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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2015)
S PORTS Hermiston A9 2015 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2015 HERMISTONHERALD.COM TOP SPORTS STORIES OF A LOOK BACK AT SOME OF OUR FAVORITES STORIES FROM LOCAL SPORTS Herald sports staff (of one) picks its top stories of the year By SAM BARBEE Staff Writer The calendar is about to turn. Here at the Herm- iston Herald, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at 2015 and the stories it produced. Being the only sports reporter, I went back and looked at some of the stories which struck me the most, I had the most fun writing, or the stories that had the most reaction from the community. It isn’t necessarily based on only athletic accom- plishments. I met some wonderful people this year and wrote some stories I’m proud of and that got some good feedback. Those will all be listed here. Here’s to a fun 2015 and a better 2016. WKLVOHYHORIVXFFHVVEHFRPHVWUXO\DVWRXQGLQJ The Hermiston Bulldogs wrestling program is in this position, where anything short of a state ti- tle seemingly seems like a failure. Then-head coach Shaun Williams said before the season that it would be a “rebuilding year.” Maybe he was selling it short intentionally, maybe he was being honest. It’s tough WRWHOOEHFDXVH+HUPLVWRQDJDLQSURYHGLWVPHWWOHDVLW RXWODVWHGWKH+LOOVERUR6SDUWDQVZLWKD6DP&ROEUD\ pin to earn Hermiston its (sixth-straight) team wres- WOLQJWLWOHDQGVHYHQWKLQHLJKW\HDUV At this point, we are recognizing Hermiston’s ability to maintain its success rather than the fact it won a state championship. They’re running out of room in The Dawghouse to hang all of the banners, and that’s a good thing. Being the second-best sports VWRU\RIWKH\HDULVQ¶WDEDGWKLQJ5LFN\%REE\LVQ¶W always right. state championship, its only outright football title (they tied the year before). 7KLVVHDVRQDMXQLRUODGHQ7LJHUVVTXDGHPHUJHG IURPDJRRG$&ROXPELD%DVLQ&RQIHUHQFHWRDG- YDQFH WR LWV ¿UVW VHPL¿QDO DSSHDUDQFH VLQFH WKDW historic 1957 season, and played arguably its worst game of the season against the Kennedy Trojans. STAFF PHOTO BY EJ HARRIS Hermiston’s Tavin Headings (22), Kynzee Padilla (21) and Abi Drotzmann walk off the court as the La Salle’s girls basketball team celebrate their 51-46 5A state championship win against the Bulldogs in Corvallis. 1. Hermiston girls basketball makes its deepest run The Bulldogs were a powerhouse last season, es- pecially in 2015. After the calendar turned, Hermis- ton lost just two games: a 55-49 home loss to Sunny- side (WA) and a 51-46 loss in the state championship game to La Salle Prep. 7KH\ ¿QLVKHG &5& DQG FUXLVHG WR WKHLU IRXUWKVWUDLJKW &ROXPELD 5LYHU &RQIHUHQFH WL- WOH FRQWLQXLQJ WKHLU GRPLQDQFH RYHU WKH IRXUWHDP league. The Bulldogs parlayed that record into the top seed in the 5A state tournament, but were stone- ZDOOHG E\ WKH )DOFRQV DW *LO &ROLVHXP LQ WKH VWDWH championship game. 7KH\HDUVWDUWHGUHODWLYHO\VORZO\IRUWKH%XOOGRJV DVWKH\ORVWWKHLU¿UVWWZRJDPHVRIWKH\HDUERWKDW home. But they closed the regular season winning 21 RIWKHLUQH[WFRQWHVWVWR¿QLVKWKHVHDVRQDVVWURQJ as any team in the state. Following two blowout wins LQWKHSOD\RIIVWKLQJVJRWWLJKWDJDLQVW&RUYDOOLV² which had knocked Hermiston out of the tournament WKH\HDUEHIRUH²DQGWKH%XOOGRJVHYHQWXDOO\IHOO MXVWVKRUWRIWKHLU¿UVWJLUOVEDVNHWEDOOVWDWHWLWOH ,WZDVWKHEHVW¿QLVKLQSURJUDPKLVWRU\DQGGH- VHUYLQJRIRXUWRSVSRWDVEHVWVSRUWVVWRU\RIWKH\HDU STAFF PHOTO BY SAM BARBEE STAFF PHOTO BY SAM BARBEE Brandi Howard (right) speaks with her daughter Courtney after opening ceremonies of the 6th annual Jeremy Howard — for the Love of the Game co-ed softball tournament in Hermiston. 