B4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017 • B5
5A FOOTBALL STATE CHAMPS
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Hermiston offensive linemen Chase Bradshaw, Jacob Liebe and Taylor Arnold
block for Jonathan Hinkle, not seen, in the 5A championship.
Offensive line powers
Dawgs through title
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Hermiston’s Tyler Hunter, top, and Eric White, bottom, wrap up Churchill
quarterback Jack Blackburn in the Bulldogs’ 38-35 win against the Lancers in the
5A state championship game Saturday in Hillsboro.
Dawgs’ defensive
aggressiveness
pays dividends
WINNING
ATTITUDE
A knack for turnovers helped the Hermiston defense
do its part to bring home a state championship
Hermiston’s offensive line paved the way for a
breakout season for the Bulldogs’ offense
H
STAFF PHOTOS BY E.J. HARRIS
Hermiston coach David Faaeteete, background fourth from right, watches the action on the field during the Bulldogs’ 38-35 win against Churchill in the 5A state championship game on Saturday in Hillsboro.
By ERIC SINGER
STAFF WRITER
H
ILLSBORO — A common cli-
chè in football is that defense
wins championships.
For the Hermiston Bull-
dogs on Saturday night against
Churchill, it was more than just a say-
ing. Their defense provided a pathway
to the Class 5A state championship,
just as it had all postseason long. The
unit didn’t exactly do their part in the
sense of a dominant front seven that
completely shut down the opposition,
but instead earned it by a knack for
creating turnovers in clutch situations.
The Bulldogs picked off Churchill
quarterback Jack Blackburn twice and
recovered one fumble, bringing their
postseason tally to 13 forced turn-
overs in the four games and a sea-
son grand total of 34. The Bulldogs
say credit goes to defensive coordina-
tor Scott Hammond having his play-
ers prepared for every situation and a
mindset to be great.
“It just goes back to what we
started doing with our fundamentals,”
senior cornerback Tyler Rohrman said
after Saturday’s win. “It was always
aggressive, aggressive, aggressive.
It’s just the attention to detail and
mindset we’ve developed. (Defensive
coordinator Scott) Hammond always
says at practice great players make
MAD (Make-a-difference) plays and
that’s what we do.”
Junior cornerback Youbani Razon
was the first player to step up Satur-
day with a phenomenal interception
in the second quarter. With Hermis-
ton holding a 12-7 lead, Razon played
soft coverage on his outside receiver
and backpedaled a few yards after the
snap. He read Blackburn’s eyes and
saw the slot receiver settle into a spot
in the Bulldogs’ zone defense roughly
five yards in front of him jumped the
route and beat the ball to the receiver.
It was a huge swing as the Bull-
dogs cashed in on the turnovers with
a touchdown to make it a 18-7 game.
On Churchill’s first play of the
next drive, linebacker Jonathan Hin-
kle stepped in front of a short pass for
an interception. Once again it set up a
touchdown that Hinkle scored himself
for a 25-7 lead with 2:34 left to play.
“It’s that mindset that they have,”
Hermiston coach David Faaeteete
said. “They don’t believe that the play
that just happened, happened, they
just move on to the next. And you
know, we got our hands on balls, we
got some interceptions, put in the cov-
erage we knew we were going to be
thrown to and our guys came up big
with turnovers.”
However, Churchill continued
to hang around with a late first half
touchdown and in the second half
the Lancers would seemingly answer
each Bulldogs touchdown. Yet late
in the fourth quarter, the Hermiston
defense was able to sniff out a turn-
over to swing things in their favor for
good.
With the Lancers facing second-
and-seven at midfield trailing the Bull-
dogs 31-28 with just over five minutes
left in the game, a wild snap evaded
Blackburn and bounced around the
turf to his right and Hermiston defen-
sive end Eric White pounced on it.
The turnover gave the Bulldogs
great field position, which the offense
turned into the game-clinching touch-
down pass from Andrew James to
Dayshawn Neal.
“The ability to have a gut check,”
senior safety Joe Gutierrez said of
the team’s knack for turnovers. “And
that’s when our backs are against the
wall, when we need a big play we’ll
make it because we’ve just got that in
us,”
When all was said and done, Chur-
chill out-gained Hermiston 376-
343, scored on all three trips to the
red zone, and hung 35 points on the
Bulldogs.
But the Lancers are the ones tak-
ing home a second place trophy while
the Bulldogs make the 200 mile trip
back east with first place because of
a detailed preparation and a mindset
that was second to none.
