BAKER SPORTS: Pendleton holds off Baker football, 57-40; volleyball beats Ontario, girls cross-country wins team title at Ontario

Published 6:15 am Thursday, October 3, 2024

Baker nearly overcame two injuries, including the loss of starting quarterback Jake McClaughry, but the Bulldogs couldn’t stop Pendleton’s running game in a 57-40 loss on Thursday night, Oct. 3, at Baker Bulldog Memorial Stadium.

Baker led by as much as 33-21 in the first half, and settled for a 33-28 lead at halftime as Rasean Jones scored four touchdowns and Jimmy Sullivan scored once.

Pendleton regained the lead for good on Tugg McQuinn’s 6-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. The Bucks outscored Baker 29-7 in the second half.

Baker dropped to 1-4, 0-1 in the Greater Oregon League.

Pendleton/Nixyaawii improved to 4-2, 1-0.

Baker coach Jason Ramos said he was proud of the Bulldogs’ resilience after first John Garcia, a senior wide receiver and defensive back, then McClaughry, a junior, were hurt in the first half.

“I thought the kids handled it really well,” Ramos said. “They were worried about their buddies, but they kept playing hard, and they performed well. I was proud of them.”

Freshman Tucker Reid replaced McClaughry at quarterback, and in his first extended varsity action Reid completed multiple passes and had several other solid throws despite facing heavy pressure from the Pendleton blitz.

“Tucker did a great job stepping in as a freshman,” Ramos said. “He throws a good ball.”

With McClaughry potentially out for the season with an arm injury, Ramos said the coaching staff will need to focus next week on preparing Reid to take over as quarterback with at least four games remaining on the schedule.

“Now it’s his turn,” Ramos said of Reid.

First half

Baker went four and out on its first possession but then took advantage of a Pendleton miscue when the Bucks tried a trick play on a punt return. The returner tried to hand off on a reverse but the handoff was botched and Baker’s Hayden Churchfield recovered the fumble at the Pendleton 8.

Baker couldn’t take advantage, though, and turned the ball over on downs.

Pendleton punted on its first possession after a holding penalty on second down put the Bucks behind the chains.

After Pendleton’s punt, Baker started on its own 42. McClaughry ran for 16 yards on an option play on first down, then after an incompletion, McClaughry passed to Jones on the left side and he outran the defense for a 39-yard touchdown. Daniel Maldonaldo’s extra point gave Baker a 7-0 lead with 7:51 left in the first quarter.

Pendleton responded quickly, as McQuinn went 40 yards on a fourth and 2, then took a direct snap for 19 yards for the touchdown. The extra point tied the score at 7 with 4:48 left in the first quarter.

Baker took advantage of Pendleton’s short kickoffs, which deny Jones a chance for a runback but also often give Baker field position near midfield. On the ensuing possession Jimmy Sullivan and McClaughry both had first down runs. Then Jones took a jet sweep pitch from McClaughry and went 20 yards down the sideline for his second touchdown. Maldonado’s extra point gave Baker a 14-7 lead with 34 seconds left in the first quarter.

Mason Strong ran the kickoff to the Baker 44, and Pendleton ran one play before the end of the first quarter.

McQuinn ran 12 yards for a first down, but a penalty, and Churchfield’s tackle of McQuinn for a four-yard loss, pushed the ball back to the Baker 28. Colson Primus then lofted a perfect pass to Keegan Kline down the right sideline for a touchdown. The extra point tied it at 14 with 9:05 left in the first half.

Baker’s next possession started at its own 30. McClaughry hit Jones on a slant pass for 18 yards, and Sullivan broke loose for a 23-yard run to the Pendleton 25. Jones went 14 yards on a lateral from McClaughry, hurdling a tackler to get to the Pendleton 6.

An offensive pass interference penalty on a pick play nullified McClaughry’s touchdown pass to Connor Martin, and after an illegal procedure penalty, McClaughry was sacked on third and 17, pushing the ball back to the Baker 30.

