HEPPNER — The community is invited to huddle up to honor the careers of a pair of longtime Heppner High School coaches — Les Payne (48 years) and Greg Grant (35 years).

The Coaching Retirement Party is Dec. 7, 5-9 p.m. at the Gilliam & Bisbee Event Center, 106 E. May St., Heppner. The official ceremony starts at 6:30 p.m.

The celebration is open to high school students and adults. Hors d’oeuvres will be served and a no-host bar will be available.

The Mustangs’ head coach since 1990, Grant started his coaching career in Alsea. According to the Oregon School Activities Association, the Mustangs have never had a losing record under his leadership. And along the way they won three state titles (1992, 2015, 2019).

Grant announced at the beginning of the 2024 season that it would be his last. The team finished the regular season undefeated and beat Waldport on Nov. 9 during the first round of the state 2A playoffs. Heppner hosts Lost River for a quarterfinal game on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 1 p.m.

Grant was named the 2021-22 National Coach of the Year for football by the National Federation of State High School Associations Coaches Association. Also, his career record places him third on the state’s all-time wins list for high school football coaches. Despite his success, Grant shared the accolades during a January 2023 interview with the East Oregonian.

“I hope everyone knows they had a part in it,” he said after winning the national award. “It’s a Heppner football award that has my name on it.”

Coach Payne

According to the OSAA, Payne coached nine seasons in Tonasket, Washington — the first seven as head coach — before heading to Heppner in 1977 as an assistant coach for girls basketball and baseball. He just showed up at football practice one day and remained on the sidelines for the rest of the ‘77 season as a volunteer.

Other than a one-year stint as the head football coach in 1982, Payne has been an assistant coach in Heppner since he stepped onto the field that has beared his name since August 2008. Payne said in a November 2007 EO interview that he didn’t enjoy everything that comes with serving as a head coach.

“The reason I wanted to coach is I wanted to work with kids and teach them to play football and help them develop their skills and their talents,” he said. “Being an assistant coach lets me do that.”

Grant said he was the “luckiest guy in the world” to have Payne as his assistant.

“We’ve given him a lifetime contract for as long as he wants to coach,” Grant said in an October 2003 interview.

After donning the Mustangs’ royal blue and gold for a combined 83 years, both men are breaking away from the huddle. However, their legacy will continue as the Mustangs play on Les Payne Field at Greg Grant Stadium.

WHO: Greg Grant & Les Payne

WHEN: Dec. 7, 5-9 p.m.

WHERE: Gilliam & Bisbee Event Center

ADDRESS: 106 E. May St., Heppner