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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2017)
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 Herald Sports Follow sports on Twitter @HHeraldSports Dawgs have home-field advantage in Round 1 DAWGS WIN FINAL GAME IN WAR ON 84 Hermiston landed No. 3 seed entering playoffs, host La Salle By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ STAFF WRITER STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Official Tom Humphreys throws the coin during the opening coin toss of Hermiston’s 42-15 win against Pendleton on Friday in Pendleton. Hermiston ends regular season on six-game winning streak By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ STAFF WRITER P endleton and Hermiston met for the final time — at least for a while — Friday at the Round-Up Grounds for the last game of the regular season. Hermiston made it a going away party to remember. Hermiston’s 42-15 blow to Pendle- ton on its home turf gave the Bulldogs (7-2, 6-1) the final bragging rights in the 95-year rivalry. “I’m super elated,” head coach Da- vid Faaeteete said. “The guys came out and competed and did what they had to do to get a win. Even when Pendleton tried to make it interesting, we respond- ed and kept responding. Defense came away with some big plays. ... They took the best shots and they marched back and it was just fun to watch and great to be a part of.” Hermiston drew first blood, and put its first touchdown on the board just two minutes into the game. Quarterback An- drew James found Dayshawn Neal for 19 yards, and gave the Bulldogs their first lead. The score was Neal’s only catch of the night, but the heavy cover- age down the field on Hermiston’s top target did not slow down the offense. James would take matters into his own hands and run in a 76-yard touchdown that put Hermiston up 14-0 going into the second quarter. “As an offensive coordinator, you just take what’s there and they’re tri- pling Dayshawn,” Faaeteete said. “So, it was just establishing the run game. ... Hermiston’s Joey Gutierrez rushes upfield in the Bulldogs’ 42-15 win against Pendleton on Fruday in Pendleton. All of those guys that get to touch the rock just commit to the run game, and we can throw it when we need to.” As it turns out, Hermiston wouldn’t need to throw that often. James finished the night 4-for-8 for 142 yards and three touchdowns. The Bulldogs ate up the first 12 min- utes as Pendleton struggled to get any- thing going. Keaton Mikami played a big role in that, and sacked Pendleton quarterback Nick Bower twice, while Jonathon Hinkle wrapped Bower up to force one of many Pendleton three-and- outs just a few plays later. “He played great tonight,” Faaeteete said of Mikami’s performance. “He got off that block and contained the passer and made some great hits on the quar- terback. It was just good.” There was plenty that was just good on Friday night. James went on to rush 191 yards and two touchdowns. Hinkle had 15 carries for 141 yards and one touchdown. “There was good play calling all night, and just players making big plays,” James said after the win and earning the Great American Rivalry Series MVP. Senior Joey Gutierrez got in on the action and took a short pass from James and ran it over 70 yards to put the Bull- dogs up 29-15 going into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs wore down the Buck- aroos defense and racked up 505 total offensive yards — 363 on the ground and 142 in the air. The Bucks were able to take advan- tage of the few mistakes Hermiston made, and worked their way 68 yards — with the help of a well executed fake punt — into the end zone for a score. Cam Sandford’s three-yard touchdown reception kept the game close for the next quarter and a half. After Gutierrez’s touchdown pass put the game back in Hermiston’s fa- vor, he came back on defense to make a game-changing interception. From there Hermiston ran away with the game. Hinkle ran in his lone rush- ing touchdown — 24 yards on a third down. James sprinted 54 yards down the field to extend the Bulldogs’ lead into the game-ending score of 42-15. It was the cherry on top of Hermiston’s OSAA farewell tour as it prepares to join the WIAA next fall. ROUNDUP Heppner sweeps its way through round 1 HERMISTON HERALD REEDSPORT — The Heppner Mustangs entered the first round of the 2A volleyball playoffs after a not-so-hot performance in the Columbia Basin Con- ference district tournament. But Heppner didn’t sweat it, and went to town against the Reedsport Braves. The Mustangs (19-8) won in straight sets (27-25, 25- 21, 25-20) on the road. “I am very proud of my