Randall Eschler, above, and Randy Spaur are both heading off to college with special memories of their last high school football championship. Photos by Michael Lane

Some days it all comes together and nothing mortal can stand in your way. It was one of those days for the East squad Saturday, in the 52nd annual Shrine game, held at Baker High School’s Bulldog Memorial Stadium. The red-clad easterners simply overwhelmed a talented West squad that couldn’t find a chink in their opponents’ armor.

The game was all the East players could have hoped for. “It was lots of fun,” said Randy Spaur of Wallowa, who saw a lot of field time on special teams for the East. “It was great to get to meet all these guys. Practice was great, too. No conflicts.” Spaur, who will be studying graphic design at Western Oregon University with an eye towards custom car designs in the future, put a fitting cap on his high school sports career. Despite a weakened leg, not yet fully healed following his midseason break last year, Spaur dealt out some punishment with solid tackling, constant pressure, a sack, and an important interception.

Randall Eschler of Joseph, a familiar face to the rodeo fans of Wallowa County, will never forget the Shrine game. “It was a fun game, with lots of great memories. This was the icing on the cake, meeting all these guys. The coaches did an excellent job of preparation. I’ll always remember this.” In addition to some hard yardage carrying the ball in the third, Eschler snagged a late fourth quarter interception and made did a great job as a defensive end despite being the lightest player, at 150 pounds, on either squad. Eschler will be going to Treasure Valley Community College, where he’ll ride bulls for the rodeo team. “And maybe some broncs,” Eschler said. “Have to go for the all-around. I’ve been lucky enough to be around the Growneys,” he added. The Growneys are the stock suppliers for a number of big PRCA events, including the Chief Joseph Days rodeo. Football must sometimes seem tame to Eschler, who said he really wants to get into bull fighting.

Head coach Bill Yester had only praise for his team. “I felt all week that they really came together but I never thought they’d play like this.” He pointed to the East’s speed as a decisive factor in the game as well as Mike Pagnotta’s (Illinois Valley) astounding performance as a tailback. “He made some cuts I just couldn’t believe,” Yester said.

The East concentrated on platooning, playing everyone on the roster. Despite playing five different quarterbacks, the team showed near-perfect continuity, said Yester. He also praised the legwork of Myrtle Point’s Matt Buche, who put pressure on the West with every appearance, and was proud of the work that the inside guys Tony Hubble of Bonanza and Devin Burril of Grant Union. “They tore ’em up inside,” grinned Yester. “Randall (Eschler) really ran the ball well,” Yester said, adding that Eschler’s speed was a real asset.

The first quarter set the stage for much of the day, with a first-possession turnover by the West when a great hit by Powder Valley’s Todd Baxter blasted the ball out of the hands of the West’s Tim Kirsch (Madras) upon the completion of a 14-yard pass. Ricky Howe of Sweet Home snagged the loose ball on the West’s 32 and the offense came in to do its job. The East pounded forward, scoring in four plays on a 11-yard run by Pagnotta down the right side. The extra point was missed, leaving what you might have thought was an opening for the West.

Taking the ball on their own 20, the West managed a first down, before coming to an ugly fourth and 11 end when Wallowa’s Spaur sacked the West’s Nate McBride of Warrenton, forcing the West to punt it away.

In the second quarter the East mounted a drive from its own 43 and seven plays later scored on a Trent Holcomb (Nyssa) to Tye Hiatt (Vale) 33 yard pass. Again, the extra point was missed, making the score 12-0.

The West then put on what would be its only scoring drive, as West quarterback McBride led his team to the end zone, helped a bit by a late hit that moved the ball from the 22 to the 11, and set up Estacada’s Craig O’Meara for a one-yard scoring run. The West had no better luck with its kicking game than the East, and the extra point attempt went wide, bringing the score to 12-6.

Any hopes the West might have had were soon quashed, as the East proceeded to rack up another 16 points in the remaining nine minutes of the half. Collin Cramer-Watkins (Suislaw) scored on a seven-yard pass from Chuey Elguezabal of Heppner. Again, the kick failed and the West prepared to receive the kickoff. Unfortunately, a fumble on the kickoff resulted in a turnover when Matt Buche snagged the ball for the Reds.

The West showed some solid defense following the turnover and held the East right on the goal line when they went for a fourth and one scoring attempt following some tough yardage earned by Eschler. A few plays later, though, the West was hammered when a blitz forced a fumble from McBride in the end zone. The West recovered the ball, but before Greg Poe of Banks could get rid of it the East’s Colby Weedman, from Sherman, took him down for two more points.

