Rhythmic Mode Coach Debbie Kishpaugh, center, won Coach of the Year and received a lifetime achievement award in 2016 at the OSAA State Dance & Drill championships at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland. Kishpaugh is among 12 people, of which she is the only coach, to be inducted into the 2021 Buckaroo Hall of Fame.

PENDLETON — The Pendleton Linebacker’s Club has been honoring athletes and coaches for the better part of 30 years.

It all began with a golf tournament in honor of legendary Buckaroos coach Don Requa to raise money for scholarships and financial support for the high school football team.

For the past 17 years, the Linebacker’s Club has honored football players, coaches and staff with inductions to the Buckaroo Football Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2017, the club made the move to include all athletes and teams at the high school in the Buckaroo Hall of Fame.

This year’s induction class is one of the largest it has had with two teams, one coach and nine athletes. The list includes college champions, Olympic hopefuls and an NFL contract.

The Hall of Fame Night is Aug. 20 at the Pendleton Convention Center. Tickets are available at the door. The cost is $35 per person.

The auction includes Portland Trail Blazer tickets, University of Oregon and Oregon State University football tickets, and Seattle Seahawks tickets.

Tyasin Burns is the recipient of the Don Requa Scholarship, while Sam Coleman will receive the Alex Stuvland Memorial Scholarship, and Blake Swanson the Schindler-Bunch Scholarship.

Teams

The teams being inducted this year include the 1964-65 and the 1954-55 football teams.

The 1964-65 team went 9-0 during the regular season, but ran into a tough Corvallis team in the playoffs, falling 39-14. Terry Harrison led the state in touchdown passes with 21, while Mike Temple led the state in scoring with 106 points.

Requa’s 1954-55 team brought him his first Blue Mountain Conference title with the likes of Ralph Allen, Doug Minthorn and Joe Temple. The Bucks went 9-0 during the regular season, and brought Pendleton its first conference title since 1947. The Bucks lost to Lincoln 25-13 in the state quarterfinals.

Coach

Debbie Kishpaugh

Pendleton dance coach Debbie Kishpaugh is the lone coach on the induction roster, and she is more than deserving of the honor.

In her 35 years directing the school’s highly successful Rhythmic Mode dance team, the Bucks have brought home nine state titles, and dozens of dancers have won individual awards.

Players

Steve Richards (1981-84)

Richards was a standout baseball player for the Bucks, and was selected to play on the Class AAA all-star series.

After high school, he went on to play at Blue Mountain Community College. He was co-MVP in the Northwest Athletic Conference his sophomore year — the first time that a BMCC player earned the award.

From Blue Mountain, Richards went to Linfield University, where he was the Wildcats’ Most Inspirational Player in 1987-88 and team MVP as a senior.

In his first year with the Wildcats, he hit .269 with 42 hits, including seven doubles and 18 RBIs. During his final season in 1988, he hit .374 with 65 hits and 18 RBIs.

Richards was the Blue Mountain Community College softball coach from 2015-20.

Craig Christianson (1976-79)

A talented three-sport athlete for the Bucks, he excelled in football, basketball and track. He was part of the 1977 football team that advanced to the Class AAA state semifinals against Medford and suffered a 13-7 loss.

It was in track where he excelled. He once held the school record in the high jump and discus.

The University of Idaho gave him a full ride for football and track. Injuries would derail his football career, but his track career took off.

In 1986, he placed fourth in the javelin at the U.S. Championships with a throw of 245 feet, 6 inches. He placed fifth at the 1988 Olympic Trials, throwing against the likes of Brian Crouser, Mark Babich and Tom Petranoff.

Rob Burnside (1977-80)

Football, wrestling and track kept Burnside busy during his high school days.

He was a four-year letterman in wrestling, and won district titles at 178 pounds in 1977 and 1979. The Bucks were fifth at state in 1978 and third in 1979.

He and teammates Miles Hancock and Jim Fitter took part in the Oregon Cultural Exchange Team in the summer of 1979. They traveled to Italy to compete.

