WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2015
A9
T
S PORTS
Hermiston
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2015
The ending
of streaks
here is a lot going on in area sports
right now. The football regular
season closes this Friday. Soccer
and volleyball seasons have either
wrapped up or are close to it.
But I’m not concerned with the future
this week, or even the present. No, I’m
looking back at a night that this town
won’t forget.
Remember that losing
streak that no one in town
likes to talk about? I’ll wager
most folks try to forget
those 62 years between 1922
and 1984. I know I would.
Twelve years is hard enough.
But 62?
Sam
There is so much fun trivia
Barbee
surrounding Hermiston’s 27-
FROM THE
SIDELINES
14 streak-breaking win. Lance
Hawkins, who scored twice
that night, is back in purple and gold as
Hermiston’s baseball coach. Hermiston’s
previous win in the series was the ¿rst
time Hermiston and Pendleton played each
other in 1922, and Bulldogs weren’t the
Bulldogs then, they were the Irrigators,
a named that would be better served in,
well, Irrigon. So entering that 1984 game,
the series stood at 55 Pendleton wins, one
Hermiston win, and one tie.
Not the picture of a rivalry, is it?
All is well now that the tables have
turned a bit, and I’m sure most reading this
would like to keep it that way. Hermiston’s
current three-year winning streak will be
on the line this weekend against Pendleton.
But Àipping through old issues of the
Hermiston Herald while researching that
October night in 1984, I came across two
things that made me laugh.
The ¿rst is the sign held by
cheerleaders that graced the front page
of the Herald. It’s not that the sign is
present — one would think there would be
something signifying the accomplishment
— but the sign meant that someone, anyone,
was thinking about it. Someone had the
brilliant idea of, ‘This might be the year!’
And a sign was painted. As superstitious as
I am, I wouldn’t be a fan of that. And no,
you can’t make one during the game, either,
because that will affect the so-called juju.
That is a clinic in audacity, Àying in the face
of history. I love it.
The other bit is some alums popping
champagne at mid¿eld. This is something
that most certainly would be frowned
upon anymore, but is still awesome. It’s
part of NFL lore that the 1972 Dolphins
engage in a champagne celebration after
the last undefeated team loses in pro
football’s top (only) league. This is right
along with that tradition in the best way.
Just imagine (if you were there then
reÀect) a bunch of e[cited high schoolers
— some in pads and sweating the others
delirious with joy — and some rowdy
adults (civic leaders, no less) are popping
bottles, as they say, feet away. How much
fun would that be?
:hen I was in si[th grade, I was
a ballboy for the high school I would
eventually attend. We had this long
losing streak to Kelso, about 30 years. I
realize that’s nothing when compared to
62 years, but it felt we would never win.
Ever. When R. A. Long High School
was Longview High School, the annual
football game was traditionally played
Thanksgiving Weekend, and it became
known as the Turkey Day Game (this
tradition was tabled after a riot broke out
on the ¿eld during the game in the 1970s).
So Kelso had this winning streak, and
we had a team to beat them. We had an
idea going in — this is just us ballboys,
mind you — that this could be the year. The
season before we lost in double overtime
when an e[change on an end-around was
botched. It hurt to be that close.
But this year was different. I remember
us recovering a fumble off a bad option
pitch right in front of us. I remember
storming the center of the ¿eld with the
guys and jumping around. The picture
that ran in the newspaper that day was
reminiscent of that Oct. 4, 1984, issue of
the Herald. There was so much joy. That’s
the only word that ¿ts. It’s just joy. There
isn’t any thought about the past or the
future. The present dominates.
Funny, I start by talking about the past
and end up in the present. Funny how
memories can do that.
Sam Barbee is a sports reporter for
the Hermiston Herald and East Orego-
nian based out of Hermiston. He can be
reached by email at sbarbee@hermiston-
herald.com or on Twitter @SamBarbee1.
Follow Herald Sports @HHeraldSports.
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
HERMISTONHERALD.COM
War on 84 could decide CRC title
Hermiston brings
brutal ground attack
to Round-up Grounds
By SAM BARBEE
Staff Writer
Playoffs? A few weeks ago,
the playoffs seemed a long
way off.
