a rookie and a
journeymen veteran who had just
signed.
After this week’s signing of Aldon
Smith and before the draft has even
been held, the Seahawks have 11
players listed as defensive linemen
who could be viewed as significant
contributors in 2021, meaning there
could be some tough decisions
ahead. The Seahawks typically keep
9-10 defensive linemen on their
53-player roster.
But before delving further into
that, let’s compare what the Sea-
hawks had up front entering the
BY STEPHEN WADE
Associated Press
LEO/rush end: Benson Mayowa/
Alton Robinson/Damontre Moore.
That list doesn’t include Bruce Ir-
vin, who was the starting strongside
linebacker but dropped down to a
rush end spot in the nickel package.
Throwing in Irvin, the Seahawks
had nine defensive linemen to start
last season.
TOKYO — The vaccine rollout in Japan
has been very slow with less than 1% vacci-
nated, causing concern about the postponed
Tokyo Olympics that are scheduled to open
in just over three months.
Taro Kono, the minister in charge of the
vaccine rollout, said last week that even if
the Olympics go on, it’s possible the venues
will be empty. This is partly because of the
low vaccination rate.
Fans from abroad are already banned
from the Olympics, and it’s hard to imagine
venues even half-filled with mostly unvacci-
nated fans. Many non-Japanese entering Ja-
pan are expected to be vaccinated.
Q: Are Japanese athletes being vacci-
nated?
A: This is a minefield for the organizers
and the Japanese government. It will be very
unpopular to push young, healthy athletes
to the front of the vaccination line when
almost no one else in Japan is vaccinated.
Traffic on social media is strongly opposed.
See Seahawks / A7
See Tokyo / A6
Ted S. Warren/AP file
Defensive end L.J. Collier is one of 11 defensive linemen on the Seahawks’ roster.
2020 regular season and what they
have now.
Here’s how the depth chart
looked heading into the 2020
opener at Atlanta.
Defensive end: L.J. Collier/Ra-
sheem Green.
Defensive tackle: Jarran Reed/
Bryan Mone.
Nose tackle: Poona Ford.