SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Mustangs kick off title defense vs Regis
Mustang cheerleaders perform at halftime. Pictured (L-R): Arianna Worden, Julianna Teeman,
Brook Wilson, Camryn Scrivner and Aundrea Pirtle.
By Blake Carter
Saturday afternoon
quickly approached for
Heppner, and so did their
first-round matchup with
Regis. Heppner, who seed-
ed number one, knew that
this game wasn’t going to
be an easy one. Tempera-
tures sat at 50 degrees as
the teams took the field.
Heppner, remaining un-
defeated throughout the
regular season, showed no
signs of slowing down as
they dominated the visiting
Rams 43-8.
Regis, hailing from
special district two, has
been a solid team all year.
The Rams earned their
automatic bid by finishing
third in their district, behind
number two seed Kennedy,
and tenth seed Santiam.
The Rams suffered three
losses on the season, two
of them coming back-to-
back against Kennedy and
Santiam.
The two teams’ cap-
tains met at midfield before
the game, the coin was
flipped, and Heppner would
decide what to do with the
ball. The Mustangs deferred
their option to the second
half, and Regis then elected
to receive. Conor Brosnan
lined up the ball and kicked
the off 2021 playoffs.
After a touchback, Re-
gis took the ball at their own
20-yard line. A quick three
and out forced by the Mus-
tangs would give Heppner
the ball early. Two plays
are all it took as the Mus-
tangs advanced 30 yards
into the endzone, Brock
Hisler began the drive on an
eight-yard carry and a five
yard penalty would advance
the Mustangs even further,
and then Hisler capped
off the drive on a 17 yard
score. Landon Mitchell
carried the ball right up
the gut to add the two-
point conversion and give
Heppner an early 8-0 lead.
On the ensuing Ram drive,
a halfback pass would go
wrong as Kason Cimmi-
yotti intercepted the pass
and left Heppner in prime
field position at the Ram
42-yard line. Eight plays
would drive the Mustangs
down into the endzone as
Mitchell found Jace Coe on
a 10-yard touchdown throw,
leaving Heppner up 14-0 at
the end of the first quarter.
Another Ram punt
would cut the Regis drive
short, and unfortunately
for them; the Mustangs
were just getting going.
Hisler scored his second
touchdown on a one-yard
dive over a pile right on
the goal line. Coe carried
the ball in on the two points
try, as Heppner led 22-0.
The Mustang defense, who
has caused problems for
opposing teams all year,
forced a Ram fumble which
resulted in a score. Brosnan
forced the ball loose as
Hisler scooped it up and
ran 23 yards for the score.
A missed extra point would
leave the Mustangs up 28-0.
The Rams next offen-
sive possession wouldn’t
help much as they turned
the ball over on downs.
Mitchell would find Hisler
on the following possession
for a 13-yard score, Hisler
would once again add the
two points try to extend
the Mustang lead to 36-0.
Desperate for a turnaround,
the Rams would look to
drive, but before they could
make any progress a high
snap would end their drive,
as Blane Mahoney jumped
on the ball at the Ram 15-
yard line. Mitchell would
throw another touchdown
as he dumped the ball off
to Derrick Smith on a one-
yard scramble and throw.
Brosnan would knock the
ball through the uprights
to widen the Mustang ad-
vantage to 43-0. The Rams
offense finally found their
legs as they drove down
the field right before the
half ended. Regis looked
to grab some momentum,
but it would swing right
back in the Mustangs favor
as Caden George picked
off a pass on the Mustang
two-yard line as the clock
struck zero.
Coming out of the half
the Mustangs sat comfort-
ably in the lead at 43-0,
the clock would now run
without stopping the whole
second half. The Mustangs
took this time to give some
players the opportunity to
play as they rotated players
in. The Mustangs would
recover two fumbles in the
second half but couldn’t
produce any points. Re-
gis would add points to
the scoreboard as Noah
Koenig ran 30 yards for a
Ram touchdown. The Rams
would add the two-point
conversion, but the clock
would run out of time, end-
ing their season.
The Mustang defense Ty Boor (28) and Kegan Steagall (64) go for the tackle.
would force six turnovers
across the game, as the
offense would capitalize.
Mitchell threw five passes
in the contest, connecting
on four for three touch-
downs, and 45 yards. Kason
Cimmiyotti also threw a
pass completion of nine
yards. Hisler ran for 42
yards, and a touchdown.
Mitchell also ran for a
touchdown to go along with
his 28 yards. Derrick Smith
ran for nine yards, Aden
Lathrop ran for three yards,
Hayden McMahon ran for
four yards, Cimmiyotti for
two yards, Coe gained 13
yards, while Caden George Kason Cimmiyotti (18) runs the ball on a quarterback keeper in the third quarter.
ran for 29 yards, Cameron
Proudfoot ran for 14 yards
as well. Smith and Coe each
had two receptions, Coe
gained 31 yards and Smith
gained 10. Both players
caught a touchdown pass as
well and Hisler also caught
a touchdown pass with his
13 yards.
Hisler led the team in
tackles with six, Smith and
Brosnan had five tackles
a piece, Tucker Ashbeck
had four tackles, Coe and
Blake Carter recorded three
tackles, Toby Nation, Zan-
der Fisher, Proudfoot, and
Caden George all had two
tackles while Bryan Col-
lins, Aden Lathrop, Kason
Cimmiyotti, Nick Wenberg,
Blane Mahoney, Jaime Ca-
van, Kegan Steagall, Karv-
er Wilkins, and Jake Lentz
Derrick Smith (2) runs the ball. -Photos by Damon Brosnan.
all recorded one tackle.
The Mustangs will bat-
tle conference foe Weston
McEwen in quarterfinal
action, November 13 at 1
p.m. The Mustangs previ-
ously defeated the Tiger
Scots 39-0 in Athena.
ATTENTION HUNTERS!!
The Heppner
Morrow County 4-H
enrollment
now open
Enrollment for Morrow
County 4-H is open now
through January 6, 2022.
4-H is for ages 9-18 with
a Cloverbud program for
school aged youth 5-8 years
old.
4-H is delivered by
Cooperative Extension—a
community of more than
100 public universities
across the nation that pro-
vide experiences where
young people learn by do-
ing. For more than 100
years 4-H has welcomed
young people of all beliefs
and backgrounds, giving
kids a voice to express who
they are and how they make
their lives and communities
better.
For additional infor-
Medicare Part D Open Enrollment
Choosing a Local Plan
Means Faster &
Personalized Service!
Moderna, Pfizer &
Flu Vaccines Available Now.
Call to Ask About Boosters.
Heppner
Condon
Boardman
(541) 676-9158
(541) 256-1200
(541) 481-9474
www.MurraysDrug.com
mation contact the Morrow
County Extension Office at
541-676-9642, erin.heide-
man@oregonstate.edu or
https://extension.oregon-
state.edu/4h/morrow.
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