That famous clip of Jim
Mora Sr.’s amazement at the
suggestion of his Indianapo-
lis Colts making the playoffs
was unintentional comedy
gold. But that response could
have been for the Hermiston
Bulldogs football team, which
started the season 0-5 with ¿ve
double-digit losses.
But with just one game re-
maining on the schedule, the
War on 84 this Friday at the
Round-up Grounds, the Bull-
dogs (3-5, 2-0) have worked
their way back into the playoff
conversation, as well as the
Columbia River Conference
conversation.
The Bulldogs are currently
at the top of the league as the
only team undefeated in league
play. A win over Pendleton
clinches the third straight CRC
title for the Bulldogs, and per-
haps the most improbable. A
Pendleton win, though, creates
some interesting scenarios. A
Buckaroo win coupled with a
Hood River win would create
a three-way tie for the top spot.
The CRC champion would
then be decided with a coin
Àip. If The Dalles beats Hood
River Valley, then the winner
of the War on 84 is crowned
champion.
There is also a chance
Hermiston could host a playoff
game. If the Bulldogs ¿nish
the season ranked in the top 16
— as of Tuesday evening they
are ranked 16th — they’ll host
the ¿rst round of the playoffs.
On the ¿eld, the Bulldogs
are coming into the ballgame
as hot as they’ve been all sea-
son. Senior quarterback Na-
than Hunsaker, ¿lling in for
the injured Dayshawn Neal,
is ¿nally comfortable helming
the Bulldogs’ ship. Though
his passing numbers aren’t
eye-popping — 22-of-46, 414
yards, si[ touchdowns, three
interceptions — he’s a threat
running as well as throwing for
an offense that has steadily im-
proved with him at the helm.
Hunsaker is averaging 4.5
yards per carry and has scored
three times.
But he’s not alone in the
back¿eld. The Bulldogs have
a number of capable runners
they can turn to. In last week’s
36-28 win over Hood River
Valley, sizable runners Hayden
Simon and Bob Coleman com-
bined for 182 yards on 32 car-
ries and a touchdown.
Starting with smaller and
quicker back Mitch Brown and
eventually working in Simon
and Coleman, the Bulldogs ran
47 times into the Hood Riv-
er defense, wearing it down.
Hermiston has an edge at the
line of scrimmage, and e[pect
them to e[ploit it.
The Bucks have struggled
all season with physical fronts,
and Hermiston has one. The
Bulldogs are averaging 205
rushing yards per game this
season, and have put up 319
rushing yards per game in their
current three-game winning
streak.
Pendleton has also strug-
gled at times on special teams,
allowing big scoring returns.
Hermiston ran a kick back in
the second half against Hood
River, but it was called back
due to a penalty.
RUNNIN’ WITH THE
Foot falls, falling
leaves and forested
farm location create
unique, annual
sporting event
STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY
Pendleton’s Nolan Bylenga is
surrounded by Hermiston runners
(left to right) Josiah Niederwerfer,
Angel Castellanos, Tim Swarat and
Donell Rome) as he heads down a
hill at the Kyle Burnside Wildhorse
Invitational. Niederwerfer edged
RXW%\OHQJDDWWKHÀQLVKIRUÀIWK
SODFHDQGDWLPHRI
By SAM BARBEE
Staff Writer
There is a joke amongst
runners about the holy trin-
ity. Not the Holy Trinity of
Catholicism that attempts to
e[plain the great mystery of
the faith.
No, this is about running
conditions.
“It’s like you’re tracking
new ground,” Layne Papen-
fuss said from the ¿fth an-
nual A Very Poplar Run at
the Boardman Tree Farm.
“In the fresh snow, nobody’s
been there — at least it feels
like that — or fresh leaves
even if there has. It’s just the
natural environment.”
Papenfuss, from the
Tri-Cities, had seen the tree
farm on various occasions
when passing through, and
his wife found the race on-
line recently and decided to
go.
“We don’t have a lot of
forest around (the Tri-Cit-
ies),” he said. “So this was
our opportunity to get out
and e[perience the tree
farm.”
