Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
B1
WEDNESDAY
October 31, 2018
Prospectors shut out TigerScots 16-0 to advance
Football team travels to
Monroe Saturday
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Grant Union Prospectors will face
the Monroe Dragons at 1 p.m. Saturday
in Monroe in the OSAA state playoffs.
Grant Union earned the playoff spot
after defeating the Weston-McEwen Ti-
gerScots 16-0 Friday night in John Day.
“These guys deserve it,” said Grant
Union head coach Jason Miller. “They’ve
worked so hard, played hard — they de-
serve the post season.”
Miller said it was a team effort that
got the job done.
“Everybody is working hard and mak-
ing things happen,” he said.
Grant Union linebacker Devon
Stokes moved Grant Union in the right
direction in the first quarter, recovering
Weston-McEwen’s fumble on the Tiger-
Scots’ first drive.
The Prospectors marched it down the
field. On fourth down, quarterback Gar-
rett Lenz handed off to Russell Hodge to
keep the drive alive.
Prospector Justin Hodge gained 15
yards on a carry for another first down,
followed by Russell taking it another 15
yards for the Prospectors’ first touch-
down.
Lenz scored the 2-point conversion on
a keeper.
Weston-McEwen, led by head coach
Travis Glover, continued a drive in the
second quarter.
TigerScot running back Dylan Kane
made a long run to the 5-yard line, but
Prospectors Russell Hodge and Justin
Hodge pushed him out of bounds to bring
up third down.
Prospector Taylor Hunt then tackled
Kane in the backfield, and Weston-McE-
wen lost yards on the next play.
Miller said he was impressed with his
team’s “great defensive effort.”
“We held them, and they didn’t score,”
he said. “That’s all heart right there.”
The first half ended with Prospector
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Jordan Hall breaking up Weston-McEw-
en quarterback Kelen McGill’s pass.
Grant Union Prospector quarterback Garrett Lenz
scores a 2-point conversion in Friday’s win over Weston-
See FOOTBALL, Page B2 McEwen.
Contributed photo
Grant Union Prospector cross country runners, from left,
are Jesse Randleas, Braden Spencer and Eli Sheedy.
Prospector cross
country teams
compete at district
championships
Boys team
posts a fifth-
place finish
Grant Union advances to championship
tourney after sweeping Bonanza
Prospectors will
face Coquille in
quarterfinals Friday
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Grant Union Prospec-
tor boys varsity cross country
team placed fifth at Friday’s
2A/1A Special District 3
Championship meet held at
Pendleton Community Park.
Grant Union finished with
149 points, just 4 points be-
hind Griswold.
Prospectors Tanner Elliott
and Braden Spencer each
ran season bests, and El-
liott placed first among team
members for the first time in
competition this season.
The Union boys placed
first, with Heppner in second
and Stanfield in third.
For the boys junior varsi-
ty runners, Cole Ashley set a
personal record.
The Grant Union varsity
girls placed seventh out of
eight teams in the 3A/2A/1A
Special District 3.
Burns placed first, fol-
lowed by Enterprise in second
and Union third.
Prospector girls Samantha
Buckhaults and Rylee Brown-
ing each set personal records.
“We trained harder this
year, and the athletes found
they were able to push them-
selves and hold their pace lon-
ger,” said Grant Union head
coach Sonna Smith. “We ac-
complished our goal of mov-
Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union Prospector Kaylee Wright (2) pushes back Mikayla McGee’s scoring attempt in Saturday’s game.
Contributed photo/Winnie Browning
Grant Union cross country
runner Rylee Browning,
center, races in the
District 3 Championship
meet Friday at Pendleton
Community Park.
ing up in our placing, team-
wise, and have set new goals
to run more consistently in the
offseason to come in next fall
at the level we left at the end
of the season.”
Grant Union last ran with
a full girls team at districts in
2016, which was the first time
in 20 years, Smith said.
Smith led the teams with
help from assistant coach
Brandon Smith.
