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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 2019)
A8 SPORTS Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, September 11, 2019 Prospectors fall to Knappa in home opening football game By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle The Eagle/Angel Carpenter On a Grant Union punt return, Tanler Fuller (20, in back) lateraled to Justin Hodge (3) who rushed 70-plus yards. The Grant Union Pros- pector’s battle against the Knappa Loggers was fierce under the Friday night lights, but the Loggers came away with a 24-14 win. Prospector senior Rus- sell Hodge made the first touchdown of the game in the first quarter, rushing to the corner, and junior Devon Stokes’ quarterback keeper put Grant Union up 8-0. Knappa’s Kanai Phillip, a senior, had a touchdown return on the Loggers’ next possession, but the 2-point conversion was no good. On a punt return in the second quarter, Prospector sophomore Tanler Fuller lateraled to sophomore Justin Hodge with junior Jordan Hall blocking as Hodge raced 70-plus yards for the touchdown. Hall also intercepted Logger quarterback junior Devin Hoover’s pass to senior Eli Takalo in the end zone on Knappa’s next drive. Knappa led 18-14 at the half, and the Log- gers scored again in the fourth. There was only 17 sec- onds left in the game when Knappa offensive lineman Isaac Goozee, a junior, went down injured. Paramedics drove him to the hospital, and announcer Levi Manit- sas said the young man would have the prayers of many. Grant Union head coach Jason Miller said, although penalties and simple mis- takes slowed them down, there were still a lot of positives. “We have a lot of things to build on,” he said. He said special teams needs some improvement, and although the defense settled in well in the sec- ond half, they also have things to work on. “We’ve just got to be sure we don’t have those back-breakers, those sim- ple things, missing a tackle here or there or not getting a quarterback on a rush, but overall I’m pleased with the guys,” he said. Grant Union will face the Monroe Dragons at 6 p.m. Friday on the road. Grant Union cross country team builds on strengths By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Contributed photo/Tanni Wenger Photography Dayville/Monument Tigers Miranda Cook (11) and Denali Twehues (5) go up for a block against the Enterprise Outlaws at the Saturday, Aug. 31, Grant Union Tournament held in Prairie City. Local spikers see league competitors at Grant Union Tournament By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle The 2A Grant Union volleyball team took sec- ond at their home tour- nament, falling to the Weston-McEwen Tiger- Scots in the Prospectors’ first competition of the sea- son Aug. 31. The tournament was an opportunity for Grant Union and two other local teams, the 1A Prairie City Panthers and 1A Dayville/ Monument Tigers, to bat- tle early with some of the opponents they’ll face later this season. The Prospectors are in the Blue Mountain Confer- ence, and the Panthers and Tigers are in the High Des- ert League. Also joining the com- petition from Blue Moun- tain were the 2A Heppner Mustangs and 2A Enter- prise Outlaws, all compet- ing in the nonconference/ nonleague matches at Prai- rie City School as Grant Union’s gym undergoes floor work. After pool play, the Prospectors were seeded No. 1 in the bracket and fell 2-1 to the TigerScots. We s t o n - M c E w e n came away with a 25-11 win in the first set, then Grant Union fought back 25-22 to take the second. SPORTS SCHEDULE THURSDAY, SEPT. 12 Ukiah/Long Creek volleyball @ Nixyaawii, 5 p.m. Grant Union volleyball vs. Burns at Humbolt Elementary, 6:30 p.m. FRIDAY, SEPT. 13 Grant Union volleyball @ Powder Valley at East-West Volleyball Classic in North Powder, 9:30 a.m. Ukiah/Long Creek soccer vs. Irrigon, 4 p.m. Prairie City volleyball vs. Sherman, 5 p.m. Prairie City football vs. Sherman/Condon, 7 p.m. Grant Union football @ Monroe, 7 p.m. SATURDAY, SEPT. 14 Grant Union volleyball @ Country Christian at East-West Volleyball Classic in North Powder, 11 a.m. Prairie City volleyball vs. Pine Eagle, Trinity Lutheran, noon, 3 p.m. Weston-McEwen over- came in the third with a score of 15-9. “Standouts from this weekend were Taylor Allen and Kaytlyn Wells,” said Grant Union head coach Ali Abrego. “Both played awesome and led the team with kills.” Abrego said the team will be working on court awareness and blocking for their upcoming games, including Saturday’s Hep- pner Tournament. The Dayville/Monu- ment Tigers had a 2-1 win over Enterprise with scores of 20-25, 25-22 and 15-12. Tiger head coach Treila Osborne said her girls showed great teamwork. “Being invited to that tournament with 2A schools was an honor, and our Lady Tigers worked very hard,” she said. “Having a win over Enterprise was a great achievement and boosted our confidence.” Osborne said her team never gave up and played “one rally at a time.” “We had great hits and very consistent serving all day,” she said. The Prairie City Pan- thers fell to Weston-McE- wen 2-0. The TigerScots won the first set 25-20, then the Panthers pushed back to within 2 points in the second set but lost 31-29. Prairie City also tied Enterprise 1-1 in their next match, with the Out- laws winning the first set 25-18 and the Panthers turning the tables to win 25-19 in the second. “The team had a slow start to the day, but improved throughout the tournament,” said Prai- rie City head coach Jor- dan Bass. “It was exciting to see the girls split with Enterprise. They worked hard to win that second set, and it was well deserved.” She said Weston-McE- wen was competitive. “It was great to see this team