Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 2016)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2016 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7 SPORTS Bulldogs return with experience in secondary Hermiston will have three returning starters in defensive backfield By MATT ENTRUP Staff Writer When Hermiston senior Vae- mu Ena grew two inches between his sophomore and junior seasons, Bulldogs coaches took a look at the 6-foot-2, 175-pound athlete DQG¿JXUHGDPRYHXSWRWKHGH- IHQVLYHOLQHZDVLQRUGHU That’s where he was listed on the team’s initial roster, but it ZRXOGQ¶WEHZKHUHKH¿QLVKHG With three senior returners al- ready on the line and another ju- nior in front of Ena, the athletic IRUPHU OLQHEDFNHU ZDV PRYHG WR safety, where he quickly made the SRVLWLRQKLVRZQ%\WKHHQGRIWKH season he had earned honorable PHQWLRQ DOOVWDWH DQG ¿UVWWHDP $OO&ROXPELD 5LYHU &RQIHUHQFH honors and was one of the de- IHQVH¶V PRVW SURGXFWLYH SOD\HUV ZLWKWDFNOHV¿YHLQWHUFHSWLRQV with a whopping 158 return yards, and three pass break-ups in just HLJKWJDPHV He’s one, but not the only, rea- VRQ+HUPLVWRQFRDFK'DYLG)DDH- WHHWHLVKRSLQJWKHGHIHQVLYHEDFN- ¿HOGFDQEHRQHRIWKHWHDP¶VWRS XQLWVLQ “I think our secondary is going to be pretty tough this year,” he VDLG³:H¶YHJRWDORWRIUHWXUQHUV EDFN WKHUH , WKLQN HYHU\ERG\¶V EDFNLQWKHVHFRQGDU\´ :HOO\HVDQGQR Junior cornerback Tyler Rohr- STAFF PHOTO BY MATT ENTRUP STAFF PHOTO BY MATT ENTRUP Hermiston’s Tyler Rohrman (16) goes up against Tucker Salinas during a drill at a recent football practice at Kennison Field. Rohrman, a junior, is one of three returning starters to the Bulldogs secondary. Hermiston safety Vaemu Ena catches the ball during a drill at football practice at Kennison Field. Ena, a senior, was an all-state honorable mention selection last season and is one of three returning starters to the secondary. Hermiston cornerback Dayshawn Neal, right, presses a wide receiver during a drill during football practice at Kennison Field. Neal, a junior, is the only newcomer to the starting lineup in the Bulldogs secondary this season. STAFF PHOTO BY MATT ENTRUP man, senior safety Joey Gutierrez and junior cornerback Dayshawn 1HDO URXQG RXW WKH VWDUWLQJ XQLW Rohrman was a second-team All- CRC corner last season and had 21 tackles and three pass breakups in VL[JDPHV *XWLHUUH] LV D FRQYHUWHG $OO CRC second-team linebacker who had 42 tackles, one interception, two pass breakups and one fumble forced as a junior, and Neal started at quarterback last season before an injury ended his season after ¿YHJDPHV That’s still a well-seasoned group, and Ena said it feels like the unit is ahead of pace in his second \HDULQWKHEDFN¿HOG ³/DVW\HDULWZDVP\¿UVW\HDU at safety and these guys (Rohrman and Gutierrez) were just barely coming up, so I feel a lot better WKLV\HDU´KHVDLG³,IHHOOLNHZH FDQOLYHXSWR)DDHWHHWH¶VH[SHF- WDWLRQVEHFDXVHZHKDYHEHHQGR- LQJJRRGODWHO\DQGZHKDYHEHHQ ZRUNLQJKDUGWRJHWKHU´ With Ena and Gutierrez (5-10, JLYLQJWKHXQLWSOHQW\RISRS on the back end while Rohrman DQG1HDOJLYH