THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, AUGUST 28, 2017
WHS PREVIEWS
11A
WARRIOR FOOTBALL
‘BACK TO SQUARE ONE’
By GARY HENLEY
The Daily Astorian
T
he
merry-go-round
of Warrenton foot-
ball coaches has come
full circle, with the guy who
started the whole thing back
for his second ride.
After a two-year absence,
Ian O’Brien returns to coach
the Warriors, making it War-
renton’s
third
coaching
change, and fourth different
coach in four years.
O’Brien coached the 2014
season, then left to become
athletic director at Lakeridge
High School. Travis Freeman
replaced O’Brien and coached
one year (2015); Freeman left
and Jason Edwards coached
the 2016 season, and now
O’Brien has returned.
It also proves what they say
about coaching changes — it
makes it hard to build a win-
ning program.
From 2014-16, the War-
riors are just 1-7 in league.
They hit rock bottom last year,
finishing 0-9 overall, 0-3 in
league, forfeiting their season
finale at Rainier because of a
lack of players.
For the record, it was War-
renton’s first winless season
since 1960 (0-8).
Now the rebuilding starts.
“I feel like we’re back to
square one,” O’Brien said the
first week of practice. “A lot of
fundamentals, lots of teaching
of things that we did that very
first year we were together
(2012). But they’re picking it
up quickly, flying around and
having fun. That’s all you can
ask.”
THE LEAGUE
It’s still the same goal in
the four-team Lewis & Clark
League: Two wins will get you
to state.
And it’s a not a far-fetched
idea to see the Warriors go
from a winless season in ‘16 to
the state playoffs in ‘17.
Clatskanie and Rainier both
lost loads of senior talent, and
there’s no telling what Port-
land Christian will have.
In addition to losing the
league’s Offensive and Defen-
sive Players of the Year, the
Columbians lost five all-
leaguers on offense, six on
defense. Clatskanie lost eight
all-league starters.
O’Brien is hoping to return
the Warriors to what they were
Submitted Photo
The 2017 Warrenton volleyball team, hoping for a big
season under first-year coach Staci Miethe.
Miethe takes
over Warrior
volleyball
Gary Henley/The Daily Astorian
Gio Martinez is a three-year starter at quarterback for the Warrenton Warriors, who are
looking to make big strides in 2017.
WARRENTON FOOTBALL
Coach: Ian O’Brien, 1st year (4th overall)
2016: 0-9 (0-3 L&C)
All-League losses: Ray Alcobendas, WR/DB; Devon Bowser, OL/DL
All-League returners: Gabe Breitmeyer, So., Punter; Logan Fischer, Sr.,
LB; Giovanni Martinez, Jr., DB
in his last year, 2014, when
Warrenton opened the sea-
son with six straight wins over
non-league competition, then
lost two close games at Rain-
ier and Clatskanie in league
play to finish 0-2 in league
(Portland Christian had not yet
joined the league).
“Rainier is the power, as
always,” he said. “Clatskanie
always does a good job, and
(Portland Christian) gave it
to us last year. Rainier is the
favorite, as they should be.
They’ve earned the right to be
those guys at the top.”
THE WARRIORS
“We’ve got a really
big sophomore and fresh-
men group, and a smaller
junior class with six or seven
seniors,” O’Brien said.
And it’s the competition at
each position — as well as the
competition between young
and older players on the roster
— that could help the Warriors
back sooner than expected.
“Our strength now is com-
ing out each day and giving
it all the effort that we have,”
O’Brien said. “We have some
big kids. And we’ll be relying
on some of the older kids who
have been playing the last four
years. We have a big fresh-
men and sophomore class with
great numbers.”
The line is anchored by
seniors Beau Reynolds and
Caden Hans, along with senior
Collin Burchell and soph-
omore Mark Warren. The
skill position players include
juniors Kaleo Kapua and Gio
Martinez, and sophomores
Gabe Breitmeyer, Devon Jack-
son and Jacob Morrow. Fresh-
man Duane Falls could be a
big contributor.
Junior receiver/defensive
back Dalton Knight suffered a
broken wrist in Friday’s jam-
boree at Astoria.
“Gio and Jacob Morrow are
in competition (at quarterback),
and they’re doing a good job
pushing one another,” O’Brien
said. “It’s a healthy competi-
tion. We need our best 11 guys
on the field, and regardless of
who’s playing quarterback, the
other one will be on the field at
another position.
“The seniors are doing a
great job leading, but we’re
going to have a ton of sopho-
mores who will see live action
Friday nights,” he said. “It
should be a great opportunity.
You have to grow up quick.”
Quotable: “I think confi-
dence is going to be essential
right now,” O’Brien said. “Our
kids don’t have a whole lot.
They didn’t have a lot to feel
confident about last year. But
our style of play, the way we
approach practice and are get-
ting excited about little things
and big plays, that culture will
come back and they’ll start to
get the taste of it.”
Running tough, in a tough district
THE RUNNERS
By GARY HENLEY
The Daily Astorian
District 1/3A cross country
can be a challenge, especially
for a public school.
They’re outnumbered to
begin with, while the private
schools have historically dom-
inated at the district and state
levels.
And the 2016 season was
no exception. Nor will it be
in 2017, as the usuals gather
at the starting line for another
year.
On the girls’ side, the top
three schools in last year’s dis-
trict meet (Catlin Gabel, Ore-
gon Episcopal and South-
west Christian) are the likely
favorites again, in no particu-
lar order.
The top three runners in the
district (defending champion
Stephanie Finley from OES,
and Catlin’s Maya Rayle and
Lillian Fenner) all return.
