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.