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PAGE LABEL
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
WEDNESDAY
April 7, 2021
The Eagle/Steven Mitchell
Junior Justin Hodge rushes for a fi rst down Thursday with senior Jordan Hall (1) blocking in the Pros’ victory over Umatilla.
Prospectors win a close one on senior night
Grant Union travels to
Stanfi eld Friday
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
It was a dog fi ght until the
end in the Grant Union football
team’s fi nal home game of the sea-
son Thursday, but the Prospec-
tors turned up the heat in the last
two minutes to put down Umatilla
34-28.
Senior Jordan Hall put Grant
Union on the board in the fi rst
quarter, catching a touchdown pass
from senior quarterback Devon
Stokes.
Junior Justin Hodge scored four
touchdowns, including the Pros-
pectors’ touchdown in the game’s
fi nal two minutes.
“I went all in for the seniors
tonight,” Hodge said. “I just
wanted to be there for them.”
In a competitive, back-and-forth
game that could have gone either
way with each team playing tit-for-
tat on off ense, the Vikings took a
28-26 lead with a little over two
minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
Stokes, who said he was “kind
of thrown into” the role of quarter-
back, told the Eagle that in the Pros
huddle he said to his off ense to play
as hard as they could until the fi nal
buzzer.
In his fi nal home game in a Pros
jersey, Stokes said it meant a lot to
him that his teammates stepped up
to win the game.
Senior Jordan Hall told the
Eagle that football was not his
fi rst sport, but that the strong
bond with his teammates is
what brought him back every
season.
“I wasn’t going to play this
year,” he said. “Everybody was
dogging me and making me come
out, and I fi nally did. It’s great to
have support and friends that are
gonna back you.”
The Eagle/Steven Mitchell
The Prospectors travel to Stan-
fi eld for a 3 p.m. game Friday, Senior Devon Stokes runs the ball down the fi eld Thursday during the Prospectors’
game against Umatilla.
April 9.
Grant Union falls to Heppner in four sets Thursday
Team hosts Weston-
McEwen Saturday
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant Union’s volleyball
team lost to Heppner in four
sets Thursday.
Senior Jordyn Young said,
while some on the team were
hitting well and playing hard,
the team needs to communi-
cate better.
Grant Union fell to Hep-
pner in the fi rst set 25-21, but
bounced back in the second,
winning 25-23, and lost 25-20
and 25-23 in the third and
fourth sets.
Head coach Shanna North-
way said Thursday was repre-
sentative of how the team has
played all season in that the
team gets so close in winning
matches but has struggled to
fi nish for the win.
“All season long we’ve been
battling in close matches,” she
said. “We’re right there on the
edge in every match, and we
are not quite pushing through
like the way I know we can.”
Northway said the team
has struggled with last-min-
ute changes to their roster and
rotation in their games with
Crane on March 29, where
they lost 3-0, and then in
Thursday’s game as well.
Nonetheless, the Lady Pros
had nearly 20 more kills than
Heppner and, as a team, were
at 85% for digs and blocks.
Senior Madison Spencer
led the team with 35 digs. At
Senior Jordyn
Young
Senior Kenna
Combs
the same time, juniors Lauryn
Pettyjohn and Paige Gerry had
32 and 13. Off ensively, Gerry
led the team with 15 kills
while Spencer had nine and
senior Abbie Lusco had eight.
Spencer said, with Thurs-
day being Grant Union’s
senior night, the team carried
many emotions onto the court.
She said that coupled with
a lack of communication and
a change to the team’s off ense
with their regular setter being
unable to play factored into
the loss.
Spencer said not being able
to have the junior varsity team
in the stands to cheer them on
played a role too.
With their fi nal game less
than a week away, Lusco,
who will attend Eastern Ore-
gon University in the fall,
said she would miss her team-
mates when the season offi -
cially ends. However, she
said she is ready to move on
with her life, so the feeling is
“bittersweet.”
The team was scheduled to
face Pilot Rock Tuesday past
press time before the 1A/2A
east regional invite April 9 at
The Eagle/Steven Mitchell
North Powder. Grant Union will
host Weston-McEwen at noon Junior Paige Gerry gets into position to serve Thursday
during the Lady Prospectors’ game against Heppner
Saturday, April 10.
SPORTS ROUNDUP
Grant Union cross country boys
heading to state tournament this
week
The Grant Union cross country team
is going to the state tournament April
10.
Head coach Sonna Smith said the
boys team received one of the wildcard
bids because three of the teams in Grant
Union’s district have three of Oregon’s
top fi ve teams.
At Friday’s Special District 5 Spring
Championship, the Pros placed third as
a team with 71 points, behind Enterprise
(30) and Heppner (25). The remaining
teams were incomplete.
Grant Union’s top runner, Brady
Dole, a sophomore, fi nished in ninth
place (18:33.3), followed by Quinn Lar-
son (19:09.5), Max Bailey (21:52.6),
Jesse Randleas (22:18.8), Skylor Boyd
(23:38.8), Landon Boyd (24:36.4) and
Cole Ashley (27:26)
Dole, Smith said, shaved 8 sec-
onds off of his best time, and Larson
improved his time by 2 seconds.
As for the girls’ team, Smith said
Abbie Justice, Alici Archibald, Kate
Hughes, Riley Robertson and Audrey
Walker, ran for the girls and fi nished
The Eagle/Steven Mitchell
Junior Carson Weaver throws up the ball for a serve Thursday in
their game against Heppner.
SPORTS SCHEDULE
third place for the team in the one-two
run.
Monument/Dayville handily
defeats Echo 46-8
The Tigers won their second game of
the season, decisively defeating Echo,
46-8.
Head coach Kyle Hand said every
player contributed and it was a great
team win.
“Got a contribution from everyone,”
he said.
Hand said the April 10 game against
Prairie City has been canceled.
THURSDAY, APRIL 8
Dayville/Monument football vs. Mitchell/Spray/Wheeler,
4 p.m.
FRIDAY, APRIL 9
Grant Union volleyball @ 1A/2A East Regional Invite in
North Powder, TBA
Dayville/Monument volleyball @ Mitchell, 2 p.m.
Grant Union football @ Stanfi eld, 3 p.m.
SATURDAY, APRIL 10
Dance team at Grant Union gym, 9 a.m.
Grant Union volleyball vs. Weston-McEwen, noon
Boys cross country @ state tournament, Lebanon, 1 p.m.