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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 2015)
Polk County Sports 12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 28, 2015 State: McBeth missed three months of training LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Bailie Hartford (right) attempts to pass a runner during the Mid-Willamette Conference Championships. Continued from Page 10A This season has been as much about trying to get back into running shape as it has thinking about state, McBeth said. “We knew that there was a lot of catching up to do compared to where she has been in the past,” Central coach Eli Cirino said. “She was very patient and did not try to push too hard too early.” Entering Oct. 21’s race, McBeth and Hartford knew it’d be a challenge to book a return trip to state. “We’re both a little tore up, I’m not going to lie,” Mc- Beth said. “We both came in knowing we’d have to give it our all if we wanted to be where we wanted and not be too disappointed with our times.” The runners took oppo- site approaches. Hartford Just short • Central’s girls cross-country team placed fourth in the team standings. The Panthers finished four points behind third place. The top three squads advanced to the state meet. • Jamie Smith (16th, 21 minutes, 9:09 seconds), Annie Taylor (23rd, 21:40.72), Beatriz Trujillo (24th, 21:41.68), Diana Nye (38th, 22:47.28) and Bethanie Altamirano (39th, 23:01.0) rounded out the Panthers’ varsity runners. went out with the lead pack. “I knew who I wanted to run with,” she said. “At the beginning, I put myself up with them and tried to keep their pace.” McBeth tried a different strategy. “I tried to start out a little slow and started with the (main) pack,” McBeth said. “Then, I knew I had to break out of it. It was easy to know who was in front of me and who was behind me.” Both runners executed their strategies to perfection, DALLAS FOOTBALL Cirino said. “I felt like both Bailie and Abby ran very intelligent races,” Cirino said. “The goal was to run a controlled race and to qualify. We knew if they ran within themselves, they would be right where they wanted.” As McBeth and Hartford prepare for the state meet on Saturday, they aren’t worried about how they’ll finish. In- stead, they’re ready to soak in the moment. “I go to state for the expe- rience,” Hartford said. “It’s fun to see all these girls who have the same passion as you and are just as passion- ate about it as you.” Cirino said he hopes that experience is something they’ll enjoy for a long time. “My hope for them both is to focus on running their best and to have a great and memorable experience,” Cirino said. “They are com- petitors and will be ready to race. I hope that they are re- laxed enough to appreciate what they have accom- plished as runners and to soak it in for more than 20 minutes.” For McBeth, qualifying for state is nothing new, but this year, it means more than it ever has. “Of all the years, this year is probably the most special to me,” McBeth said. “I just want to have fun (at state).” DALLAS ROUNDUP Dallas sees a return to form Girls soccer preps for play-in By Lukas Eggen Playoff push The Itemizer-Observer LEBANON — Dallas’ foot- ball team rushed for 316 yards and four touchdowns as the Dragons cruised to a 35-7 victory over Lebanon on Friday. Since losing to Corvallis 35-0, the Dragons have outscored its last two oppo- nents by a combined score of 55-7. For c o a c h Tracy Jack- son and his players — D a l l a s football was back. Since that loss to Hofferber the Spar- tans, the Dragons have turned back to a run-first of- fense. “That’s what we’re used to,” senior Mitchell Laizure said. “We’ve been that smash mouth football team. It feels good getting back to that.” On offense, Dallas’ offen- sive line may be smaller than its opponents, but it’s effective in paving the way on the ground. “We’re pulling guards and linemen so it’s not a matter of having to beat a 280-pound guy straight up one-on-one,” Jackson said. “We’re blocking him at an angle, or double teaming him or kicking him out laterally. That’s the kind of football I’m most familiar with and the kind of football I love.” Senior running back Alex Hofferber rushed for 113 yards, while senior Tanner Earhart ran for 86 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Junior Caedmon Blair also rushed for two touchdowns. Finishing drives helped • Dallas enters the final game of the regular sea- son in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Mid- Willamette Conference. • The Dragons will qual- ify for the state playoffs with a victory over Silver- ton on