the Bulldogs size and speed on the RXWVLGH All of them also start on of- IHQVH But it’s not the unit’s great mea- VXUDEOHV WKDW JLYHV LW FRQ¿GHQFH JRLQJLQWRWKHVHDVRQ ³, WKLQN LW¶V JRLQJ WR EH VROLG :H¶YH EHHQ ZRUNLQJ WRJHWKHU DOO summer in camps, playing togeth- er in 7-on-7, we just click,” Gutier- UH]VDLG³,W¶VOLNHDIDPLO\:HIHHO HDFKRWKHURQWKH¿HOGVRZH¶YH kind of got a feeling and we know DQGUHO\RQHDFKRWKHU,IWKH\¶YH got to be there they’re going to be there, that’s what type of bond we KDYH´ The Bulldogs will face some pretty tough passers in Special Dis- WULFW WKLV VHDVRQ 6XPPLW UHWXUQV 5A Player of the Year John Bled- soe and Redmond brings back sec- ond-team All-Intermountain Con- IHUHQFHVHQLRU%XQNHU3DUULVK As a team the Bulldogs snagged 10 interceptions in 2015, but Rohrman said they’re not go- ing into this season with any type RIEHQFKPDUNVLQPLQG ³,GRQ¶WWKLQNZHKDYHDQ\VSH- FL¿FJRDOV´KHVDLG³:HMXVWZDQW WRJRRXWWKHUHHYHU\GD\DQGPDNH WKLQJVHDVLHUIRUHYHU\ERG\DURXQG us, getting the ball back for the of- IHQVHRUZKDWHYHUZHKDYHWRGRWR KHOSWKHWHDPZLQ´ 7KH\¶OOJHWWKHLU¿UVWFKDQFHWR do that when Union (Washington) FRPHVWR.HQQLVRQ)LHOGWRRSHQ WKH VHDVRQ DW SP RQ )ULGD\ 6HSW,WMXVWVRWXUQVRXW8QLRQ was one of those teams the Bull- GRJVFOLFNHGDJDLQVWDWWKH/DNHY- LHZRQFDPS “We got the look, but I feel like we locked them up a little bit,” 1HDOVDLG Rohrman said they expect 8QLRQ WR JLYH WKHP D QHZ ORRN come September, but it was good to at least see how they matched XSSK\VLFDOO\ While the unit has the poten- tial to be one of the best in their league, none of the players expects LWWRFRPHHDVLO\ ³:H¶YHMXVWJRWWRNHHSZRUN- ing hard, keep grinding together,” 1HDO VDLG ³:H¶OO PDNH PLVWDNHV DQGSLFNHDFKRWKHUXS´ IN BRIEF Colleges scrimmage Thursday at Kennison Field Hermiston School District will host D IRRWEDOO VFULPPDJH EHWZHHQ /LQ¿HOG College and the College of Idaho at 3 SP7KXUVGD\$XJXVWDW.HQQLVRQ )LHOG ³:H DUH YHU\ H[FLWHG WR KDYH WKH RSSRUWXQLW\WRSURYLGHDYHQXHIRUWZR quality football programs to scrim- PDJH´VDLG0LNH.D\H[HFXWLYHGLUHF- tor of operations for Hermiston School 'LVWULFW “With former bulldog athletes Dylan &DOGZHOODWWHQGLQJ/LQ¿HOGDQG/DQGRQ Clark Gammell and Keegan Crafton, at the College of Idaho, it will be great to welcome these former students back to .HQQLVRQ)LHOG´.D\VDLG No admission will be charged to ZDWFKWKHVFULPPDJH Fall classes set for dance, gymnastics Dance classes and gymnastics VHVVLRQV DUH DYDLODEOH EHJLQQLQJ LQ 6HSWHPEHU 2FWREHU DQG 1RYHPEHU through Hermiston Parks & Recre- DWLRQ Participants can register for one or PXOWLSOH PRQWKV 0RVW RI WKH FODVVHV take place on Thursdays at the Hermis- WRQ&RQIHUHQFH&HQWHU6+LJKZD\ 6HVVLRQVDUHDYDLODEOHIRUGLIIHUHQW DJHJURXSV The dance classes are $30 for res- LGHQWV DQG IRU QRQUHVLGHQWV 7KH gymnastics sessions range from $18 to IRUUHVLGHQWVDQGWRIRU non-residents )RU DGGLWLRQDO GHWDLOV RU WR UHJLVWHU YLVLW KWWSVDSPDFWLYHFRPPXQLWLHV FRPKHUPLVWRQ$FWLYLW\B6HDUFK )RU more information, call 541-667-5018 or VWRS E\ WKH UHFUHDWLRQ RI¿FH 1( 6HFRQG6W+HUPLVWRQ