team,” head coach Mindy Wilson said. “They had to make some adjustments, which is to be expected. The gym was loud and they had to figure out how to be loud too. Them being able to overcome all those little ob- stacles, shows the growth of this team.” Heppner will play Cul- ver on Friday at Ridgeview High School in Redmond in the state tournament. The match will begin at 8 a.m. on Court 1. The Mustangs will get a chance to redeem them- selves against the Bulldogs, who delivered the sweep in the CBC district tournament. COUNTY CHRISTIAN 3, ECHO 0 — Echo was ready for Round 1 of the 1A state championship after a big 3-0 victory at home Wednesday. But the tables turned when the Cougars went to visit County Chris- tian. Echo was handed the same fate it delivered just three days ago, and fell in three straight sets (25-13, 25- 16, 25-17). County Christian will play North Clackamas Chris- tian/South Wasco County on Nov. 3 at Ridgeview High School in Redmond. The match will begin on Court 2 at 3:15 p.m. BOYS SOCCER RIVERSIDE 1, CATLIN GABEL 1 — The Riverside Pirates still have yet to be de- feated this season, but their perfect record was tarnished Saturday after a 2-2 draw against No. 3-ranked Catlin Gabel. Riverside still holds on to the No. 1 ranking, and will host Creswell in the first round of the 3A/2A/1A boys soccer playoffs on Wednes- day at 5 p.m. STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Echo’s Marti Huff goes up to block a shot from Jordon Valley’s Regann Skinner in the Cougars’ 3-0 win against the Mustangs on Wednesday in Echo. After a long nine weeks, the Hermiston football team will begin its run at a last chance for an Oregon state title. The Bulldogs ended the sea- son on a hot streak, winning six in a row to claim a 7-2 record. Last week’s win over Pend- leton highlighted the progress they have made over the sea- son, and after the math worked out in Hermiston’s favor, the experienced group was seeded higher than it expected. “We’re excited about that,” head coach David Faaeteete said. “They are jumping at the bit. We’re excited, but being a three seed team also comes with challenges. You can’t overlook any opponents, be- cause every team in the play- offs is a good team and every team has a winning record.” Hermiston will have home- field advantage in Round 1 of the playoffs Friday when it hosts the La Salle Falcons at 7 p.m. La Salle is going to make the three-hour trip fresh off a loss last week. The Falcons (5-4) were bested by Wilson- ville 44-20 after allowing five touchdowns on the ground. The loss, however, is not indic- ative of La Salle’s season. “They are an athletic foot- ball team that is very balanced in their offensive attack,” Faaeteete said after studying film on the Falcons. “But we match up pretty well across the board. They have got quite a few guys that are bigger than our guys, but that’s the story of the season.” The Falcons’ defensive ef- forts have been led by a trio of seniors, linemen Tony Huynh and Ben Wease and linebacker Chris Bianca, whose combined mass is 650 pounds. They have given up 203 points on the sea- son, one of the lowest totals of any No. 3 seeded team in Class 5A — only Pendleton has giv- en up fewer (168). Their efforts propelled La Salle to a blowout victory in Week 7 when they defeated St. Helens 45-6, and played a big role in two back-to-back wins in Weeks 3-4 — including a 41-31 comeback victory over Hillsboro in which the Spar- tans were held scoreless in the second half. But shutting out Hermiston will be no easy task. The Bull- dogs pack an offensive punch that has led to four wins by 25 points or more and have scored in 27 of 36 quarters this sea- son. With quarterback Andrew James at the helm, La Salle cannot leave a single stone un- turned when preparing for this week’s match up. James is good for 1,608 yards in the air and a whop- ping 874 on the ground. His ability to scramble, bob and weave through defenders has extending the minutes Herm- iston’s offense is on the field. And even when they aren’t, the defense is just as potent. La Salle senior Justin Ow- ens and junior Ethan Edgerly have traded starts at quarter- back, and have both relied on senior receiver Tae Brooks. Brooks is to La Salle’s offense what Dayshawn Neal is to Hermiston’s, and the scoring charge in the wins over Put- nam, Hillsboro, and St. Helens — recording a punt return of a touchdown against Putnam and turned his only two receptions into scores against St. Helens. But with a Hermiston de- fense that has 12 interceptions of the course of the regular season led by Gutierrez’s five, La Salle’s pass game will have to be sharp to beat the Dawgs.