Buche, who never missed a completion all night, proceeded to run and gun the East 59 yards into the end zone before the half ended, hitting Hiatt with a 13-yard bullet for six points. Hiatt took a high snap on the point-after try and, whether through planning or inspiration, hit Jake Lacey of Ontario in the end zone for two more, making it 28-6 at the end of the first half.

The second half saw the East continue to pound the West. In the third quarter, Pagnotta blasted through a pair of defenders who simply couldn’t hang onto him and trotted 40 yards for six more. Brett McClintock of Junction City finally broke the kicking curse and booted it between the uprights, to relieved cheers from pretty much everyone in the stands.

Drew Huskey of Estacada might have rekindled the West in the third, with a breakaway charge down the left side that had outdistanced all pursuers, but Randall Eschler of Joseph showed incredible speed, cutting across from the right and bringing him down as Huskey entered the open headed for the goal.

At the end of three quarters the score stood at 35-6.

In the fourth, Spaur intercepted a misthrown pass by McBride and put the East back on the offense. Baxter took a handoff six yards for another touchdown, and McClintock chipped another one through to make the score 42-6. The West got the ball back late in the quarter, but Eschler took it away with a nice interception on his own 38 with 1:32 left. Howe iced the cake for the East, taking a punt on his own 45, then cutting left and running it 55 yards down the left sideline for the final score of the game. As if to prove it wasn’t a good day for kickers, the extra point attempt failed, leaving the final score 48-6.

The East strengthened its overall lead through the 52-year history of the Shrine game and the record now sits at 26-23-3.

The shrine game provides a big boost of charitable funds to the Shriners Hospital system, which consists of 22 hospitals. The East-West game netted somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000 for the medical care of children whose families couldn’t otherwise afford professional care. Oregon merchants did their part, and the advertising in the thickest program ever raised almost $86,000, organizers said.

Shrine games are always loaded with pageantry and pomp. You have the fez-capped Shriners motoring about on their go-carts, robed and crowned royalty, honored Shrine leaders being lauded before the kickoff and the Shrine band playing their hearts out. In the end, though, it’s all about football. Better than 2,000 fans cheered, groaned and chanted for the all-star squads from the kickoff to the last seconds of the game in this great taste of the season to come.

West 0 6 0 0 – 6

East 6 22 7 13 – 48

First Quarter

E – Mike Pagnotta 1 run (kick failed)

Second Quarter

E – Tye Hiatt 33 pass from Trent Holcomb (kick failed)

W – Craig O’Meara 1 run (kick failed)

E – Collin Cramer-Watkins 7 pass from Chuey Elguezabal (kick failed)

E – Safety: Greg Pope tackled in end zone by Colby Weedman

Third Quarter

E – Hiatt 13 pass from Matt Buche (Jake Lacey pass from Hiatt)

E – Pagnotta 40 run (Brett McClintock kick)

Fourth Quarter

E – Todd Baxter 6 run (McClintock kick)

E – Ricky Howe 55 punt return (kick failed)

W E

First Downs 12 18

Rushing Yards 33-62 52-274

Passing Yards 125 165

Total Yards 187 439

Passing 11-24-3 12-19-1

Fumbles-Lost 5-2 5-1

Penalties-Yards 1-5 4-30

Individual stats

Rushing – West: Greg Pope 3-20, Nate McBride 8-19, Andrew Muehleck 6-17, Drew Huskey 6-13, Dan Weis 2-5, Craig O’Meara 2-4, Brian Halverson 1-(-1), Jared Beeler 1-(-1), Trevor Smith 1-(-2), Pedro Reyes 2-(-5), Levi Halmett 1-(-7). East: Mike Pagnotta 14-150, Blake Eckstein 7-39, Tyler Coleman 3-23, Collin Cramer-Watkins 1-20, Trent Holcomb 3-11, Randall Eschler 7-8, Tim Vaughan 1-8, Tye Hiatt 1-8, Scott Tisler 2-6, Todd Baxter 1-6, Brett McClintock 5-5, Matt Buche 1-1, David Prewitt 1-(-1), Chuey Elguezabal 5-(-10).

Passing – West: Nate McBride 8-18-2-84, Drew Huskey 3-6-1-41. East: Matt Buche 5-5-0-78, Chuey Elguezabal 4-5-0-22, Brett McClintock 2-5-0-32, Trent Holcomb 1-2-1-33, Mike Pagnotta 0-1-0-0, Todd Baxter 0-1-0-0.

Receiving – West: David Duong 3-16, Andrew Muehleck 2-41, Predo Reyes 2-19, Dom Hindman 1-17, Dan Weis 1-14, Trevor Smith 1-14, Tim Kirsch 1-4. East: Tyler Coleman 4-68, Collin Cramer-Watkins 4-20, Tye Hiatt 2-46, Jake Lacey 2-31.