Henry Matai's the back to watch in Klickitat County
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
With due respect to Columbia High School's Jenson Ladiges, a Trico all-conference player, the best running back in the county will be wearing a blue, Cougar uniform this year. Henry Matai, of Wishram, returns for his junior year of football at Lyle-Wishram with impressive numbers from last year.
Matai rushed for 1,353 yards and 14 touchdowns, averaging 8.7 yards per carry. Big stats in eight-man football are to be expected, but what makes Matai the best back is the way he gains yards.
Comparing anyone to football's all-time greatest running back, Jim Brown, is foolish, but Matai's style of running is best described by invoking the memory of Brown. Matai has that same combination of power and speed that allows him to run over and run away from tacklers. Brown was famous for his punishing style and his slow walk back to the huddle. Matai is also a load and gives pause to fear of injury on many plays, but he says he is just resting between plays.
Matai's best asset is that he is a smart runner. One play in particular showed off Matai's skill. It was a game in Lyle against Touchet. Matai took a handoff on the kickoff and very patiently, almost at a trot, worked his way behind blockers to the right sideline until he found a gap. Once he saw it, he was gone. Would-be tacklers who thought they had the angle on the Cougar runner were left grasping air. In the very same game, Matai showed his strength, plodding along, draped with three tacklers after shedding two others. He was finally tackled when the fifth tackler joined the pile.
While programs might inflate things a bit for intimidation effect, Matai stands six feet and one-half inch and is an honest 210 pounds and still growing. He is also fast. Matai ran one of the preliminary legs of the 4x400 relay for Lyle-Wishram at State, helping qualify the team for the finals. At the 2B Mid-Valley district meet, Matai ran second to State champion Dana Wells in the 110 hurdles. His best time in the 110 is 16.14 and he has run 42.95 in the 300 hurdles.
Best of all, Matai is a good student and personable kid. He is a coach's dream, an honor roll student (3.79 gpa) who hasn't missed a practice or a game since Lyle-Wishram went to eight-man football. His coach, Don Smith is a big fan of Matai, but says Henry tends to forget things, such as shoes and pads. He recalls an away game where Matai forgot his pants, allowing the coach to make the educational point by making Matai sweat it out for awhile before giving him a pair of extras.
Matai would agree that he has that problem. He says he is also a big clutz. Matai has worked at the Wishram School for the past three summers and says he has broken two paint rollers, a shovel and countless other things. Nonetheless, Smith says he wishes he had about 15 more like Matai, although "I am not sure I could bring enough extra gear."
Matai credits athletic director Ty Churchwell for encouraging him to play football and to keep up with school work. Matai likes the staff at Wishram School, whom he says is always pushing students to do their best. "Ty is always pushing me, Antoine (Montoya ) is always pushing me in the weight room," says Matai.
The small town life agrees with Matai. "It's small but there are good people here. You don't need a lot of people." Matai lives with his grandparents, mother, sister Charlie and brother Alan. He attended Centerville School for second and third grades before moving to Wishram.
When Matai isn't training or involved at school he is playing video games. He says it keeps him out of trouble. He and his friends are called the nerd herd, according to Matai. He likes working with computers and is looking in that direction for a career. He is planning on taking a couple of on-line courses this year and looks forward to being involved in a community college "running start" program in the future.
When it comes to sports, football is number one with Matai, but he also plays basketball and track. He calls basketball his "laid back sport." "I can't shoot very well, so I rebound and play defense," says Matai. He likes Coach Scott Myers' style, which is also laid back.
Matai attracts a lot of teasing because he is so good-natured. He was a big target of teasing in track, particularly when it came to the 400. Matai runs a mid 50s 400, which is good for a guy his size, but he's the slow guy on the team that won the State 2B title this year. He likes running the hurdles, which he says is good training for football because it is all about power. But the 400 is not his favorite race. He says Rick (Knowles) and Mike (Vorce) are killing him by making him run the 400.
Matai would like to play football after high school, but is realistic about it. "I want to take it as far as I can. I will go as far as my potential takes me," says Matai. This year he looks forward to playing in the backfield with his older brother Alan. Alan Matai is smaller than Henry, but he is quick and athletic. It would truly be a thunder and lightning backfield for the Cougars.
Henry likes running inside where he gets a lot of calls, but prefers the outside runs where he can stiff arm tacklers and leave them behind with a juke. You might think one of his 14 touchdowns might be a highlight for Matai, but it isn't the first thing that comes to his mind. "When I was a freshman, Murphy (Mike) was punting and I was blocking. I backed up too close to him and he kicked me in the butt with the football." When pressed for a more successful play, he thinks defense. A game against Colton where he made a game-saving tackle at the five-yard line, taking the air out of a crowd that began celebrating a bit too soon. "I leaped in the air and screamed 'I did it, we won.'" It says a lot about Matai and his approach to football. Matai plays the game hard, and loves the hitting, but most of all he loves to have fun and he loves to win. The Cougars open at Dufur on Sept. 3. It will be a season worth watching just for a chance to see one of Matai's great runs.
Zach attack stopped in Portland
Goldendale golf wizard, Zach Wanderscheid played more holes of golf last week than most avid duffers can get in during a month.
Play at the PNGA junior championship began on Aug. 10 with stroke play for 18 holes in Moscow, Idaho. Wanderscheid shot a pair of 69s on the par 72 course for a four stroke victory over runner-up Jim Feutz of University Place. That put Wanderscheid in the round of 32 for match play, where you play head to head until you are beaten. Wanderscheid defeated his first four opponents in a total of 61 holes. In the final pairing against Feutz, Wanderscheid came from behind for the win on the 17th hole.
It was a great accomplishment, but there was no time to celebrate, as this was Friday, Aug. 14, and he was the lead golfer on Washington's four-man team in the Hogan cup, played that weekend in Portland. Wanderscheid was mentally exhausted, but the team still managed to finish fourth among 12 western teams. This year's cup went to British Columbia.
Mains team beats large field at golf club member-guest event
The 35th annual member-guest best ball tournament was held last weekend at the Goldendale Golf Club with a strong field of 50 teams.
The championship went to Art and Rick Mains who had a net score of 111. The best score for low gross, was shot by new member Aaron Oldenburg, of Lyle, and his partner Damien Telles, of The Dalles. Telles, a star high school golfer who will play on scholarship for University of Idaho this year, shot a 62, while Oldenburg came in at 70.
Golfers played in three flights for the two day tournament. Behind the Mains brothers in flight two were Don Slawson and Rick Cullen with a net score of 120 and Terry Griffith and Bill Link in at 122. Top gross scores for flight two were Darrell and J.T. Watson with a 152, matched by Dave Ross and Brad Cameron at 152. Third was Keith Grundei and Alan Shipp at 153.
Oldenburg and Telles led flight one, followed by Chris Barthlow and Tyler Austin at 137 gross, and Butch and Brett Beyerlin at 142. Flight one net leaders were Jeff Erland and Les Bryan at 117, Chad Myers and Jake Palmer at 118, and Matt Anderson and Joey Shelton at 119.
Flight three gross leaders were Kurt O'Leary and Jay Shelton at 165, Sam and Fred Wilkins at 169, and Randy Craven and Earl Greene at 177. Net leaders were Bobby Mains and Scott Thayer at 117, followed by Jerry Lorton and Vern Kuhnhausen and Gene Hanson and Tom Curran, each with a 125.
The Goldendale Golf Club ladies championship will be played Sept. 10-11 and the Club Championship is Sept. 12-13.
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