SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2019
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
After dynamic career with Dawgs, James is headed to EOU
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
Staff photo by Annie Fowler
Hermiston quarterback Andrew James signed his letter of
intent Thursday to play football at Eastern Oregon University
in La Grande.
With one swoosh of his
pen, Andrew James offi -
cially joined the Eastern
Oregon University foot-
ball family on Thursday
afternoon.
James, Hermiston High’s
starting quarterback the past
three seasons, joins a recruit-
ing class of 24 for coach Tim
Camp’s Mountaineers.
“I’m excited,” James
said. “I knew this would
happen one day or another.
I will never forget this day.”
It will be a long time
before Hermiston fans for-
get what James brought to
the fi eld.
“I am happy and proud,”
Hermiston coach David
Faaeteete said. “He’s ready
to move on to his next jour-
ney. Our program wouldn’t
be the same without him.
He was a great leader and a
great communicator. Credit
to his parents, and coaches
who have had the opportu-
nity to coach him.”
James is the 10th player
Faaeteete has coached over
the past four years that has
signed to play at the next
level. James will join for-
mer Bulldogs Jonathan Hin-
kle (linebacker) and Joey
Gutierrez (wide receiver) at
EOU.
“They are doing it with
their hard work,” Faaeteete
said of his players moving
on. “Our program gave them
an opportunity to shine. I’m
going to miss Andrew, he’s a
good kid.”
James said he is looking
forward to his next chapter
of football.
“There are a lot of guys
there I already know,” James
said. “It will be some of the
best years of my life.”
This past fall, Hermis-
ton moved into the Mid-Co-
lumbia Conference with the
Tri-City schools, and had its
share of success, including a
road win over defending 4A
state champion Richland.
The 5-foot-10, 195-pound
James threw for 1,391 yards
and 12 touchdowns, and ran
for another 753 yards and
12 touchdowns, fi nishing
second in the MCC in total
offense (2,144 yards).
His efforts earned him
the East Oregonian All-Area
Player of the Year honor for
the second year in a row.
A shoulder injury in the
fi rst game of the season lim-
ited James’ passing, and took
him off defense. His junior
year, he threw for more than
2,300 yards and 29 touch-
downs as the Bulldogs won
the Oregon 5A title.
He will have shoulder
surgery on March 5 in Port-
land, and will miss baseball
season.
James isn’t sure when or
where he will play at EOU,
but he is not afraid to put in
the work.
“I have gotten into a
groove here,” he said of
Hermiston. “I have to get
out of that. I will have to
grind to get a spot there. I’m
not completely sure where
I will play. I might move to
slot or play defense. I just
like to play football. I will
play anywhere.”
James also got interest
from Linfi eld, Whitworth,
Oregon State and Western
Oregon, but there were a
couple of things that made
Eastern his top choice.
His dad David, a Pend-
leton grad, played outside
linebacker for the Mount-
ies from 1980-81, and James
believes EOU’s program is
on the rise.
“They are coming back
up,” he said. “They are
getting close to a national
championship.”
Chemistry
Continued from Page A8
“He was always the biggest guy on the fl oor,” Usher
said. “He had to learn to play the game, not just one
position.”
Before Mendez joined the team, they endured some
ribbing.
“We would got to tournaments in Yakima and other
places, and the other teams would make fun of us and
their parents would laugh at us because we were so short,”
James said. “Then we’d win by 20 or 30.”
Ortiz played a few tournaments with the team in fourth
and fi fth grades, then joined the team full time in the sev-
enth grade.
“Cesar couldn’t even dribble the ball during one of his
fi rst tournaments with us,” James said. “Then he shot a 3
with a guy in his face and turned and went down the court.
He’s still doing that.”
Ramirez was the last to join the group, showing up in
the seventh grade.
Usher knew as the pieces came together that this group
could be special.
“There are so many youth parents who think there is a
magic pill to be good,” Usher said.
