Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 2021)
EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, November 3, 2021 Mustangs clinch state championship number one overall seed After a 9-0 season, Heppner will host first round matchup with Regis Conor Brosnan makes a tackle. By Blake Carter Friday night Heppner traveled to Umatilla to fin- ish out their regular season and flip the page as the 2021 state championship tour- nament approaches. With their win vs Umatilla, the Mustangs capped off an un- defeated season at 9-0 and their performance across the season earned them the number one overall seed in the bracket. They will be tasked with the 6-3 Regis Rams in the first round. Before looking forward to Regis, Heppner had to take care of business against Umatilla. Heppner rolled from the kickoff as they were victorious, 45-0. The Heppner defense got the game going, after electing to receive the Vi- kings possessed the ball first. A quick four plays en- sued before Umatilla would have to give up possession to the dangerous Mustang offense. Heppner used eight plays and drove 45 yards into the endzone as Brock Hisler ran six yards for the opening score. Conor Bros- nan added the extra point to give the Mustangs an early 7-0 edge. Umatilla showed signs of life on their next pos- session, driving down the field. Unfortunately, three penalties and a sack erased the drive as Umatilla punt- ed on a fourth and 54. The Umatilla defense however forced a stop as they held Heppner on a fourth and two, Heppner would re- turn the favor with a quick defensive stop of their own and give their offense another chance. Landon Mitchell connected on two 25-yard pass completions to drive the Mustangs right down the field. Mitchell capped off the drive with a four-yard run of his own. Hisler would run into the endzone on the two point try to extend the Mustang lead to 15-0 late in the sec- ond quarter. The Mustang defense continued to give the Vikings trouble, Caden George would intercept the Viking quarterback and give the Mustang offense a chance to strike on a short field. On a third and 17, Mitchell threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jace Coe and then connected with George on the two-point conversion to leave the Mustangs with a 23-0 lead. Umatilla once again would run into a stiff Mustangs defense and would give Heppner the ball back with one minute left in the half. Heppner would move the ball but ran out of time be- fore adding another score, however Heppner held a 23-0 halftime lead. The Mustangs would take the ball right out of halftime but unfortunately an interception would cut the Mustang drive short. Umatilla couldn’t capitalize off this turnover, however. Mitchell would lead the team down the short field and score on a six-yard touchdown run. The ensu- ing Viking drive would go much of the same, Heppner Toledo, and the fourteenth seed was given to Grant Union who will travel to the Lakeview Honkers. Heppner would be paired with the 16 th overall seed Regis Rams, who are 6-3 on the season. They come from special district two as number three in their conference. This first round matchup will take place at Les Payne Field on No- vember 6, with kickoff scheduled for 4 p.m. Updated scores, and the 2021 state championship picked off a pass and set bracket can be found on Jace Coe gets the reception for a touchdown in the second their offense up at midfield. quarter. -Photos by Damon Brosnan. A short drive would come to osaa.org. a close as Mitchell connect- ed with George for another Mustang score; George would also run in on the two-point try to give Hep- pner a 38-0 lead. The clock would begin to run without stoppage at this point, but before the time expired the Mustangs would score again on a punt return as Jace Coe scored. Brosnan added the extra point to cap off the scoring, as Heppner cruised to another dominant victory 45-0. The Mustang defense held Umatilla to just 34 yards of total offense and forced four interceptions out of the Umatilla quar- terback. Landon Mitchell threw 12 times and connect- ed on ten throws, gaining 155 yards and two touch- Landon Mitchell with his second quarter throw for a touchdown. downs. Hisler ran for 74 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. After their victory, Heppner waited until the brackets were released Sat- urday night and revealed their next opponent. As the bracket was assembled, the Mustangs were granted the number one overall seed. Their wins against strong opponents such as War- renton, Kennedy, Toledo, Weston McEwen and Grant Union set them apart from the rest. Heppner saw two league opponents make the tournament, the number nine seed was given to the Weston McEwen Tiger- Scots who will travel to Brock Hisler makes a run in the first quarter. Honors bestowed upon Raymond and Norma French By Verina (French) Schil- ler Editor’s note: The fol- lowing was written by Ray- mond and Norma French’s daughter Verina. It is about the many honors bestowed upon her