Burnside went on to wrestle at Oregon State University, but a knee injury cut his career short.

His love of wrestling never wavered. He refereed middle school and high school matches, volunteered with the Pendleton Youth Wrestling Program, and helped Rollin Schimmel and others construct the Pendleton wrestling building.

A longtime firefighter, he keeps in shape by doing marathons, the Pacific Crest Duathlon and the Hood-to-Coast with his daughter Tara.

Jim Malcom (1979-1982)

One of the top high school linemen in his day, Malcom was a three-year letterman and a starter for the 1980-81 playoff teams.

His senior year, he earned first-team all-conference honors on both sides of the ball and earned an invite to the 1982 Shrine Game.

Malcom still is in the Pendleton baseball record book as a pitcher (ERA) and hitter (batting average).

After high school, he played one year of football at Columbia Basin Junior College, then played two years of baseball at BMCC.

He went onto Oregon State University where he played rugby and earned a business degree in forest products.

John Vorvick (1977-80)

Another football great in the Requa era, the 6-4, 215-pound Vorvick was a dominating tackle for the Bucks. He was a first-team all-conference and first-team all-state lineman his senior year. He also was selected to the 1980 Shrine Game.

Vorvick continued his football career at Oregon Institute of Technology. He was a second-team all-conference pick three times, and a second-team all-division player twice.

After college, Vorvick played semi-pro football for the Portland Thunderbolts, checking in at defensive end and on the offensive line.

Nicole Osborne Stewart (1988-91)

One of the top female runners in Eastern Oregon in her time, Osborne placed third, sixth and ninth at the state cross-country meet.

She once held or still holds records in the 3,000 meters and the 800 meters, and was part of a dominant 4×400 relay team that set a school record.

After high school, Osborn attended Central Oregon Community College, where she continued to shine. During cross-country, she placed 25th as her team finished second. The following year, she was 15th as her team won a national title.

She moved on to Montana State, where she was part of the 1995 Montana State women’s cross-country team that was inducted into the MSU Hall of Fame in 2008.

Osborne returned to coach at Pendleton in 1997. Her girls cross-country teams placed third at state in 2008 and fourth in 2010. In 2009, she was named the Oregon High School Coach of the Year.

Shawn Flanagan (1999-02)

Another dominating tackle for the Buckaroos, Flanagan was a two-time all-conference player on offense and defense in 2000-01, and was named to the all-state team his senior year. He was named to the 2002 Shrine Game, where he came away with MVP honors.

Flanagan received a full ride to the University of Oregon, where he became a part-time starter in 2004 after his redshirt year. An injury set him back, and when he healed, he transferred to Eastern Oregon University where he earned first-team all-conference honors.

After one season at EOU, he finished his playing career at the University of Sioux Falls, where he was a two-time All-American with the Cougars, who won the 2008 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national title with a 23-7 victory over Carroll College, and finished the season with a 14-0 record.

The 6-5, 310-pound Flanagan signed a free-agent contract in 2009 with the New Orleans Saints, but his career was short-lived.

Bobby Lee Jones (1965-68)

One of the top running backs in Requa’s era, Jones ran for 1,095 yards and scored 79 points his senior season. He was named an all-conference player, and also was the top linebacker in the conference.

Jones also was an outstanding catcher for the Bucks, and also played two years of basketball.

Jones, who died in 2002, is being honored posthumously.

Brent Merriman (1973-75)

One of the premiere basketball players to grace the court at Pendleton High, Merriman, a guard, scored 1,023 points during his career, averaging 18.9 points as a junior and 24.5 as a senior. During his senior season, he set a single-game scoring record at the state tournament with 44 points.

He was a two-time all-conference player in the Intermountain Conference, and was third-team all-state as a junior and earned second-team honors as a senior.

He went on to play one year at Blue Mountain Community College.

Merriman also was a part of the Bucks 1975 baseball team that played Klamath Falls for the state title. The Pelicans beat the Bucks 6-0.