3. ‘More than a game’ — local softball WRXUQDPHQWÀJKWVVNLQFDQFHU This story is along the lines of one I thoroughly enjoyed writing. Brandi Howard’s story of losing her husband to melanoma then starting a softball tour- nament in his honor was amazingly personal, and I was thankful she opened up to me about it as much as she did. :KLOH ZH ZHUH VLWWLQJ DQG GRLQJ WKH LQWHUYLHZ she naturally became emotional at times, and, to her FUHGLW QHYHU RQFH EDFNHG DZD\ IURP D TXHVWLRQ , DVNHGKRZHYHUSHUVRQDOLWZDV6KHZDVKRQHVWDQG forthcoming, and I hope I did her courage justice. To top it off, it was the most-read sports story on WKH+HUPLVWRQ+HUDOGFRPWKLV\HDUDQGLWGHVHUYHV to be on this list. Sometimes the hardest stories to tell are the easiest to write, and this one was it. And sometimes stories can demonstrate the power sports KDYH,W¶VQRWDOZD\VDERXWGULEEOHVDQGVLQJOHVDQG touchdowns. Sometimes sports are simply about peo- ple. This story whole-heartedly demonstrated that. +HUPLVWRQ+LJK6FKRROMXQLRU$QGUH$OOLVRQKROGVXSDÀUVW place trophy from the Spokane Youth Lacrosse LAXFest May 16-17. Allison turned to coaching after his athletic career was ended with a severe back injury. ¶%URNHQDQGUHEXLOWRQWKHÀHOGRI play’ — Andre Allison’s story Again, many thanks to Allison and those around him for opening up to me about this. Think about it: sports is your life then it’s taken away abruptly. There aren’t many worse things in life than losing one’s identity, and that’s what happened to Allison. And he was honest and up front, and that blew me away. He didn’t make excuses. He didn’t wonder ZKDWFRXOGKDYHEHHQDWOHDVWQRWZKHQZHVSRNH +H KDG ¿JXUHG RXW ZKDW KDSSHQHG DQG D SRWHQWLDO UHDVRQ ZK\ DQG FKDVHG KLV QHZIRXQG ORYH (YHU\ single parent I spoke to said glowing things about KLP (YHU\ VLQJOH RQH 7KH VPLOH WKDW FDPH RYHU his face when talking about coaching, when talking about spending time with the kids told me all I need- HGWRNQRZ+HUHDOO\ORYHVFRDFKLQJODFURVVH+HUH- DOO\ORYHVVSHQGLQJWLPHZLWKNLGV$QGKH¶Vhappy he got hurt. It changed him for the better. It was truly DVWRU\RIHYROXWLRQDQGEHWWHUPHQW COURTESY PHOTO BY ADDIE TUIA Members of the 2015 state championship Hermiston wrestling team pose for a photo at the 5A state wrestling tournament Saturday at Memorial Coliseum in Portland. Bulldog wrestlers accumulated 149 points to defeat Dallas, Lebanon and Eagle Point. Three Bulldogs won their weight classes to become state champions: Sam Colbray, Liam Tarvin and Isaac Aguilar. 2. Hermiston wrestling stays on top ,W¶V GLI¿FXOW VRPHWLPHV WR DSSUHFLDWH FRQVWDQW winning. After one state championship, then two, WKUHHHWFWKDWOHYHORIVXFFHVVEHFRPHVWKHQRUP But when you factor in attrition due to graduation, STAFF PHOTO BY SAM BARBEE STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS 6WDQÀHOGTXDUWHUEDFN'\ODQ*URJDQWRSSOHVRYHU.HQQHG\·V Tom Schmidt in the Tigers’ 34-20 loss to the Trojans in Hillsboro. 6WDQÀHOGIRRWEDOOPDNHVKLVWRULFUXQ 1HDUO\VL[GHFDGHVKDGSDVVHGVLQFHWKH6WDQ¿HOG IRRWEDOO WHDP SOD\HG LWV ZD\ LQWR WKH ¿QDO IRXU RI ZKLFKHYHUFODVVL¿FDWLRQLQZKLFKLWZDVDPHPEHU 7KDW¶V D UHDOO\ UHDOO\ ORQJ WLPH (YHU\WKLQJ DERXW the game has changed since the 1957 Tigers won the +HSSQHU·V0DGGLH/LQGVD\GULYHVDJDLQVW6WDQÀHOG·V 1DWDOLD(VTXLYHODV0XVWDQJ.HOO\:LOVRQWULHVWRJHW open during the second half of Heppner’s 47-32 tie-breaker win over the Tigers at Armand Larive Middle School in Hermiston. 6. Echo girls basketball has best season in two decades You win a district championship and a host a state SOD\RIIJDPHQHLWKHURIZKLFKKDGKDSSHQHGLQTXLWH some time, you get on this list. From the beginning See STORIES, A10