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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 2018)
A8 Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, August 29, 2018 WEDNESDAY August 29, 2018 Dayville/Monument fueling up for fun season Tigers host Prairie City in Dayville Aug. 31 2018 Dayville/ Monument Tigers football schedule By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Aug. 31: vs. Prairie City in Dayville at 1 p.m. Sept. 7: vs. Echo in Monument at 1 p.m. Sept. 14: @ Joseph at 6 p.m. Sept. 21: @ Harper at 12 p.m. (MT) Sept. 28: @ Mitchell/Spray/Wheeler in Spray at 2 p.m. Oct. 5: @ McKenzie at 7 p.m. Oct. 12: vs. South Wasco County in Monument at 1 p.m. Oct. 19: vs. Huntington in Dayville at 1 p.m. Oct. 26: @ Burnt River at 1 p.m. A shift from eight-man to six-man football for smaller schools in Oregon this year, including the Dayville/Monu- ment Tigers, is moving teams into high gear for an exhilarat- ing season. “Everyone gets a fresh start with six-man this sea- son,” said new Dayville/Mon- Gabe Walker- Hopkins Cade Milton ument Tiger head coach Kyle Hand. “It’s brand new to ev- erybody.” Dayville/Monument’s sea- son started Saturday at the Echo Jamboree, and the Ti- gers will host the Prairie City Panthers at 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31, in Dayville. Hand, who was Tiger as- sistant coach last season for Nathaniel Ashley, is the new head coach. He was also a volunteer assistant coach in 2009 and 2010. The Tigers were a junior varsity team the past two years, and are back at varsity this season. Six-man football, which is big in states such as Texas and Montana, is in the pilot stage in Oregon for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Any school with an adjust- ed enrollment of 89 or less can participate. There will be The Eagle/Angel Carpenter See TIGERS, Page A9 Dayville/Monument Tiger JT Hand (3) moves the ball with teammate Cade Milton (75) on his tail in practice. YOUNG, RAW, READY Prospector football team resets for season Aug. 31: @ Knappa at 7 p.m. Sept. 7: vs. Monroe at 6 p.m. Sept. 15: vs. Gold Beach/Pacific at 2 p.m. at Summit High School in Bend Sept. 21: vs. Umatilla at 7 p.m. Sept. 28: @ Kennedy at 7 p.m., location TBA Oct. 5: @ Stanfield at 7 p.m. Oct. 12: vs. Riverside at 7 p.m. Oct. 19: @ Heppner at 7 p.m. Oct. 26: vs. Weston-McEwen at 7 p.m. By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle ‘F inish every play! Finish ev- ery rep! Finish your home- work!” Those were orders called out by Grant Union head coach Jason Miller during last week’s practice as players ran through football drills. With just two seniors this season — 11 graduated in June — the 22 var- sity players have big cleats to fill. Garrett Junior Drew Lus- Lenz co is Grant Union’s only returning starter, and a handful of oth- ers have varsity expe- rience. “Drew Lusco is strong and experi- enced,” Miller said. “He has great size Caleb and is a good leader Rand on the offensive and defensive line.” Lusco said the team has some re- fining to do, but they’re “big on heart.” “The whole team is working hard- er than anyone else in 2A right now,” he said. Last year, Lusco was named to the All-State first team for defensive line- man and second team for offensive The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Grant Union Prospector Russell Hodge catches as Dylan Clark moves in during practice. In back, from left, are assistant coach Tucker Wright, Justin Hodge and Tanler Fuller. lineman. Five others on the 2017 All-State list graduated, including wide receiv- ers, defensive backs, a linebacker and a running back. The Prospectors were Wapiti League champions last season, and ended their run at state in the quar- terfinal round with a 50-14 loss to the Santiam Wolverines in John Day. Grant Union had eight wins and two losses on the season. Grant Union lost last year’s start- ing quarterback Wade Reimers to graduation, and backup quarterback Kellen Shelley moved to Tillamook this summer. This year’s seniors are Caleb Rand Turkeys and chickens popular with bidders at the Grant County Fair SPORTS SCHEDULE Grant Union cross country time trial at Grant Union at 4 p.m. Blue Mountain Eagle Long Creek/Ukiah JV vs. Burnt River in Long Creek at 4:30 p.m. By Angel Carpenter See FAIR, Page A9 and Garrett Lenz, who is starting quarterback for the Prospectors. Lenz played the position last year in some junior varsity games. Miller said that team performed well last season. This year, there are not enough players to fill a junior varsity team. “It’s just been a struggle to get Thursday, Aug. 30 Youth Livestock Auction sales total $246,800 Chickens and turkeys were a new addition