Polk County Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 19, 2016 13A
Herrera: Central has a
Cross takes first at Lebanon
chance for league title
DALLAS ROUNDUP
Itemizer-Observer staff report
LEBANON — Dallas boys
cross-country runner Trevor
Cross placed first in
Lebanon
on Oct. 12.
Cross, a
sopho-
more, won
the race
with a time
of 16 min-
utes, 32.51
seconds to
Cross
lead the
boys team,
which fin-
i s h e d
fourth in
the team
standings.
Gavin
G r a s s
(eighth,
Rocak
17:53.41),
Kenny Sut-
ton (18th, 18:42.03), Ryan
Bibler (19th, 18:47.36), Anto-
nio Barrientos (20th,
18:52.89), Oron Knudson
(21st, 19:32.35) and Grady
Gagner (24th, 19:48.84)
rounded out the boys varsity
finishers.
The girls squad finished
third. Sophomore Bekah
Rocak led the girls with a
15th-place finish in 23:43.86,
followed by senior Anne Van
de Ven (16th, 23:46.48),
sophomore Kelsey Mcintosh
(18th, 24:10.29), senior Leah
Miller (19th, 24:43.69) and
freshman Allyson Abel (20th,
26:23.57).
Dallas will host South Al-
bany, Corvallis and Crescent
Valley Wednesday (today) at
4 p.m. before competing at
the Mid-Willamette Confer-
ence Championship in Ger-
vais on Oct. 26. Races begin
at 2 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER FALLS TO
SILVERTON: Dallas’ girls soccer
team fell to Silverton 6-2 on
Oct. 12. Olivia Dalke scored
both goals
to lead the
Dragons.
Dallas (1-9
overall, 0-4
M W C )
played Cen-
tral Tuesday
after press
time. The
Dragons en-
Dalke
tered the
week in a three-way tie for
sixth place in the league stand-
ings with Woodburn (3-7-1
overall) and Central (1-8-1 over-
all). The top six teams in the
MWC advance to the postsea-
son. Dallas closes out the regu-
lar season at Woodburn on
Thursday and at South Albany
on Tuesday.
B OYS S O CC E R D R O P S
THIRD STRAIGHT: Dallas’ boys
soccer team lost its third-
straight match, falling to Silver-
ton 3-0 on Oct. 12. The Dragons
played Central Tuesday after
press time. Dallas (1-9-1 overall,
0-3-1 MWC) began the week
tied for seventh place in the
league standings with Lebanon
and trailing Crescent Valley (6-
4-1 overall, 1-3 MWC) for sixth
and Silverton (4-3-4 overall, 1-
2-1 MWC) for fifth. The Dragons
host Woodburn Thursday at 6
p.m. and South Albany Tuesday
at 4 p.m. to end the regular
season. The top six teams in the
league advance to the postsea-
son.
VOLLEYBALL LOSES TO
CENTRAL: Dallas’ volleyball
squad lost to Central 25-14, 25-
19, 22-25, 25-19 on Oct. 12. The
loss dropped the Dragons,
which played Woodburn Tues-
day after press time, to 4-13
overall and 2-10 in MWC play.
Dallas entered the week in sev-
enth place behind South Al-
bany (6-13 overall, 3-9 MWC).
Dallas ends the regular season
at South Albany Thursday at 6
p.m. The top six teams advance
to the postseason with the
third through sixth-place
squads earning a spot in the
play-in round, scheduled to
take place on or before Tues-
day.
Continued from Page 12A
“He helps us a lot in the
air, winning balls up there,”
Rincon said. “He’s a team
player who wants everyone
to be a part of the play the
team creates. We can domi-
nate the offensive side
when he’s on the field. He
gives us that extra fire
power we need.”
Herrera’s success comes
as little surprise. Soccer
has come to define the
Herrera family. His father
got him hooked on the
game. His older brother,
Gregorio, played for the
Panthers, and it’s a Herrera
tradition to discuss match-
es.
“We always talk after a
game about what (my dad)
sees and what we can do
better,” Herrera said. “Then
I come back the next day
and share with my team.”
His willingness to take
criticisms and his desire to
help make him an integral
part of the Panthers’ suc-
cess.
