SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
Hermiston’s Elliott
is back in action
Standout sophomore is
on the basketball court
4 months after breaking
his leg in football
Photo contributed by Cody Bettencourt
The Elks Northeast District Hoop Shoot contest was held
Jan. 5 in Hermiston. Pictured are (back) Nick Bettencourt,
Oregon State Elks Association vice president Northeast
District, Corey Sweeney, Oregon State Elks Association
Northeast District Hoop Shoot chairman, Julie Hull, Jason
Hull, Doug Riggs, Oregon State Elks Association trustee
Northeast District; (front) Charlotte Hansell (representing
Milton-Freewater Lodge #2146), Ciciley Stefani and Cooper
Stefani (both Heppner Lodge #358) and Christian Sanchez-
Lamas (Hermiston Lodge #1845).
By ANNIE FOWLER
SPORTS EDITOR
Chase Elliott still remem-
bers the pain.
The Hermiston sopho-
more quarterback was mak-
ing his fi rst start in the open-
ing game of the season. The
Bulldogs were at Pasco and
things were looking pretty
good late in the fi rst quarter
with a 14-0 lead and posses-
sion of the ball.
Elliott had dropped back
for a simple pass play when
everything went awry.
“I remember Trent (Pit-
ney) was open,” Elliott said.
“I stepped through, I was
snapped down pretty fast
and I hit the ground hard.
It was the worst pain I have
ever had.”
A Pasco defender had
rolled into Elliott’s left leg
just as he threw the ball.
Elliott suffered a hairline
fracture of his femur and
chipped the growth plate in
his knee.
“I could not imagine
had it (femur) snapped in
half,” Elliott said. “I didn’t
have surgery, it would have
closed off my growth plate.
They let it heal on its own
and told me not to do any-
thing stupid.”
Elliott was helped off the
fi eld by coach David Faae-
teete and trainer Dan Emery.
“When they were carry-
ing me off the fi eld, my one
question was ‘Why,’” Elliott
said. “I did the summer
weight program, I ate right,
and bonded with my team.
Sitting there watching my
team struggle (during the
season) and knowing there
was nothing I could do about
it was hard.”
Almost four months to
the day that he got hurt,
Elliott laced up his sneak-
ers and started his fi rst bas-
ketball game for the Bull-
dogs — Jan. 3 at Southridge
— much to the delight
of fi rst-year coach Drew
Preuninger.
“I was at that (Pasco)
game,” Preuninger said.
“It was my fi rst Hermis-
ton game ever. I was a little
late, and it was the fi rst play
I saw. When he went down, I
told him my heart stopped. I
knew he was going to be my
starting point guard. I was
disappointed he got hurt. I
felt bad for him. He came
back a lot quicker than any-
one thought. It surprised all
of us.”
Elliott scored just two
points in his fi rst game,
Youths get nothing
but net in Elks
hoops contest
HERMISTON HERALD
Staff photo by Kathy Aney, File
Hermiston’s Chase Elliott (10) watches his shot fl oat toward the basket during a Jan. 3 game as
he and Southridge defender Justin Brown fall backwards.
but over the course of six
games, he is the Bulldogs’
second-leading scorer with
67 points (11.17 per game).
“He has a different speed,
a different gear that the
other guys don’t have,” Pre-
uninger said. “That’s why
he has been able to step in
and take over. I’m still kind
of amazed. It doesn’t seem
like he has lost a step — he’s
aggressive and plays tough.”
A lost season
Elliott was injured with
1:50 to play in the fi rst quar-
ter against Pasco, and Herm-
iston was on top 14-0. The
sophomore quarterback had
completed 6 of 7 passes for
95 yards and a touchdown to
Garrett Walchli to open the
game.
“It’s a shock to your con-
fi dence,” Faaeteete said.
“It’s nothing you expect to
happen. At the time, we said
we’d see what the doctors
say, then have a plan from
there. When we found out,
we had to go back to the
drawing board.”
While Robert Sloan fi n-
ished the Pasco game, it was
junior Sam Schwirse who
fi nished the season under
center.
“I think Sam did more
than an effi cient job,” Faae-
teete said. “Chase was there
for Sam, and that was good.
It’s good to see a kid con-
tinue to show up. He was
still invested in his team-
mates. That’s who he is.
