WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2017
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A11
SPORTS
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Hermiston players reach up to touch their trophy after the Bulldogs’ 38-35 win against Churchill in the 5A state championship
game Nov. 25 in Hillsboro.
Community rallies behind the Bulldogs
By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ
STAFF WRITER
On Thursday night in Hermiston
High’s main gym, the entire commu-
nity was able to congratulate the new
5A state champions. Although the
stands were full of fans in purple Satur-
day in Hillsboro, many others weren’t
able to make the trip 200-plus miles
west. For some, the win was seen from
an entirely different view.
Eric White, one of the many seniors
who will leave a lasting legacy in
Hermiston, had one of the most diffi-
cult years of any Bulldog.
On the bus ride home from camp
before the season began, he and head
coach David Faaeteete made a pit stop
to the emergency room as White suf-
fered a back injury. Then, in the season
opener — a 35-21 loss to Union (WA)
— he broke his collarbone in the first
quarter. Then, as his injury was healing
he got in a car accident, and re-broke
his collarbone.
On Thursday, before the commu-
nity celebration, White was given the
Mr. Never Quit team award. Faaeteete
praised his ability to come back against
all odds, and his persistences to suit up
one last time. In White’s final start as
a Bulldog, he recorded two total tack-
les, 0.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery
— which proved to be a game changer.
White had added motivation.
“A lot of people don’t know that
my grandpa passed away,” he said.
“So, throughout the year I had an angel
looking out for me, and that’s why I
think I was — because when I came
back from my broken collarbone there
was a 50-percent chance I would break
it for the rest of the year and I think he
was up there looking out for me.”
White’s grandfather passed a week
after he had suffered his first collar-
bone break. Through his recovery, and
in his final game where he and the rest
of the Bulldogs earned the school’s sec-
ond state title, he felt his grandfather’s
presence which makes all the awards,
all the community support even more
special.
“It means everything,” White said.
“It means a lot because there were a lot
of times this year where I got tested and
I had to make the most of it and that’s
what I tried to do every week.”
Now a week removed from the
final game of the season, the Bulldogs
— who finished the year 11-2 — got
to pay back a community that has not
only supported them this year but over
the last three years under Faaeteete and
many more before him.
After a team dinner where the
coaches honored their athletes with
participation and team awards, the
Bulldogs filed into the gym in front of
a large crowd. Erick Olson, the voice of
the Bulldogs spoke, along with Faae-
teete. Afterward, everyone poured into
the commons area for autographs, pic-
tures with the championship trophy and
to reminisce on Hermiston’s title run.
“You know, when I first got here I
didn’t know how long I was going to
be here,” Faaeteete said. “I thought one
year, just coaching getting experience
and then find somewhere else but this
community really accepted me, took
me in and nurtured me into becoming
the football coach I am today and it’s a
credit to the people here and their lov-
ing devotion to their kids.”
The community showed that love,
and for the players it was something
they will never forget.
“It’s just special because it’s nights
like these that I’ll never get back in my
high school career,” senior Joey Guti-
errez said. “I’m just glad to see that the
whole community supports our foot-
ball program, it’s just great.”
Junior quarterback Andrew James
echoed those same sentiments, as he is
still riding the high from winning his
first state title in just his second year
starting under center.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “We
couldn’t have done it without every-
one. The families of the team. The
coaches, (their) wives, and the kids and
just all the support from the commu-
nity. It’s so big for all of us.
“The vibe around here, it’s unlike
any other,” James added. “You go to
different towns and you see how other
teams work and stuff — they’ve got
good things going but we feel like
we’ve got better things going here.”
As White, Gutierrez and other stars
like Dayshawn Neal, Beau Blake and
Jonathan Hinkle hang up their helmets,
James will be leading a new Bulldog
cast in the WIAA — where Faaeteete
wants to become the first coach to win
state titles in two different states.
James feels good about those odds.
“It is a legacy we’re starting —
two championships in five or what-
ever years, that’s showing you’ve got
power,” he said, “and if we show power
throughout a long period of time, it just
makes Hermiston look really good.”
