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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 14, 2018)
WEDNESDAY February 14, 2018 SPORTS SCHEDULE Thursday, Feb. 15 Prairie City girls High Desert district basket- ball tournament vs. Harper at 1 p.m., Grant Union gym in John Day (winner plays Jordan Valley at 6 p.m. Friday) Monument/Dayville girls High Desert district bas- ketball tournament vs. Adrian at 7 p.m., Grant Union gym in John Day (winner plays Crane at 1 p.m. Friday) Monument/Dayville boys High Desert district basketball tournament vs. Adrian at 8:45 p.m., Grant Union gym in John Day (winner plays Prairie City at 2:45 p.m. Friday) Friday, Feb. 16 Grant Union wrestling @ OSAA state cham- pionships at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, 8:30 a.m. Prairie City boys High Desert district basket- ball tournament vs. TBD at 2:45 p.m., Grant Union gym in John Day (winner plays in the championship at 5:45 p.m. Saturday) Saturday, Feb. 17 Grant Union wrestling @ OSAA state cham- pionships at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, 8:30 a.m. High Desert district basketball tournament continues, girls at 11 a.m., boys at 12:45 p.m., girls championship game at 4 p.m., boys at 5:45 p.m. Prairie City boys seal league title, 10-0 Panthers play Friday at district tourney By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle The Prairie City Panther boys sealed their first 1A High Desert League championship title in 11 years with their 72-51 win over the Crane Mus- tangs Saturday in Prairie City. “It got pretty loud at the end,” said Panther head coach Sam Workman, who is in his first year leading the Prairie City team. “It was a close game until about halfway through the fourth quarter,” Workman said. “We just went ahead and beat them by 21.” The Panthers, ranked No. 10 among OSAA’s 1A teams, finished undefeated at 10-0 in league play. Looking ahead to this week’s 1A-8 High Desert District Tournament, Workman said they’ll have to continue playing good defense. “The farther you go, the more competitive de- fenses you’re going to see, and have to have,” he said. “I hope they continue doing what they’re do- ing.” Prairie City senior Dorran Wilson said it was their goal to be league champions. “I’m glad we did it,” he said. “All around, it was a good season, and we’re not done yet.” The Eagle/Richard Hanners Panther senior Dorran Wilson looks for the open man as Panther juniors Syd Holman, Jonathan Lawrence and Levi Burke move into the paint during the Monument/Dayville game against Prairie City in Dayville on Feb. 9. Wilson said the Jordan Valley Mustangs were their biggest challenge this season. The team, with a 9-1 league record, will likely be the Panthers’ toughest competitor this week. “I just look forward to seeing everybody step up (at the tournament),” Wilson said. “The freshmen have stepped up, and I’ll be look- ing to see how they respond in the big games See TITLE, Page B2 Panther defense halts Tigers in Dayville District tournament starts Thursday By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle The Monument-Dayville girls came out strong against the Prairie City Panthers in their second 1A High Desert League matchup Friday in Dayville, but the Panthers crept ahead in the second half and won the game 37-27. The Panthers were 5-3 in the league going in, while the Tigers were 3-5, and the outcome was simi- lar to the Jan. 6 game in Prairie City, where the Panthers won 46-36. The Tigers scored first in Day- ville, with senior Danielle Rhoda putting up 2 points on a layup. The Panthers followed with two baskets — including a 3-pointer by senior Cassie Hire to make it 5-2. Tiger junior Faythe Schafer then stole the ball and drove it the length The Eagle/Richard Hanners Tiger senior Danielle Rhoda goes for the layup as Panther seniors Brianna Zweygardt and Cassie Hire cover her in the paint during the Monument/Dayville game against Prairie City in Dayville on Feb. 9. of the court for the layup, and Rhoda added another 2 with a layup to end the first quarter with the Tigers ahead 8-7. Schafer, who played well at both ends of the court, drained three free- throws in the middle of the second quarter to give the Tigers a 1-point lead. Monument-Dayville’s tight defense held for the rest of the half, which ended with the Tigers ahead 16-14. The second half opened with an- other steal by Schafer and a pass to Rhoda, but the ball failed to drop. Panther senior Brianna Zweygardt drained an outside shot to tie the game. Following scrappy play under the boards, Tiger junior Kyla Emerson snared an offensive rebound and put it back up, giving the Tigers a 2-point lead. But the Panthers came back, ty- ing the game again. Zweygardt’s basket put the Pan- thers ahead, and sophomore Rilee Emmel’s outside shot added to the lead, which was 24-20 when the third quarter ended. Hire added to the lead with a 3-pointer