Coach Faaeteete leaves
his mark on OSAA
By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ
STAFF WRITER
A
fter the player and fan celebrations
in the middle of the football field
at Hillsboro Stadium began to set-
tle down, Hermiston head coach
David Faaeteete was able to catch
his breath.
His Bulldogs just claimed their second Oregon
state title after defeating the No. 4 Churchill Lanc-
ers 38-25. But he is no stranger to a big win or to
these types of celebrations.
Faaeteete was the assistant coach in 2014 when
then-head coach Mark Hodges led Hermiston to
its first ever state championship.
The win then in many ways prepared him for
Saturday’s victory. He was better able to take in
the moment, making sure he would remember
each smiling face and every hug from players,
friends and family.
But perhaps the most telling moment in all of
this was the first words Faaeteete spoke to the
media after Hermiston’s triumphant rise.
“Shout out to Churchill and their staff,” he
said. “Those kids played hard and they didn’t
give up. Big ups to them. Those guys played hard.
Those guys played tremendous in the second half,
answered and made us really have to earn this
one.”
His quick praise of the efforts for the team that
tried to take the title for themselves before that of
the players on his own 50-man roster helps explain
how the Bulldogs have been so level-headed
throughout their OSAA Farewell Tour.
Faaeteete, just like any coach, recognizes
every opponent at one moment or another after a
game, but as he spoke highly of Churchill before
mentioning Hermiston’s dual-threat quarterback
Andrew James or star wide receiver Dayshawn
Neal, it wasn’t hard to see where the rest of the
team gets their winning attitude from.
When Faaeteete took over in 2015, he led the
Bulldogs to their third consecutive league champi-
onship — fourth in program history — but it came
with a losing record. Hermiston finished the sea-
Hermiston’s Adrian Mendez leaps on the back of Churchill’s Tyson Bennion in the Bulldogs’ 38-35 win
against the Lancers at the 5A state championship game Saturday in Hillsboro.
Hermiston’s Andrew James hands the ball off
to Peter Earl in the Bulldogs’ 38-35 win against
Churchill in the 5A state championship game
Saturday in Hillsboro.
Hermiston’s Joey Gutierrez is tackled by
Churchill’s Josh Hatten in the Bulldogs’ 38-35 win
against the Lancers in the 5A state championship
game Saturday in Hillsboro.
on to the field.”
The area where the line’s improve-
ment was most notable was in the run
ermiston assistant coach Rick
game. The Bulldogs totaled 1,598
Wells posed for group pho-
rush yards last season and topped the
tos with his offensive linemen
200 yard mark in a game just three
on the field following Sat-
times as a team, with the highest being
urday night’s game, smiling
257 yards. This season the Bulldogs
tallied more than 3,300 rushing yards,
and looking around at each kid like a
including six games with at least 300
proud father.
yards, thanks to the linemen sealing
“They’re like my sons,” Wells said
blocks to spring the likes of Jonathan
Saturday night, holding back emo-
tions. “I’m blessed with three daugh-
Hinkle, Peter Earl and Andrew James
ters and a bunch of sons, really.”
free.
The line’s bond was tested in the
The bond between Wells and his
5A quarterfinal game against South
players and amongst the players
Albany, when Huato, the starting
themselves played out to be a key fac-
tor for the Bulldogs this season, as a
right guard, suffered a right knee
injury in the second quarter and caus-
much-improved play from the line-
men paved the way for an offensive
ing him to watch the last two games
barrage this season.
hunched over his crutches on the side-
line. Chase Bradshaw, a sophomore
“I’m really, really hard on them,
stepped in to the starting spot and the
I absolutely demand their very, very
Bulldogs didn’t miss much of a beat,
best and they respond,” Wells said.
showing the confidence that the group
“They don’t worry when something is
has in themselves.
wrong. They are so coachable and it’s
“It means that we have a great pro-
just amazing and more than anything,
gram right here,” Blake said. “No
we have five or six guys that just love
matter what, it’s always the next guy
each other to death and play so hard.”
up. We have such good players, even
Last season as Hermiston put
in the second team. We
together a middling
don’t miss a beat because
5-5 season, inconsis-
tent play on the line led
we work together and we
don’t give up.”
to an inconsistent sea-
son from the offense as
And Huato’s injury
also showed the selfless-
a whole. The Bulldogs
ness that the unit has. As
averaged 24 points
a senior and two-year
and roughly 350 yards
Beau Blake | senior guard
starter Huato was disap-
of offense per game
pointed he was not able
in 2016, which ended
to play, but he was thrilled to see
with a loss in the first round of the
Bradshaw fill in so well in his place
playoffs. But with four starters return-
ing in 2017, the group decided to step
and still be able to call himself a state
champion.
up their game in the offseason to help
“I’m in shock,” he said. “This is
their team reach the ultimate goal.
the best feeling I have ever had play-
“We wanted the state champion-
ship, there was no other goal than
ing football.”
