McNally, Pharr lead Mountaineer defense

Two Wahkiakum High School graduates have become leaders on the defensive team of the Eastern Oregon University Mountaineer football team.

Sophomores Jeff McNally, Rosedale, and Terrence Pharr, Puget Island, won starting positions on the defense last year as freshmen and have become two of the team's defensive leaders. Both are 2006 Wahkiakum High School graduates.

The pair were record setting tacklers in the Mountaineers' 28-7 loss to the highly ranked Carroll College Fighting Saints on October 20 in LaGrande, Ore.

McNally, a free safety, set a new team record with 18 tackles in the game. He broke a record set by Pharr, a linebacker.

Second ranked Carroll raised their season record to 8-0. Eastern dropped to 1-6 in the Frontier Conference and 1-7 overall. Eastern stayed with Carroll, going into halftime down 13-7. The Mountaineers were the first team to score a touchdown on the Saints this season.

On October 27, Eastern lost 21-17 at Rocky Mountain College. Pharr had nine tackles in the game, and McNally had four.

With two games left in the season, Pharr was the team's leading tackler with 25 unassisted and 58 assisted tackles for the season. McNally was sixth on the list with 24 unassisted and 25 assisted.