A8
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
SPORTS
SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY
August 31, 2016
Thursday, Sept. 1
Prairie City/Burnt River
football @ Spray/Mitchell,
3 p.m.
Grant Union hopeful ‘true grit’
leads to postseason victories
Prairie City volleyball @
Spray/Mitchell, 5 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 2
Grant Union football vs.
Weston McEwen, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 3
Team of 21 starts
season Friday at home
Prairie City Volleyball Tour-
nament, 8:30 a.m.
Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant Union
Dayville/Monument
Prairie City
Monument/
Dayville
volleyball
@ Dufur
Tournament,
9 a.m.
Grant Union
and Monument cross
country @ Runners Soul
XC Fest in Hermiston, 12:55
p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 6
Monument/Dayville volley-
ball @ Grant Union junior
varsity, 5 p.m., beginning
with JV
Grant Union volleyball @
Culver, 5 p.m., beginning
with JV
Sept. 2 ..... GU vs. Weston-McEwen .7 p.m.
Sept. 9 ..... GU @ Heppner ................7 p.m.
Sept. 16 ... GU vs. Stanfi eld ..............7 p.m.
Sept. 23 ... GU vs. Burns ...................7 p.m.
Oct. 7 ....... GU vs. Culver ..................7 p.m.
Oct. 14 ..... GU @ Imbler ...................2 p.m.
Oct. 21 ..... GU @ Enterprise .............7 p.m.
Oct. 28 ..... GU vs. Union...................7 p.m.
Nov. 5 ...... 1st-round playoffs.............. TBA
Nov. 12 .... quarterfi nal playoffs .......... TBA
Nov. 19 .... semifi nals ........................... TBA
Nov. 26 .... championship .................... TBA
Head coach: Jason Miller
Assistant coaches: Andy Lusco, defensive co-
ordinator; Zeke Langum, defense and offense
assistant; and Kyle Erickson and Tucker Wright
Junior high coaches: Casey Hallgarth and
Ray Wenger
By Angel Carpenter
Grant Union volleyball @
Heppner Tourney, 9 a.m.
Monument/
Dayville
football @
McKenzie in
Dufur, 1 p.m.
Grant Union football
Grant Union football season starts Friday when
the Prospectors will face non-league opponents the
Weston-McEwen TigerScots at 7 p.m. at Three Flags
Field in John Day.
Prospector head coach Jason Miller said
Weston-McEwen always plays tough, adding the
game should be “a good matchup again this year.”
Last year, Grant Union claimed a come-from-be-
hind 34-32 victory over the TigerScots in Athena.
Miller, who has led the
team for eight years with an-
other as assistant coach, said
his team of 21 is working
hard, and that’s what it will
take to make it to the playoffs
this year.
“Our strengths are yet to
be determined,” he said. “We
have some athletes that have
really worked hard to im-
Billy
prove, and I think that work
Copenhaver
ethic and determination will
be a strength.”
Junior Wade Reimers is returning as quarterback
this year.
“We have many leaders on this team that need to
step up and keep a positive attitude,” Reimers said.
“League will be tough. We just have to push through.”
With Burns, one of Grant Union’s toughest op-
ponents, moving up to the 3A class this season and
Cove moving to 1A, the Prospectors will face three
teams in the 2A Wapiti League: Imbler, Enterprise
and Union.
The top two teams in league will advance to state
playoffs.
Miller said the move of Burns changes the dy-
namics of the league, but added, “Our league will
still have some good talent, and no team should be
overlooked.”
He expects Imbler to return strong, and Union and
Enterprise to compete.
In 2013, Grant Union won the 2A state football ti-
tle, and that year the Imbler Panthers won the 1A title.
Grant Union lost 17 players to graduation in 2014,
and Imbler moved up to 2A that year.
Imbler shut out Grant Union 40-0 in 2014, and
last year Grant Union had a dominating ¿ rst half
against Imbler, but came up with a 58-34 loss.
Burns and Imbler advanced to the state playoffs,
Burns winning the title.
The Prospectors ¿ nished 4-4 overall and 2-2 in
league.
Miller said a solid core of linemen and some tough
skill players will make Imbler competitive this year.
