SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Heppner girls defeat Mustangs remain undefeated, beating
Weston-McEwen 3-2 Tigerscots 20-0
Hallee Hisler jumping to return the ball to Weston McEwen.
- Photo by Tara Proudfoot
Heppner beat Weston
McEwen last Thursday
26-24, 25-15, 20-25, 20-
25, and 5th set 15-8 to
sweep both matches played
against WM. The Mustangs
are tied at the top of league
with Stanfield, both at 6-1
for league play. Heppner
has been rolling along and
has an impressive 17-6
overall season record, and
a high state No.6 ranking.
Stanfield comes in with a
12-5 overall record with
wins against good teams
and they have climbed up to
No. 4 ranking in the State.
This also came Saturday af-
ter they beat Crane, who is
1A and ranked No. 1 in the
State. Heppner started out
slow on the Homecoming
night match, digging a huge
hole and then chipped their
way to a 26-24 first set win.
Second game they domi-
nated behind tremendous
hitting and blocking from
Hallee Hisler a senior and
won 25-5, WM put a triple
block on Hisler, which isn’t
seen very often. Hisler had
a great night. The momen-
tum dwindled in game 3
with WM taking it 20-25,
Freshman Isa Payne con-
tributed to all skill areas,
with Hisler still dominating
behind the sets of Maya
Payne, and Ava Gerry. Back
row play from Katie Spiv-
ey lifted the Mustangs but
game 4 went to WM 20-25.
Heppner controlled game 5
with team play and won 15-
8. In the 4 th and 5 th games
Maya Payne found the floor
for numerous kills. Other
players adding depth, Ol-
ivia Ogden, Avree Lathrop
and Keeley Nairns. This
Thursday is the showdown
with Stanfield who won the
first contest between these
teams. Thursday’s match
can determine who wins the
league and who hosts the
District Tournament.
The Heppner Mustang
football team remained
undefeated for the season
with a 20-0 victory over
the Weston-McEwen Ti-
gerscots. After a long and
exciting week of Home-
coming events, the Mus-
tangs (6-0,3-0) stood strong
and took care of business in
their quest for a Blue Moun-
tain Conference Champi-
onship. The Mustangs are
currently the second ranked
team in the OSAA 2A State
Football Rankings.
Both teams traded pos-
sessions early in the game
as the stingy Mustang de-
fense worked hard to con-
tain the high powered Ti-
gerscot offense. Early in the
second quarter, Alakae Ro-
driguez stepped in front of
a Weston-McEwen pass and
intercepted it. Rodriguez
then took it to the house to
score the first touchdown
of the game and give the
Mustangs a 6-0 lead.
The Heppner defense
held the Tigerscots on their
next possession and the
Mustang offense took over.
A six-play drive that was
highlighted by a 70-yard
run by Zach Brown, ended
in a Mustang score when
Mason Orem passed the
ball to Nick Wenberg for the
touchdown. That gave the
Mustangs a 12-0 lead with
just over three minutes left
in the first half.
After the Mustang
kickoff, Orem intercepted
the Tigerscot quarterback
to give Heppner great field
position at the 22 yard line.
The Mustangs attempted
to get another touchdown
before the half ended, but
time ran out as they got the
ball down to the two-yard
line. The score at halftime
was 12-0 in favor of the
Mustangs.
The teams traded
possessions three times in
the third quarter. One of the
Tigerscot possessions was
stopped when Tripp Stewart
recovered a Weston-
McEwen fumble near
mid field. The Mustangs
Heppner High School homecoming parade
were unable to capitalize
on the turnover and the
third quarter end with the
Mustangs still ahead 12-0.
The Heppner defense
stopped the Tigerscots early
in the fourth quarter and the
Mustang offense took over.
The Heppner offensive
line dominated the line of
scrimmage as the Mustangs
went on a 15-play, 54-yard
drive of all running plays.
The drive ate up nine min-
utes of the game clock and
ended with another score
when Stewart ran the ball
in from 16 yards out for a
Mustang touchdown. Orem
passed the ball to Rodriguez
for the 2-pt. conversion to
give the Mustangs a 20-0
lead with just over two min-
utes left in the game.
Weston-McEwen went
on their own drive to try and
get a score and not be shut
out by the stout Mustang
defense. They made it all
the way to the five-yard line
where the Mustangs made
the tackle as time expired
in the game to give Heppner
the victory by the score of
20-0.
The Mustangs had 265
total yards in the game.
They ran the ball for 235
and passed it for 30. The
Tigerscots finished with
173 total yards in the game.
Orem was 2-3 passing
the ball for 30 yards and a
touchdown. Wenberg had
a catch for 19 yards and a
score while Brown caught
1 pass for 11 yards.
Brown led the Mustangs
in rushing with 110 yards
on 6 carries. Stewart
finished with 48 yards and
a touchdown on 6 rushing
attempts. Rodriguez had 46
yards for the team, Hayden
McMahon 16 and Orem 15.
Leading an outstanding
defensive effort by the
Mustang team was
Rodriguez with 10 tackles
and an interception.
Brown finished with 7 and
with 5 tackles each were
Orem, who also had an
interception, Jaime Cavan
and Landon McMahon.
Keaton Coiner had 4 tackles
for the Mustangs and with
3 each were Wenberg and
Owen Guerra. Stewart
finished with 2 tackles and a
fumble recovery and Joseph
Albitre had 1 tackle in the
game.
This week, the
Mustangs will travel to
Boardman to take on the
Riverside Pirates in a Blue
Mountain Conference
game. The game time is set
for 7 pm.
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HEPPNER HIGH SCHOOL
BOOSTER CLUB
DINNER
DINNER
& AUCTION
Saturday, October 19th
at Gilliam Bisbee Building
DOORS OPEN - 5:00 PM
DINNER - 6:00 PM
AUCTION - 7:00 PM
Dinner tickets purchased at the door
VIP Table may be purchased ahead of time (seat eight)
Heppner High School students, after riding in the Homecoming parade, gather on the large
shamrock in the center of Main Street, cheering and chanting, surrounded by supportive
community members. – Photo by Chris Sykes.
On Friday, the students
of Heppner High School
held their annual Home-
coming Parade. The high
school students arrived
downtown on trucks and
floats, making their way
down main street Heppner.
As they reached the center
of Main Street, they gath-
ered in a large circle around
the shamrock painted in the
middle of the road.
As the crowd gathered
around—parents, young
children, and other mem-
bers of the community—the
students began their high
school cheers and chants.
The community responded
with applause and cheers,
joining together in support
of the students.
The Annual Meeting of
the Members of Columbia
Basin Electric Cooperative,
Inc. is planned as a luncheon
for Thursday, Nov. 7th at
the Condon Elks Lodge in
Condon. Registration starts
at 11:15 a.m. with lunch
served at 12:00 p.m. The
annual meeting and election
of Directors will follow
the lunch. Multiple door
prizes will be awarded. All
members are welcome to
come and learn about their
Electric Co-Op.
Electric Co-Op Annual Meeting
Thursday, Nov. 7th