early in the fourth quar- ter to make it 27-20. Prairie City’s passes inside to Zweygardt, howev- er, were knocked away by the tight Tiger defense. With 3:20 left, Schafer knocked in a 3-pointer, narrowing the lead to 5 points. But the Panthers came back, with Hire driving for the hoop See DEFENSE, Page B2 Grant Union boys prepare for district tourney final By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Grant Union girls Wa- piti district basketball tournament vs. TBD in championship game at 6:30 p.m. at La Grande High School Grant Union boys Wa- piti district basketball tournament vs. TBD in championship game at 8 p.m. at La Grande High School when it’s win or go home.” On Friday, Prairie City notched another league win in Dayville, on their way to an undefeated sea- son. The Monument/Dayville Tigers scored first in what was their second matchup this season with For the Eagle/Paul Wahl Grant Union senior Zack Deiter passes from under the net during Saturday night’s away game with Enterprise. Celebrating their first Wa- piti League title in 28 years, the Grant Union Prospec- tor basketball team claimed their final league victory on Saturday, 60-41, over the En- terprise Outlaws. “It’s a pretty awesome feeling,” said Grant Union head coach Kelsy Wright. “I’m glad that I had this chance with this group of boys to do it and great assis- tant coaches Brandon Cul- ley and Kelly Stokes, who helped us out all year.” Seniors Zack Deiter and Duane Stokes said they were especially happy because the title means they play in the championship game as the top-seeded team at this weekend’s Wapiti District Tournament, where the top two teams advance to state. “It feels good to know we have a ‘for sure’ spot in state, and now we just need to go win districts to get a home game for the first round,” Deiter said. “I couldn’t be happier to do it with anyone but this team.” “It’s been awhile since Grant Union boys have won a league title, and I’m glad that I can be a part of the great team that accomplished this,” Stokes said. Grant Union, ranked No. 9 among OSAA’s 2A teams, finished 7-1 in league. Seeded second in the Wa- piti League are the 5-3 Elgin Huskies, followed by 3-5 Union, 3-5 Enterprise and 2-6 Imbler. A playoff game was scheduled between Union and Enterprise on Tuesday night, past press time. Elgin will face the winner of that contest on Friday, and Fri- day’s winner will compete in the championship game See BOYS, Page B2 Prospector girls ranked third in state Team plays in district championship Saturday By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle The Grant Union Prospector girls, ranked No. 3 among OSAA’s 2A teams, already knew they won back-to-back league titles, but they didn’t let down last week. They won three games and ended their regular season with an 11-game win streak, 8-0 in league. Now the Lady Pros are preparing for the Wapiti District Tournament set for Fri- day-Saturday, Feb. 16-17, at La Grande High School. As the top-seeded team, Grant Union will face the winner of Friday’s game be- tween Enterprise and Elgin at the champi- onship game at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Prospector seniors Mariah Moulton and Whitney McClellan expressed their excitement about winning league. “It’s a milestone, and we have a long road ahead of us still,” Moulton said. “We Contributed photos/Elizabeth Shelley Grant Union Prospector Madi McKrola is in action Thursday in a nonleague game against the Jordan Valley Mustangs. did it in volleyball, and we surely can do it in basketball as well. I couldn’t be more proud of my team.” McClellan said she’s also proud of the team’s accomplishments so far. “(We) have many goals ahead,” Mc- Clellan said. “I’m excited to see what we can achieve as we continue our season — we aren’t done yet!” Last week’s whirlwind of competitions started with two nonleague games played in John Day against the top two teams in the 1A High Desert League, Crane (No. 2) and Jordan Valley (No. 1). Prospector Kaylee Wright led Grant Union with 20 points and 7 steals in the 49-38 win over Crane on Feb. 6. Hailie Wright followed with 10 points and 3 steals. In Thursday’s 62-46 win over Jordan Valley, Kaylee Wright led with 29 points and 5 steals, and Madi McKrola had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Grant Union head coach Casey Hall- garth said both teams are well coached with some good shooters. “Defense won these hard-fought games,” he said. The Prospectors also defeated the En- terprise Outlaws on Saturday 34-29 in what Hallgarth described as a “dogfight.” He said all three games were tough and were won on the defensive side of the ball. In Enterprise, Grant Union led 11-6 in the first quarter and outshot the Outlaws 12-5 in the second. See GIRLS, Page B2 Grant Union Prospector Kaylee Wright swiftly moves the ball past Enterprise Outlaw Gracie Carsen (10) at the Enterprise basketball court.
