A10
PAGE LABEL
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
WEDNESDAY
March 6, 2019
Prairie City boys place fi fth in state, falling to Days Creek
care of the ball.
McKinley is sharp at hitting
3-pointers, and Deiter will be even
stronger next year, the coach said.
Final loss decided in
last minute of play
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Quarterfi nal
The Prairie City Panther boys
basketball team fi nished in fi fth
place at the 1A Boys Basketball
State Championship in Baker City
on Saturday, falling 56-53 to the
Days Creek Wolves.
Panther head coach Sam Work-
man said both teams battled hard in
their fi nal game.
“I was excited with the way
they played their last game of the
season and how they fought,” he
said of his team, adding they all
performed well.
Workman said his fi ve gradu-
ating seniors “are leaving tough
shoes to fi ll.”
Ending their high school bas-
ketball career are Levi Burke, Syd
Holman, Jonathan Lawrence, Brett
Copenhaver and Lane Williams.
“Each team is different, and
we’ll have different game plans for
next year,” Workman said.
He said the upperclassmen
performed well all year, and his
younger athletes stepped up and
played hard when they had the
chance.
Jojari Field, a sophomore, was
a starter this season and last, when
the Panthers placed second at
state.
“I’m extremely proud of every
single one of the players this year,”
Contributed photo/Tanni Wenger Photography
Prairie City Panther Marcus Judd is in action against Nixyaawii with Golden Eagle player Jace Ashley (21)
defending.
Field said. “We didn’t get the out-
come we expected, but it was still
pretty good.”
Field said he’s proud that he and
his teammates and coaches made
the return to state.
“I’m going to miss playing with
all the seniors, but I can’t wait until
next year, because I’m pretty sure
we can do great things again,” he
said.
Prairie City fi nished third in the
1A-8 High Desert League stand-
ings but won the championship
title at the District 8 tournament on
Feb. 16 in John Day.
Workman said his returning
starters will bring talent to next
year’s team.
“Jojari shoots well — we
couldn’t do it without him,”
Workman said, adding that both
Lucas McKinley and Cole Deiter,
who will return as seniors, take
Prairie City, seeded eighth,
started the tournament on Feb. 27
with a thrilling 52-48 victory over
the No. 1-seed Sherman Huskies in
the quarterfi nals.
The Panthers had previously
beat the Huskies 54-52 early in the
season in Prairie City.
Workman said the contest was a
tough win.
“They were wanting to beat us
pretty bad,” he said. “It was a dog
fi ght to the end.”
Burke scored the fi rst 2 points of
the game off an assist from Field.
The teams tied the score twice
in the fi rst quarter with Sherman
leading 16-11 going into the sec-
ond. The Huskies had a 26-22 lead
at halftime.
The teams knotted up the score
twice in the third, and Sherman
pulled ahead 43-34 going into the
fi nal eight minutes of play.
In the fourth, Sherman hit two
of nine attempts from the fi eld and
sank 1-of-3 at the free-throw line.
Prairie City landed six of eight
attempts from the fi eld, and mak-
ing a big difference in the fi nal two
minutes were Deiter, Holman and
McKinley who each went 2-of-2
at the free-throw line for the Pan-
thers’ win.
See State, Page A13
Grant Union girls end season with loss
Five seniors
close high school
basketball careers
GRANT UNION VS. CENTRAL
LINN
Hailie Wright: 9 points (one 3-pointer),
4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Madi McKrola: 9 points (one 3-pointer,
2-4 free throws), 5 rebounds, 1 steal
Kaylee Wright: 8 points (one 3-pointer,
1-4 free throws), 3 rebounds, 1 assist,
2 steals
Kaytlyn Wells: 2 points, 5 rebounds,
1 assist
Tyler Blood: 2 points, 2 blocks
Marissa Smith: 3 rebounds, 1 steal
Baylee Combs: 1 rebound
Alcie Moore: 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1
block
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Grant Union Pros-
pector girls’ season came to
a heartbreaking end Friday
morning with a consolation
loss to the No. 9-seed Cen-
tral Linn Cobras, 53-30, at
the OSAA 2A Girls Basket-
ball State Championship in
Pendleton.
Grant Union, seeded
fi fth, lost the quarterfi nal
round 54-36 on Thursday
to the Coquille Red Devils,
seeded fourth, at the Pendle-
ton Convention Center.
“Both were very strong
teams,” Grant Union head
coach Kristi Moore said of
their competition.
Central Linn also had
height, and even though
Grant Union has great jump-
ers, the Prospectors had dif-
fi culty rebounding and also
struggled with shooting.
Moore said her team
“played solid defense” in
both games.
