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Bayley reaches quarters,
Hatley bows out
at men’s amateur
CRESWELL, Ore. — The bad news is, Derek Bayley of Rathdrum will be unable to defend his Rosauers Open Invitational championship this weekend.
The good news is, it’s because he has reached the quarterfinals of the 116th Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur at Emerald Valley Golf and Resort.
Bayley, the former Lakeland High star and rising senior at Washington State, defeated Miguel Delgado of Novato, Calif., 5 and 4 in the Round of 16 on Thursday. Earlier in the day, Bayley beat Li Wang of Sammamish, Wash., 6 and 4 in the Round of 32.
Bayley, the No. 7 seed, faces No. 2 seed Edwin Yi of Los Angeles and the University of Oregon in the quarterfinals this morning. The winner advances to the semifinals later today.
Bayley had planned to enter the Rosauers if he was eliminated from the men’s amateur by Thursday.
Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake lost 5 and 4 in the Round of 16 to Emmett Oh of Calgary. Earlier Thursday, Hatley defeated Zach Evens of Mercer Island, Wash., 2 and 1 in the Round of 32.
Vandals’ Coleman named
to Nagurski watch list
DALLAS — Defensive lineman Aikeem Coleman’s impact on the Idaho football team has not gone unnoticed, as the Hattiesburg, Miss., native was recognized on Thursday with the announcement of the 2017 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List.
In total, 103 defensive standouts made the watch list, including six members of the Sun Belt Conference. The Football Writers Association of America and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce five finalists on Nov. 16.
Coleman took home the Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year award last season after leading the Vandals in tackles for loss and sacks. His eight sacks were also the fourth most in the conference and the 47th best mark nationally. Coleman was exceptional in back-to-back games against Appalachian State and Louisiana, picking up three TFLs and two sacks in each contest.
WSU’s Mata’afa, O’Connell named to award watch lists
DALLAS — Washington State defensive lineman Hercules Mata’afa and offensive lineman Cody O’Connell were each named to preseason watch lists for the Bronco Nagurski and Outland Trophy, respectively, the Football Writers Association of America announced Thursday.
Mata’afa was named to the Bronco Nagurski Trophy watch list, given to the nation’s Defensive Player of the Year while O’Connell was named to the Outland Trophy watch list (given to the nation’s best lineman) after being a finalist for the award last season.
Mata’afa earned All-Pac-12 second team after finishing fifth in the league with 13.5 tackles including a team-high five sacks last season. The redshirt junior enters the 2017 season with 24.5 career tackles-for-loss, second-most among active Pac-12 players. Mata’afa, a native of Lahaina, Hawaii, was also named to the Bednarik Award watch list (given to the country’s top defensive player) earlier this week.
O’Connell, a redshirt senior, was a unanimous All-American last season and was rated the second-best offensive linemen in the country in 2016 by Pro Football Focus. The Wenatchee, Wash. native started 12 games at left guard while protecting for the nation’s third-best passing attack. O’Connell was also placed on the Maxwell Award Watch List for the National Player of the Year earlier in the week.