Churchill gave Hermiston’s line
that,” senior guard Beau Blake said
perhaps its biggest challenge yet.
Saturday. “We wanted to go for the
After a relatively easy first offensive
state championship above all and
drive, the Lancers dialed up pres-
never quit. We wanted to keep going
sure with blitzes and stunts on nearly
no matter what.”
every snap to try and slow down the
And all that work paid off. Herm-
Bulldogs’ red-hot offense.
iston’s five starters of AJ Fernan-
dez, Jacob Liebe, Jose Huato, Taylor
“They’re a dang-good football
Arnold and Blake helped the line-
team and there was a reason they
men come together to pave the way
were 12-0,” Wells said of the Lanc-
ers. “The biggest thing we had to do
for Hermiston’s offense to reach new
is keep ourselves calm and stick with
heights this season. Hermiston aver-
aged 36 points per game and piled
it and be patient. There’s going to be
up more than 5,700 yards of total
times when we’ll get stuffed and bad
offense on its way to winning the
things happen, but we continued our
road forward and that’s what we do.”
championship.
Hermiston was held to just 181
“The four seniors we have, we’ve
rushing yards on 48 attempts against
been playing since we were grade
Churchill, its lowest output since a
kids,” Blake said. “We are such
Week 3 loss to Mountain View, but it
good friends. We spend every Sun-
day (together), we’re eating biscuits
was more than enough for the Bull-
dogs to bring home the title.
and gravy together. We do everything
“Big-time people make big-time
together and we trust each other so
plays in big-time games,” Wells said,
much. We’re such good friends and
“and our guys do that and that’s one
that’s what helps us. We make sure
of the reasons we’re going to get a
we do the work on the field and in the
ring soon, so it’s pretty special.”
weight room and that’s what transfers
By ERIC SINGER
STAFF WRITER
son 4-6 after losing to Wilsonville 49-14 in Round
1 of the playoffs.
He responded the following year by going
.500, finishing 5-5, also ending the 2016 season
in the first round (a 12-7 loss to St. Helens). All
the while the team was working out some kinks.
Senior offensive lineman Beau Blake attributes
some of the team’s difficulties to the attitude even
he admits he had.
There was some division, he shared the week
leading up to the state championship game, that
didn’t allow the team to play to their full potential.
That’s where Faaeteete comes in.
The 2017 season proved to be different, in
many ways.
Hermiston was preparing to play its last season
as a member of the OSAA, as it will be joining
the WIAA in 2018. The Bulldogs no longer had
a first-year starting quarterback at the helm, and
their talent of the roster grew exponentially from
efforts in the weight room.
The goal remained the same: to get to the state
championship game and raise the first place tro-
phy after 48 minutes of play.
But there was a different feeling in the air. Just
ask Blake.
“He’s gotten better and it comes more nat-
ural to him,” Blake said of what he’s seen from
Faaeteete over the last three years. “When he first
started out you could tell that he had a lot of stress
but now it’s all natural to him and he’s getting into
his groove — his coaching groove.
“He’s a positive energy,” Blake added. “He’s
always wanting you to do better, and he always
tries to pick you up. He’s so knowledgeable about
stuff and he’s been able to make a great team out
of his energy and his coaching staff. It’s amazing
what he’s done.”
That groove helped, as the Bulldogs wrapped
up their best season under Faaeteete.
And as far as his players go, they have nothing
but praise for their coach.
“I want to thank him,” Blake said. “He is the
best, I love him to death. He’s so great. I just want
to thank him for all he has done. He’s helped me
so much, he’s helped this whole team and this pro-
gram and I’m very proud of him for all he’s done.”
Said fellow senior Joey Gutierrez: “Thank
you for pushing us and never letting us get down
on ourselves, all those hard hours even though it
sucked, it finally payed off and just hats off to him
for keeping us all together and getting us here.”
“We wanted the state
championship, there
was no other goal
than that.”