parents by this c o m m u n i t y. R a y m o n d passed away September 5. The honors bestowed upon Raymond and Norma French from the community of Heppner that they loved and lived during their 75 year marriage were many. The first was in March of 2020 when they reigned as the grand marshals of St. Patrick’s Day. Even though this is when the pandemic first came upon us, and the parade and festivities had to be canceled, they were truly blessed to have this honor and recognition of their Irish ancestry from the Heppner community which also has a deep Irish history. The second honor was recognition of their 75 th Wedding Anniversary of October 26, 1946 – October 26, 2021, with a Certifi- cate of Apostolic Blessing from the Vatican and Pope Francis in Rome, being re- quested by Fr. Thankachan Joseph, pastor of Heppner’s St. Patrick Church – Ray- mond a lifetime member and Norma joining the faith upon marriage. This was re- quested before Raymond’s passing on September 5 at the age of 94, thereby being seven weeks short of their 75 th actual date, however they were in their 75 th year of married life. Father Jo- seph presented this to Nor- ma, who resides at Pioneer Memorial Nursing and to Raymond, posthumously. This is a beautiful certifi- cate with their names, date of marriage, and St. Patrick Church, Heppner, on it. Also, the Pope’s picture and Papal Seal are on it, plus other Vatican pictures and bordered with ornate golden trim. Father Joseph will rec- ognize, with the Bishop of the Diocese, their 75-year Catholic marriage along with other parishioners’ wedding anniversaries in the jubilee celebration of St. Patrick Church, November 21 (being the 50 th anni- versary of the current St. Patrick Church in Heppner, built in 1971). Raymond and Norma were married in St. John’s Catholic Church in Condon, since Norma was from Con- don at the time. Raymond’s parents, Rose Anna Hirl and James Herbert French, were married in the old St. Patrick Church in Heppner on August 26, 1926, with an “almost exact” 20-year time frame between Ray- mond and Norma’s wed- ding date of October 26, 1946. Raymond, 19, had just returned home upon the end of WW II from one year of military enlistment right after graduating high school in Heppner in 1945 and married his high school sweetheart, Norma. Herbert French passed in 1936 and Rose remarried William E. Francis in 1938. Rose’s name, Rose French Francis is on the honor board on the Wall of Honor in St. Patrick Church along with other parishioners’ names for special services to the parish. Rose’s con- tribution was the Stations of the Cross in the church. They have been re-painted, however are the same origi- nal ones that she purchased for the church. Along with his mother, Raymond is also honored on the board as of 2011. Raymond grew up at- tending Mass at St. Pat- rick’s and served as an altar boy for a time. After Raymond was an adult, there is a memory of a time when due to the altar boys not getting out onto the altar in time for Mass to assist Father Gaire, the Heppner priest at the time. Raymond filled in until they appeared. In these earlier times, Mass was said in Latin, rather than English, as it is today. He learned the Latin at a young age when he was an altar boy and never forgot the words to serve again at this later time. He was also active in the Holy Name Service Society and adult religious education, and Norma was a member of the Altar Society, taught youth Catechism, and sang in the choir. Raymond and Norma made a trip to the ancestral homeland of Ireland and enjoyed that trip very much, actually contacting some cousins still living there. Raymond had a par- ticular desire to visit the Vatican. He had planned to make this trip in his later years; however, he was never able to do so. His grandson, Ryan Ray- mond Schiller, who lives in Dallas, Texas, and is mid- dle-named after his grand- father, Raymond, took a recent trip with his wife, Anna, to Rome, Italy with a special visit to the Vatican. He took Raymond and Nor- ma’s wedding picture with him and received another special blessing for them and for Raymond’s passing from a Franciscan priest at St. Peter’s Basilica Church, a most beautiful and largest church in the world. He held this picture up under the huge dome and in front of the Papal Altar where the Above: Raymond and Norma French’s grandson took their Pope says mass with the wedding picture to the Vatican.Below: Raymond and Norma large pillars and beautiful French. -Contributed photos. golden background which is the Throne of St. Peter, his Crypt being in this area. Ryan explained his family’s Catholic history and told the Vatican priest, who also gave him some special prayer cards, that Heppner was the “Irish Capital of the Northwest. “ So, Raymond did make his treasured trip to the Vat- ican through his grandson. The family believes he knows this, and the Vatican knows how special our St. Patrick Parish and Heppner Community is-something we have always known and continue to celebrate.
