Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 1986)
- W- N- e I ® E IG H T - The Heppner G a ie tte -1Im r*. lie p p n rr. Oregon V\r<lriodMv, AuguM 27. IW 6 Mustangs look to playoff berth By V*hin Conklin Hoping to do what no Heppner football team hat done tince 1981, the M uttangt return 15 lettermen and 26 player* overall in hopes o f returning to the Clast " A " state playoffs The Mustangs annually vaw post season action in the late 1970s and early 1980» as the top team, most often, in the Columbia Basin Conference In 1981 the Mustangs look a team o f stars such as Robert Bier, Earl Hammond. Doug Holland. John Murrav. and I r e Rice and a 10-0 record into the state quarterfinals before falling to a talented Oukiidge team Since then. Heppner's successes on the gridiron have been few with records o f 5 4 , 5-6, 0 9, and 3-5 respectively However, the 3-5 league and overall record under rookie head coach Tim Birkby placed Heppner fifth in the nine team Columbia Basin Conference last season With the 15 returning lettermen and 26 returning players overall on the 35-man roster, optimism is run ning high in the Mustang camp ac cording to Birkby "O u r number one goal this season i t to nuke the pla yo ffs," Birkby said "Everybody came to practice with a good attitude and everybody has worked hard and hustled in prac- lice They know what they want, and what they want is a playoff b erth." To advance to the playoffs Hepp ner must finish first or second in the CBC However that w ill he no easy task as league champ Wahtonka returns a strong nucleus o f last year's team Umatilla, last season's other representative in the playoffs, also w ill be vtrong this year, as w ill Riverside "W e should be one o f the top four teams in the league." Birkby said "F ro m there it's who knocks o ff whom " "W e have Umatilla and Wahtonka back to hack in the middle end of the schedule," Birkby added, "and i f we can heat one o f those two we should be in good shape for a playoff berth " Heppner travels to Umatilla on F riday, Oct 3 and hosts Wahtonka on Thursday, Oct 9 Last season the Mustangs struggl ed offensively, only scoring a little over a touchdown per contest The defense kept the Mustangs in most ly every game last season allowing only 13 points per game However, the opposite may he true this season Heppner w ill start any five o f sis seniors on the offensive line The center position is set with Kevin Cumutt (5 'l I " , 145 lbs) The tackle positions are also set with Jason Palmer ( 5 'I 0 " , 195 lbs ), an honorable mention all-conference pick a year ago. and Bob Riehl ( 5 '9 " , 175 lbs ) last year's Most Valuable Play er Ihe guard spots arc between Scott Dougherty (5 '8 ", 165 lbs ), Troy Hyatt (6 '0 " . 150 lb-. ». and Arkie Smith (5 '6 ", 150 lbs ) A ll except Smith started at limes last season Birkby brought back the option as the main offense last season, run out o f an " I " formation The Mustangs w ill again run the option, and running it w ill be senior Joe Taylor < 5'6", 140 lbs ) who started the last four games last season after then viphomore Ryan Duncan went down with an injury. Since Duncan has moved to Wadiington. sophomire Dick Devin (5*11''. 140 lb s ) w ill back up Taylor this season Competing for the two offensive backficld positions are seniors Scott Buschke ( 5 1 1 " . 170 I N ) and David Pedro ( 6 '0 " , 180 IN .) and junior Scott Jones (5 '8 " , 140 IN ). Pedro, last season's starting fullback, gained 207 yards rushing » ' Mustangs grab new coach and Jones, in limited action as a tailback, rushed for 183 yards Jones was also die league's top punt returner with a 14 2 average The one weak spot offensively, w ill be the inexperienced receiving corps The Mustangs were counting heavily on junior Duane Ball who started at times last season However Ball was unable to come back after a bout with mononucleosis last spring In his absence, sophomores Craig Angell (5 '1 0 ", 150 lbs ) and Bryan Padberg (5 ’7 ” , 135 IN ) w ill start at split end and flanker respective ly Junior Mark Fishbum (5 '1 0 ", 135 lbs ) who saw time at tight end split end last scavin This season he w ill start at tight end " W ith the loss o f Duane our big gest weak points w ill he our receiv ing corps and defensive secondary Birkby said Ball, a starter at safety last year, intercepted three passes and was a second team a ll-co n fe re n ce selection Replacing Hall at safety w ill be Devin, while returning to start at the comer spots w ill be Padberg and Taylor The linebacking corps is solid w ith Buschke. Curnult. Palmer, and Pedro Palmer was an honorable mention pick last year at linebacker as well as his offensive tackle post tion Pedro was second on the team in tackles with 87. placing him in the league's top 15 A ll o f them, except Cumutt started a year ago Riehl, led the league with five fumble recoveries and was fourth with 116 tackles He w ill start at one defensive tackle spot The other tackle spot will be between Dougher ty. senior Gene Harris ( 5 '8 " . 