One coach has two Huntington hoops teams rolling

Jan. 6—The Huntington Locomotives basketball teams are rolling.

Both the boys and girls teams are on pace to have by far their most successful seasons in several years.

And the Locomotives are doing this with one coach guiding both teams in the town of about 500 at the southeast corner of Baker County, about 50 miles from Baker City.

Chace Dixon, who grew up in Huntington and graduated from Powder Valley High School and Eastern Oregon University, is the head coach for Huntington's boys and girls teams.

Entering this weekend, the girls, at 6-1, have as many wins as the Locomotives had combined in the previous four seasons.

Huntington's boys were 6-2, which matches their highest one-season win total in the past several years.

It's been a rewarding revival for Dixon, with his Huntington roots.

"I grew up down here, and both of my parents taught here for a very long time," Dixon said.

He was eager to apply when a teaching job became available at Huntington four years ago.

He teaches science for eighth through 12th grades.

Making progress

Dixon said that although 2022-23 has been a breakthrough year for both teams, the Locomotives' fast start actually reflects progress that started last season.

Although the girls were 4-10 and the boys 4-12, the girls placed fourth at the district tournament and the boys fifth, a significant improvement from the previous several years.

"This year I returned all of my kids back from both teams," Dixon said. "I have about seven boys and six girls for my varsity coming back."

Those returning players were joined by several foreign exchange students who are attending Huntington High School and bolstering its local enrollment of about 20.

Incorporating the new students can be a challenge, Dixon said.

"It is difficult because a majority of them have never played basketball," he said. "With that group of kids it's about teaching them fundamentals and getting them prepared to play."

But the teams have come together quickly this winter, and Dixon said all players on both teams are contributing to their success on the court.

"On the girls, every game I have almost all five or six of them put points on the board," he said.

Senior Tylie Garfield and sophomore Emma Mathews have been top scorers, with Garfield tallying 23 points in Huntington's 40-28 win over Elgin on Dec. 30 at Huntington.

Senior Tyler Rea and sophomore Braden Garfield have been leading the boys squad. Rea had 34 points in Huntington's 69-34 win over Dayville/Monument on Dec. 29 at Huntington.

As with many smaller rural schools, Huntington has in some years needed to join with another school — Harper Charter, in Malheur County, in Huntington's case — to fill its roster.

The past few years, though, the Locomotives, who compete in the Class 1A High Desert League, have fielded squads with local students.

"It's nice because last year the interest in basketball was about 50/50," Dixon said. "This year I have almost the whole high school, 14 boys and 12 girls. I think it was just genuine interest, last year was one of the best seasons they've had in a long time."

The Locomotives were on the road this weekend, traveling to Monument on Saturday, Jan. 7 for games against Dayville/Monument.

The girls were set to tip off at 4 p.m., the boys at 5:30 p.m.