“He is the heart of the
team and a good leader,”
Orozco said. “He’s a great
team player, communicates
Boys soccer
Rincon
• Central defeated Lebanon 4-0 on Oct.
12 before falling to McNary 3-0 on Friday.
• Tony Rincon scored twice against
Lebanon, including less than 30 seconds
into the match, to lead the Panthers. Bran-
don Lopez and Juan Ortiz also added
goals. The Panthers play at Corvallis on
Friday before hosting Woodburn on Tues-
day at 6 p.m.
well and is well-respected.”
Part of being a leader was
helping Central’s communi-
cation evolve.
Last season, when a play-
er made a mistake, he was
met with frustration from
teammates.
Herrera wanted to
change that.
“Instead of just telling
them what they did was
wrong, we try and help
them out, tell them it will
work better next time and
keep encouraging to keep
playing at a high level,” Her-
rera said.
Central entered the week
with a 3-0-1 mark in league
play, good for second place
behind Woodburn and
ahead of Corvallis.
The Panthers end the
regular season at Corvallis
on Friday before hosting
Woodburn on Tuesday at 6
p.m. with major postseason
implications. The top two
teams in the Mid-
Willamette Conference ad-
vance automatically to the
first round of the state play-
offs, while the third through
sixth seeds advance to a
play-in game.
With two of the toughest
challenges the Panthers
have faced, Herrera is ready
to give it his all in hopes of a
deep playoff run.
“It pumps everyone up,”
Herrera said. “We’ve been
building up this season. It
boosts morale to know we
can take league if we can
beat them. It gives us extra
motivation.”
Panthers: Central in a tie for third place in MWC
Continued from Page 12A
The match against Dallas
served as a microcosm of
the team’s season so far — a
few great plays and missed
opportunities — including
two service errors coming
out of a timeout and one
service error on game point.
“We have to play better
and be consistent,” Menda-
zona said. “We have some
things we need to be more
disciplined on and reduce
our unforced errors. Those
are important points that
we have to get on the
court.”
With time quickly run-
ning out to fine tune, the
Panthers are no strangers to
having to make changes on
the fly.
“I’m very proud of our
team from where we came
from at the beginning of the
season. It was a little bit of a
struggle,” Dowdell said. “We
had certain rotations that
didn’t go as well as we
thought they would. We had
a new setter about five
games into the season and
had to figure out what hit-
ters can work with her the
best.”
Those adjustments al-
lowed the Panthers to clinch
a spot to the play-in round.
Central’s wins over Dallas
and Philomath may not
have been perfect, but did
show how the Panthers can
find ways to pull out a victo-
ry.
Tapping into that energy
on a consistent basis will de-
termine whether Central’s
trip to the postseason is a
long one.
“It’s been a little bit of a
roller coaster,” Mendazona
said. “When the ride gets
tough, sometimes our girls
really compete well. Other
times, things kind of snow-
ball. Those are the times
we have to learn to dig our
way out and not get
buried.”
WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP
CENTRAL ROUNDUP
Boys XC places Wolves loses five-set thriller
first at Lebanon
Itemizer-Observer staff report
LEBANON — Central’s
boys cross-country team
placed first out of four
teams in Lebanon on Oct.
12.
Senior Matt Raines took
second overall in 17 min-
utes, 14.11 seconds to lead
the Panthers. Jaydon Ayde-
lotte (fifth, 12:32.89),
Ca e d m o n W h i s e n h u n t
(10th, 18:04.04), Jonathon
Brown (11th, 18:04.56),
Jaime Cantu (12th,
18:05.58) and Maynard
Dewitt (13th, 18:05.88)
rounded out the Panthers’
varsity runners.
The girls did not have
enough competitors for a
team score.
Beatriz Trujillo finished
11th in 21:49.44 to lead the
girls team. Naomi Vega took
13th in 22:19.83, and Aliza
Camero placed 17th in
24:08.85.
Central will compete in
L e b a n o n We d n e s d a y
(today) at 4 p.m. before
taking part in the Mid-
Willamette Conference
Championship on Oct. 26
at 2 p.m. in Gervais.
