A18 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
too small.
He worked to change the
vision and in turn that would
change the culture, and in-
stead of looking at beating
Pendleton as the pinnacle on
a season, the Bucks became
just other opponent on the
Bulldogs’ way to the post-
season.
“It wasn’t dismissive,”
Hodges added. “What it was
— I knew that the distrac-
tion of the Pendleton week
was having a negative effect
(on the team).”
The changes Hodges
implemented took years to
sink in, but its success was
instant. In his fi rst year at the
helm, Hodges coached the
Bulldogs to their fi rst league
championship, and their fi rst
victory over the Bucks since
2004.
In 2008, Hermiston host-
ed Pendleton for its regular
season fi nale. The Bulldogs
entered halftime with an
eight-point lead and went
on to score 27 unanswered
points to win 41-24.
Since then, the Bulldogs
have won six of the last 10
contests.
Pendleton managed to
sneak in a win during the
2010 season. The game
went into double overtime
for the fi rst time ever. The
teams were tied at 28 points
apiece at the end of regu-
lation. Pendleton scored
fi rst in the fi rst overtime
but Hermiston quickly tied
things up with a quarterback
sneak from Tim Rude. Both
teams missed their point af-
ter touchdown, but Pendle-
ton would score next to win
40-34. The Bucks won again
in 2011, but haven’t been
able to claim a victory since.
“I think the difference
is now it’s expected that
you’re supposed to win,”
Barnett said. “Back when
I used to play it was a Hal-
ley’s Comet type of thing.”
In 2012, Hermiston fi nal-
ly broke into double-digit
wins with a 28-13 defeat. It
was the Bulldogs fi rst win
since 2009.
Now, fi ve years later
Hermiston has a chance to
hold on to bragging rights
for what could be forever.
RIVALRY
continued from Page A1
the more important espe-
cially for people within the
community that endured
the years of defeat.
“You felt it more from
the
community
than
among (the players),” Bar-
nett said. “There was also
the pressure to perform
(during the season) but
you always wanted to raise
up to the next level against
Pendleton.”
A win was affi rmation
that the program was on
the rise, Barnett added, and
gave former players and
alumnus a sense of pride
that was missing for so long.
At this point in Herm-
iston’s history, defeating
Pendleton was more rare
than a winning season, and
that’s saying something.
Before 1984, the Bull-
dogs had only eight winning
seasons: 1953, 1954, 1955,
1960, 1965, 1971 and 1973.
The most recent at the time,
the 1973 season, saw Herm-
iston fall to Bend (19-14)
and Pendleton (41-7).
Finally in 1984 for the
teams’ 59th meeting, Herm-
iston was fi nally able to
shake off decades of de-
feat. The 27-14 victory was
highlighted by four unan-
swered touchdowns and
the performance of running
back Lance Hawkins, who
rushed for 110 yards and
two touchdowns.
But victories like this
were still few and far be-
tween. Hermiston entered
the turn of the century with
wins you could count on one
hand and wouldn’t reach
double digits in the all-time
series until 2012.
When Hermiston was
able to top Pendleton, the
atmosphere was electric.
Barnett remembers his
sophomore year on the
team, when Hermiston de-
feated Pendleton 33-21. It
was only the Bulldogs third
win over the Bucks and it’s
something Barnett will nev-
er forget.
“I remember the bus ride
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2017
FROM A1
HH FILE PHOTO BY MITCHELL ZACHS
Luke Hansell and Tyler Harsteen celebrate after defeating
Pendleton 20-17 in 2002 to complete the team’s fi rst
undefeated season and outright Intermountain Conference
football title.
home was insane,” he said.
“I never ever knew what
winning at the level was
like. There in high school
that was the biggest game
we ever played in.”
In 2002 Hermiston beat
Pendleton for the fi rst time
at home. The Bulldogs won
20-17 when senior Dean
Peters kicked a 40-yard
fi eld goal with 10 seconds
left on the clock. John Bar-
nett, Paul’s brother, was the
placeholder for the winning
kick. That year Hermiston
fi nished with a perfect 9-0
record for the fi rst time ever.