Grant Union lost six of last season’s players to
graduation, all of whom played key roles on the
GU SPIKERS RALLY TO
TOURNAMENT VICTORY
Panthers and
Tigers take on
competition
team, but prospects still look good for Grant Union.
Five Prospectors return as starters on offense, six on
defense. Miller said this year’s team is a good group.
“I am extremely pleased with their effort and
enthusiasm,” he said. “Our goals for this year are to
establish ourselves as a contender in the state playoff
race and to play with true grit.”
This year’s roster of varsity and junior varsity
players includes one senior, 11 juniors, one sopho-
more and eight freshmen.
Senior Billy Copenhaver plays center and defen-
sive line. He said, for a smaller team, they’ve bonded
well.
“I’m really excited to be playing with this group
of guys because we all get along really well,” he said.
“I’m excited. I think it’s going to be a good year.”
Zack Deiter said although the team isn’t big in
numbers, they’re “giving 100 percent, all the time.”
Coaches see
potential in PC
volleyball squad
Players view season in positive light
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Grant Union Prospec-
tors came out victorious at
Saturday’s home tournament,
after a total of 12 teams com-
peted in the daylong event.
A battle against Burns in
the tournament’s champion-
ship game looked a little shaky
at ¿ rst for Grant Union.
They fell 25-21 to the Hi-
landers in the ¿ rst set, but the
Prospectors rallied in the sec-
ond and third to take the win.
Grant Union won the ¿ nal
two sets with scores of 25-10
and 15-5.
“I was proud of the girls
for coming back so strong af-
ter a ¿ rst-set loss to Burns in
order to win the tournament,”
said Grant Union head coach
Shae Speth. “We just made too
many errors, and we were able
to clean up our play in the sec-
ond and third sets to win the
match.”
Prospector players Natalie
Stearns and Heather Mosley
said they were happy with the
win.
“We worked together, con-
sidering it’s the beginning of
the season ² at ¿ rst it was
rough, but as we continued to
work together we started to
work as a team,” Stearns said.
“We all played great to-
gether,” Mosley added. “It
was a lot of fun to play with
this bunch of girls, and I think
we’ll have a great season.”
Grant Union’s junior var-
sity teams also got into the
day’s action and won their
matches.
Grant County 1A teams
Monument/Dayville and Prai-
rie City also competed at the
tournament, along with 3A
Burns, 2A Weston-McEwen,
2A Enterprise, 2A Heppner,
2A Pilot Rock, 1A Crane, 1A
Powder Valley and 1A Jordan
Valley. Grant Union is in the
2A class.
The Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter
Prospector quarterback Wade Reimers
makes a handoff to Cameron Hallgarth
in practice Monday at Grant Union.
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
The Grant Union Prospectors celebrate the win over Burns at Saturday’s
championship match of the Grant Union Tournament. From left: Reagan Shelley,
Heather Mosley, Chelsie Kodesh, Hailie Wright, Mariah Wright and Natalie Stearns.
Weekend stats for Grant Union
Mariah Moulton — 64 kills, 16 aces, 54 digs
Whitney McClellan — 7 aces, 26 digs
Reagan Shelley — 10 kills, 3 digs, 9 block assists
Chelsie Kodesh — 33 kills, 15 aces, 59 digs
Hailie Wright — 3 kills, 4 aces, 27 digs
Natalie Stearns — 8 aces, 46 digs
Kaylee Wright — 16 kills, 6 digs, 6 solo blocks, 5 block assists
Heather Mosley — 38 kills, 8 aces, 12 digs, 10 solo blocks, 10
block assists
The Prairie City Panthers
had a 2-1 win over Heppner in
the consolation round robin.
The Monument/Dayville
Tigers beat Prairie City 2-1 in
the consolation games, and,
in earlier pool play, they also
claimed a 25-24 win over the
Jordan Valley Mustangs.
After the game against the
Mustangs, Tigers head coach
Tiffnie Schmadeka said the
win was just what her team
needed.
“That was good for us, es-
pecially since it was a league
opponent,” she said. “We
got behind a little bit in the
middle. They came back and
played strong and aggressive
and served well. We had a lot
better setting which resulted in
more hits.”