Friday AND a loss by Corvallis or Crescent Valley. spark both the offensive and defensive units. “It sucked,” Laizure said. “(Earlier this season), we’d get down to like the five and we couldn’t punch it in. We’d get a penalty or a turnover and weren’t fully focused yet.” The last two games, that hasn’t been a problem. Turning to the run game has also yielded another ad- vantage: time of possession. Against Lebanon, the Dragons went on a 10- minute drive to open the second half. After a rough- ing-the-kicker penalty, Dal- las successfully recovered an onside kick. The result? Lebanon didn’t touch the ball on offense during the third quarter. Those time-consuming drives shortens the game and keeps the defense fresh. Early in the season, Dallas looked for the big play. Now, it’s content to grind away one yard at a time. “That’s the kind of football we’re trying to play,” Jackson said. “It keeps our defense off the field so they’re fresh when they get on. As long as we have the ball, they can’t score. That’s the way we look at it, keep getting first downs and moving the chains.” Once the defense enters the field, it’s playing with an aggressive- ness and tenacity that was missing early in the year. “We have a saying Laizure that if you’re the last man to the football, you don’t care,” Laizure said. “That helps get all 11 guys looking to make the tackle.” With the victory, Dallas improved to 3-5 overall and 3-3 in Mid-Willamette Con- ference play. The victory moved the Dragons into a tie with Lebanon (5-3 overall), Silverton (4-4 overall) and Corvallis (3-5 overall) for fourth place in the league standings. South Albany, Central and Crescent Valley are tied for first with a 4-2 mark in league play. But Jackson isn’t worried about playoff scenarios. “We could win and still not make it,” Jackson said. “We need to focus on play- ing well enough to beat Sil- verton and we can finish with honor.” That doesn’t mean players haven’t thought of the possi- bility, but Laizure said they’re focused on one thing. “It would be sweet to make the playoffs, but if we don’t get the job done, there’s not even a chance. Our focus is on beating Sil- verton,” Laizure said. Dallas plays at Silverton on Friday. The Dragons will advance to the state playoffs with a win over Silverton and a loss by either Crescent Valley or Corvallis. Corvallis hosts South Albany while Crescent Valley plays at Lebanon. PERRYDALE FOOTBALL Perrydale improves to 7-0 Itemizer-Observer staff report PERRYDALE — Junior Keenan Bailey rushed for 253 yards and three touch- downs as Perrydale defeat- ed Sherman 52-20 on Fri- day. With the victory, the Pi- rates improved to 5-0 in Spe- cial District 4 play and 7-0 overall and clinched at least a share of the league title. C.J. Marsters rushed for 168 yards and a t o u c h - d o w n , w h i l e Haylen Janesofsky ran for 52 yards and Bailey two . While the Pirates re- mained undefeated, Gubrud said this isn’t the end of their pursuit to improve. A win in the team’s final regular season game will give the Pirates the outright league title. “We’ve accomplished the first of many aspirations we h a v e f o r t h e s e a s o n ,” Gubrud said. “(I’m looking for) better ball security and fewer penalties.” The Pirates host Arlington Friday at 5 p.m. FALLS CITY ROUNDUP Football aims for playoff run Itemizer-Observer staff report FALLS CITY — Falls City is a game away from earning a trip to the state playoffs. The Mountaineers defeat- ed Alsea 62-6 on Friday in the team’s regular season fi- nale thanks in part to strong performances from Zach Weems, who rushed for 159 yards and four touchdowns and Jeremy Labrado, who ran for two touchdowns and Weems threw for one. Now the M o u n - taineers get set for a l e a g u e playoff game at North Dou- glas on Friday. Falls City lost to North Douglas 52-14 earlier this season. The winner ad- vances to the 1A state play- offs. The loser is eliminated. VOLLEYBALL FALLS AT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT: Falls City’s volleyball squad saw its season come to a close after a 25-16, 25-20, 25-10 loss to Willamette Valley Christian at the Casco League Tournament o n S a t u rd ay. Th e M o u n - taineers finished the 2015 sea- son with a 6-10 record overall and 6-8 mark in league play. Itemizer-Observer staff report DALLAS — Dallas junior Emmalee Jones wasn’t used to being the “go-to” player. “I’ve never been one of the key players,” Jones said. That’s all changed during the 2015 season. “I got more playing time this year and I’m finding ways to actually help the team, whereas in the past, I’ve relied on everybody else.” Jones, a midfielder, has