GIRLS SOCCER FALLS: Cen-
tral’s girls soccer team lost to
Lebanon 2-1 on Oct. 12. The
loss dropped Central’s record
to 1-8-1 overall and 0-4 in
league play. The Panthers en-
tered the week in a three-way
tie with Woodburn and Dallas
for sixth place. The top six
teams advance to the postsea-
son.
Central played Dallas Tues-
day after press time. The Pan-
thers host Corvallis Thursday at
6:30 p.m. before closing out
the regular season at Wood-
burn on Tuesday.
FOOTBALL FALTERS AT
LEBANON: Central’s football
team lost to Lebanon 32-6 on
Thursday.
The Panthers jumped out to
a 6-0 lead after quarterback
Peter Men-
dazona hit
receiver
Nikolai
Wolfe for a
14-yard
touch-
down, but
Lebanon
scored 32
u n a n -
Tuipulotu
swered
points to end the game.
Senior Marlon Tuipulotu
had 10 tackles, including one
sack, to lead the defense. Cen-
tral (4-3 overall, 3-1 MWC)
hosts Silverton Friday at 7 p.m.
in the team’s final home game
of the season.
Itemizer-Observer staff report
BILLINGS, Mont. — West-
ern Oregon’s volleyball squad
lost to Montana State Billings
17-25, 25-23, 25-17, 21-25,
15-13 on Saturday.
Paige Orth led the Wolves
with 14 kills. Amanda Short
added 13 kills and Alisha
Bettinson recorded 12 kills
and 21 digs. Maddie Mehciz
had 51 assists in the losing
effort.
WOU (6-11 overall, 3-7
Great Northwest Athletic
Conference) also fell to Con-
cordia 25-
18, 25-19,
25-4 on
Oct. 11.
T h e
Wolves
host Saint
Martin’s on
Thursday
Orth
and Seattle
Pacific on Saturday.
Both matches are sched-
uled to begin at 7 p.m.
WOMEN’S SOCCER FALLS
TO WESTERN WASHINGTON:
Western Oregon’s women’s
soccer team fell to top-ranked
Western Washington 2-0 on
Thursday afternoon. The match
was moved to Central High
School because of weather
conditions.
The Vikings held the Wolves
(4-7-0 overall, 1-7-0 GNAC) to
five shots. WOU played Con-
cordia Tuesday after press
time. Western Oregon hosts
Simon Fraser Saturday at 11
a.m. and Saint Martin’s Tues-
day at 3 p.m.
FOOTBALL SHUT OUT:
Western Oregon’s football team
was held to 35 total yards in the
first half as Central Washington
cruised to a 35-0 win on Satur-
day. The Wolves trailed 21-0 at
the half. WOU’s best chance at
scoring in the second half came
when WOU drove to the Central
Washington four before a
tipped pass led to an intercep-
tion by the Wildcats.
Bo Highburger had 11 tack-
les to lead the defense.
WOU returns home to play
Humboldt State Saturday at
12:30 p.m. The matchup is the
team’s final home game of the
season and also WOU’s Home-
coming game.
PERRYDALE ROUNDUP
Pirates ready for league playoff
Itemizer-Observer staff report
SEASIDE — Perrydale’s
volleyball team overcame a
slow start to defeat Jewell
14-25, 25-19, 25-23, 23-25,
15-6 on Oct. 12.
“We struggled getting
started,” coach Denise Dick-
ey said. “Jewell is a much-
improved team. We were
able to adjust our defense in
the fifth set to win the
match.”
The Pirates closed out the
regular season at C.S. Lewis
Tuesday after press time.
Perrydale entered the
week 8-10 overall and 5-4 in
Casco League play, good for
third place. The Pirates
clinched a spot in the Casco
League playoff Saturday at
Dayton High School.
The tournament’s sched-
ule will be set Wednesday
(today) after the Casco
League meeting, Dickey said.
Head to www.polkio.com for
the schedule when it be-
comes available.
Three teams from the
Casco League will advance
to the state tournament.
“ T h i n g s a re l o o k i n g
promising going into playoff
week,” Dickey said.
FOOTBALL PREPS FOR
STRETCH RUN: After a week
off, Perrydale’s football team (4-
2 overall, 3-1 Special District 4)
returns to the gridiron to play
at Sherman on Friday. Sherman
enters the game with a 6-1
mark overall and 5-0 in Special
District 4 play.
