Rattlers claim homecoming victories over Cardinals

The Wheeler County Rattlers – a combined team of students from Wheeler High School, Mitchell High School, and Spray High School, hosted the Ione/Arlington volleyball and football teams last Friday in Fossil for the 2024 Homecoming.

The Rattlers prevailed in both sports and gave the Wheeler County faithful something to cheer about.

Starting with the volleyball game, the Rattlers had their backs against the wall inside of the Wheeler High School gymnasium. The Ione/Arlington team has been dominant in recent years and were fired up in the first set.

Big kills by Arlington senior Najiah Knight and Victoria De la Torre put the Rattlers on their heels early on, winning the first set 25-13. But the Rattlers dug deep and battled back.

Led by the team's only senior, Morgan Cole Hand, the Rattlers flipped the switch in the second set.

Spray junior Maddy Neuburger and 5-11 junior Abby Chase created a wall at the net, blocking spikes from Knight and the Cardinals.

Wheeler High School junior Olivia Humphreys and Spray junior Hannah Fischer served well and got some aces.

The gym grew increasingly louder as the third and final set began to tip for the Rattlers.

With a win in straight-sets over Horizon Christian the following night, the Rattlers are now 12-1 Overall, and 4-0 in Big Sky League play.

The Rattlers Volleyball team travelled to Bickleton on Tuesday, and heads to Monument on Friday.

The next big test for the Rattlers will come on October 5, when the team travels to Lyle High School for a Big Sky League Tournament matchup with Dufur and Lyle/Wishram. The Rattlers will then play at Condon on October 8.

At the football homecoming game, the Rattlers found some redemption against the Ione/Arlington Cardinals, winning 24-6.

The first half of play was back and forth, but the Rattlers were too much for the Cardinals in the second half.

The Six-Man game can move and change quickly, and as temperatures dropped in the second half, so too did the Cardinal's prospects.

With just one senior on the team, the Rattlers are young and many of their players are foreign exchange students from Spray and Mitchell.

After a rocky start to the season, the Rattlers are looking for their first league win this Friday, when they head to Monument to take on Dayville/Monument/Long Creek.

Mitchell High School will host Prairie City/Burnt River on October 11, and Spray High School will host Echo on October 18.