EDITORIAL: Badgers, Antelopes make us all proud

Published 2:15 pm Wednesday, December 1, 2021

They gathered in the parking lot at Baker High School, the Powder Valley Badgers fans clad in red and blue, the backers of the Adrian Antelopes in green and gold.

They mingled and talked football and enjoyed hamburgers and hot dogs grilled by Badger supporters.

Then they walked over to Baker Bulldog Memorial Stadium and cheered for the young men who have made these two small communities swell with pride this fall.

The Antelopes from Adrian, population 157, prevailed 46-38 to complete a perfect 13-0 season with a Class 1A state championship.

The Badgers from North Powder, population 504, led almost the entire game but settled for second place and a record of 11-2, the only two blemishes on the schedule etched by the Antelopes.

The events of Saturday, Nov. 27 epitomize the prominent role that high school sports play in Eastern Oregon.

And the pregame tailgate party put on by Powder Valley boosters was a fine example of how sports can foster camaraderie even between the fans of opposing teams.

Rivalry too often is a word with negative connotations, saddled with adjectives such as bitter and heated.

But the Badgers and the Antelopes have shown that two teams, and their fans, can compete at the highest level while maintaining a mutual respect that persists regardless of the numbers on the scoreboard.

Congratulations to both sides for reminding us of what high school sports can, and should, be about.

— Jayson Jacoby, Baker City Herald editor