“It’s a great accomplish-
ment to make it to the state
tournament,” Moore said.
Out of 47 teams in the
state “only eight get to play
in the tournament, so it’s
a great opportunity,” she
added.
Five Prospector seniors
close their high school
careers in the sport: Hai-
lie Wright, Kaylee Wright,
Madi McKrola, Alcie Moore
and Marissa Smith.
Smith said making it to
the tournament made her
senior year a memorable
one.
“Our ultimate goal was to
make it to the state tourna-
ment again, and we did,” she
said. “Although it didn’t end
the way we wanted it to, I’d
like to thank my teammates,
coaches and the community
for all their support.”
She said the team had
great chemistry and got
along well.
“Everybody
worked
hard, and we came in and
gave 100 percent,” Smith
said.
McKrola was named the
Player of the Game in both
matches.
“Madi is determined, and
she plays great defense and
those things really rewarded
her,” Moore said. “She defi -
nitely was our Player of the
Game. She’s our ‘go-to’ a
GRANT UNION VS. COQUILLE
EO Media Group/Kathy Aney
A trio of Coquille players surround Madison McKrola, of
Grant Union, as she eyes the basket Thursday during a
state quarterfi nal game in Pendleton.
lot, and she deserved that
honor.”
The Prospectors were
league champions and
placed second at the Blue
Mountain Conference tour-
nament to Heppner.
Heppner, seeded sixth at
the state championship, won
the title.
In Friday’s consolation
game, held at Pendleton
High School, Grant Union
and Central Linn had an
equal share of good and poor
shooting in the fi rst quarter
with the Cobras gaining a
slim 15-13 lead.
Twin sisters Hailie and
Kaylee Wright each sank a
3-pointer, with Hailie also
hitting a jump shot. Prospec-
tor Tyler Blood had a block
and scored on a layup, and
McKrola scored in the paint
and shot 1-of-2 at the free-
throw line.
Cobra Colleen McLaugh-
lin scored 11 of her 17 points,
including three 3-pointers,
in the fi rst eight minutes.
Grant Union was down
26-15 midway through the
second, but started to climb
out of the hole when McK-
rola scored off an assist from
Kaytlyn Wells. Then Hailie
Wright scored off Smith’s
steal.
The Prospectors came
within 2 points of the Cobras,
holding Central Linn at 26,
until the last 23 seconds.
That’s when Cobra Sarah
Conner scored on a layup,
and Gracie Robb stole the
ball with Jessica Neal sink-
ing a 3-pointer, giving Cen-
tral Linn a 31-24 lead going
into halftime.
Central Linn held Grant
Union to 4 points in the
third, while scoring 13, to
move ahead 44-28.
The Cobras also out-
scored the Prospectors 9-2
in the fourth for the 23-point
win.
McLaughlin was Player
of the Game for Central
Linn.
McKrola and Hailie
Wright led Grant Union in
scoring with 9 each, and
McKrola had fi ve rebounds
and Hailie had four
rebounds. Kaylee Wright
scored 8 points, Tyler Blood
and Kaytlyn Wells each
scored 2, and Wells had fi ve
rebounds.
McLaughlin led the
teams in scoring with 17
points, followed by Sarah
Conner with 16 points and
11 rebounds.
Grant Union’s shooting
percentage from the fi eld
fell from 40 percent in the
fi rst half to 8.3 percent in
the second, while Central
Linn shot 42.3 percent from
the fi eld in the fi rst half and
34.8 percent in the second
half.
The Cobras, led by head
coach Marcus Campbell, hit
6-of-12 3-pointers and had
41 rebounds, and the Pros-
pectors had 3-of-16 3-point-
ers and had 26 rebounds.
On free throws, Central
Linn shot 9-of-16, while
Grant Union hit 3-of-12.
Quarterfi nal
In the quarterfi nal match
Thursday, Grant Union kept
the fi rst half close against the
Coquille Red Devils but fell
54-36.
Prospector Hailie Wright
lit up Grant Union’s side of
the scoreboard fi rst, with a
layup scored off her steal.
She had three steals in the
fi rst quarter, and McK-
rola had one steal. The pair
combined for 11 points to
Coquille’s 14.
The teams each scored 11
points in the second.
Prospector Abby Lusco
came in to score 4 points
early in the quarter, and
McKrola added 2. Kaylee
Wright stole the ball and
scored on a fast break. Near
Madi McKrola: 14 points (4-6 free
throws), 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Hailie Wright: 9 points (one 3-pointer,
2-2 free throws), 4 rebounds, 1 assist,
4 steals
Tyler Blood: 4 points (2-2 free throws),
4 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal
Kaylee Wright: 3 points (2-2 free
throws), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks,
1 steal
Baylee Combs: 3 points (one
3-pointer), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Kaytlyn Wells: 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Marissa Smith: 2 rebounds
Abby Lusco: 4 points, 1 rebound
Alcie Moore: 3 rebounds, 1 assist
the buzzer, Hailie Wright
landed a 3-pointer, and
Coquille led 25-22 going
into halftime.
