SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
Soccer: Braves shut out Bulldogs at home
By BRETT KANE
STAFF WRITER
Hermiston hadn’t faced
Kamiakin since the the pre-
season, when the the Braves
handed the Bulldogs a 6-0
loss.
Now, well into Mid-Co-
lumbia Conference action,
the Dawgs showed signs
of improvement against the
Braves, even if it wasn’t
enough to withstand the
league’s third-ranked team.
Kamiakin got half of its
points from junior forward
Regan Clark on Saturday as
the Braves shut out Herm-
iston 4-0 in a conference
matchup at Kennison Field.
“It’s always the little
things that get us,” Herm-
iston coach Freddy Guizar
said. “We went from trust-
ing each other to playing
selfi shly, instead of playing
with all 11 players.”
The Braves got on the
board just before the 10th
minute. Clark got her game
started with a shot on goal
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Cydney Lind (2), of Hermiston, prepares to kick the ball during Saturday’s game against the
Kamiakin Braves at Kennison Field.
two minutes later that
Hermiston senior keeper
Lanie Gomez dived for
and missed, but the ball hit
the right goal post and kept
Hermiston down 1-0.
With 9:34 left in the
fi rst half, Braves freshman
forward Kate Hollenberg
evaded Gomez’s attempted
save, but Dawgs sophomore
midfi elder Sydney Seavert
protected the net.
Clark sent another shot
on goal in the 32nd minute,
and fi nally connected with
the net 2½ minutes later to
put the Braves up 2-0.
“Their keeper did a
great job today,” Kamiakin
coach Chris Erkison said of
Gomez.
The Braves took their
2-point lead into the locker
room, and got two more
goals before the day was up.
“They came out and
worked really hard today,”
Bulldogs junior midfi elder
Jayden Ray said of Kami-
akin. “Our intensity level
was low. We need to look
back at this game, analyze it,
fi x our mistakes, and move
forward.”
Nearly 12 minutes would
pass in the second half
before freshman forward
Margot Massey gave Kami-
akin its third goal. Gomez
recorded another save after
defending the net from
Clark, but the Kamiakin for-
ward wasn’t fi nished.
With 4:55 left to play,
Clark sent a 25-yard kick
sailing into Hermiston’s net
for their fourth and fi nal goal
of the day. Clark would try
to score once more in the
fi nal seconds, but Gomez
got the save just before the
clock ran out.
“They were more orga-
nized today,” Erikson said
of the Bulldogs.
Although
Hermiston
allowed two less goals than
its last meeting with the
Braves, they were unable to
record a shot on goal.
“That tells you where
we’re at offensively,” Guizar
said. “It was the lack of com-
munication that hurt us. We
did play a better game, but
we are still growing.”
Hermiston (1-9, 1-8
MCC), the eighth-ranked
team in MCC play, is on
the road Tuesday. They’ll
challenge the No. 4-ranked
Hanford Falcons in the
fi rst meeting of the season
between the teams. Game
time is at 7 p.m.
Volleyball: Hermiston drops
MCC match to Kamiakin
By BRETT KANE
STAFF WRITER
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Umatilla wide receiver Izayah Rodarte (22) attempts to outrun Nyssa’s Adam Simpson (50). The
Nyssa Bulldogs defeated the Umatilla Vikings 22-7 at Umatilla High School on Friday night.
Football: Umatilla loses
heartbreaker to Nyssa
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
For the better part of
three quarters Friday after-
noon, Umatilla went toe-to-
toe with the Nyssa Bulldogs.
The Vikings had their
chances late in the fourth
quarter to rally past the Bull-
dogs, but an inability to
move the ball proved costly
in a 22-7 Eastern Oregon
League loss.
“They are tickled to
death to get out of here with
a win,” Umatilla coach Dan
Durfey told his team.
Nyssa coach Lee Long
did not dispute that.
“You shouldn’t win when
you turn it over six times,”
Long said. “The defense
played pretty darn good.
Umatilla is much improved.
They did an awesome job.
Dan’s heart is in the right
place. I have the utmost
respect for him. He is a
great coach.”
The fact the game was
8-7 in favor of Nyssa until
the Bulldogs scored on a
16-yard pass play from
Landon McDowell to Pedro
Chavez with 2:29 left in
the game, goes to show the
improvement the Vikings
have made since last season.
Nyssa (5-0, 1-0 EOL) had
won the past three games
against Umatilla (4-1, 0-1)
by identical scores of 55-6.
“We battled up front
against their big line,”
Durfey said. “They are just
freshmen. It’s hard when
you have to rely on freshmen
to play varsity ball against
juniors and seniors. They
don’t have the experience,
but they aren’t scared. They
came out and they tried.”
The Vikings’ defense
was stellar on the day. They
forced, and recovered, four
fumbles — including one in
the end zone that thwarted a
Nyssa touchdown with 4:12
to play in the game. Oscar
Campos (two), Rojelio
Fuentes and Ryan Lorence
were credited with fumble
recoveries.
“Our defense played
lights out,” Durfey said.
“It was just the last quarter.
These kids haven’t been in a
situation like this.”