Riverside girls still perfect
HERMISTON HERALD
The Riverside Pirates
girls basketball team jumped
out to a 3-0 record on the
young season, earning a pair
of wins over the weekend at
the Mac-Hi tournament in
Milton-Freewater.
In the opening game of
the tourney on Friday, Alon-
dra Caldera scored 16 points
and Brendy Avalos added 10
points as Riverside earned a
44-29 win.
On Saturday the Pirates
were able to outlast Helix’s
comeback in the second half
and pick up a 36-34 win.
Sadie Wilson was the top
scorer for the Grizzles, who
engineered a 10-point third
quarter performance to cut
their deficit to only three
points going into the fourth
quarter.
BOYS: At Milton-Free-
water, the Riverside Pirates
began the two-day Mac-Hi
Tournament with a 60-33
loss to College Place (WA)
on Friday night.
Cristian Rea scored 13
points to lead the Pirates
(0-2) while Mason Hegar
added 10 points and eight
rebounds and Felix Aparicio
had seven.
The team followed up
Saturday with a 38-33 win
over Prescott (WA) for their
first victory of the young
season.
UPCOMING: Riverside will play Pilot Rock
at 2 p.m./3:30 p.m. to kick off the Columbia
River Clash, which runs Thursday through
Saturday.
Bulldogs take 6th in Oregon City
HERMISTON HERALD
The Hermiston Bulldogs
wrestling team began its sea-
son on Saturday morning on
the west side of the state,
competing at the Tyrone S.
Woods Memorial Tourna-
ment in Oregon City.
The Bulldogs put together
a solid day with a sixth place
finish in the team standings
with 134 points, despite not
being at full strength due to
a late finish of the football
season with only 13 wres-
tlers traveling. Camas (WA)
finished in first place as its
23 competitors tallied 250.5
points.
Hermiston’s best success
of the day came in the light-
weight classes, where both
Alice Todryk at 106 pounds
and Ruben Madrigal at 113
pounds earned first place
finishes in their classes.
Todryk pinned South Alba-
ny’s Logan Bond at 4:35 to
get her win, while Madrigal
pinned Hermiston teammate
Isaac Lambert at 5:10 for the
win.
The next-highest finish-
ers for the Bulldogs were
Zach Kirkpatrick taking sec-
ond place at 182 pounds and
Gage Shipley taking fifth
place at 126 pounds. For
Kirkpatrick, he lost out to
The Dalles’ JR Scott, who
pinned Kirkpatrick at 0:27.
Hermiston next wrestles
on Friday for a dual at Post
Falls, Idaho at 7 p.m.
ENTERPRISE KICK
OFF: The Echo/Stanfield
Cougars and Hermiston JV
wrestling teams got their sea-
sons underway at the Enter-
prise Kick Off on Friday
afternoon with good results.
Echo had the best day of
the local teams with a sec-
ond place finish in the team
standings with 72 points.
Kenny Bevan, Mychael
Pointer and Logan Butler all
earned first place finishes.
Pointer won at 152 by fall
over Joseph’s Guylen Snyder
at 5:03, Bevan beat Enter-
prise’s Drew Widener by
fall at 0:40, and Butler beat
Imbler’s Zach Brown by fall
at 0:36. Echo’s other placers
were Daylong Eng in third at
126, Alissa Humbert in sec-
ond at 132B, Kyle Ranger
third at 132 and Ethan Piercy
second at 132A.
Hermiston had 13 wres-
tlers earn top-4 placings
and finished fourth with 63
points. Sam Marsengill’s
first place at 132 pounds B
bracket was the best individ-
ual finish of the day. The rest
of Hermiston’s placers were
Skyler Foreman in second
(113), Rene Ceniceros third
(113), Jonathan Krumwiede
fourth (120A), Emmanuel
Carillo-Alatorre third (138),
Christopher Lomelli fourth
(138), Omar Ceniceros sec-
ond (145), Daniel Shipley
third (152), Kelson Rob-
ertson third (160), Israel
Dominguez fourth (170),
Gavin Hellinger fourth
(170A), Zane Davis fourth
(195) and Adrian Solis sec-
ond (285).