Meanwhile, the Warren-
GIRLS
Cailin Bennett
Alma Bolanos
Katelyn Carelock
Adriana DeJesus
Madison Kadera
Kaisa Liljenwall
Sahanna Rodriguez
Anna Schenbeck
Rebecca Sprengeler
Pamela Talancon-Botello
Trinity Womack
The Daily Astorian/File Photo
Kaisa Liljenwall is one of the top returning runners for the
Warrenton girls cross country team.
ton girls finished eighth out
of eight teams in the district
meet, but to counter that, the
Warriors enter 2017 with good
numbers.
That’s the good news for
coach Hayley Espelund Rog-
ers. On the other hand, the
Warriors have several first-
year runners and will be
young, again.
Only three returners ran
in last year’s varsity district
meet (sophomore Kaisa Lilj-
enwall, senior Alma Bolanos
and junior Madison Kadera),
with Liljenwall finishing 34th
out of 64.
The Warrenton boys lost
their top runner (Luke Liljen-
wall), and have just five ath-
letes on the preseason roster
BOYS
Forrest Bigelow
Darren Garnett
Kale Moss
Andrew Schenbeck
Lucas Thompson
— juniors Forrest Bigelow and
Andrew Schenbeck, sopho-
more Darren Garnett and first-
year runners Kale Moss and
Lucas Thompson.
Southwest Christian, OES,
Riverdale and Catlin Gabel
were the top four teams in last
year’s district meet, with the
Warriors placing seventh.
Life happens...That’s why we’re here!
G
O
WARRENTON
VOLLEYBALL
By GARY HENLEY
The Daily Astorian
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only
Three coaches in three
years? Generally not a good
thing for a high school sports
program, but at least War-
renton volleyball is sticking
with familiar names.
After Jenny (Forney)
Smith stepped down follow-
ing the 2015 season, former
coach Jim Hackwith took
over and ran the Warriors in
2016. Hackwith has re-re-
tired, and now Warrenton
volleyball has brought in one
of its former players to run
the program, as Staci Miethe
takes over as varsity coach
for 2017.
Miethe has plenty of vol-
leyball experience (first-
team all-league as a player at
WHS). She coached middle
school volleyball and was an
assistant under former coach
Dianne Dick, before serving
as an official at high school
matches in recent years.
She has also followed
Warrenton volleyball closely
for the last four years, with
daughter Landree on the
team.
“I don’t think it’s going to
be too difficult for (the cur-
rent players) to adjust to my
system, because I’m stick-
ing to the basics,” Miethe
said. “I’m going with what
I know, and emphasizing
fundamentals.”
As the Warrenton softball
coach, “they know that any
time I coach, I come with
passion and intensity. I think
I’m convincing them that I’m
not just filling in. I’m here to
be their coach, and I’m not
just a softball coach who’s
helping out.”
THE LEAGUE
Like basketball, the Lewis
& Clark is a crowded league
when it comes to indoor
sports.
Rainier, Portland Chris-
tian, Oregon Episcopal, Port-
land Adventist — last year’s
top four teams in L&C vol-
leyball all had winning
league records.
Unfortunately, the league
did not have a single repre-
sentative in the final eight
at the state tournament —
even the Columbians, who
went into the state playoffs
with an 11-0 league record
and ranked seventh. Rain-
ier suffered an upset loss to
Coquille in the Sweet 16,
while OES and Portland
Christian lost in three-game
sweeps.
The Warriors were 5-7
against league competi-
tion last season, but a com-
bined 0-6 against the top four
teams.
Coach: Staci Miethe, 1st year
2016: 10-10 (5-6 league)
Playoffs: Defeated Catlin
Gabel, lost to Portland
Christian in league playoffs.
All-League losses: Asia Lam-
bert, Landree Miethe
All-League returners: None
Not much changes from
year to year in the L&C.
“Rainier is still going to
be the one to beat,” Miethe
said. “Breanna Edwards is a
senior and probably the best
player in the league.
“Our goal is to finish in
the top half of league and
make the playoffs, because
once you get to the playoffs,
anything can happen.”
THE LADY
WARRIORS
While one Miethe comes
in to coach, another one has
graduated and moved on.
Landree Miethe was
Warrenton’s lone first-team
all-league player last sea-
son, but the three-sport star
has graduated, along with
libero Asia Lambert, an hon-
orable mention all-league
player.
“We lost the bulk of our
offense, so this year’s the-
ory is to spread it around,”
coach Miethe said. “We’re
not going to give it all to
one person, so we’ll have
to be crafty in our offensive
mindset. Our big goal is to
be scrappy defensively and
hopefully not allow anyone
to score a lot of easy points.”
The Warriors were always
strong defensively under
Smith and Hackwith, and
should continue to be this
year.
“Defensively we look
pretty good, and the
Blodgett girls (junior Mor-
gan and sophomore Ellie)
are both coming along nicely
offensively.
“Claire Bussert (Jr.) was
a setter in the past, but she
will be a setter/hitter, and
able to hit when she’s in the
front row. Between Claire,
Morgan and Ellie, we should
make up the bulk of the
offense we lost.”
Elsewhere, “Sagi Diego
(Jr.) is looking strong in
the front row, and Michelle
Arney (Sr.) is consistent and
solid.”
Rounding out the roster
are seniors Leah Durham,
Kiley Holdiman and Vanessa
Talancon, juniors Fernanda
Alvarez and Ruby Dyer, and
sophomore Melia Kapua.
Alvarez could miss the first
few weeks of the season for
medical reasons.
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