“There is not. They were in the gym a lot. We would
play 15 to 16 weekends a year. We would practice four or
fi ve times a week. We played in tournaments in Seattle,
Portland and Reno to fi nd the best competition we could.”
While the team had success, it did come with
challenges.
“Ryne refused to wear socks in the second grade,”
Usher said. “I don’t know why. I have been in Hermiston
for 16 years, and we have never had size in the program.
Trevor Phillips was 6-7, but he was a guard.”
With his son DJ on the team, Usher didn’t just want
good players, but good families.
“The fi rst step, and biggest step, in putting together a
program like this is commitment,” Usher said. “We didn’t
so much look at the kids, but the families we enjoyed
spending time with. They are all good kids, for the most
part.”
It’s been 10 years since Usher started working with the
players, and he has enjoyed watching them grow as play-
ers and young men.
“Andrew is the kind of kid who wears his emotions
on his sleeve,” Usher said. “He holds himself to a higher
standard. You still see that in him. Cole has always been a
mature kid. He provides a lot of leadership. He is the most
coachable player I have ever had. He uses all the tools
he’s been taught.”
Then there are those who have needed a little extra
push.
“Cesar, all he wanted to do was cherry pick and hit
3s,” Usher said. “Not much has changed. Still trying to
drive playing defense to him. When Jordan showed up
in the seventh grade, he was pretty raw. We had to teach
him the rules.”
By the time they were freshmen in high school, they
were more than good.
James earned a spot on the varsity team, while his bud-
dies played on the freshman team, where they posted a
24-0 record.
Let the big Dawgs run
Not much has changed when the Bulldogs walk onto
a gym for a game.
Photo courtesy of Larry Usher/
Three of the Hermiston seniors were in the fourth grade when they played on this Hermiston AAU team. Front row
(from left): Thomas Mabbott, DJ Usher and Zane Davis. Middle row: Andrew James, Ryne Andreason, Andrew Earl, Cole
Smith and Mathew Eckhardt. Back row: coaches Larry Usher and David James.
Hermiston is the shortest team in the Mid-Columbia
Conference by a country mile. That didn’t stop them
when they were 10, and it certainly doesn’t stop them
now.
“Our thing is to go out and play harder than other
people,” James said. “In this league, everybody’s team
has good guys, but so do we.”
While all six mostly agreed that James was the bet-
ter player when they were younger, they could not
make that same statement now that they are high school
seniors.
“Andrew was bigger and stronger when we were
younger, but when we got to high school, we all were a
little better,” Andreason said. “Now, I think we are all
pretty equal.”
Ortiz agreed.
“We all have our strengths,” Ortiz said. “We know
our roles.”
The players were given a chance to say, in their own
words, what they bring to the team. Funny thing is, their
teammates had their say on that, as well.
“I’m pretty athletic,” said Andreason, who out-
jumps most of the big men in the league.
“I play some pretty good defense, and I’m a good
shooter. My favorite shot is when we play high post and
I can shoot a mid-range jumper.”
James is the vocal leader of the group, among other
things.
“I bring motivation,” he said. “And leadership. If
something goes wrong, I try to fi x it.”
Smith, who has been a valuable sixth man off the
bench this season, quietly goes about his business.
“I bring a sense of tempo, and I’m smart,” Smith
said. “I take care of the ball. We feed off each other out
there.”
Ortiz is one of the top 3-pointer shooters in the
MCC, but as of late, he has been taking his game inside
a little more.
“I bring leadership, 3-point shooting and size,” Ortiz
said. “I’ve been trying to help Adrian out down low. I
lead by example on the court.”
Mendez is an admitted chatterbox on the court, and
not just to his teammates.
“I talk to everyone,” he said. “I bring humor and I
concentrate on defense.”
Ramirez said he brings energy to the court, but in an
effort to save time, Andreason wrapped things up for
his teammate.
“He is one our most consistent players,” Andreason
said. “He creates shots for the rest of us.”
There were other discussions about who is better at
ping-pong, video games, and they have all pretty much
agreed that their kids will not marry the kids of their
teammates.