become a constant pres- ence on the field during a season that’s seen multiple injuries force a number of lineup changes. “She’s the epitome of what our entire team is,” Dallas coach Kirk Myrold said. “The girls have had to take on different roles and learn new responsibilities. I have trust in what she can do and know she’s going to give it her all no matter what she’s doing for you.” Myrold hopes Jones leads the Dragons to postseason success. Dallas hosted South Albany Tuesday after press time in its final regu- lar season match. The Drag- ons already clinched a spot in the OSAA Class 5A play- in round and entered Tues- day’s match in fourth place in the Mid-Willamette Con- ference. A victory on Tuesday meant a home match in the Play-in • Dallas’ girls soccer team will compete in the play-in round on Saturday. play-in round on Saturday. A loss meant going on the road. See online for up- dates. No matter where they play, Myrold said the girls — with players like Jones lead- ing the charge — will be ready to show their true po- tential. “We’ve practiced and played this entire year for our play-in game,” Myrold said. “We want to prove and show everybody this is what we’ve done all year and this is what we can do.” VOLLEYBALL ADVANCES TO PLAY-IN: The Dallas volley- ball squad lost its inal two matches of the regular season, but held on for a sixth-place inish in the MWC. The Drag- ons (10-12 overall, 5-9 MWC) lost to Lebanon 24-26, 25-23, 25-10, 25-18 on Oct. 20 and to Silverton 25-18, 25-14, 28-30, 25-18 on Thursday. Dallas ended the regular season on a ive-match losing streak. The Dragons played at Churchill Tuesday after press time in the play-in round. The winner ad- vances to the state tourna- ment. Visit www.polkio.com for results. BOYS CROSS-COUNTRY NARROWLY MISSES STATE: The Dallas boys cross- country team saw its bid to qualify for the state cross-coun- try meet fall short, in- Stuhr i s h i n g fourth at the Mid-Willamette Conference Championships on Oct. 21. The Dragons inished with 109 points, ive behind Crescent Valley. The top three teams advanced to state. Freshman Trevor Cross and senior Justin Huxel led the Dragons, inishing in 18th and 19th overall in 17 minutes, 26.69 seconds and 17:26.94, re- spectively. Seniors Cody Tilgner (22nd, 17:27.65), T.J. Cross (23rd, 17:27.98) and Isaiah Let- ney (27th, 17:31.21) rounded out Dallas’ top-ive inishers. The Dragons’ girls team in- ished sixth. Senior Elizabeth Sut- ton led the girls in 14th place with a time of 21:06.30. Seniors Angie Sletten (27th, 22:01.36), Anneka Bloomstrom (29th, 22:07.03), Alyssa Miller (32nd, 22:09.92) and freshman Peyton Fast (37th, 22:45.95) rounded out the Dragons’ scorers. BOYS SOCCER ENDS SEA- SON: Dallas’ boys soccer team dropped a pair of league matches, falling to Silverton 3- 0 on Oct. 20 before losing to Corvallis 7-1 on Friday. The Dragons (1-10-2 overall, 0-6 MWC) played at South Albany Tuesday after press time in the team’s inal match of the sea- son. Lead: Panthers can still earn league title Continued from Page 10A After being held to 13 or fewer points in three of its first four games, Central has scored at least 33 points in its last four con- tests. “We have seen tremen- dous growth from Peter Mendazona,” Hedrick said. “He has grown exponential- ly as a leader and play- maker.” During that four game stretch, Mendazona has thrown for 13 touchdowns. He has 16 total for the sea- son. “I’m more confident,” Mendazona said. “I have the poise to stick in there and make good throws and good decisions.” The Panthers’ win did more for the team than just clinch a playoff berth. After losing two games in the fourth quarter earlier this season, Central showed it knows what it takes to win a close game. “Our players learned that good teams must make big plays in critical situations and that was apparent Fri- day,” Hedrick said. “The de- fense created three turnovers in the fourth quarter. The offense capital- ized on several key pass plays led by Peter Menda- zona.” Central closes the regular season at Woodburn on Fri- day. The Bulldogs are win- LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Central quarterback Peter Mendazona warms up be- fore the start of the second half of the Panthers’ 36-30 win over Corvallis on Friday night. less on the season, but Hedrick said the Panthers aren’t taking anything for granted. “We see Woodburn as a team who has shown im- provement from week to week,” Hedrick said. “… Our team knows we can- not take a step backwards and therefore a letdown is not an option. We must take the needed steps to show improvement as we prepare for postseason play.”