this year at the Aug. 18 Youth Livestock Auction at the Grant County Fair. “This was the first year that we had this, and it was a huge success,” said 4-H lead- er Deanna Maley. “The kids worked hard and provided a great product.” She said these projects are ideal for kids living in town and don’t require a big invest- ment of money. The investment of time and care for the animals, on the other hand, is significant. Each year, businesses and individuals open their hearts and wallets in support of the 4-H and FFA youths who raise steer, swine, sheep, goats and, this year, poultry for auction. Shannon Springer is a member of the volunteer auc- tion committee, an incorpo- rated nonprofit that operates the auction. She said, each year, she’s amazed at the generosity of the bidders and other do- nors. 2018 Grant Union Prospector football schedule Friday, Aug. 31 Dayville/Monument football vs. Prairie City in Dayville at 1 p.m. The Eagle/Angel Carpenter From left, Ty McDaniel and Dan Hall assist Reid Dole in holding his Grand Champion pen of market chickens with Brooke Taynton, at right, representing Pioneer Feed. Dayville/Monument volleyball vs. Prairie City in Dayville at 4 p.m. Grant Union football @ Knappa at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 1 Grant Union volleyball @ Heppner Tournament at 9 a.m. Prairie City volleyball hosts tournament (Dayville/Monument @ tournament) in Prairie City at 9 a.m. The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Maggie Justice holds her Grand Champion turkey, standing with Charley Knowles, buyer representative for Solutions CPAs, at the Youth Livestock Auction Aug. 18 at the Grant County Fair in John Day. Tuesday, Sept. 4 Grant Union volleyball @ La Grande at 7 p.m. guys out,” Miller said, adding some had a late start with practices because of finishing duties at the fair. Lenz and juniors Russell Hodge and Taylor Hunt saw some varsity time last season. Hodge will be a run- ning back and kicker. “Taylor Hunt works hard and is linebacker and fullback, some offen- sive line,” Miller said. “He’s doing a great job stepping in and doing what- ever we need.” Other than those positions, “we’re still fighting for spots,” he said. Hunt said although they’ve lost a lot of seniors, he’s excited to see what the defense will do this year. “We have a lot of young kids will- ing to fill whatever they can,” he said. “I’m just excited to see what this young team has in store for us,” Lenz said. “Heart and hard work is going to get us where we want to be.” Andy Lusco is back as Grant Union defensive coordinator, and Tucker Wright is back as an assistant coach. See PROS, Page A9 S PORTS R OUNDUP Grant Union places 2nd at home volleyball tourney The Grant Union Pros- pector volleyball team came out to battle with visitors from seven schools in Sat- urday’s home tournament in John Day. The Prospectors defeated the 1A Jordan Valley Mus- tangs 2-1 in the quarterfinals with scores of 25-14, 16-25 and 16-14. In the semifinals, Grant Union beat Pilot Rock 2-0 with scores of 25-16 and 25- 23. The Lady Pros then fell to the Weston-McEwen Ti- gerScots 1-2 in the tourna- ment’s championship with scores of 27-29, 25-21 and 13-15. Head coach Ali Abrego said she was pleased with her team’s performance for their first home event. “It was awesome to see how the team worked to- gether and how the young- er girls — Maddie Spencer, Lauryn Pettyjohn and Grace Taylor — stepped up to the plate,” Abrego said. “The older girls really demon- strated what it meant to be a teammate this weekend, helping ease the younger girls’ nervousness.” She said, although they took the loss, they saw some good competition to help them as the season gets un- derway. “As Weston is in our league, it’ll be a challenge when we meet up with them again later in the season,” Abrego said. “We beat Pi- lot Rock in pool play and in bracket play, but they as well will be a good match for us.” She said senior Hailie Wright was a stand out as setter, and several others performed well, including Baylee Combs, Alcie Moore and Grace Taylor. Grant Union hosted the Burns Hilanders on Tues- day, Aug. 28, past press time, and on Saturday they travel to the Heppner Invi- tational Tournament, which starts at 9 a.m. Prairie City competes with high-ranking teams at 1A Season Preview Tournament The Prairie City Pan- ther volleyball team was on the road Friday and Satur- day for the 1A Season Pre- view Tournament hosted by Country Christian in Mo- lalla. Invitees to the tourna- ment were some of the top teams in the state. Panther head coach Jor- dan Bass said, although they weren’t as successful on the scoreboard as they wanted to See ROUNDUP, Page A9
