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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 2018)
Sports Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, August 29, 2018 TIGERS Continued from Page A8 no playoffs, but if coaches de- cide to move forward after the two-year trial run, there will be OSAA championships. Hand said the six-man op- tion is giving his athletes a more competitive edge. One new rule, he said, is that the offense must hand off or throw the ball — no quar- terback keepers — though the quarterback can later take it back. “Everybody is eligible to receive the ball, so everybody can score,” he said. He said endurance will be key in the game, as well as containing their opponents and not getting down if the other guy gains yards. The game is generally played on a 40-by-80-yard field. Hand said his team is work- ing hard and showing drive. Last year, the Tigers could not muster a win, but the new format and team’s efforts could translate into a better season. “I feel really confident,” he said. “I think we’ll be a force to reckon with.” He said his 13 players are showing an excellent work The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Head coach Kyle Hand speaks with quarterback Donovan Schafer during practice. ethic with size and speed to run the game well. “We have the best of both worlds,” he said. Starting quarterback is Donovan Schafer, who will switch off with JT Hand in the position. The coach said each of the players have distinct qualities to help the team. Sophomore Mark Thomas, a tailback, had a great season on the Monument track team last school year, taking fifth place in the 1,500-meter run at state. “He’s fast and has one of the best attitudes on the team,” Hand said. The coach said senior Gabe Walker-Hopkins “will be a big part of offense and defense for us,” and senior Cade Milton as center is part of the “crucial” line. The two seniors on the ros- ter are joined by one junior, five sophomores and four freshmen. One other freshman may also join the team. At Thursday’s practice, Walker-Hopkins was looking forward to their first competi- tion and seeing the team move into game speed. “It’s going to be a lot fast- er,” he said. “Everyone is try- ing really hard, and it’s push- ing me to try even harder.” Milton said he didn’t think he’d like six-man at first, but he’s found it to be even better than eight-man. “I feel like we’re good this year,” he said. “We have a closer bond this year than we ever have, and there’s a lot more kids that actually want to play and are putting 110 per- cent in.” Hand’s assistant coach- es are Heather Bowlus and Rocky Perkins. Perkins said Hand will make an excellent coach, and said sports teach kids valuable life lessons and responsibility. Hand said his goal is to finish the season winning three-quarters of their games or more. “I just enjoy this sport and the kids, especially when they have good attitudes,” Hand said. “If you see a six-man football game — Dayville/ Monument or Prairie City — on the schedule, come and see. It’s going to be a blast!” PROS Continued from Page A8 Justin Larson will be the Prospector junior high coach. Grant Union competes in their first game of the season on the road at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31, against the Knappa Loggers in Astoria. The Prospectors’ first home game will be at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7, when they host de- fending 2A state champions the Monroe Dragons. In league contests, Grant Union will be up against Hep- pner, Stanfield, Weston-McE- wen and Riverside in Special District 6. “Heppner is tough again,” Miller said, adding Stanfield and Weston-McEwen have improved. Miller said he doesn’t know a lot about Riverside yet, but the team also has 22 players with no junior varsity team. They have four seniors and Grant Union Prospector Jordan Hall makes a catch. nine freshmen. The Prospector roster in- cludes six juniors, seven soph- omores and seven freshmen. “This group has been a lot of fun to coach, and they are all giving great effort,” Miller said. “I am looking forward to gaining valuable experience with our first few games.” He said with many of the guys moving up from junior varsity to varsity, they’ll need to acclimate to the speed of a varsity game. “Most have some experi- ence; they’re just young and raw,” he said. “The kids have a great attitude and work hard. We have a lot of work to do.” The Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter Grant Union Prospector Jesse Douglass listens to instruction from head coach Jason Miller. Continued from Page A8 The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Ellie Justice holds