Nyssa had great success
running the ball in the fi rst
half, with Andrew Enders,
Ryan Talbot, Caleb Benson
and Aleonzo Calderon all
getting quality touches.
Talbot scored the lone
touchdown in the fi rst half
for the Bulldogs, powering
his way in from the 1-yard
line with 3:38 remaining in
the fi rst quarter. Talbot also
ran the ball in for the 2-point
conversion for an 8-0 lead
that would stand at the half.
The Bulldogs limited
the Vikings to 15 offensive
plays and 3 yards of offense
in the fi rst half.
Defensively, the Vikings
forced a fumble and stopped
the Bulldogs on fourth down
twice in the second quarter.
The Vikings pulled
within 8-7 at 8:45 of the
third quarter.
Nyssa fumbled the ball
for the second time in the
game, and the Vikings
recovered at the Bulldogs’
22-yard line.
Two plays later, Cody
Thacker hauled in a 22-yard
pass from Andrew Earl for
a touchdown. Jose Medina
kicked the extra point to
make it a 1-point game.
Thacker had two catches
for 34 yards. Izayah Roarte
had seven catches for 42
yards.
Umatilla will play at
Burns on Friday night.
“That is a big trip for
us,” Durfey said. “I don’t
care what anyone says, our
league is the toughest in the
state.”
BOX SCORE
Nyssa
8
0 0 14— 22
Umatilla
0
0 7
0 — 7
SCORING
N — Ryan Talbot 1 run (Talbot run)
U — Cody Thacker 22 pass from Andrew
Earl (Jose Medina kick)
N — Pedro Chavez 16 pass from Landon
McDowell (Calderon kick)
N — McDowell 7 run (Calderon kick)
MEDICAL DIRECTORY
Hermiston played in
bursts of greatness, but it
was not enough to top the
consistency of Kamiakin.
On Thursday night, the
visiting Braves (4-3, 4-3
MCC) handed the Dawgs
a four-set loss in Mid-Co-
lumbia Conference vol-
leyball action, taking them
down 25-17, 25-22, 22-25,
and 25-14.
“They’re a smooth
team,” Hermiston coach
Amy Dyck said of Kami-
akin. “They run a very
straightforward,
disci-
plined system that gives
them the opportunity to be
consistent.”
The Braves posted three
straight points to open the
fi rst set before Hermiston
got on the board. The score
would knot twice, Kami-
akin would stay at least two
points ahead for the bulk of
the set. They took a fi ve-
point lead on junior mid-
dle blocker Maysen Che-
lin’s kill for an 11-6 set, but
Hermiston senior defensive
specialist Emma Combes
slammed a deep kill that got
the Dawgs scoring again.
The Braves later took a
10-point advantage from
junior right side hitter
Malia Shymanski’s ace, but
Combes responded with
one of her own. The Bull-
dogs would pull within
seven points, but the Braves
rattled off three more points
to take the set. Senior out-
side hitter Delaney Frame
got the match point.
“We wanted to come
out, run our system, and
play volleyball like we do,”
Dyck said, “but we never
got that rhythm.”
Hermiston would come
within four points of taking
over twice in the second
set, including an ace and
an additional point from
Combes to bring the score
to 21-19 to force a Kami-
akin timeout.
After the break, senior
libero Halee Stubbs gave
Hermiston two more points
for a 23-22 set, but sopho-
more outside hitter Grace
Vertrees hit a return that fell
out of bounds, handing the
Braves another win.
“Their offense is crazy,”
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Hermiston’s Grace Vertrees scores for the Bulldogs during
the fi rst set. Kamiakin defeated Hermiston in four sets at
Hermiston High School on Thursday night.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Hermiston’s Kendall Dowdy (6) knocks the ball over the net
for the Bulldogs.
Combes said. “They know
how to place a ball.”
The Dawgs kicked into
high gear in set three, bat-
tling back from an early 3-0
defi cit, and would not let
the Braves out of sight.
Combes helped the
Dawgs to their fi rst lead
of the night, breaking a
3-3 tie, and although the
Braves tied the score 10
times throughout the set,
there was no overtaking
Hermiston.
Vertrees notched two
back-to-back points for
a 16-14 lead and another
Kamiakin timeout. Later
on, junior setter Kendall
Dowdy scored two unan-
swered points to bring the
score to 23-19 in Hermis-
ton’s favor, and senior out-
side hitter Daisy Maddox
put the set away.
It would be the last
time Hermiston stayed in
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control.
“We came in waves,”
said Combes, who fi nished
the night with a trio of aces
and 14 digs. “We would
play hard, and then let
(Kamiakin) go on a roll.”
The Braves took a 4-0
lead to start the fi nal set,
and quickly extended it to
a 10-point, 15-5 lead after
Vertrees had an unforced
error. Frame scored an ace,
and Vertrees sent a return
out of bounds to fi nish the
match.
“It takes a team to play
volleyball,” Combes said.
“We didn’t play the game
we usually do. We just
weren’t prepared tonight.”
Vertrees led the Bull-
dogs’ offense with 11 kills.
Stubbs had a team-high 15
digs. Vertrees added 13.
Hermiston (3-5, 2-5
MCC) hosts Hanford on
Tuesday.
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