The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current, October 24, 2018, Image 10

The Blue Mountain eagle., October 24, 2018, Page A10, Image 10

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Newspaper Page TextA10 Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, October 24, 2018 WEDNESDAY October 24, 2018 Grant Union wins fourth BMC district title Prospectors host first-round game Saturday By Annie Fowler EO Media Group Grant Union has quite the collection of Blue Mountain Conference district champion- ship trophies. The Prospectors picked up their fourth consecutive title Saturday with a 25-19, 25-17, 25-23 victory over Weston-McEwen at Stanfield High School. “It’s a pretty special team,” first-year coach Ali Abrego said. “It’s exciting to keep the tradition alive.” Grant Union and Weston-McEwen advance to the 2A state tournament, and will host first-round games next Saturday. Heppner, which finished third, and fourth-place Union, will play state play-in games this week. Kaylee Wright had 18 kills and four digs for the defend- ing state champions, who im- proved to 25-4 on the season. Hailie Wright handed out 14 assists, and had six kills. After a 7-7 tie in the first set, the Prospectors slowly pulled away from the Tiger- Scots (23-6). They held leads of 18-11, 20-14 and got a kill from Kaylee Wright to put the set away. Grant Union got on a roll early in the second set, and a string of seven consecutive points by Sydney Brockway gave the Prospectors a 9-1 lead. EO Media Group/Annie Fowler The Grant Union Prospectors won the Blue Mountain Conference district volleyball title Saturday for the fourth consecutive year. Trailing 17-7, Weston-McEwen went on a little run of its own, getting three points from Tyree Burke to make it 17-10. Carrie Ha- zen later dished up a pair of aces to pull the TigerScots within 19-15, but it was all Grant Union from there, with Kaylee Wright pounding down three kills in a row for a 23-16 lead. Down two sets, the Tiger- Scots were far from done. The teams exchanged points from the start, with Weston-McEwen twice lead- ing by two points — 15-13 and 16-14. The TigerScots led 20-19, but four unforced errors down the stretch, in- cluding a net serve on match point, helped Grant Union seal the win. There were 18 ties in the third set, and despite never taking the lead for good until 24-23, the Prospectors never wavered. “They did not let their emo- tions get the best of them,” Abrego said. “Weston-McE- wen has a really good team. It makes it better when you have to earn it.” W-M coach Shawn White was pleased with how his team competed. “They are good, and we are Prairie City junior Emily Ennis spikes over Crane senior Katie Burns and sophomore Shelie Doman during the High Desert League district volleyball tournament. Visitors edge out locals in District 1A-8 tourney play Tournament kicks off with Tiger-Panther matchup By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle L ocal and visiting sports fans were treat- ed to an exciting District 1A-8 High Desert League volleyball tournament Oct. 20 at Grant Union Junior-Senior High School in John Day. The No. 4-seed Prairie City Panthers started the tournament by defeating their cross-coun- ty rival and No. 5-seed Dayville/Monument Tigers in four competitive sets with numerous lead changes, 25-17, 20-25, 25-18 and 25-20. Panther juniors Rilee Emmel and Emily Ennis had several powerful spikes, but the Tigers responded with good blocks at the net, especially by freshman Aubreianna Osborne. The Tigers went on to defeat the Harper Charter Hornets in the consolation round, 25-9 and 25-12. “I’m really proud of them,” Tiger head coach Kristi Emerson said. “They did well as a team.” The Tigers, with a short roster and two se- niors, pressured the Panthers with good blocks and long rallies, Emerson said, but they missed some important serves. Eagle photos/ Richard Hanners Prairie City junior Emily Ennis returns the ball against Dayville/Monument during the High Desert League volleyball tournament. Prairie City sophomore Aries Bice and junior Rilee Emmel back Ennis up while Dayville/Monument junior Aubrey Bowlus and senior Kyla Emerson guard the net. “I saw some great teamwork and great spir- it,” Emerson said. Panther head coach Jordan Bass said her team was doing well and found the scoring drive to win the game against Dayville/Mon- ument. “We stayed mentally tough,” she said. “There was some good and bad, but we han- dled it the way I wanted to.” Next up for the Panthers was No. 1-seed Jordan Valley. The Panthers lost to the Mus- tangs during the season in three close sets. “When we’re on, we can’t be beat,” Pan- ther assistant coach Lance Zweygardt said ahead of the game. The