“Sherman is a very good
team,” coach Duane Riddell
said. “We need to keep improv-
ing and become faster at
everything we do.”
For the Pirates to earn a vic-
tory, expect to see big games
from Daniel Domes, Cooper
Butler, C.J. Marsters and Haylen
Janesofsky.
“Daniel has been excellent
at quarterback,” Riddell said.
“Cooper has been great. C.J.
has been excellent and Haylen
has been really good all season
and keeps getting better.”
The Pirates close out the
regular season at Dufur (6-1
overall, 3-1 SD4) on Sept. 28.
Facing two of the league’s top
teams is a tough stretch – but a
challenge Perrydale is excited
to tackle.
“I like the way the schedule
is set up,” Riddell said. “It’s all up
to us. If we win these next two
games, we have a chance to at
least be tied for the league
title.”
FALLS CITY ROUNDUP
Dragons: DHS
Volleyball falls to Crosshill Christian
faces Raiders
Itemizer-Observer staff report
FALLS CITY — Falls City’s
volleyball team fell to
Crosshill Christian 25-8, 25-
3, 25-11 on Thursday, but
the Mountaineers remain
upbeat entering the Casco
League tournament on Sat-
urday at Dayton High
School.
“Going into playoffs, our
keys will be keeping our
emotions under control,
staying focused on the
game and playing every ball
to our fullest ability,” coach
Roxi Barnhart said.
The league playoff sched-
ule will be officially con-
firmed Wednesday (today).
Falls City closed the regu-
lar season by playing Jewell
Tuesday after press time.
FOOTBALL FALLS TO TRI-
ANGLE LAKE: Falls City’s foot-
ball team fell to Triangle Lake
6 - 0 o n Fr i d ay. Th e l o s s
dropped the Mountaineers’
record to 3-4 overall and 3-1 in
Special District 3 play.
“We lost that game because
of not blocking and tackling
well,” coach Laric Cook said.
“We didn’t stay on blocks and
broke down in space. Tackling
in space is a premium in eight-
man football.”
Falls City plays at Yoncalla
on Friday in a nonleague con-
test to close out the regular
season. The two teams will
likely meet again on Oct. 28
at Falls City in a league play-
off game with a state berth
on the line if Triangle Lake,
which has won its last four
games by a combined score
of 212-18, defeats Maple Leaf
on Friday.
If Triangle Lake loses, Falls
City would play North Dou-
glas with state seeding on the
line.
With the possibility of play-
ing Yoncalla two weeks in a
row, Friday will serve more as a
rehearsal for both teams.
“We’re going to be pretty
vanilla,” Cook said. “I’m sure
they will be doing the same
thing. We want to see how we
line up against their forma-
tion.”
Cook said he expects to see
Yoncalla test the Moun-
taineers’ defense through the
air.
“They are wanting to throw
it about 60 percent of the time
and run it 40 percent, maybe
even 70/30,” Cook said.
Falls City knows Friday’s reg-
ular season finale won’t be the
team’s final game, but Cook
said it will be important in fine
tuning for what could be a
win-or-go-home game on Oct.
28.
“We are going to rally the
troops here,” Cook said. “We’re
not going to do anything too
different. We have to get bet-
ter at not breaking down in
space and on the point of at-
tack on offense. We can’t be
spectators out there.”
Continued from Page 12A
The game featured lots of
miscues, from bobbled
snaps to dropped passes.
The thrill of victory made
struggling through the diffi-
cult weather conditions
worth it.
“It was a blast after we
won and we got to cele-
brate,” Blair said. “It was def-
initely fun because we’ve
been playing on turf lately
and you never know when a
guy was going to slip or miss
a block. It’s a fun type of
football.”
Dallas (6-1 overall, 3-1
Mid-Willamette Conference)
has little time to enjoy the
victory.
The Dragons play at Cres-
cent Valley Friday in a key
league battle.
The Raiders enter the
matchup with a 1-3 record in
league play, but could pres-
ent a stiff challenge.
Two of the team’s three
losses came by seven or
fewer points.
“We’re taking it one game
at a time,” Blair said. “At
Central, it didn’t work out so
we know what both sides
feel like.”