After an extended delay following Garcia’s injury, on fourth and 30 McClaughry passed to Jones in the flat and he again outran the defense for a touchdown. The extra point was wide, but Baker regained the lead at 20-14 with 4:47 left in the first half.

On the ensuing kickoff, Strong took the kickoff and went down the left sideline for 80 yards and the tying touchdown. The extra point gave the Bucks their first lead, at 21-20, with 4:34 left in the first half.

On Baker’s next possession McClaughry had to come off the field after being injured on a play that resulted in Pendleton being penalized for roughing the passer. 

Sullivan then ran three straight times, the last time for an 8-yard touchdown. Maldonado’s extra point gave Baker a 27-21 lead with 2:09 left in the first half.

Baker forced a punt on Pendleton’s possession, and this time Jones had a chance for a return from the Baker 48. He took advantage, running to the right and then cutting back and breaking a tackle for his fourth touchdown. The extra point was blocked, but the Bulldogs extended their lead to 33-21 with 1:21 left in the first half.

Pendleton trimmed the lead to 33-28 as Primus hit Kline for a 34-yard touchdown pass on a ball that was tipped but landed in Kline’s arms near the goal line. Baker took the 33-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Second half

Pendleton regained the lead for good with a 60-yard touchdown drive that took four minutes and culminated in McQuinn’s 6-yard run. The two-point conversion, on a halfback pass to Primus, gave the Bucks a 36-33 lead with 8:01 left in the third quarter.

The Bucks kept the momentum by recovering an onside kick that bounced off a Bulldog. Pendleton started the drive at the Baker 47.

Logan Crawford then intercepted Primus’ pass on the first play to give Baker the ball back at its own 38.

Baker was forced to punt. Jones fumbled the snap and tried to run for the first down but came up short, and Pendleton took over on the Baker 42. 

On the first play McQuinn weaved through the Baker defense for a touchdown run, and the extra point boosted the Bucks’ lead to 43-33 with 4:20 left in the third quarter.

Baker, aided by two penalties on Pendleton, drove to the Pendleton 2 on the final play of the third quarter, a pass from Reid to Crawford for 12 yards. Jones also had a 14-yard run on a jet sweep.

On the second play of the fourth quarter, Reid fired a pass to Jones for a 6-yard touchdown — the first of Reid’s Baker career, and Jones’ fifth of the game — and Maldonado’s extra point cut the Bucks led to 43-40 with 11:18 left in the game.

But the Bucks responded again, as McQuinn took a handoff on a counter play and leaped over two tackle attempts for a 45-yard touchdown. The extra point extended Pendleton’s lead to 50-40 with 9:07 left in the game.

The Bucks then took control, recovering another squib kick at the Baker 32. McQuinn ran for 10 yards for a first down, then went 17 yards for a touchdown. The extra point gave the Bucks their biggest lead, 57-40, with 8:06 left, and Baker didn’t advance beyond midfield on its final two possessions.

Ramos said he was happy to see Baker’s running game have more success than in losses at Vale and at Cascade in the previous two games.

“Jimmy (Sullivan) ran hard and we got some blocks,” Ramos said. “That’s what we expect to be able to get out of our run game.”

Sullivan led Baker with 91 yards on 10 carries.

McClaughry was 12 of 22 passing for 173 yards. Reid was 6 for 11 for 93 yards. Jones had 13 catches for 212 yards.

Ramos said the game might have turned out differently if not for the injuries to Garcia and McClaughry.

Ramos said Baker will have to regroup and adjust to the changes resulting from the injuries.

Baker travels to La Grande for a key GOL game on Thursday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m.

Volleyball

Baker won its third straight match with a sweep of Ontario, 25-5, 25-10 and 25-13. The Bulldogs improved to 6-9 overall and 2-1 in the Greater Oregon League.

Baker won the JV match, 25-9, 25-14.

In other volleyball action Thursday, Powder Valley won its fifth straight match, sweeping Pine Eagle, 25-11, 25-9, 25-11. The Badgers are 17-4 overall and atop the Old Oregon League with a 7-0 record.

Cross-country at Crosby Invitational, Ontario

Baker’s Daniel Brown placed second with a time of 16:57.70.

