WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2018
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A11
SPORTS
Six-man football debuts
Hornets sting
Cougars in opener
“I love six-man
football, it’s a
different game, but
a lot of fun. One
missed tackle could
mean everything.”
By BRETT KANE
STAFF WRITER
F
riday night marked
the first six-man
football
played
in Oregon since
1948, and it made
a heated return.
Opening with a coin toss
delivered by Kaye McA-
tee, who played in Echo’s
last six-man game in 1948,
the reduced number of play-
ers on the field resulted in a
fast-paced match between
the Echo Cougars and
Harper Hornets. The Hor-
nets emerged victorious
with a final score of 38-13.
Harper running back
Corbin Palmer started the
night off strong, rushing the
ball 27 yards to the 14-yard
line. Chris Williams com-
pleted the run and put his
team on the scoreboard first
with 8:33 left on the clock.
Echo quarterback Devan
Craig and running back
Mason Smith shone bright
on the field, making sev-
eral strong attempts to
score against Harper. Smith
rushed for 21 yards, and
Craig gained 30 yards in
one play. He was also able
to run the ball 37 yards,
nearly scoring, but received
a penalty for stepping out of
bounds.
Craig suffered a minor
elbow injury in the second
quarter, sitting out for sev-
eral minutes to recuperate.
Meanwhile, Smith scored
the Cougars’ first touch-
down after rushing for 21
yards and scoring on the
next play.
Palmer scored the Hor-
nets’ next touchdown, only
for Craig to return to the
field to give Echo a slight
lead after a touchdown
and a successful one-point
conversion. Echo’s lead
didn’t last long, however
— Palmer scored the final
touchdown of the first half,
David Marker,
Hornets Head Coach
STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY
TOP: Mason Smith (32) of Echo carries the ball into the endzone during Friday’s game against the Harper Hornets. BOTTOM: Echo’s Caden Fisher (4) tackles
Corbin Palmer (8), of Harper.
giving his team the lead
with a score of 18-13.
Corbin continued his
streak in the third quarter,
scoring and bringing Harp-
er’s score up to 24-13.
Echo suffered a criti-
cal blow when Craig and
Smith were both injured and
benched for the remainder
of the game.
Williams and Nano
DeSantiago finished Harp-
er’s night off with a bang,
rushing the ball 44 and 72
yards respectively, and scor-
ing the last two touchdowns
of the night.
“The boys worked hard,”
said Hornets head coach
David Marker. “They put
everything we had into
this game. I love six-man
football, it’s a different
game, but a lot of fun. One
missed tackle could mean
everything.”
Echo head coach Rick
Thew says his team will
need more time to adjust to
six-man football.
“We came in a little
over-confident,” he said.
“We played these guys last
year and beat them pretty
good, but this time they
came out ready to play, and
we came out flat. Two of our
best players ended up on
the bench. But we can only
go up from here. There’s
always gonna be failure —
it’s how you respond that
matters.”
Echo will travel to Mon-
ument High School on Fri-
day, while Harper will travel
to Prairie City.
Bulldogs lose opener
ROUNDUP
Umatilla, Heppner
lose football openers
UMATILLA — The
Umatilla Vikings had a
tough opener Friday with
one of the top five teams
in the state as Rainier left
town with a 58-6 victory.
“They just went ground
and pound against us,”
Umatilla
coach
Dan
Durfey said.
Andrew Earl led the
Vikings (0-1) offense
going 8 for 18 passing with
138 yards and one touch-
down, which came on a
five-yard pass to Ryan Lor-
ence. Ramiro Alverez was
Umatilla’s leading rusher
with 52 yards on four car-
ries, while Izayah Rodarte
added 45 yards on five
carries.
Umatilla will host
Clatskanie on Friday.
CLATSKANIE
46,
HEPPNER 0 — At Clats-
kanie, the Heppner Mus-
tangs were shut out in their
season opener for the sec-
ond straight time, losing
46-0 to the Class 3A Clats-
kanie Tigers on Friday
night.
The Mustangs (0-1)
had only 108 yards of total
offense in the game, with
Jayden Wilson throwing
for 64 yards on 7 of 13
passes and Mason Leh-
man leading the team with
24 rushing yards on six
carries.
Clatskanie (1-0) com-
piled 357 yards — 221
through the air and 136
on the ground. The Tigers
scored on six of their nine
possessions.
Heppner will host San-
tiam on Friday.
STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT KANE
Hermiston’s Giselle Cisneros fights for the ball against Hanford’s Claire Nguyen on Saturday afternoon.