The following season
was the fi rst time in the ri-
valry that Hermiston won
back-to-back years, but still
only the sixth win for the
Bulldogs in what was then
a 76-game series. It ended
the way any good rivalry
should, with another dra-
matic fi nish.
The game went into
overtime after Hermiston
opted not to run the clock
out in the fourth quarter
despite having a 28-27
lead. Instead, the Bulldogs
scored and gave Pendleton
its chance to score. By the
end of regulation, the scored
read 35-35 and the 21-point
defi cit Hermiston had to
overcome in the fi rst quarter
was almost for nothing.
Hermiston was able to
hold off Pendleton for one
more year, claiming a 28-3
victory in 2004 but again
would fall victim to the
Bucks for four straight sea-
sons.
It was the efforts of an
outsider who wasn’t afraid
to put the rivalry to bed that
did just that.
Former head coach Mark
Hodges didn’t have ties to
Hermiston or Eastern Ore-
gon. The fresh eyes and new
outlook helped the Bulldogs
in the end, no matter how
controversial it was at the
time.
Looking back on the
beginning of what would
be his seven year career as
head coach, Hodges knows
his opinion wasn’t the most
popular but it got the job
done.
“As long as we were
talking about Pendleton, we
were never going to get any-
where,” he said. “What we
were doing is creating a cul-
ture and a mindset amongst
the players that no matter
what comes up whether it’s
state championship week
or whether it’s Pendleton
week, no matter what it is,
it’s just another game on the
schedule.”
Hodges recognized a
problem with the old way of
thinking. He saw that every-
one was transfi xed on beat-
ing Pendleton, and in Hodg-
es’ mind, that was thinking
BY THE WAY
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY JUDY FORDICE
Virginia Beebe of the Hermiston Senior Center receives
a donation from Wayne Harris and Larry Carrick of the
Hermiston Elks Lodge.
BTW
continued from Page A1
• • •
People are champing
at the bit to get a taste of
the new restaurant in the
old El Cazador building
(across from McDonald’s
on Highway 395). Nearly
a year ago, a sign indicat-
ed a sushi restaurant was
“coming soon.” On Oct. 17
in a post on the Facebook
group “Whats Happen-
ing Hermiston?,” building
owner Becky Wadeka-
mper said that progress is
being made in the building.
While she doesn’t know
the exact date for the great-
ly anticipated opening, she
did say, “they have done
a wonderful job of reno-
vating the interior and it’s
beautiful and it will be an
atmosphere like none other
in town.”
• • •
Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston and his
wife caught their 15 sec-
ond of fame last week on
the Today Show during
a vacation to New York
City. Standing outdoors in
the audience, they told an-
chor Hoda Kotb they were
headed to see a Yankees
game that night. “Are you
happy?” Kotb asked. “I’m
a Mets fan,” Edmiston ad-
mitted before the camera
cut away.
• • •
A pair of longstanding
members of Hermiston
Elks Lodge No. 1845 re-
cently met with members
of the Hermiston Senior
Center to make a dona-
tion. Larry Carrick, a
52-year Hermiston Elks
member, and Wayne
Harris, 47-year mem-
ber, presented a check for
$200 to Virginia Beebe,
Hermiston senior center
vice president. The mon-
ey will go towards the
seniors’ new center. The
guests also enjoyed lunch
with the seniors in the
parish hall at Our Lady of
Angels Catholic Church,
the temporary lunch site
while the new facility is
under construction.
• • •
Hermiston High School
Student Ethan Atkin-
son is collecting new and
used shoes throughout the
month of November, all of
which he plans to donate
to a charity that helps fam-
ilies in Haiti as part of his
Eagle Scout project. Col-
lection bins will be set up
at various locations around
town, including Columbia
Bank, Atkinson Staffi ng,
AgriLabor,
Hermiston
High School and Armand
Larive Middle School.
———
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