Enterprise won the team
competition with 84 points.
STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY
Dayshawn Neal, of Hermiston, exults after intercepting the
ball during a 2017 non-conference game against Lewiston
at Kennison Field. Neal was voted as Special District 1’s
Co-Offensive Player of the Year after catching 70 passes
for 1,118 yards and 17 touchdowns on the season.
Hermiston’s Neal
leads all-district team
HERMISTON HERALD
Hermiston
senior
Dayshawn Neal was voted
as Co-Offensive Player
of the Year in 5A Special
District 1 by the league’s
coaches, adding to what
has become a stellar career
for the Bulldogs’ wideout.
Neal built on a break-
out junior season with an
even better senior year,
grabbing 70 receptions for
1,118 yards and 17 touch-
downs as Hermiston’s
go-to receiver. In league
play alone, he caught 31
passes for 589 yards and
10 scores. Overall, he
accounted for 47 percent
of Hermiston’s receiving
yards, 48 percent of the
pass completions and 58
percent of the touchdown
receptions.
He shares the honor
with Mountain View run-
ning back Jonas Lar-
son, the workhorse run-
ning back that ran through
every opposing defense at
will this season. Mountain
View’s Rylee Ettinger was
voted the district’s defen-
sive top player and his
head coach Brian Crum
was voted the top coach.
The Cougars, who won
the district’s regular sea-
son crown with a perfect
7-0 record, placed 14 play-
ers in 20 total positions on
the three all-district teams.
Pendleton had the most
players selected with 16,
followed by Mountain
View, Bend (12), Summit
(11) and Hermiston (10) in
double digits.
Hermiston, who fin-
ished second in the district,
had seven first team selec-
tions with quarterback
Andrew James, running
back/linebacker Jonathan
Hinkle, offensive line-
man Beau Blake, defen-
sive back Joey Gutierrez
and Neal at receiver and
defensive back. Linemen
AJ Fernandez and Tay-
lor Arnold earned spots
on the second team, while
defensive lineman Keaton
Mikami, linebacker Peter
Earl and defensive back
Tyler Rohrman were hon-
orable mentions.
The Pendleton Buck-
aroos had four first team
picks, including receiver
Shaw Jerome, defensive
lineman Greg Lee, line-
backer Kirk Liscom and
punter Gabe Umbarger.
On second team was
quarterback Nick Bower,
receiver Cam Sandford,
offensive lineman Ever-
ett Willard and defen-
sive back Ian Bannister.
Rounding out the Bucks’
picks as honorable men-
tions were receiver Tan-
ner Stephan, receiver
Blake Davis, running back
Shawn Yeager, tight end
Willie Camp offensive
lineman Travis McGee,
offensive lineman Cetch
Kelly, defensive lineman
Beau Skinner and line-
backer Aiden Patterson.
————
5A SPECIAL DISTRICT 1
Offensive Players of the Year —
Dayshawn Neal, Hermiston; Jonas
Larson, Mountain View
Defensive Player of the Year — Rylee
Ettinger, Mountain View
Coach of the Year — Brian Crum,
Mountain View
First Team
QB — Andrew James, Hermiston, jr.
RB — Jonas Larson, Mountain View,
sr.; Jonathan Hinkle, Hermiston, sr.;
Jack Taylor, Redmond, sr.
WR — Dayshawn Neal, Hermiston, sr.;
Shaw Jerome, Pendleton, sr.
TE — Cian Marderos, Summit, sr.
OL — Reed Sehorn-Hurst, Mountain
View, sr.; Rylee Ettinger, Mountain View,
sr.; Beau Blake, Hermiston, sr.; Brandt
Waller, Mountain View, sr.; Noah Turnbull,
Summit, sr.