By BRETT KANE
STAFF WRITER
The Lady Bulldogs put
up a fight against Hanford
during their Saturday after-
noon season opener in Rich-
land, but ultimately lost a
tough game with a score of
4-1.
The first half was action-
packed, and saw Hermiston
getting on the scoreboard
first after wing defender
Elizabeth Hernandez made
her free kick just two min-
utes into the game.
It wasn’t long until the
Falcons caught up, however.
Hanford forward Emily
Sondag and midfielder Spen-
cer Seabaugh scored back-
to-back goals, and defender
Rylee Matheny went for a
third, but was intercepted by
Hermiston defender Giselle
Cisneros.
STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT KANE
Hermiston’s Amanda Nygard races for the ball against
Hanford’s Claire Nguyen.
Hanford scored its third
goal when forward Marinn
Nelson made a header past
Hermiston’s goalie Lanie
Gomez. Nelson set up
another goal, passing it to
Ellie Harlow who scored the
final goal of the game, end-
ing the first half with a score
of 4-1.
Defense was strong all
around during the second
half, as both teams kept each
other at bay, not allowing a
single goal to be made.
“I think we won the sec-
ond half,” said Hermiston
head coach Freddy Guizar
after the game. “The girls
kept their heads up and kept
fighting. They kept their
composure and put a lot of
effort into the second half.”
This was Hermiston’s
first girls’ soccer game as a
member of the WIAA and
the Mid-Columbia Confer-
ence. Guizar says he feels
good about his team’s prog-
ress, but feels there’s still a
lot to learn.
“I was a little aggressive
out there,” said Hermiston
midfielder Amanda Nygard.
“We have to play not as a
team, but as a family.”
“The biggest difference
[in the WIAA] is the pres-
sure our opponents set,”
Guizar said. “They put a lot
of time and effort in. We’re
gonna be up there with
them.”
SCOREBOARD
FOOTBALL
Thursday
Powder Valley 34, Ione 6
Irrigon 34, Stanfield 8
Friday
Hermiston 45, Pasco 0
Clatskanie 46, Heppner 0
Rainier 58, Umatilla 6
Harper Charter 38, Echo 13
Thursday
Ione at Enterprise, 6 p.m.
Friday
Echo at Dayville/Monument, 1 p.m.
Hermiston at Richland, 7 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Irrigon, 7 p.m.
Clatskanie at Umatilla, 7 p.m.
Stanfield at Central Linn, 7 p.m.
Santiam at Heppner, 7 p.m.
Riverside at Portland Christian, 7 p.m.
PREP VOLLEYBALL
Saturday
Joseph 2, Ione 0
Lyle, Wash. 2, Ione 0
Prairie City Tournament
Imbler 1, Echo 1
Echo 2, Harper Charter 0
Echo 1, Dayville/Monument 1
Echo 2, Adrian 1
Echo 2, Enterprise 0
Echo 2, Pilot Rock 0
Heppner Tournament
Crane 3, Heppner 2
Portland Christian 3, Heppner 0
Vernonia 3, Heppner 2
Wednesday
Riverside at Helix, 4 p.m.
Pilot Rock vs. Riverside (at Helix), 5:30
p.m.
Stanfield vs. Prescott (WA), 6 p.m.
Hermiston at Chiawana, 7 p.m.
Thursday
Mac-Hi at Umatilla, 4 p.m.
Irrigon at Condon/Wheeler, 5 p.m.
Ione at South Wasco, 5 p.m.
Saturday
Riverside at Helix, 9 a.m.
Ione at Condon/Wheeler, 9 a.m.
Ione vs. Union (at Condon), 11 a.m.
Pasco at Hermiston, 12:30 p.m.
Ione vs. Prairie City (at Condon), 2 p.m.
Ione vs. Stanfield (at Condon), 4 p.m.
Stanfield at Condon/Wheeler, 6 p.m.
Heppner at Helix, 7 p.m.
PREP BOYS SOCCER
Saturday
Oregon Episcopal 4, Riverside 1
Tuesday
Saturday
Riverside at Catlin Gabel, 3 p.m.
Irrigon at Trout Lake (WA), 4 p.m.
PREP GIRLS SOCCER
Saturday
Riverside 13, Stevenson, Wash. 0
Hanford 4, Hermiston 1
Tuesday
Umatilla X, Mac-Hi X
Southridge at Hermiston, late
Wednesday
Hermiston at Chiawana, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Riverside at Catlin Gabel, 1 p.m.
Pasco at Hermiston, 2 p.m.
PREP CROSS COUNTRY
Saturday
Mac-Hi, Heppner, Helix, Stanfield, Uma-
tilla, Hermiston at Hermiston Runner
Soul XC Fest