And, if they all were lost in the woods, Smith would
be the only one to survive.
As the players left the room, there were plans to end
up at the Ramirez house. With this group, no one ever
is alone.
“Basketball brought us together, but we will be
always be in touch,” Andreason said.
“It’s not like basketball is the only thing that keeps
us together.”
That’s the one thing they all could agree on.
STATE WRESTLING
Dawgs ready to make history on the mat
Hermiston will send 7 wrestlers
to Mat Classic XXXI in Tacoma
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
Come Friday morning, the Hermiston
wrestling team will make history as the fi rst
non-Washington athletes to participate in a
WIAA state event.
The Bulldogs are sending seven guys to
Mat Classic XXXI at the Tacoma Dome.
“It will be pretty cool,” Hermiston athletic
director Larry Usher said. “We are pretty
excited about it.”
Competing at state for Hermiston will be
Jon Lee (220 pounds), Sam Cadenas (195),
Hunter Dyer (120), Gage Shipley (126), Jor-
dan Franklin, (132), Trevor Wagner (160)
and Dustyn Coughlin (285).
Mat Classic will be held Friday and Satur-
day. Action begins at 8:30 a.m. Friday, and at
9:45 a.m. Saturday. Finals are scheduled for
5 p.m. Saturday. Doors will open to the pub-
lic one hour prior to competition.
With the 3A Region 4 Tournament,
and other regional tournaments canceled
throughout the state last weekend because of
inclement weather, the WIAA was forced to
go a 32-man bracket.
“To my knowledge, this is the fi rst time
ever that we have had to do this,” WIAA
Sports & Activities Information Director
Casey Johnson said.
The tournament also will have a different
format than in the past, with the six classifi -
cations split between morning and afternoon
sessions.
The 3A, 2A and 1B/2B teams will com-
pete between 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, with
the remainder of the teams hitting the mats
at 2 p.m.
All classifi cations will compete starting at
9:45 a.m. Saturday.
“We got lucky with that format,” Johnson
said. “It was going into place this year any
way. This way, it will go faster because we
can use more mats per round.”
The draws for the Hermiston wrestlers
don’t mean much in the grand scheme of
things. None have faced their fi rst-round
opponents before.
Dyer will face Gage Nelson of Yelm in his
fi rst match. Nelson, ranked No. 11, fi nished
seventh at state last year at 106 pounds.
Shipley will take on Ryan Davis of Yelm.
Ranked No. 4, Davis placed fi fth at state late
year at 126.
Franklin’s fi rst opponent is Sam Smith
of Peninsula, while Wagner will face Stone
Anderson of Gig Harbor. Wagner is ranked
No. 12.
Cadenas, a freshman, will battle sixth-
ranked Jake Flynn of Gig Harbor in his fi rst
match.
Lee, who is ranked fi fth, will wrestle
John Scott of Yelm in his fi rst match. He is
the only freshman ranked in the top 16 in his
weight class.
Rounding out the group is Coughlin,
who is ranked 12th. He will wrestle William
Christman of Gig Harbor.
While the wrestlers are raring to go, Usher
said they have been monitoring road condi-
tions in Washington and Oregon to fi nd the
safest way to get the athletes to Tacoma.
The main road to Tacoma is I-90, which
was closed Tuesday after more than four feet
of snow fell over the span of two days on
Snoqualmie Pass. The route through Portland
is no safer with I-84 reporting icy conditions.
“Hour by hour, that is our job right now,”
Usher said of scouring road reports. “I’m just
about to get online and see what it will be
to fl y our guys there. That might be the saf-
est thing to do. Some of the MCC teams are
thinking of sending their guys on Wednes-
day. It might be the little window of time to
get them through the pass.”
The WIAA also is monitoring the roads in
an effort to advise teams from the east side of
the state of the best routes to take.
“We are talking to people from around the
state,” Johnson said. “People are trying to
fi nd a way to make it work.”