K — Cameron Houchin, Mountain
View, jr.
DL — Rylee Ettinger, Mountain View,
sr.; Greg Lee, Pendleton, sr.; Haakon
Kjellesvik, Bend, sr.; Noah Turnbull,
Summit, sr.
LB — Dalton Payfer, Mountain View, jr.;
Jonathan Hinkle, Hermiston, sr.; Patrick
Estes, Hood River, sr.; Kirk Liscom,
Pendleton, jr.
DB — Joey Gutierrez, Hermiston,
sr.; Logan McCulligan, Mountain View,
jr.; Colton Mortenson, Redmond, sr.;
Dayshawn Neal, Hermiston, sr.
P — Gabe Umbarger, Pendleton, jr.
Second Team
QB — Nick Bower, Pendleton, sr.
RB — Kyle Reed, Bend, jr.; Michael
Jones, Hood River, sr.; Conner Benz,
Ridgeview, sr.
WR — Cam Sandford, Pendleton, sr.;
Tysen Scott, Bend, jr.; Ben Graziani,
Summit, sr.
TE — Luke Schulz, Mountain View, sr.
OL — Everett Willard, Pendleton, jr.; AJ
Fernandez, Hermiston, sr.; Derek Mann,
Ridgeview, jr.; Riley Straly, Mountain
View, sr.; Taylor Arnold, Hermiston, sr.
K — Max Asevado, Summit, sr.
DL — Luke Schulz, Mountain View,
sr.; Brandt Waller, Mountain View, sr.;
Isaac Caldwell, Bend, jr.; Tristyn Brower,
Ridgeview, sr..
LB — Payton Davis, Bend, jr.; Marshall
Davis, Bend, sr.; Cian Marderos, Summit,
sr.; John Crivellone, Redmond, sr.
DB — Forrest Love, Mountain View, jr.;
Ian Bannister, Pendleton, jr.; Campbell
Smith, Summit, jr.; Micah Cupp, Rid-
geview, sr.
P — Cameron Houchin, Mountain
View, jr.
Honrable Mention
QB — Henry Bledsoe, Summit, jr.;
Cooper Simmonds, Bend, jr.
RB — Shawn Yeager, Pendleton, jr.;
Dalton Payfer, Mountain View, jr.
WR — Konrad Collins, Summit, sr.;
Tanner Wells, Hood River, sr.; Blake
Davis, Pendleton, jr.; Tanner Stephan,
Pendleton, sr.
TE — Willie Camp, Pendleton, jr;
Shandon Malikowski, Mountain View, jr.;
Jakob Kappus, Bend, jr.
OL — Wade Pickering, Hood River,
sr.; Dylan Gonzales, Summit, jr.; Dillon
Young, Redmond, jr.; Ryan Martini,
Mountain View, jr.; Travis McGee, Pend-
leton, so.; Tyler Bartlett, Ridgeview, jr.;
Max Rastovich, Bend, jr.; Jonah Yunker,
Summit, jr.; Cetch Kelly, Pendleton, jr.
K — Nick Sperber, Ridgeview, sr.
DL — Keaton Mikami, Hermiston,
sr.; Beau Skinner, Pendleton, jr.; Jonah
Yunker, Summit, jr.; John Lawrence, Red-
mond, sr.; Riley Straly, Mountain View,
sr.; Daniel Winters, Bend, sr.; Jeremiah
McCray, Summit, jr.
LB — Titus Schulz, Mountain View, so.;
Peter Earl, Hermiston, sr.; Aiden Patter-
son, Pendleton, jr.; Beto Rojas, Hood
River, jr.; Noah Brown, Ridgeview, jr.
DB — Tyler Rohrman, Hermiston, sr.;
Tyson Hester, Redmond, sr.; Hunter Re-
inwald, Bend, sr.; Justin Radatti, Summit,
sr.; Nalique Hogan, Mountain View, jr.;
Spencer Steckman, Bend, jr.
P — Tysen Scott, Bend, sr.
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