It sucked for him — he’s
always used to competing
— but he found a way to be
of help.”
On Sept. 10, Elliott was
told his football season was
over. He tweeted “defi nitely
tough to hear about the sport
I love but God’s got a plan
for me and I’ll be back next
season better than ever.”
Elliott had a pretty seri-
ous looking brace on his leg
for a couple of weeks, but it
was more for stabilization,
and would not allow him to
bend his leg.
He used a wheelchair at
school for some classes, and
crutches for others. And, he
was there for his team.
“I tried to go to practice
as much as I could,” said
Elliott, whose mom Shan-
tel was his chauffeur. “I was
trying to help Sam when
I saw something, and was
there for quarterback talk.
My mom felt the pain for
me. She made sure I stayed
on stop of everything.”
Return to action
Elliott followed his doc-
tor’s orders, and put in the
work to make sure he could
get back on the basketball
court as soon as possible.
“I got cleared Dec. 16
or 17,” Elliott said. “I did
what I could. Every day
during Christmas break I
would come in (to the gym)
with Coach P and get my
practices in. He was pretty
excited to have me back, and
I was happy with full activ-
ity and being able to run.”
And just like football,
Elliott was there for his
teammates.
“When he was hurt, he
was there every day,” Pre-
uninger said. “It was good
to see him there even if he
couldn’t play. He puts in the
work. He’s in the weight
room every day at 6 a.m.
He’s got a good work ethic.”
He also was able to relieve
his mom of her chauffeur
duties after Thanksgiving.
The Elks Northeast Dis-
trict Hoop Shoot contest —
which represents Elks in
Hermiston Lodge #1845,
Heppner Lodge #358,
Milton-Freewater Lodge
#2146, Hood River Lodge
#1507, The Dalles Lodge
#303, Condon Lodge
#1869, Enterprise Lodge
#1829 and Baker Lodge
#338 — was held Jan. 5 in
Hermiston. There were 34
kids representing seven of
the lodges that competed
at the district contest. The
local age group winners
included:
Boys 8-9: 1 Cooper Ste-
fani (Heppner, 17/30) won
in shoot off; Girls 8-9: 1
Ciciley Stefani (Heppner,
16/25).
Boys 10-11: 1 Chris-
tian
Sanchez-Lamas
(Hermiston, 16/25), 3
Brody McDaniel (Hep-
pner, 16/30); Girls 10-11:
3 Healy Hisler (Heppner,
11/25)
Boys 12-13: 3 Mason
Orem (Heppner, 17/30);
Girls 12-13: 3 Araceli
Madrigal
(Hermiston,
14/30)
The fi rst place contes-
tant in each age group will
compete at the State Elks
Hoop Shoot contest Feb.
8 in Silverton. The win-
ner in each age group will
move on to compete at the
regional contest in March
in Pasco — these kids will
shoot free throws against
winners from the Elks Area
8 states of Alaska, Wash-
ington and Idaho. Regional
winners will then com-
plete at the national level
in Chicago.
For more information
about the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks,
the Hermiston Elks Lodge
will host an open house
Saturday, Jan. 25 from
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appetiz-
ers and beverages will be
available.
MEDICAL
DIRECTORY
Call Today!
541-289-5433
1060 W. Elm, Suite #115,
Hermiston, OR
(across from Good Shepherd Medical Center)
www.apd4kidz.com
Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4pm
COMPREHENSIVE CARE
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541.567.8161 • 995 Orchard Avenue • Hermiston
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Lions shut down Dawgs in 2nd half for big win
By ANNIE FOWLER
SPORTS EDITOR
Hermiston has played
some good basketball as of
late, and last week it looked
as if the Bulldogs might be
in the hunt for another upset.
The Bulldogs trailed
30-25 early in the third quar-
ter on Jan. 14, but Ken-
newick clamped down on
defense and pulled way for
a 68-40 Mid-Columbia Con-
ference victory at the Lions
Den.
“We lost our will to com-
pete, I think,” Hermiston
coach Maloree Moss said.
“We couldn’t fi nd the bucket
after we cut it to fi ve. We
kind of rolled over when
things didn’t go our way.”