Gwen Rasmussen was third and Sofie Kaaen fourth in the girls race, leading Baker to the team title. Baker had three other runners in the top 10, Matty Gressley sixth, Liz Timm was eighth and Ruby Heriza was ninth.

Baker’s Ellie Murphy was second in the girls JV race.

Crosby Invitational

Boys

Team scores

Nyssa, 1st, 49; Burns, 2nd, 74; New Plymouth, 3rd, 84; Baker, 4th, 85; Four Rivers, 5th, 117; Parma, 6th, 119; Ontario, 7th, 146; Treasure Valley Classical Academy, 8th, 204

Baker individual results

Daniel Brown, 2nd, 16:57.70; William Spriet, 15th, 19:12.21; Jack Joseph, 21st, 19:33.89; Jarrin Bott, 22nd, 19:48.70; Jace Whitford, 25th, 20:29.69; Kegan Bott, 29th, 20:37.00; Judah McBride, 40th, 22:17.20

JV Boys

Team scores

Nyssa, 1st, 28; Parma, 2nd, 44; Baker 3rd, 51

Baker individual results

Harris Gaslin, 8th, 22:10.85; Jarrek Cikanek, 10th, 22:48.18; Theodore Pepera, 11th, 22:49.82; Brandon Rosales, 14th, 23:32.04; Joseph Chastain, 16th, 24:22.51; Zayne Hills, 23rd, 29:55.25; Gage Bingham, 24th, 30:55.52; Caedmon Myers, 25th, 31:04.07

Girls

Team scores

Baker, 1st, 30; Burns, 2nd, 47; Parma, 3rd, 49; New Plymouth, 4th, 100

Baker individual results

Gwen Rasmussen, 3rd, 21:09.91; Sofie Kaaen, 4th, 21:30.65; Matty Gressley, 6th, 22:07.85; Liz Timm, 8th, 23:13.14; Ruby Heriza, 9th, 23:29.92; Grace Tracy, 16th, 24:46.46; Arianah Andersch, 20th, 25:41.97

JV Girls

Team scores

Baker, 1st, 15

Baker individual results

Ellie Murphy, 2nd, 26:11.83; Anna Johnson, 4th, 26:31.94; Jericha Hearne, 5th, 26.47.89; Marquesa Peterson, 6th, 28:35.66; Avery Collier, 7th, 29:11.98; Anaya Sanchez, 11th, 30:00.77; Reagan Ritter, 16th, 30:55.61; Gabriela Alves Maluf, 17th, 32:15.16

Baker Middle School cross-country

The teams traveled to Island City on Friday, Oct. 4, to compete in the Tiger Invite.

Baker’s Iris Young was second in the girls race, and the Bulldogs were second in the team standings, a single point behind Imbler.

Tiger Invite

Girls team scores

Imbler, 1st, 52; Baker, 2nd, 53; Enterprise, 3rd, 58; Union, 4th, 65; La Grande, 5th, 119

Baker individual results

Iris Young, 2nd, 12:36.04; Austin Hilton, 7th, 13:46.23; Elena Taylor, 8th, 13:46.28; Joy Kerns, 17th, 14:58.46; Diana Schwartz, 19th, 15:07.85; Mayli Taylor, 24th, 15:51.90; Lacey Sweeney, 28th, 16:51.51; Gabby Solis, 46th, 17:47.76.

Boys team scores

La Grande, 1st, 22; Union, 2nd, 50; Enterprise, 3rd, 60; Baker, 4th, 106

Baker individual results

Soren Kaaen, 20th 13:24.40; Will Hindman, 34th, 14:08.90; Walt Anderson, 35th, 14:22.30; Lucas Kolilis, 41st, 15:00.90; Adam Kirby, 42nd, 15:02; Lane Collier, 53rd, 15:03.20; Max Jacoby, 44th, 15:03.70; Liam Conklin, 45th, 15:05.70; Cedar Hassmiller, 47th, 15:11.20; Bentley Boulter, 59th, 22:29.70