11A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2017
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Gary Henley | Sports Reporter
ghenley@dailyastorian.com
Lady Warriors rally for ‘Clatsop Clash’ win
By GARY HENLEY
The Daily Astorian
WARRENTON — A quick sign
that the fall sports season is really
underway — the Knappa and Warren-
ton volleyball teams going head-to-
head in their annual preseason Clatsop
Clash.
The two friendly rivals met for their
usual nonleague match Tuesday night
at Warrenton High School, and the
annual meeting continues to be a bit
more enjoyable for the Warriors.
Claire Bussert’s serving saved the
Warriors more than once, and Warren-
ton was able to defeat the Loggers for
the seventh straight year, 23-25, 25-14,
25-21, 25-21.
Still — in their first official match
of the season — the Loggers had
plenty of positives.
Knappa built a 13-5 lead in Game 1,
behind some sharp serving from Aiko
Miller, along with kills from Kourtney
Tischer and Paris Vanderburg.
Warrenton rallied and tied the game
at 23-23, following an off-speed kill by
Leah Durham and an ace serve from
Morgan Blodgett.
But the next two points belonged
to the Loggers, on a missed serve by
the Warriors and a Warrenton serve-re-
ceive error at game point to give
Knappa a quick one-game lead.
The Warriors were never threatened
in Game 2, as they jumped out to a 7-1
advantage.
Highlighted by kills from Bussert
and Elly Blodgett and a service ace
by Michelle Arney, the lead reached
21-11.
Elly Blodgett blocked an attack by
Mack Strain, and Sagi Diego set Mor-
gan Blodgett for a kill at game point,
as Warrenton evened the match at one
game apiece.
Game 3 was knotted at 14-14,
before a small serving run by Bus-
sert helped the Warriors to a 20-14
advantage.
The Loggers answered with a stuff
kill from Ressa Inman and an ace by
Kaitlyn Truax, pulling Knappa to
within 22-21.
But — despite four missed serves
in the game — the Warriors scored the
next three points, with an ace serve by
Melia Kupua at game point for the win.
Knappa had four service errors in
Game 4, but the Loggers still led deep
into the game at 21-19, following an
ace serve by Miller.
Unfortunately for the Loggers,
Miller’s ace would serve as Knappa’s
final point of the night.
Arney set Morgan Blodgett for a
Warrenton kill that tied the game at
21-21, Durham served up an ace, and
the same Blodgett had back-to-back
kills for game and match.
Miller, Truax and Vanderburg were
a combined 36-for-38 serving for the
Loggers, while Truax led with seven
kills, Miller had six ace serves, and
Vanderburg finished with 10 assists,
six digs, five kills and four aces.
Sophia Carlson added four digs
for Knappa, which returns to action
tonight at Clatskanie. Warrenton (2-4
overall) begins league play at Portland
Adventist Sept. 5.
“We had a very diverse offensive
output, which I was happy with,” said
Warrenton coach Staci Miethe. “Elly
and Morgan were very solid at the
net, and Claire is making the transi-
tion from setting all the way around to
being a front row player nicely.
“Her confidence is building and
that will be key for future success,” she
said. “Melia played outstanding in the
libero position. I am not a huge fan of
the position, unless a player can show
me they embrace it, and she showed
me that tonight.”
The Warriors “still have some
work to do on our communication
and unforced errors, but that is to be
expected with such a young team,”
she said. “Overall I was happy with
the good things I saw and not surprised
with the rest.”
Junior varsity: Warrenton defeated
Knappa, 25-18, 17-25, 25-14.
Alabama-Florida State kicks off this season’s games to watch
Cowboys will play earlier this year,
and the Big 12 is bringing back its
conference title game — but that
won’t take too much of the luster off
Bedlam. Quarterback Baker May-
field is back for Oklahoma, but coach
Bob Stoops isn’t, and that might give
Oklahoma State an opening this time.
By NOAH TRISTER
Associated Press
College football’s four-team play-
off has altered some of the drama of
the regular season.
On one hand, some of the big-
gest games aren’t necessarily must-
wins, since one loss may not end a
team’s playoff hopes. Clemson lost
in November last year and still went
on to win the national title. Ohio State
made the playoff despite failing to
win its conference.
The tradeoff, of course, is that
more teams are in the hunt later in
the season — and that can mean more
compelling games in more leagues. If
a game has conference title implica-
tions in a top league, it can also have
playoff implications.