The Lions (11-1, 8-1
MCC) are at the top of the
MCC standings with Chi-
awana, and handed the Riv-
erhawks their fi rst loss last
week.
“I can’t complain,” Lions
coach Daron Santo said.
“They are really coming
together as a team, espe-
cially defensively.”
After a slow start that saw
the Lions take an 11-3 lead,
the Bulldogs (7-6, 4-5 MCC)
got a three-point play from
Bailey Young, and 3-point-
ers from Jazlyn Romero and
Katelyn Heideman to pull
within 15-12 at the end of
the quarter.
Hermiston kept the pres-
sure on in the second, get-
ting 3s from Heideman,
Romero and Mia Hernandez
to trail 30-23 at the half.
“I’m super proud of the
way we played in the fi rst
half,” Moss said.
Young hit a basket to
open the third quarter and
pull the Bulldogs within
30-25, but they would not
score again for 4 minutes. In
the that span, the Lions went
on a 9-0 run.
In the fi nal 27 seconds
of the quarter, Madeline
Gebers and Maya Thornton
drained 3s to give Kenne-
wick a commanding 46-30
lead.
“We switched it up defen-
sively and went more man,”
Santo said. “They struggled
with that. That third quar-
ter was huge, we got our
momentum back.”
The onslaught continued
in the fourth quarter as the
Lions went on a 22-10 run.
Jayden Ray and Hernan-
dez each had four points in
the fourth for the Bulldogs.
“They are No. 9 in the
state for a reason,” Moss
said of the Lions. “Their
coach is good, and their
players trust it.”
Hernandez led the Bull-
dogs with 13 points, while
Heideman added 10.
Gerbers scored 10 of
her game-high 19 points in
the fourth quarter. Meilani
McBee, who has commit-
ted to Hawaii, chipped in 17
points, and Avery Fiander
added 15.
“I was really proud of
Madi,” Santo said. “She
really struggled in the fi rst
half.”
MCC boys basketball
KENNEWICK
83,
HERMISTON 35 — Ken-
newick’s Ayoni Benavi-
dez scored a game-high 26
points to lead the Lions to an
MCC win over the visiting
Bulldogs.
The Lions led 23-5 at the
end of the fi rst quarter, and
42-16 at the half.
“The biggest concern
for me is the kids’ effort,”
Hermiston coach Drew Pre-
uninger said. “I need to fi nd
a group that will give a con-
sistent effort. I think they
can give me a little more.”
Hermiston (2-11, 1-8
MCC) played without Ivan
Rangel (ankle injury), who
was injured in the Richland
game last week.
“We hope to get him back
next week,” Preuninger said.
“He is a big body, and he’s
physical.”
Chase Elliott led the Bull-
dogs with 12 points, while
Jaiden Ruloph and Tyler Lin
each had six points.
Benavidez, the MCC’s
leading scorer, needed just
seven points before the game
to join the 1,000th-point
club.
Benavidez hit two free
throws, a basket, and a
3-pointer from the top of the
key just 2:53 into the game
to reach the milestone.
Jack Pyu added 11 points
for the Lions (8-4, 6-3
MCC), who had all but one
player score.
GIRLS BOX SCORE
Hermiston 12 10 7 10 — 40
Kennewick 15 15 16 22 — 68
HERMISTON — Heideman 10, Ray 4, Her-
nandez 13, Romero 6, B.Young 7.
KENNEWICK — Av.Fiander 15, Ai.Fiander
4, Flores 3, Thornton 7, McBee 17, Geb-
ers 19.
BOYS BOX SCORE
Hermiston 5 11 11 8 — 35
Kennewick 23 19 20 21 — 83
HERMISTON — Ruloph 6, Pitney 2, Lin 6,
Elliott 12, Ramos-Barron 2, Moreno 3, Jai.
Ramirez 4.
KENNEWICK — Pyu 11, Benavidez 26,
Chavez 9, Moses 5, Dickinson 3, Collier 9,
Mayer 3, Mayovsky 6, Knapik 2, Bai.McEl-
roy 5, Bra.McElroy 4.
Eye Health & Vision Care
Robert D. Rolen , O.D., LLC
Optometric Physician
115 W. Hermiston Ave. Suite 130
541-567-1837
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(across from U.S. Bank)
DENTURES
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