It seemed the Red Dev-
ils couldn’t miss a shot in
the third, scoring 17 points
while holding Grant Union
to 5.
Hailie and Kaylee Wright
both went 2-of-2 at the free-
throw line, and McKrola
added 1-of-2.
Red Devil Morgan Baird
scored 8 of her 22 points in
the fourth, including 6-of-6
at the free-throw line in the
fi nal two minutes.
McKrola had 14 points,
nine rebounds, one assist
and one steal in the game.
Baird, who had 22
points, nine rebounds, fi ve
assists and two steals, was
Player of the Game for
Coquille.
Moore, who has previ-
ous coaching experience in
Phoenix, Arizona, took the
reins as Grant Union head
coach this year.
She said every day was
a “great experience” coach-
ing the team.
“It was fun,” she said.
“They have a great perspec-
tive on life, and that just
makes the season better.”
She said the team is a
“great group of kids on and
off the basketball court.”
The seniors, she said, are
“hard working, athletic and
great teammates.”
“We’ll defi nitely miss
them next year, but we look
forward to our posts all
returning — Kaytlyn Wells,
Tyler Blood and Abby
Lusco — which is exciting
for the program.”
Contributed photo
Columnist Rod Carpenter shot this Utah bison with a .338
Winchester Magnum in 2015.
The hammer of Thor
L
ong ago, in a land
far, far away, a young
man found him-
self within spitting distance
of a cranky grizzly bear
while carrying a borrowed
7mm Remington Magnum.
By some miracle, he was
not converted to bear scat,
and his heart did eventu-
ally restart. Upon his return
to civilization, he promptly
went out and bought a .338
Winchester Magnum and
has never looked back.
In 1958, Winchester
shortened the .375 H&H
case to fi t in .30-06 length
actions, necked it down to
.338 and the .338 Winchester
Magnum was born. It has
never been wildly popular
but has always had a steady
following. Jim Carmicheal
and Jack Atcheson were big
fans.
Alaskan guides gravitated
to it as a backup gun for the
big bears.
That being said, the .338
isn’t for everyone. With
around 30 foot-pounds
of recoil (twice that of a
.270), there is no question
in your mind when it goes
off. Handling that kind of
recoil, while maintaining
good accuracy, takes some
practice. However, if you
really want to make some-
thing dead, it is hard to beat
the .338 in pure thumping
power. The .338 dumps as
much energy at 200 yards
as the .30-06 does at the
muzzle.
The .338 doesn’t have the
sex appeal of the 28 Nos-
ler or the .300 RUM. It isn’t
kind and cuddly like the 6.5
Creed or your favorite .243.
No, the .338 is the meat
and potatoes. It’s that quiet,
slightly scary guy that most
folks give plenty of room
until they get in a jam, and
suddenly he is really popu-
lar. I play around with lots of
different rifl es and calibers,
but in the
corner of my
gun closet
sits my
Ruger .338,
and when I
draw a hard-
Rod
to-get tag or
Carpenter
go hunting
big things
like elk, it is the gun I reach
for every time.
One of the nice things
about the .338 is that all the
bullets in that caliber are
designed to work best at
.338 Winchester Magnum
velocities because for a long
time it was the only car-
tridge of that caliber around.
Manufactures of .30 cali-
ber or 7mm bullets struggle
to develop bullets that will
be driven anywhere from
2,600 to 3,500 feet per sec-
ond. That is just hard to do.
They do make .338 bul-
lets that weigh less than 200
grains, but I think that is
trying to make it something
it is not. For all around use,
bullets of 200 to 225 grains
work well. The 250-grain
bullets arrive with amazing
authority.
In 2015, lightning struck,
and I drew a Utah bison
tag. I managed to sneak up
within 330 yards of a big
bull and thumped him three
times with a 250-grain
Swift A frame. He didn’t go
50 yards. He was probably
dead after the fi rst one, but
I get excited sometimes.
No, the .338 Winchester
Magnum is not the best
choice for a long-range rig.
It is the worst idea for an
ultra-light backpacking rifl e,
but if you just want a reli-
able, works-fi rst-time-ev-
ery-time rifl e, it is hard to
beat.
We welcome your com-
ments at shootingthebree-
zebme@gmail.com.
Rod Carpenter is a hus-
band, father and hunting fool.