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VOL. 144
NO. 47 8 Pages
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Mustangs lose semi-finals to St. Paul
Buckaroos 18-12
The Heppner Mustang
football team had their
season come to an end
with an 18-12 loss to the
St. Paul Buckaroos in the
OSAA 2A Football State
Championships Semi-Final
game. The Mustangs had a
highly successful season,
finishing the year with an
11-1 overall record. The
Mustangs also won the Blue
Mountain Conference title
with a perfect 6-0 record.
St. Paul fumbled
the ball on their first
play of the game and the
Mustangs recovered it at
the Buckaroo 33-yard line.
Heppner then went on a
6-play scoring drive that
was highlighted by a 26-
yard pass completion from
quarterback Mason Orem
to Tripp Stewart. Heppner
got the touchdown when
Stewart ran the ball in from
1 yard out. The Mustangs
led the game 6-0 just three
minutes into the game.
After the Heppner
kickoff, St. Paul went on a
13-play drive that ended in
a touchdown to make the
score of the game 6-6.
The St. Paul kicker
blasted the ball into the
end zone for a touchback,
so the Mustangs started
their next drive at their
own 20-yard line. Heppner
went on a 17-play drive
that ate up 9 minutes of the
game clock. The Mustangs
picked up 7 first downs on
the drive and they scored a
touchdown, when Stewart
once again found the end
zone on a run from 1 yard
out. That put the Mustangs
ahead by the score of 12-6
halfway through the second
quarter.
The Mustang defense
forced a St. Paul punt, and
the Heppner offense took
over deep in their own
territory. The Mustangs
moved the ball to near
midfield on a drive that
lasted 10 plays. The drive
stalled there, and Heppner
punted the ball as the first
Mason Orem, #20, throws the ball while Hayden McMahon, #13 provides backup.
-Photo by Tara Proudfoot.
Erin Heideman being sworn
in to be President of the
OWGL. -Picture from the
Blown Away Ranch Facebook.
Erin Hansell-Heideman (R)
with her husband Deacon
Heideman. - Picture from the
Blown Away Ranch Facebook.
Ione - Erin Heideman’s
recent election as President
of the Oregon Wheat Grow-
ers League marks a historic
moment for the agricultur-
al community in Oregon.
Heideman steps into this
role as just the second wom-
an in the League’s 98-year
history to hold this position,
following in the footsteps of
Judy Rea from Ione.
Heideman expressed
her honor in taking on this
leadership role, stating, “As
the incoming President of
over 2000 wheat growers
in Oregon state, I am hon-
ored to lead this dedicated
community of producers
who are the backbone of
our state’s agricultural her-
itage.”
The significance of this
leadership transition is un-
derscored by Heideman’s
achievement as the second
female president of the or-
ganization. Following the
recent passing of Judy Rea,
Heideman also remarked
on the impact Rea had on
her and the wheat-growing
community.
The structure of the
Oregon Wheat organiza-
tion consists of two main
branches: the grower side,
also known as the League,
and the commission side.
As president, an elected
-Continued to PAGE THREE
Heppner Coaches
Grant and Payne to be
honored on Dec. 7
Jaime Cavan, #50, tackles the St. Paul ball carrier while Landon McMahon, #62, pursues
close behind. -Photo Tara Proudfoot.
half ended. The score was
12-6 in favor of Heppner.
Heppner got the ball to
start the second half and had
to punt it away to St. Paul.
The stout Mustang defense
forced a Buckaroo punt
on their next possession.
Heppner couldn›t get
anything going on their
possession and punted the
ball right back to St. Paul.
The teams continued to
trade possessions for the
rest of the third quarter and
early into the fourth.
St. Paul scored again
on a long run midway
through the fourth quarter
to make the score 12-12.
Heppner then went on a
drive that took 3 minutes
off of the game clock.
The drive stalled and the
Mustangs had to punt the
ball back to the Buckaroos.
St. Paul started their drive
at the Mustang 40-yard
line. Seven plays later they
scored on a 1-yard plunge
with only :23 seconds left Coach Greg Grant
in the game. That made the
There will be a cel-
score 18-12 in favor of the
ebration to honor the ca-
Buckaroos.
reers of Heppner Football
-Continued to PAGE THREE coaches Greg Grant and
Les Payne. They are both
retiring from their football
coaching duties at Heppner
High School. The celebra-
tion will take place on De-
cember 7 th , at the Gilliam &
models from photographs, Bisbee Building. Doors will
works by using images tak- open at 5 pm. There will
en from different angles to be a no-host bar available
extract spatial information and Hors d’oeuvres will be
about objects, terrain, or served. This event is open
structures. This technique to high school students and
is widely used in fields such older. The program will
as mapping, surveying, ar- start at 6:30 pm and end
chitecture, and archaeology. around 8pm. That will leave
The process begins around an hour to sign the
guest book, visit or take
-Continued from PAGE SIX
pictures with the coaches.
Morrow County GIS analyst demonstrates
cutting-edge drone applications
Morrow County GIS Analyst Stephen Wrecsics readies his
drone for a new aerial survey mission. - Contributed Photo
By Chris Sykes
In early November,
Morrow County GIS An-
alyst and licensed drone
operator Stephen Wrecsics
conducted a drone survey
of a rock pit for the Public
Works Department. The
purpose of the survey was
to capture aerial photo-
Heideman makes
history as Oregon
Wheat Growers
League President
graphs and calculate the
remaining gravel supply,
demonstrating how drones
are being utilized in local
government operations to
enhance efficiency and in-
frastructure management.
At the site, Wrecsics
prepared the drone by set-
ting up a landing pad, in-
stalling a fresh battery, and
mapping the target area on
an iPad. Using an automat-
ed flight path laid out in a
crosshatch grid, the drone
systematically captured
167 high-resolution images
of the site. Once the flight
was complete, the drone
returned to the landing pad
for a precise landing. Back
at his office, Wrecsics used
photogrammetry software
to stitch the images into a
detailed composite photo,
which was then provided to
Public Works Director Eric
Imes for analysis.
Using Drones to Mea-
sure Gravel Volume
Drones equipped with
photogrammetry software
have become a common
tool for calculating the
volume of gravel piles in
quarries, construction sites,
and material stockyards.
Photogrammetry, the sci-
ence and technology of
obtaining accurate mea-
surements and creating 3D
Coach Les Payne
The event will end at 9pm.
The program will fea-
ture facts about their careers
and football coaching ac-
complishments. There will
be several guest speakers
and a slide show of their
long and illustrious careers
coaching football at Hep-
pner High School. Several
gifts will be given to the
coaches throughout the eve-
ning.
Please come and honor
the long careers of two of
the best, and most influen-
tial coaches in all of Ore-
gon High School Football
Coaching.
CALL
541-989-8221
ext 204
for more
information