2017 | SEASON RECAP • HERMISTON BULLDOGS
SEPT. 1:
SEPT. 8
SEPT. 15
SEPT. 22
SEPT. 29
OCT. 6
OCT. 13
OCT. 20
OCT. 27
NOV. 3 (ROUND 1)
NOV. 10 (QUARTERFINALS)
NOV. 18 (SEMIFINALS)
NOV. 25 (CHAMPIONSHIP)
Union (WA) 35,
Hermiston 21
Hermiston 26,
Lewiston (ID) 0
Mountain View 28,
Hermiston 7
Hermiston 34,
Summit 14
Hermiston 40,
Hood River Valley 14
Hermiston 48,
Ridgeview 26
Hermiston 35,
Bend 32
Hermiston 62,
Redmond 14
Hermiston 42,
Pendleton 15
Hermiston 47,
La Salle Prep 21
Hermiston 40, South
Albany 22
Hermiston 35,
Wilsonville 27
Churchill 35,
Hermiston 38
On the road in Yakima, this wasn’t
the start Hermiston had hoped
for. The Bulldogs scored only
one touchdown the first half but
showed promise in the last 10 min-
utes — scoring two touchdowns
six minutes apart. Union went on
to a 9-2 season in the WIAA’s larg-
est classification.
After a week of practicing indoors
due to poor air quality from a
string of wildfires, the Hermis-
ton Bulldogs came out guns ablaz-
ing at Kennison Field in their only
shutout victory of the season. A
300-plus yard performance from
Andrew James led Hermiston and
gave them momentum they des-
perately needed as the No. 1 team
in the state was next up on their
schedule.
No team was able to top No. 1
Mountain View during the regu-
lar season, not even your even-
tual state champions. After the
tough loss on the road, Hermiston
dropped to 1-2 on the season and
outsiders were wary of just how
successful the Bulldogs would be
on their OSAA Farewell Tour.
Teams in the Special District 1
have been feeling the wrath of
the Summit Storm since 2014.
The former league powerhouse
went undefeated in league play
for nearly four years. That is until
they welcomed the Bulldogs this
season. The win at Summit was a
turning point for Hermiston, and
the start of its 10-game winning
streak.
After a scoreless first quarter in
Hermiston’s first home league
game in two weeks, the Bulldogs
scored 34 unanswered points in
the second quarter. Things began
to click for James and company.
“It shows us we have the ability to
win but we still can’t have a bad
week,” James said of the victory
at the time.
“We’ve just got to keep the same
momentum, the same attitude.”
The connection between James
and senior wide receiver
Dayshawn Neal was highlighted in
this Hermiston win in Redmond.
The two connected six times for 97
yards and a touchdown. Despite
giving up 300 rushing yards to the
Ravens, Hermiston’s steady offen-
sive attack put them in solid play-
off position for Week 6.
The narrow victory over Bend was
Hermiston’s closest game to date.
The Bulldogs held off the Lava Bear
late efforts and this win on home-
coming night was one for the
books. “It was a great atmosphere
tonight,” head coach David Faae-
teete said after the game. “There
were big plays on both sides of the
field and it was just a fun football
game to watch and be a part of.”
This blowout victory at home in
Week 8 was just what the Bulldogs
needed before their last matchup
with cross-county foe Pendle-
ton. After a 48-7 first half, Hermis-
ton coasted on to its fifth consec-
utive win.
One word: scoreboard. In their last
meeting for the foreseeable future,
The Bulldogs will hold on to the
bragging rights after dismantling
the Buckaroos at Round-Up Sta-
dium. “I’m super elated,” Faae-
teete said with a smile on his
face after the game. “Even when
Pendleton tried to make it inter-
esting, we responded and kept
responding.”
Settling in as the No. 3 seed with
a full head of steam, Hermiston
showed its power and potential
in the first round of the playoffs.
James threw four touchdowns to
four different receivers and the
win earned the Bulldogs one final
week of putting on a show in front
of their home crowd at Kenni-
son Field.
The win to advance Hermiston to
the 5A semifinals was its fourth
consecutive game scoring 40 or
more points, and its sixth of the
season. The high scoring affair was
thanks to big plays on all three
sides of the ball, and the Bulldogs
hope of leaving Oregon with a
bang continued.
For the talented senior class on
the 50-plus man roster, playing at
a neutral field in Hillsboro was a
welcomed homecoming. The last
time they stepped foot on the field
at Hillsboro Stadium, they were
celebrating the team’s first ever
state title. The win over Wilson-
ville, powered again by James, put
them in a position to repeat their
earlier success 200 miles away.
The Bulldogs worked all 48 min-
utes for their 2017 state champi-
onship trophy. After a tough game
against a previously undefeated
team, Hermiston’s hopes for the
season came full circle. James,
along with Neal and senior Jon-
athan Hinkle shined under the
lights of Hillsboro Stadium and
the team surely still has smilies on
their faces.