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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 2015)
S PORTS Hermiston A10 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015 Bulldogs’ win a good ¿UsW sWHS T he interception happened right in front of me in near the east goal line, and as Vaemu Ena ran up the near sideline, I forgot myself. I started running. I don’t know where, or why, but I didn’t get very far. Perhaps I was excited by the play, a clutch interception that kept Hermiston in the game after a missed yard ¿eld goal in the ¿rst overtime. Perhaps I was as- suming Ena would score, and was trying to get down to the other end zone to get photos or whatever. Perhaps I was excited for this Hermiston team, so beleaguered after climbing the 5A mountain last season. With rather high expectations for themselves — realistic or other- wise — the season’s ¿rst ¿ve games had Sam been dif¿cult to Barbee endure: a 23-point FROM THE SIDELINES loss to a Hanford team that went win- less last year; a 48-point loss to .amiakin, losses to 6pring¿eld, Lewiston and Coeur d’Alene saw Hermiston make critical mistakes or fail to seize opportunities hand- ed it, all resulting in double-digit losses. But then Friday happened. Finally players had something to celebrate, something to smile about, something to remember. Friday’s 13-6 double-overtime victory over the Sandy Pioneers is just one win, true. But it was the ¿rst win of a season that is largely forgettable, especially since it comes on the heels of last year’s magical run. But it was how Hermiston won — not sim- ply that it did — that will have an impact on this season. After missing that chip shot, a ¿eld goal Freddy 5odriguez most certainly can and will make, Ena came up with a play he’ll never forget. 5emember, he had two sure interceptions slip through his gloved hands on a misty Septem- ber night against Hanford, and he told me he wanted to make up for those. And boy, did he. His sec- ond interception, in roughly the same spot as the ¿rst, gave Herm- iston the upper hand in amateur football’s Kansas overtime rules, and an Omar Garica touchdown from 2 yards out sealed the win. That ¿rst interception was massive, too big to accurately describe. It saved the prospects of league play. It saved the con- ¿dence of a defense that hasn’t played four full quarters all sea- son. After the missed ¿eld goal in overtime, Hermiston’s nonverbal communication was off-the-charts negative, and Sandy’s was off-the- charts positive. One play entirely changed that. For Hermiston and its young team, that success was just what it needed: backs up against the wall, do-or-die situation, stakes as high as can be, and they made a play. Two plays, in fact. It’s a step forward by the Hermiston Bulldogs, and the size of it doesn’t matter. After coming somewhat close against Spring¿eld, then closer at Lewis- ton and closer still against Coeur d’Alene, to ¿nally break through and make the critical plays when the time calls is a big deal. With a winnable game at The Dalles this Friday, Hood 5iver at home next week at the War on 84 in Pendle- ton Halloween weekend, Hermis- ton has just as good a shot as any in the Columbia 5iver Confer- ence to wear the crown. That would sure be something to run around about. Sam Barbee is a sports report- er for the Hermiston Herald and East Oregonian based out of Hermiston. He can be reached by email at sbarbee@hermistonher- ald.com or on Twitter @SamBar- bee1. Follow Herald Sports @ HHeraldSports. HERMISTONHERALD.COM Colbray to get national shot Saturday Hermiston senior and 3-time state champ flies to Pennsylvania to compete in FloWrestling. org’s Who’s #1 event By SAM BARBEE Staff Writer Three-time 5A champ at 195 pounds Sam Colbray has a chance to make a national state- ment. On Oct. 17 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a city about 70 miles north of Philadelphia, Col- bray will wrestle in FloWres- tling.org’s Who’s #1 event, an attempt to ¿nd the best amateur wrestlers in the country. Colbray, who was the run- ner-up at 195 pounds in both FILE PHOTO Hermiston senior Sam Colbray (top) heads to Pennsylvania this week for FloWrestling.org’s Who’s #1 event. freestyle and Greco-5oman at 2015 Cadet-Junior National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota this summer, will wres- tle Pennsylvania’s Nick 5eenan, who is moving up from 182 pounds. Colbray will be coached by Shaun Williams, who re- signed as Hermiston head wres- tling coach this summer and took a job at West Valley High School in Spokane, Washington. At the moment, 5eenan, a se- nior, is the top-ranked wrestler at 195 according to FloWrestling. Colbray is second. Colbray is the second-highest ranked Oregon wrestler after top-ranked heavy weight Osawaru Odighizuwa from Douglas. 5oseburg’s Layne Van Anrooy is 10th at 152, Bran- don Kaylor is 16th at 106, and Travis Wittlake is 19th at 170. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania owns the top spot in eight weight class- es with top threes in ten classes. From a piece by 5yan Holmes on FloWrestling.org: “Colbray is a very strong wrestler that can attack with the best of ‘em. He’s going to be a lot for 5eenan to handle in his See COLBRAY, A12 Tigers get shot at local Goliath By SAM BARBEE Staff Writer There is an old cliché in sports that describes a road. This road is the fabled road to a champion- ship, and it’s usually said to run through the site where the favor- ite resides. For the 2A Columbia Basin Conference, that road runs right through Heppner, where the Mustangs hold the seat of lo- cal 2A football. This week, the Stan¿eld Tigers, fresh off a 49- 41 come-from-behind victory at Irrigon, comes calling in a game that Tigers head coach Davy Salas will decided the confer- ence title. Salas, though, wasn’t lacking in praise and respect for the Hep- pner program. “If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” he said. “Heppner’s been the best in this area. Greg Grant, to my eyes, is the best coach this area’s ever seen at all levels. You can’t disregard what the man’s done in the last 30 years of coaching Hep- pner. Stuff like that just doesn’t hap- pen.” But with all that praise, this game still will have something to say about which school emerges from the CBC as champions. “This will determine it,” Salas said. “You couldn’t have written a better script.” The ever-present stalwart, STAFF PHOTO BY SAM BARBEE StanÀeld TXarterbaFk 'ylan *rogan (left) and rXnning baFk 7hyler 0onkXs lead the 7igers into a possible leagXe titledeFiding game Friday night against Heppner in StanÀeld. Heppner (6-0, 2-0), looks to continue its dominance over the CBC when the long-smoldering upstart, Stan¿eld (6-0, 2-0), plays host. Both teams are playing well. Both teams are mostly healthy with all the key players in the lineup. Most of all, Heppner sits in the chair Stan¿eld wants to oc- cupy. +HUPisWon will Sla\ 7KH 'allHs WKis wHHN By SAM BARBEE Staff Writer The Hermiston Bulldogs and The Dalles 5iverhawks will play in The Dalles this Fri- day, Hermiston Athletic Direc- tor Blaine Ganvoa announced Monday. The date was in question af- ter the 5iverhawks (1-4) can- celed last week’s game against Nyssa that was scheduled to be played at Kennison Stadium in Hermiston. The Dalles Athletic Director Michael Somnis said player safety was a factor in the decision not to play Nyssa last week. With short numbers and injuries both a problem, Somnis and his staff decided last week wasn’t a viable op- tion for his students. “After looking over the injury reports from the var- sity team, with student safety in mind, we feel it is best to re-evaluate the status of our varsity team on a weekly ba- sis for the remainder of the Fall 2015 season,” the release said. Friday’s football game is the Columbia 5iver Conference opener for both schools. Herm- iston (1-5) enters after winning its ¿rst game of the year after a 13-6 double-overtime win over Sandy. The Dalles’ one win is a 43-0 effort over Mac-Hi on Sept. 18. “We gotta beat them,” junior quarterback Dylan Grogan said. “They’re in our way to getting where we want: to win league and go through state.” Last season after Stan¿eld beat Pilot 5ock at home, then- head coach Dominique Cof¿n equated the Mustangs to Goli- ath and his team David, evoking one of the greatest underdog sto- ries ever told. This season, it’s a much more even matchup. Stan¿eld, now at the top of the CBC and ranked third by OSAA, has scored 244 points while allowing 114, with 41 of those coming last week. Hep- pner meanwhile, has scored 305 points and allowed just 72, the third-fewest in 2A. Both teams have effective run- ners, with Stan¿eld running back Thyler Monkus and quarterback See TIGERS, A12 (na adds iFing Wo 'awgs’ ¿UsW win Hermiston downs Sandy in double overtime By SAM BARBEE Staff Writer Friday night against Sandy, Vaemu Ena intercepted Sandy quarterback Kelly Sanders twice in two different overtime peri- ods, and Omar Garcia powered in from two yards out to give Hermiston a 13-7 victory, its ¿rst win of the year. “I just saw an opportunity to do something great for my team,” Ena said. “I just wanted to avenge myself and make the DBs look good for once.” In Hermis- ton’s season opener against Han- ford, Ena missed two intercep- tion opportunities. The two overtime periods were icing on the proverbial cake for the Hermiston defense, which has struggled to hold down of- fenses this season. The Bulldogs held the Pioneers to just 18 yards rushing on 31 attempts, and kept bruising back Grayson Fenwick from getting anything going. He ¿nished with 19 yards on 21 car- ries and four catches for 27 yards and a touchdown. After the Bulldogs missed a See DAWGS, A12