battle to a 29-31 loss in the second set,” Bass said. “It didn’t go our way, but those matches take a lot of mental toughness. It was good to highlight some things to work on this week before our Prairie City Invi- tational on (Sept. 7).” Heppner had a 0-2 loss to Weston-McEwen and a 2-0 win over Enterprise at the tournament. Grant Union hosted the 4A La Grande Tigers on Tuesday, La Grande tak- ing a 3-1 win in the match played at the Humbolt Ele- mentary School gym in Canyon City. While Grant Union is young after losing nine seniors to gradua- tion, Abrego said her team has a lot of talent and determination. The Prospectors will host the 3A Burns Hilanders at the Humbolt Elementary gym in Canyon City for a home game at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12. A MAN WAKES UP in the morning after sleeping on... an advertised bed, in advertised pajamas. He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR, have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE. Then it’s too late. AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK? DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it! Blue Mountain Eagle MyEagleNews.com Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710 Some like the challenge of hills, some enjoy running on grass and others love mud bogs, but whatever courses Grant Union Prospector cross country runners prefer, they play to their strengths. Head coach Sonna Smith has nine boys and nine girls on this year’s roster. This season and last are the big- gest teams Smith has seen since she started coaching in 1995. Eight of the nine boys are returning runners with four returners for the girls. “The boys team has lots of experience coming in,” Smith said. “All have at least two years of experience.” Gage Brandon and Dona- van Smith are two seniors on the boys team. Brandon was a top runner for the Prospector boys last season, and freshman Brady Dole was first in the timed trial Smith held at the start of practices. Brandon, who’s com- peted in cross country since eighth grade, said this year’s freshmen are “extremely good.” “This year is look- ing to be better than previ- ous years, and next year is looking promising as well,” Brandon said. Freshman Max Bailey finished eighth out of 38 par- ticipants at last year’s Foot- race to Valhalla in Umatilla on the 1.5-mile course with a time of 9:15.8. His fel- low classmates were right behind him, including Quinn Larson in ninth with 9:29.2 and Brady Dole in 10th with 9:29.9. Grant Hall, who is an eighth-grader this year on the middle school team, fin- ished fourth in the same race with a time of 8:59.7. The varsity teams race in 5K events, 3.1 miles. There are several untried underclassman on the team, Smith said, and their first races of the season will give them a better idea of how the runners line up. “Time will tell,” she said. For the girls, Smith said seniors Erika Dick- ens and Rylee Browning are expected to battle for first and second for the team. Other senior girls are Tiler Voigt and manager Sammi Buckhaults. Freshman Amelia Hall could also be a top run- ner for the girls team. She ran a 2,500-meter middle school race last year as an eighth-grader at Runners Soul placing 19th out of 89 participants. Donavan Smith, a senior on the boys team, said he enjoys the team, which is like a family. “I enjoy the difficulty and the accomplishment of fin- ishing a race,” he said. Dickens said the team is excited for the new year and all the new faces and for everyone to meet their goals. She enjoys running through mud pits and water during races. “It adds excitement and makes you forget the diffi- culties,” she said. Buckhaults said you have to be careful — “You might lose your shoes or glasses in the mud.” Coach Smith said the Idlewild Meet held at a campground north of Burns is a favorite. She said the course is completely in the forest, and Donavan Smith Gage Brandon Sammi Buckhaults Tiler Voigt Erika Dickens Rylee Browning GRANT UNION CROSS COUNTRY SCHEDULE Sept. 13: 43rd Annual Cath- erine Creek Scamper, near Union at Catherine Creek Campground, 1 p.m. Sept. 20: The Footrace to Valhalla in Umatilla, TBD Sept. 27: Baker Invite at Baker City Golf Course, TBD Oct. 3: Mustang Invitation- al at Thompson Ranch in Heppner, TBD Oct. 11: Tiger Invite at La Grande Country Club, TBD Oct. 17: Kyle Burnside Wild- horse Invite at Wildhorse Golf Course in Pendleton, TBD Oct. 19: Idlewild Invite at Burns High School, TBD Oct. 24: Grant Union Gold Rush, John Day, TBD Nov. 1: 3A/2A/1A Special District 3 at Pendleton Community Park, TBD sometimes there is snow. Grant Union will hold a meet this year, the Grant Union Gold Rush on Thurs- day, Oct. 24, at the Seventh Street Complex, hosting eight 5A-2A teams. The Prospector boys and girls are both in District 3, but the boys are in a 2A/1A group with 12 other teams, and the girls race with the 3A-1A class with 20 other teams. The top two teams at the district meet will advance to state, and the top five indi- vidual runners also go to state. On the girls side last year, Enterprise and Burns advanced to state, with Burns beating out Union, which typically has a strong team. Smith said Union and Enterprise will be top con- tenders for the boys. To meet the challenges of each race, the coach pushes her athletes. “We work on increas- ing their endurance to run hard,” she said. “We ran hills the last two weeks, then intervals.” After running a couple laps at practice, Smith sent the high school runners out for a 4-mile run and middle school runners for a 30-min- ute run. “Some athletes are bet- ter on hills, others on grass,” she said. “They learn their strengths and learn to apply them in racing conditions that favor them.”