The Grant Union varsity
team moved into Tuarter¿ nal
action with a 2-0 win over En-
terprise, Wapiti League oppo-
nents.
They also claimed a 2-0
win over Crane in the semi¿ -
nals.
The Prospectors’ ¿ rst game
of the season was a Friday win
in Crane, taking the Mustangs
with scores of 25-17, 25-12
and 25-15.
Although Crane is in the 1A
class, over the years they’ve
proven to be one of the tough-
est teams in the High Desert
League.
“The ¿ rst weekend of the
season is always a test to see
where we are and what areas
need improvement early on,”
Speth said, adding she was
pleased with their team chem-
istry, strong blocking as well
as back court defense.
“Throughout the season,
we’ll continue to focus on
minimizing our errors, but at
this point, I am pleased with
how far along we already are
in our development,” she said.
Grant Union travels for the
Heppner Invitational Tourna-
ment on Saturday with games
starting at 9 a.m., and they face
Culver on the road Tuesday at
5 p.m.
Prairie City faces Spray/
Mitchell in Mitchell on Thurs-
day at 5 p.m., and hosts a tour-
nament on Saturday at 8:30
a.m.
Monument/Dayville travels
to the Dufur Tournament on
Saturday with games begin-
ning at 9 a.m.
Prairie City Panther co-coach Lance Zweygardt said his main
goal is helping his players master skills that will help them, not
only in this year’s volleyball season, but throughout their lives.
The goal is “developing con¿ dence and leadership skills in all
the girls, especially the younger girls, through
an environment of competitive sports,” he said.
Last year, Louanne Zweygardt, Lance’s
wife, was head coach, and this year they’ve de-
cided to share the responsibilities as co-coaches.
There are 16 Panther players this year, the
same as last year.
Lance said they’re working on the varsity
Jones
roster, and Saturday’s Prairie City Tournament
should help them decide which lineups will
work best for the season.
In addition to three seniors, the team in-
cludes four juniors, three sophomores and six
freshmen.
“We have a lot of talented freshmen, willing
and
hard working and athletically talented, so
Perrenoud
the future looks good for sure,” Lance said.
The team also has returning starter junior
Brianna Zweygardt who, last season, was select-
ed for an All-State honorable mention.
Last year, she led the team stats in serving,
setting, hit/tipping and blocking.
She was also recognized as Setter of the Year
in the 1A High Desert League the past two sea-
Ennis
sons.
Among the seniors are returning starter Sar-
ah Ennis and MaKenzie Jones, a returning varsity player. Taci
Perrenoud, new to the team, is also a senior.
“I think we still have a lot of progress to make, but I think it’s
going to be a good season, overall,” said Ennis, who is an outside
See PC, Page A16
Prairie City volleyball 2016
Sept. 1 ..V @ Spray/Mitchell in Mitchell ........... 5 p.m.
Sept 3 ...Prairie City Tournament................... 8:30 a.m.
Sept. 7 ..JV/V @ Grant Union .................5 p.m./6 p.m.
Sept. 9 ..JV/V @ Pine Eagle in Halfway .2 p.m./3 p.m.
Sept. 17 Interleague Jamboree in North Powder .. TBA
Sept. 20 JV/V vs. Burns ...........................4 p.m./5 p.m.
Sept. 21 JV/V vs. Grant Union ................5 p.m./6 p.m.
Sept. 23 JV/V vs. Monument/Dayville ....2 p.m./3 p.m.
Sept. 24 V @ Crane Tournament .......................... TBA
Sept. 28 V @ Burnt River in Unity ................4:30 p.m.
Sept. 30 JV/V @ Jordan Valley ...............2 p.m./3 p.m.
Oct. 7 ....JV/V vs. Crane (homecoming) ..2 p.m./5 p.m.
Oct. 13 ..JV/V vs. Adrian in Unity ...........3 p.m./4 p.m.
Oct. 15 ..JV/V @ Harper/Hun. in Harper 12 p.m./1 p.m.
Oct. 22 ..High Desert District Tournament ............ TBA
Head coaches: Lance and Louanne Zweygardt
(All times are Pacifi c Standard Time.)