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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 2015)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2015 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9 SPORTS MUSTANGS: continued from Page A8 STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Heppner’s Weston Putnam goes over the top of .enneG\’s %ishop 0itchell in the 0ustangs’ 4 rout against the 7roMans in the state $ championship game SaturGa\ in Hermiston. STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Heppner coach Greg Grant gives a hug to senior Saul Erickson as time runs off the clock in the 0ustangs· 4 rout against .enneG\ in the state $ championship game SaturGa\ in Hermiston. STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Heppner’s 7omm\ %reGÀelG bottom anG -acob Wallace Zrap up .enneG\ Tuarterback %rett 7raeger in the Mustangs’ 48-0 rout against the Trojans in the state $ championship game SaturGa\ in Hermiston. RANKINGS: continued from Page A8 Thyler Monkus — are back, and bolstered by some more guys with size and skills. With Daniel Sharp moving away from the boys program to focus on the girls, Victor Baros takes over with a run- and-gun style that will put ¿ve guards on the Àoor at all times. I can’t wait to watch them play. I had fun watch- ing them practice. You’ll have fun watching them in action. 4. Echo girls basketball The Cougars have lost two key parts of their dis- trict-winning team from last season: leading scorer and rebounder Elizabeth Mc- Carty, and head coach JD Brazil. McCarty graduated and is throwing at Eastern Oregon, and Brazil moved to the Midwest when his wife got a job there. So Michael Swanson takes over a team that thinks highly of itself for good reason. Just McCarty and Bailey Srofe are the de- parted regulars, and most of the rest of the roster returns. Swanson takes over and will institute a more defensive scheme with his small but athletic roster. He knows expectations are high and entering a situation with lots of recent success is dif¿cult. But the girls have walked this road before and know what kind of shoes they need. They’ll be ¿ne. 5. Umatilla girls basketball Head coach Scott Bow has usually had some pret- ty good teams and pretty talented rosters. This year, however, he’s the most opti- mistic he’s been because he hasn’t gotten bogged down in installation in the ¿rst few practices. That’s huge for a group that’s trying to break through the Nyssa barrier STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Heppner’s &.-. .inGle falls into the enG ]one for a touchGoZn in the 0ustangs’ 4 rout against the 7roMans in the state $ championship game SaturGa\ in Hermiston. and the get-to-the-state-tour- nament barrier that’s been seemingly insurmountably high. Aleesha Watson can Àat-out score, Sidney Webb is versatile, and Courtney Dohman and Brenda Cam- pos are a load on the block. Add in more 3A opponents to help out their colley rank- ing, and I think these Vikings can make a run this season. Maybe ¿fth is too low. I don’t know enough to be sure. We’ll all ¿nd out to- gether. “We tackle well and our defense is really quick,” said Grant. “They are smart kids and they all did their jobs really, really well tonight.” Junior defensive lineman Kevin Murray led the Mustangs with 11 total tackles, while Tommy Bred- ¿eld added 1 tackles and 3utman had nine and earned a sack. Senior linebacker 3atrick Collins also contributed eight total tackles one sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. The Mustangs also forced four Kennedy turnovers — two inter- ceptions and two fumbles — and turned three of the four into touch- downs. The ¿rst came on the ¿rst play of the second quarter, when Trae- ger’s pass over the middle of the ¿eld was picked off by Heppner’s Caden Hedman at mid¿eld. A few plays later, Kindle dove into the end zone on fourth-and-goal to put the Mustangs up 1- in the second quarter. That’s when the snowball start- ed for Kennedy. The Trojans fumbled on the ¿rst play of the ensuing possession and the ball was recovered by Mustangs defensive lineman Kevin Murray at the Trojans’ 15 yard line. And then on Heppner’s ¿rst play, junior /o- gan Grieb took a receiver sweep around the left edge of the Mus- tangs’ offensive line and sprinted all 15 yards for the touchdown and a 2- lead for Heppner. As the teams headed into half- time, 3utman said there was a de¿- nite buzz in the Mustangs locker room, but he knew their job was not ¿nished quite yet. “I knew we couldn’t let up be- cause one play could give (Kenne- dy) the momentum back,” he said. “We were in the locker room and I told every one ‘we scored 34 in a half, they can too’ so we just have to keep the pedal down.” In the second half, the Mustangs scored just two times on a pair of touchdown passes by Clark — the ¿rst a 3-yard bomb that was per- fectly placed to receiver /ogan Grieb and the second a 24-yard connection to a wide-open Kindle on a cleanly-run post route in the middle of the ¿eld. Clark ¿nished the game - with 153 yards and those two touchdowns, contributing a chunk of Heppner’s 3 total yards of offense. 3utman led the Mustangs ground attack with 11 yards on 15 carries, while Grieb added 73 yards as well as 75 yards receiving. “We were like a well-oiled ma- chine tonight,” said Clark. “We got on the backs of our offensive and defensive lines and just rode them to victory, so that was pretty cool.” After the ¿nal horn had blown, the trophies were handed out, and celebrations had calmed, the Mus- tangs lined up for several team photos which featured 3 players and numerous coaches grinning from ear to ear, taking in a moment which Grant told them to embrace. “I think it’s great for these kids, and fantastic for the community,” said Grant. “I think the kids and community are going to have this memory forever.” Lunch date. Honorable mention: 6tanÀelG girls basketball “But they didn’t have a good record last year!” you’ll say. “They didn’t even make it past the district tournament!” You’re right on both accounts. But in talking to Sharp and a player or two at practice, I have a feeling these girls will take a noticeable step forward — even larger than last year. I remember an interview I did with then-junior now-senior Yazzmin Chavez after a win last year and I asked her if she felt like a basketball player instead of someone who just plays basketball. She agreed, and that sentiment has moved into this season. As Sharp is quoted in the winter sports preview section (check it out inside today’s issue, it’s got a lot of great stuff) they went to southern Idaho and got waxed. But it was good. They’ve broadened their basketball horizons, which is never a bad thing. May- be they’ll be good, maybe they won’t. As the old cliché goes: That’s why they play the games. This will be a fun season. Sam Barbee is a sports reporter 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 @ SamBarbee1. Follow Herald Sports @HHeraldSports. SPORTS CALENDAR Wednesday, December 2 BOYS BASKETBALL Umatilla @ Irrigon, 7:30 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL Umatilla @ Irrigon, 6 p.m. Friday, December 4 BOYS BASKETBALL Hermiston @ Kamiakin, 7:30 p.m. Stanfield @ South Wasco Tournament, TBD Echo vs. Monument/Dayville @ Fossil, TBD Tournament, TBD Echo vs. Condon/Wheeler @ Fossil, TBD GIRLS BASKETBALL Stanfield @ South Wasco Tournament Echo vs. Condon/Wheeler @ Fossil, 4 p.m. WRESTLING Hermiston @ End of the Oregon Trail Tourney (Oregon City), 9 a.m. Echo @ Irrigon Tournament, TBD GIRLS BASKETBALL Hermiston @ Kamiakin, 5:45 p.m. Stanfield @ South Wasco Tournament, TBD Echo vs. Monument/Dayville @ Fossil, 3 p.m. Tuesday, December 8 BOYS BASKETBALL Hermiston @ Hanford, 7:30 p.m. Umatilla @ Weston-McEwen, 7:30 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL Saturday, December 5 BOYS BASKETBALL Stanfield @ South Wasco Hermiston @ Hanford, 5:45 p.m. Umatilla @ Weston-McEwen, 6 p.m. Everything takes on a whole new meaning when you become a parent. 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