120 lbs ). junior Gene lancaster 6 '3 " , 270 lbs ), and Smith Fishbum and Hyatt w ill start at the two defensive end spots Palmer, who was the punter last season, is being battled in practice by Angell At press lime, the kicker's spot was still up for grabs Besides returning a handful o f ex pcrienccd players, the Mustangs also return a veteran coaching stafi Birkby is in his second season as head coach, but had four years o f ex penence as an assistant coach before taking over as head coach Let Payne also returns for his ninth season as an assistant coach The other assistant cttach w ill be Steve Brownfield who is in his first season (see related story) Returning non lettermen from last season are juniors Scott Davis and Doug Marian, and sophomores Jerry Brosnan, Jun Brovnan. Jess Jeffreys. Brian Kollman, Barney Lindsay, Mike Mahoney. Jess Osmin. and Ted Schwarr Those turning out for the first lime arc viphomore Jeff Rauch, and freshmen Russell Brin. Phil Estherg, Javm Mabcn. Slater Mitchell. Ryan M ille r. Dean M unkcrs, Casey Pedro, and Cory Rill The Mustangs open the scavin at home on Friday with a non league date with the Weston McEwen Tiger Scots " It's good to have a game this car ly in the scavin. especially a non league game because we can Icam a lot o f things, " Birkby said " I t w ill give us a good chance to sec the kids in a game situation W e 'll try and play as many people as possible and use the game as a learning ex perience for everybody "Everyone on the team knows each other real well and can play together as a unit, which is my philosophy o f how fixHball should be played." he added "W e should be able to work well together " The Mustangs could well work their way into a playoff berth come November if the blend o f experience and inexperience can. as Birkby said, "w o rk well together " T s iS lf ig e r r SQ as time goes on A lot o f talk has been made o f Heppner reaching the Class * A " state playoffs this year How does B ro w n fie ld see the Mustangs chances this seavm ’ " It's hard for me to say after sprn ding the last eight years working in the concession stand during football games." he said o f his past respon sibilities as a junior class advivir " I do know we have vime talent this year and everybody's hustling and working hard in practice." How long does Brownfield plan on serving as a Mustang football coach ’ " I 'm just taking it one year at a tim e ." he said " I ' l l wait until after this year is over to decide if I 'll con tinue in coaching If I feel com for table with what I've done and feel I 'll help the team with my presence. I 'll be back But if I don't think I did a good job this year then I won't con tinue coaching " P e rfo rm a n c e a n d 4 -W h e e l D r iv e A c c e s s o rie s •Tube Grills j\ •Grill Guards •Roll Bars •Tool Boxes •Hood Scoop •Chrome Oil Pans •Sliding Rear Windows •Custom Steering Wheels & Heppner Auto Parts 676-9123 148 E Center *sA * ’A 1 124 N. M ain. 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SS IM/TOR 14 4e.ee m/TOR W •3.04 zoo 14 • e . e o rm Free Mounting Road Hazard Warranty Free Mounting Road Hazard Warranty IN T ER C A S IN G • B R O N C O RV R A D IA LS • ItcMIal P e rfo rin o n e * A H a n d lin g • O u tlin e d W h ite L e tte r S ty le • P o ly -S te e l C e n e tru e tlo n P e r S tre n g th AW »oooono P21BR It P236R1B 27 060 14 30/060-16 31/10-00-IB 32/11A0-IB 33/12-00-IB t 1 f 4 Fly 4 Fly 4 Fly • Fly • Ply • Fly • Fly T R A C TUM I SS” 72” 71" gg» 100” 106“ 114” 30 960« 16 • Plv S I” s i / m - bow - ib b P tylO * ” ' 31/1160R IB B Fly 1 0 T »V 33/12 BOR 16B Fly U S ” B A T T E R IE S a. ► SHOCKS Radial Tuned Ultra Gas Oar N ite r Battery 4 / I 9 9JL. oar Fiaest Litre Henry M y 4/63.96 carryout Extra Duty Trail Buster Gas M EPPRtl I715241 i - - ■ iR e o - ^ 9 1 ■ S CH WAB " " -7 1 3 BORN TO PERFORM V Two new styles 3 < L a d le s P a c ific V 1 3 Volleyball shoes, white with natural trim t 3 •1 4 ** 3 H e n s E x te n d e r t 3 white with charcoal gray trim 1 3 f 3 3 Ideal for the runner who’s hard on shoes 1 t 3 SHOE GÖX II t 3 By Ashley ( o n klin Steve Brownfield who this year is entering his 16th year as a biology teacher at Heppner High School has decided to add a new twist to his career as he enters the coaching ranks B ro w n fie ld , w ith no p rio r coaching experience, has replaced l.ee Block as an assistant foothall coach for the Heppner Mustangs " I wanted a change in my career and vimething different mi I decid ed on coaching." Brownfield ex plained " I wanted to find out what it would be like to coach " Brownfield's duties consist o f be ing a receivers and linebackers coach for the varsity team and serving with fellow assistant coach Lev Payne in watching the junior varsity team " It 's been a learning experience so far. but I'm starting to feel com fo rta b le w ith it (c o a c h in g )," Brownfield said " I'm just learning J3e o o ^ n Heppner • 676-9463 4 /l***JL 4/113.96 carryout 1