He and about 600 others
got one of those conditions:
leaves. A Very Poplar Run
weaves through the numer-
ous poplar trees harvested
by GreenWood Resources.
Now a month into autumn,
the poplar trees have ceased
photosynthesis and released
their leaves, creating an ideal
autumn scene.
That scene has attracted
folks from all over the re-
gion. Jenny Van Cott, the
girls cross country coach at
Shadle Park High School in
Spokane, makes the drive
along Interstate 84 to know
about the tree farm and
had always wanted to run
amongst the trees. Recent-
ly, she heard about A Very
Poplar Run and had to come
down. She was at a friend’s
house in Seattle recently,
then spent a couple days in
Benton City before coming
STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY
Connor Gustafson, of Boardman, nears the end of the one-mile
course Saturday during A Very Poplar Run at the Boardman Tree
)DUP7KHHYHQWLQFOXGHGRQHPLOHÀYHNLORPHWHUNLORPHWHU
DQGNLORPHWHUUDFHV
to Boardman Saturday.
“Oh my gosh, it was gor-
geous,” she said. “There
were some sections of the
course that were really san-
dy, so it was ... you were
picking up your knees. It
was beautiful. I will come
out and do it.”
Some runners came for
more than the race. Brady
Dickhaus and his fami-
ly came to camp along the
Umatilla River in addition to
running. This is the third year
the Dickhaus’s have come
to Boardman and they’ve
camped all three years.
“It’s a tradition with sev-
eral families,” Brady said.
“We come down and do the
run. As the boys get older,
they go up in mileage. What
originally brought us down
was it was a fun run and
it’s a weekend where there
aren’t really any other runs
going on.
“We live in the Tri-Cit-
ies, but we ¿nd it’s better to
camp on the river, spend the
weekend and hang out with
family and friends.”
A Very Poplar Run is a
fun run, at least it’s sup-
posed to be, and Pendleton
resident Jim Youngman took
that to heart. This was his
¿rst Poplar Run, he said, but
he wanted to have some fun
with it. So he strung some
fake leaves on the back of
his long-sleeved white shirt
to stand out and get a laugh.
“It’s a fun run, just to have
fun,” he said. “Just stand out
a little bit in the crowd and
make fun of the whole thing.
Hermiston
Eo\s ¿nish
second at
CRC meet
Bulldogs send two girls
to state in cross country
By SAM BARBEE
Staff Writer
And be colorful.”
He heard about it last year
and immediately thoguht it
was something he wanted to
do.
“It’s great. It was worth
it,” he said.
Since GreenWood Re-
sources Director of Resource
Information Systems An-
Entering Saturday’s Columbia
River Conference cross country
meet, the Hermiston Bulldogs
boys team was mindful of its
dominance over the CRC. Since
the league was founded in 2010,
the boys had won each CRC title.
Until this year.
The Hood River Valley Ea-
gles, which Hermiston pegged
as its biggest competition at The
Dalles, took the title, scoring 32
points to Hermiston’s 37. Herm-
iston’s Hayden Earl was in the
lead at the 200 meter mark, and
the Bulldogs were in good shape
to take the team title, as well. But
a pair of Eagles seniors, Justin
Crosswhite and Quinn Fetken-
hour, surpassed Earl in those ¿nal
200 meters to push the Bulldogs
into second. The girls ¿nished
fourth with 69 points, 17 points
short of the state-qualifying Ea-
gles. Melany Solorio (¿fth) and
Morgan Hancock (seventh) both
quali¿ed for state as individuals.
Pendleton missed out on qualify-
ing its girls team for state by one
point.
“Our guys went out really
hard,” coach Troy Blackburn
said. “It was awesome. They went
See POPLARS, A11
See RUNNERS, A11
STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY
-HQQ\YRQ&RWWRI6SRNDQH
led all women in Saturday’s
NLORPHWHUUDFHDWWKH
Boardman Tree Farm. The
event, called A Very Poplar Run,
LQFOXGHGRQHPLOHÀYHNLORPHWHU
DQGNLORPHWHUUDFHV