A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2018
Herald Sports
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Kamiakin outlasts Hermiston
Dawgs
ready
for final
game
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
The Hermiston Bull-
dogs will wrap up their
football season Friday,
hosting Central Valley
in a Mid-Columbia Con-
ference-Greater Spokane
League crossover game at
Kennison Field.
The Bulldogs (6-3)
have a powerful offense
led by running back Wyatt
Noland (1,451 yards, 21
touchdowns) and quar-
terback Andrew James,
who has thrown for 1,273
yards and 14 touchdowns,
and ran for 641 and 11
touchdowns.
But as strong as their
offense has been, the Bull-
dogs have struggled defen-
sively as the late. They are
allowing 303 yards per
game. Last week in a loss
to Kamiakin, they gave up
275 yards and four touch-
downs to Braves running
back Tuna Altahir.
The Bears (5-4), who
finished third at the 4A
state level last year fin-
ished 2-3 in GSL play this
fall.
CV is led by 6-foot-
5, 220-pound quarterback
Matt Gabbert, who threw
for 227 yards against
Lewis and Clark and 175
against Mt. Spokane.
Hunter Chodorowski
has been a threat out of
the backfield. He ran for
175 and three touchdowns
against Mt. Spokane, and
for 137 yards against Fer-
ris. Zack Jongeward also
has been a threat, rolling
up 197 yards against Lewis
and Clark, and 116 against
Ferris.
Hermiston, finishing its
first season in the Mid-Co-
lumbia Conference, had
many highlights, including
a win over defending 4A
state champion Richland.
The Bulldogs beat four of
the five 4A schools on their
schedule, but losses to fel-
low 3A schools Kenne-
wick and Kamiakin kept
them out of the playoffs.
Noland was the MCC’s
leading rusher and led the
league in scoring with
140 points - 54 points bet-
ter than Hanford’s Jared
Devine.
Jordan Ramirez was the
league’s leading receiver
with 37 catches for 491
yards.
As a team, Hermis-
ton had the second-best
offense with an average of
394.9 yards per game.
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Hermiston quarterback Andrew James looks to throw the ball in the Bulldogs’ 34-27 loss to Kamiakin on Friday in Hermiston.
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Hermiston’s Wyatt Noland gets wrapped up by Kamiakin’s Benjamin
Hollenberg and Blake Fabbri (33) in the Bulldogs’ 34-27 loss to the Braves
on Friday in Hermiston.
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Hermiston’s Garrett Walchli gets crushed by a host of Kamiakin defenders
in the Bulldogs’ 34-27 loss to the Braves on Friday in Hermiston.
Hermiston can’t connect
in final minutes, loses
heartbreaker
By BRETT KANE
and DANIEL WATTENBURGER
HERMISTON HERALD
The Bulldogs had the ball in
their hands with a 7-point deficit,
nearly the full field ahead of them
and less than two minutes on the
clock.
Despite a valiant effort to score
a game-tying touchdown, a trip
to the Mid-Columbia Confer-
ence playoffs eluded Hermiston
on Friday night in a 34-27 loss to
Kamiakin.
“It hurts,” said coach David
Faeteete after the game. “This was
one of those tough ones. We had
opportunities, but slipped. It was a
mixture of things — they made big
plays, and we missed some tackles.
But that’s football.”
Hermiston strung together a
late drive that included two fourth-
down conversions, but quarter-
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Hermiston’s Andrew James wrapped up Kamiakin quarterback Lucas
Casilleja in the Bulldogs’ 34-27 loss to the Braves on Friday in Hermiston.
back Andrew James and his receiv-
ers couldn’t connect on the final
four plays. Kamiakin took posses-
sion after a fourth down pass fell
short and sealed its own trip to the
playoffs.
Sophomore Tuna Altahir led the
way for Kamiakin, running for 275
yards and four touchdowns.
Hermiston opened the game
with a long, plodding drive that
included two third-down conver-
sions, but settled for a 31-yard field
goal by Juan Carlos Navarrete for a
3-0 lead.
Kamiakin responded with a long
drive of its own, but Hermiston’s
Zane Davis broke up a would-be
touchdown pass on fourth down to
get possession back.
Hermiston drove nearly the
length of the field, and after two
touchdowns were called back on
penalties finally found the end
zone on a short pass from Andrew
James to Youboni Razon. Nava-
rette split the uprights again to give
Hermiston a 10-0 lead early in the
second quarter.
Kamiakin answered with a
quick score on a rushing touch-
down by Altahir, but Hermiston
blocked the extra point to maintain
a 10-6 lead.
Hermiston’s next drive sput-
tered around midfield, but a punt
with a few fortunate bounces
pushed Kamiakin back near its
own goal line. After three plays,
the Braves attempted a punt out of
their own end zone but the punter
bobbled the snap and the Bulldogs
tackled him for a safety and a 12-6
lead.
Altahir then scored a 44-yard
touchdown and an extra point put
the Braves up 13-12. Hermiston’s
next drive ended abruptly when a
See FOOTBALL, Page A11
PREP ROUNDUP
Heppner beats Stanfield on way to playoffs
HERMISTON HERALD
STANFIELD — The Mus-
tangs wrapped up league play on
Friday with a 51-12 road win over
Stanfield.
Heppner held the Tigers score-
less in the opening and closing
quarters, and only allowed one
touchdown each for the second
and third for an overpowering
victory.
Jayden Wilson put 176 yards
in the air and three touchdowns.
Blake Wolters rushed for 181
yards and two touchdowns.
Mason Lehman rushed for 107
yards and three touchdowns.
The Mustangs (6-2, 3-0) fin-
ished the season off at No. 8 in the
2A Special District 6 and will host
Kennedy at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Volleyball
HANFORD 3, HERMIS-
TON 0 — The Bulldogs volley-
ball team suffered its second loss
to Hanford on Thursday night.
The road loss came in three
sets — 25-23, 25-17, and 25-18.
But it didn’t hinder Herm-
iston’s chance at the play-
offs — the Bulldogs (5-12,
4-10) are headed to Southridge
High School to face Spokane’s
North Central for a District 8
3A playoff match on Thursday.
Boys Soccer
UMATILLA 2,
NYSSA
0 — A home shutout against
Nyssa closed league play for the
Umatilla Vikings on Saturday
afternoon.
Forward Alexis Ruiz put the
team on the scoreboard in the first
half, and midfielder Jose Alanis
scored in the second to seal the
victory.
“It was a really tight game in
the first half,” said coach Pedro
Ortiz. “We improved a lot in the
second — we had more shots-
on-goal, had better passing, and
found openings in their defense.”
The Vikings (7-5-1, 5-2) trav-
eled to play No. 1 Oregon Episco-
pal on Tuesday. The results were
not available at press time.
Girls Soccer
UMATILLA 1, NYSSA 0 —
The Vikings closed out their sea-
son with a home victory over
Nyssa on Saturday.
Junior forward Lizzy Burres
led the team with Umatilla’s only
goal, scoring during the first half
of the game.
“We possessed well and
defended well, but got a little lazy
in the second half,” said coach
Tim Lee. “Overall, it was a pretty
decent performance and a good
way to end the season.
Umatilla finished the year off
with a 4-8 overall record and 2-3
in the 3A/2A/1A Special District
6.