Mustangs won the round in three sets, 25-22, 25-11 and 25-17. Jordan Valley got ahead early in the first set, but Prairie City fought to maintain a 4-point margin. The play intensified with back-and-forth serves as the Panthers clawed back to within 3 points at the end of the set. Mustang junior Becky Mackenzie’s tough serving gave Jordan Valley a 9-2 lead early in the second set. The Panthers battled back and got within striking distance midway through the set, but the Mustangs picked up their pace for the 14-point win. The Panthers took an early lead in the third set, but the Mustangs rallied and tied the score at 8 apiece. Mackenzie’s serving then picked apart the Prairie City defense to end the set. No. 3-seed Adrian upset No. 2 Crane in a tough 3-2 game, setting up Prairie City and Crane for the third-place round. The Mustangs had defeated the Panthers in season play 3-1, and the Prairie City roster was down for the tournament with four injured players. See VB, Page A13 getting closer,” he said. “In the third, we couldn’t quite get there. This is good expe- rience for us. They are the de- fending state champs and one of the best teams in the state. The girls played well.” Alcie Moore added 13 as- sists for Grant Union, while Trinity Hutchison had five kills and Sydney Brockway seven digs, four kills and three assists. Seniors Hailie Wright, Kaylee Wright, Hutchison and Moore were named first team all conference, and Syd- ney Brockway and Taylor Al- len were named to the second team. This article will be updat- ed at myeaglenews.com with Grant Union’s Saturday game time and opponent as soon as information is available. S PORTS R OUNDUP Dayville/Monument football falls to Huntington The Dayville/Monument Tiger football team fell 42-25 to the Hun- tington Locomotives Friday in Day- ville. The Tigers, led by quarterback JT Hand, came out strong with a 25- 14 lead going into halftime. Dayville/Monument head coach Kyle Hand said freshman Tell Cox and sophomore Mark Thomas most- ly ran the ball, and his team was sol- id defensively in the first half. Hand said, while Huntington had a couple big plays in the second half, his team came up flat and couldn’t find their rhythm due to injuries. Tiger senior Cade Milton was fighting a sprained ankle in the sec- ond half and was out by the fourth quarter. Quarterback JT Hand was also injured. Coach Hand decided to cancel Friday’s game against Mitchell/ Spray/Wheeler, which would have been the Tigers’ final game. “Overall for the season, we learned a lot,” said coach Hand, who was in his first year as head coach. “Their football IQ is a lot better, they’re more aggressive and their tackling has improved.” He said his assistant coaches, See ROUNDUP, Page A13 SPORTS SCHEDULE Friday, Oct. 26 Grant Union cross coun- try @ 3A/2A/1A Special District 3 Meet at Pend- leton Community Park, boys at 3 p.m., girls at 3:30 p.m. Grant Union football vs. Weston-McEwen at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27 Grant Union volleyball hosts first-round state playoff in John Day, op- ponent and time TBD Grant Union to battle Weston-McEwen Friday for playoff spot Blue Mountain Eagle It’s do or die for the Grant Union Prospector football team as they battle for a state playoff spot Friday. The Prospectors (4-4, 2-1) will face the Weston-McEwen TigerScots (3-4, 2-1) at 7 p.m. Friday at Three Flags Field in John Day. The game will decide which team moves on to the OSAA first-round state playoffs as No. 2 in the 2A Special District 6 — only the top two advance. The Heppner Mustangs (6- 2, 3-0) sealed the district title after defeating Grant Union 47- 14 Friday night in Heppner. Heppner kept control throughout the battle, holding Grant Union scoreless until late in the game. Russell Hodge scored Grant Union’s first touchdown with less than 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter on a 7-yard run. Hodge ended up with 79 yards rushing on 15 attempts. Jordan Hall intercepted a Heppner pass and ran it back 63 yards for the other score with about 2:25 left in the contest. Grant Union, ranked No. 19 among OSAA’s 2A teams, has scored 186 points and allowed 166. Weston-McEwen, No. 26, has scored 181 and allowed 182. “The (Weston-McEwen) game will decide who goes to state in second place,” Prospec- tor coach Jason Miller said. “It will be a tough game, and we look forward to the challenge.” EO Media Group/E.J. Harris Grant Union’s Quinton Hallgarth and Peyton Neault (66) wrap up Heppner quarterback Jayden Wilson in the Mustangs’ 47-17 win against the Prospectors on Friday in Heppner. EO Media Group/E.J. Harris Heppner’s Mason Lehman stiff arms Grant Union’s Jordan Hall in the Mustangs’ 47-17 win against the Prospectors on Friday in Heppner.