Buckaroos rough up Rangers in football opener

“St. Paul is tough, and all of our kids are playing different positions than they did last year and we’re young and experienced, but we’ll get a lot better,” said Henderson. “The bottom line is they’re a good football team. That’s fine and it’s good to play good teams and we did, and we came up short, but we’ll bounce back. St. Paul is a good, seasoned team that could win the state championship this year.”

The Rangers fell behind 14-0 after one quarter and then they got on the scoreboard to avoid a shutout in the second quarter when Landon Haynes returned an interception for a touchdown, making it 28-6.

“It’s great being out here in this good atmosphere with good weather and a big crowd, so that made it a good day,” said Henderson. “It’s nice seeing lots of people that I usually only see once or twice a year so it’s like a big family reunion for eight-man football.”

Two other area teams also participated in the Eight-Man Classic. Sherman County/Condon High Huskies and the Lyle/Klickitat/Wishram High Cougars also had games during the Labor Day weekend event in Dufur that featured 20 teams and 10 games Sept. 1-3.

Sherman rolls over Alsea

The Huskies had good start to their season, as they won, 50-6, over the Alsea Wolverines Sept. 1. The Huskies, guided by Coach Kyle Blagg, built a 30-0 halftime lead and momentum going their way from start-to-finish.

“We came out and did what we needed to do, and we did some things really well and we figured out what we need to work on,” said Blagg. “Everybody played well, and we controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Defensively, we seemed to be in the right spots most of the time and we played with good aggression. The mistakes we made and the things we need to fix are definitely fixable. I thought it was a good way to start our season.”

The Huskies quartet of Ed Rubio, Kole Martin, Talon Dark and Michael Blagg helped contribute to the offense by scoring touchdowns.

Lyle can’t hold off Union

Lyle/Klickitat/Wishram had a good start as they were deadlocked in the first quarter of their season opener against the Union High Bobcats Sept. 1 at Dufur. The Cougars, guided by Coach Dave Devoe, were unable to sustain their momentum though, as they lost, 52-24. The Cougars were unable to overcome five turnovers, which the Bobcats capitalized on and converted them into scoring drives to help get a comfortable lead.

“It was a good game and we wanted to try some different things that we’ve been working on in practice and some of them worked and some of them didn’t,” said Devoe. “It was a lot of fun and of course we would’ve liked to win, but at this point of the season it’s more about figuring out what your identity is.”

Cougar junior running back/linebacker Riley Smith led the offense, as he had 34 carries for 287 yards rushing and he scored three touchdowns. Smith also had 10 tackles on defense. Cougar senior quarterback Zeke Goodlife had 64 yards rushing and scored a touchdown.