That makes it hard to single out just
six games to watch over the next three
months, but here are a few matchups
to circle during the regular season:
Alabama vs.
Florida State (Sept. 2)
The top-ranked Crimson Tide and
third-ranked Seminoles face off in
Atlanta in just the fourth season-open-
ing game involving teams in the top
five. No, the loser won’t be out of the
playoff race, but its margin for error
Washington at
Stanford (Nov. 10)
AP Photo/Mark Wallheiser
Florida State defensive coordinator Charles Kelly, left, talks to defensive back Tyler Hunter against Clemson.
will be a bit lower. And games like
this between two national title con-
tenders are what fans crave for non-
conference play. Alabama also started
last season with a neutral-site game
against a big-name program. The Tide
beat Southern California 52-6.
601 yards passing and 253 rushing.
A couple of late touchdown passes by
Watson lifted Clemson to a 42-36 win.
Now the Tigers must replace Watson,
while Jackson, last year’s Heisman
Trophy winner, returns to lead the
Cardinals.
Clemson at
Louisville (Sept. 16)
Penn State at
Ohio State (Oct. 28)
Deshaun Watson and Lamar
Jackson put on quite a show in this
matchup last season, combining for
The Nittany Lions upset the Buck-
eyes 24-21 last year thanks to a
blocked field goal return in the fourth
AHS PREVIEWS
quarter. That was enough to keep Ohio
State out of the Big Ten title game, but
although Penn State won the confer-
ence, it was the Buckeyes who went
to the playoff. Both teams will have
plenty of motivation for this one.
Oklahoma at
Oklahoma State (Nov. 4)
In each of the past two seasons,
Oklahoma won this matchup in the
regular-season finale with the Big
12 title on the line. The Sooners and
Washington’s 44-6 win over the
Cardinal last September made it clear
that Chris Petersen’s Huskies were
for real. They ended up winning the
Pac-12 title and advancing to play
Alabama in the national semifinals.
Stanford has to replace record-setting
running back Christian McCaffrey,
but will have home-field advantage
against Washington on a Friday night
in November. If the Huskies can get
past Colorado on Sept. 23, they could
enter the Stanford game unbeaten.
Ohio State at
Michigan (Nov. 25)
The Buckeyes prevailed in a dou-
ble-overtime thriller last year for their
12th victory in the past 13 meetings
against their biggest rivals. Jim Har-
baugh has only one returning starter
on defense, but the Wolverines get
Ohio State at home this year.
MORE PREVIEWS ON PAGE 12A
Big senior class to lead Astoria spikers Astoria cross country team
running with numbers
By GARY HENLEY
The Daily Astorian
By GARY HENLEY
The Daily Astorian
Head coach Jessie Todd received
a rude welcome to Cowapa League
volleyball in 2016.
Astoria’s first-year coach and her
team went winless in league play,
and other than a first-place finish
in a tournament at Vernonia, there
weren’t a lot of highlights for the
Lady Fishermen.
Given that Astoria had just two
seniors on the roster last year, things
should go a little better for Todd in
her second season.
“I feel good about the team that
we’ve put together,” Todd said.
“I’m really happy with the prog-
ress we made (the first) week and
where we’re at. There’s a lot less
having to teach the girls new things.
They know the drills and the system.
We’re definitely ahead of the game.”
The rebuilding has begun for the
Astoria cross country program.
After finishing in last place in the
team standings (both boys and girls)
in the 2016 league championship
meet, the first order of business was
to build up the numbers.
That part, at least, has been accom-
plished, with 25 runners total, 16 on
the boys’ side.
“I’m excited for this season, and
I’m really happy with everyone we
have out,” said Astoria coach Andrew
Fick. “We’re a young team on the
boys’ side, but we have some strong
runners coming in, as well as several
of our guys returning which will help
us continue to build our program and
be competitive.”
The Cowapa
Last year’s final eight at the state
tournament included three teams
from the Cowapa League. Banks
and Valley Catholic both lost in the
semifinals, while Tillamook even-
tually won the consolation final.
The Valiants lost three first-team
all-league players, but two others
return. The Braves and the Cheese-
makers all lost key seniors.
Still, “It’s going to be a tough
year again,” Todd said. “Everyone in
our league is good, so we’ll have to
show up every night and play hard,
and hopefully things will swing our
way.”
