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.
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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.”