Grant Union boys varsity
Tanner Elliott, 28th,19:54.8
Jacob Smith, 31st, 20:10.8
Gage Brandon, 33rd, 20:18.5
Mason Gerry, 36th,20:46.3
Jesse Randleas, 40th, 21:15.6
Braden Spencer, 42nd, 21:22.5
Donavan Smith, 47th, 22:14.8
Grant Union girls varsity
Erika Dickens, 27th, 22:56.5, season
record
Rylee Browning, 32nd, 23:36.5, season
record
Tiler Voigt, 58th, 26:50.2
Makenna Culley, 73rd, 29:11.8
Sammi Buckhaults, 76th, 32:16.4
Grant Union boys junior varsity
Eli Sheedy, 10th place, 21:15.6
Cole Ashley,16th place, 24:24.9,
personal record
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
T
he Grant Union Prospectors are
advancing to Friday’s quarterfi-
nal round of the OSAA State Vol-
leyball Championship where they will
face the Coquille Red Devils at 3:15
p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, in Redmond.
The quarterfinal match will take
place on court 2 at Ridgeview High
School.
Grant Union is ranked No. 2 among
OSAA’s 2A teams with a 26-4 overall
record and 12-0 league record. The
Prospectors finished No. 1 in the Blue
Mountain Conference.
Coquille is ranked No. 7 and has a
24-3 overall record and 12-0 league re-
cord. The Red Devils finished No. 1 in
the Sunset Conference.
Grant Union, the defending state
champions, swept the Bonanza Antlers
Saturday in John Day, affording the
Prospectors the opportunity to compete
at the final eight.
Bonanza gave Grant Union a tough
showing in the second set, but the Pros-
pectors kept their cool, winning with
scores of 25-12, 25-22 and 25-16.
Leading the scoring for the Pros-
pectors were outside hitter Sydney
Brockway with 10 kills, two aces and
one block; outside hitter Kaylee Wright
See VB, Page B10
Grant Union Prospector McKeely Miller makes a kill that flies past
Bonanza in Saturday’s first-round playoff game in John Day.
Grant Union Prospectors Taylor Allen (14) and Trinity Hutchison go up
to block.
Enthusiasm for cheer is contagious at Prairie City School
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Four varsity cheerleaders
have generated school spirit
in the hallways, at pep as-
semblies and on the sidelines
at Prairie City School.
The team is led by Jill
Wright, whose enthusiasm
for the sport has only contin-
ued to build since she began
coaching 17 years ago.
“It’s my passion — I love
cheer,” Wright said.
She said it’s fun teaching
the girls dances and cheers,
and seeing them progress.
“The harder we work, the
better we get,” she said.
Wright’s love for cheer
has rubbed off on her squad,
which includes junior Shae-
lynn Bice, sophomore Jayda
DuBois and freshmen Han-
nah Wall and Tianna Law-
rence.
Hannah Wall also played
volleyball for the Prairie City
Panthers; and Bice, who is
team captain, is the Prairie
City student body president,
a high-honor student and a
reporter for FFA’s Strawberry
Mountain District.
Bice said the team start-
ed their work together last
summer, starting with a cheer
camp for elementary stu-
dents.
The team bonded as they
created all the team posters
and run-through banners for
fall.
It’s a time to get to know
each other and get things
done, said Bice, who is in her
second year of cheer.
She plans to return and
hopes others join the squad.
“This year has really
shown how much I enjoy
being around the team,” she
said. “I’m really looking for-
ward to next year, and I hope
it’s another good season.”
Getting the school to-
gether for pep assemblies,
and “having them show their
pride and excitement for the
teams” has been fun, she
said, especially when the stu-
dents get loud.
Bice said some of her fa-
vorite experiences are seeing
the reactions of elementary
students when the team ap-
pears in uniform.
“Having them say, ‘I want
to be like you when I’m old-
er,’ is an inspiration to me,”
she said.
Contributed photo/Tanni Wenger Photography
The Prairie City cheerleaders, from left, are Shaelynn
Bice, Jayda DuBois, Tianna Lawrence and Hannah Wall.