The Lady Fish
Despite the winless league
record, Astoria still had three all-
leaguers, two of whom return.
Middle blocker Darian Hage-
man and setter/right side hitter Madi
Landwehr are back for their senior
seasons, along with outside hitter
Chelsea Christensen and defensive
specialist Kira Worwood.
After that, the Fishermen had
a lot of youth on last year’s team.
The Cowapa
The Daily Astorian/File Photo
Darian Hageman, No. 7, jumps into her fourth and final year of vol-
leyball at Astoria.
ASTORIA
VOLLEYBALL
Coach: Jessie Todd, 2nd year
2016: 4-13 (0-10 Cowapa)
Playoffs: None
All-League losses: Jacqueline Jarrett,
MB
All-League returners: Darian Hage-
man, Sr.; Madi Landwehr, Sr.
Youth with potential.
A large sophomore class fea-
tured outside hitter Kes Sandstrom,
who transferred from Scappoose;
and hitters Heaven Barrett and Emi-
lli DeLong.
Sophomore setter Julia Norris
and libero Hailey O’Brien both saw
extensive action as freshmen.
Rounding out the varsity 12 will
be junior Camille Cottrell and trans-
fers Corrin Howard (Seaside) and
Chloe Magranahan (Warrenton),
both seniors.
“I’m looking forward to seeing
how my hitters do against some of
those tall blockers in our league,”
Todd said. “We’ve talked a lot
about encouraging each other and
coming together and creating a
cohesive team unit. Half our roster
is seniors, so we’ve got some good
leadership.”
“The Cowapa League will con-
tinue to be strong on both the boys’
and the girls’ sides, but we’re up for
the challenge,” Fick said. “Our num-
bers are up and everyone has been
working hard early on.”
The Tillamook girls and the Sea-
side boys are the defending league
champions, with Scappoose and Val-
ley Catholic always in the mix on
both sides.
Coach Fick’s rundown
On the girls’ side, “we’re fortu-
nate to have veteran runners com-
ing back, and their leadership makes
a huge difference,” he said. “McK-
enzie is a really strong runner and a
positive force on our team. She really
knows how to get the most out of the
workouts and raise the bar for every-
one else.
“Kathy and Libbie also do a great
job and help make sure that everyone
is really working together. They help
strike that balance between keeping it
fun while doing what it takes to get
better and run competitively.
“McKenna and Taylor also bring
THE RUNNERS
Girls
McKenzie Burnett, Sr., Abby Groncki,
Fr., McKenna Long, So., Sophie Long,
Fr., Libbie Nash, Sr., Taylor Palmrose,
Jr., Kathy Perez, Sr., Allyson Pritchard,
Fr., Emma Roe, Fr.
Boys
William Berezay, Jr., Steven Blanken-
ship, Fr., Nikolai Boisvert, Fr., Tristan
Bostick, Fr., Dorian Bryant, Fr., Kyler
Farrell, Fr., Parker Ivanoff, Jr., Calvin
Kaul, Jr., Ammon Larsen, So., Jacob
Matlock, Fr., Noah Kastengren, Fr.,
Logan Ploghoft, Fr., Evan Randall, Fr.,
Elias Simmons, Jr., Dalton Somers,
So., Cameron Van Raden, Fr.
a lot of valuable experience and have
really grown in the past year as dis-
tance runners, so I’m really excited to
see what they’ll do this season.
“We also have some great new
runners joining us. Sophie Long has
been running really well with McK-
enzie and has been putting in some
great early workouts. Abby and
Emma are also going to be major con-
tributors and are looking quick in our
early training. As a team, they’re ded-
icated and focused and overall just a
great group of girls, and I’m looking
forward to some really solid races this
year.”
For the boys, the Fishermen lost
Lucas Caruana, but “Calvin Kaul is
always a hard worker and sets a pos-
itive tone for the team,” Fick said.
“Parker, Elias and Will also bring
valuable experience, having run in the
big races and put in the training miles.
“Our incoming freshman, Niko-
lai Boisvert, had the top finish in
our team time trial and we had sev-
eral of our other freshmen boys right
in the pack as well. Cameron, Evan,
Ammon and Dalton are all in the mix
for our early season varsity lineup.
“We’ve got our work cut out for
us being in such a strong league, but
these guys work hard as a team, so
you never know … that’s why we run
the races.”