her Reserve Champion turkey, standing with buyer representative Dustin Oates of Ed Staub & Sons. Springer said. The add-on checks are especially appreciated by the kids whose animals didn’t make weight or had ROUNDUP Continued from Page A8 be, she saw the challenge of facing the highly ranked teams as an opportunity. “This tournament was a great first challenge for us,” Bass said. “This was some of the toughest competition we will see all season, and it gave me the opportunity to see what our strengths and weaknesses are before we enter into league play.” On Friday, Prairie City fell to Echo 1-2 with scores of 25-18, 20-25 and 12-15. Perrydale and McKenzie also proved tough as the Panthers lost 0-2 in those matches. On Saturday, Prairie City won one set in their match against Alsea, but lost with scores of 27-25, 18-25 and 10-15. The Panthers also took a loss to Country Chris- tian 0-2 and Days Creek 0-2. Bass said the experience gave her girls plenty of court time with a valuable experi- ence playing together early in the season. “Their communication was really strong, and I was proud of the leadership I saw from some of our players,” she said. Bass said they found some skills to work on in practice as the team prepares to face the Dayville/Mon- ument Tigers at 4 p.m. Fri- day in Dayville for their first league game of the season. The Panthers will host a tournament at 9 a.m. Satur- day in Prairie City. Dayville/ Monument and Prairie City compete at Echo football jamboree FAIR “It’s phenomenal we had over $220,204 auctioned this year — just from the auc- tion,” she said. “We had an additional $26,596 in add-on donations.” Add-ons come from peo- ple who may not want to buy an animal but would like to donate to a particular youth, or, for example, all the Day- ville kids or all the sheep kids, she said. “Always, any kid that takes an animal to the fair, they have to put in a lot of hard work,” she said. The prices paid for animals are inflated, she added. For example, Reid Dole’s three grand champion chickens were auctioned off for $310. “It’s a way to support the kids for their hard work,” A9 other problems. “Sometimes they put in all the hard work, but they learn a lot of good lessons, and some- times hard lessons,” she said. Contributed photo/Tanni Wenger Photography Brady Dole poses with his pen of three Reserve Champion chickens at the Grant County Fair with the bid going to Gordon and Julie Larson of Berry Creek Ranch. KNOW THE RULES: The Dayville/Monument Tigers and Prairie City Pan- thers were among five teams competing at the Echo Jam- boree. Harper, Joseph and Echo also competed. Each team had 36 offen- sive plays and 36 defensive plays. Dayville/Monument head coach Kyle Hand said overall his team did well. “We started out slow, but we ended up strong,” he said. Tiger freshman Tel Cox was named Offensive Play- er of the Game. “He gave our team a spark,” Hand said. “He got to the outside corner and scored a touchdown.” He said Gabe Walk- er-Hopkins handled his as- signments well, showing a good defensive perfor- mance, and also scoring a touchdown run. “It was a very good look at the team,” he said. “We’ve improved 100 percent since last year. The younger guys are showing promise.” Prairie City head coach Nate Barber could not be reached for comment. Keep Kids Safe! Make sure you know and follow these school bus safety rules for motorists. It’s not only smart; it’s the law! Yellow Flashing Lights signal that the bus is getting ready to stop and load or un- load children. Slow down and prepare to stop. The Blue Mountain Eagle is seeking a full-time Administrative Assistant. This is an opportunity to learn multiple aspects of our business by supporting the front desk, editorial and advertising teams. Successful candidates will need problem-solving and computer skills and the ability to handle multiple tasks at once. Must be accurate and detail-oriented, plus have strong customer service and communication skills. Driving and criminal background checks will be completed pre-hire. Benefits include Paid Time Off (PTO), insurances and a 401(k) Roth / 401(k) retirement plan. Send resume and letter of interest to EO Media Group, Attn: Human Resources, PO Box 2048, Salem, OR 97308-2048 or e-mail hr@eomediagroup.com. Red Flashing Lights With Extended Stop Arm signal that the bus has stopped Sponsored by: Law Office of Robert Raschio 206 S. Humbolt St., Canyon City 541-575-5750 www.rrlaw.biz and children will be exiting or entering the bus. Stop your vehicle and wait until the lights stop flashing, the extended arm is withdrawn, and the bus resumes moving. As always, be alert and watch out for children whenever you are behind the wheel.
