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10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2018 KNAPPA LOGGERS BASKETBALL • WRESTLING Lots of newcomers for Knappa By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian The familiar Knappa wres- tling names are still there, and now there’s a load of freshmen who will look to add depth to the Logger lineup, as Knappa heads into the 2018-19 season. The Loggers could have as many as 21 wrestlers by the season opener, today at Knappa. And among the numbers are two returning state tourna- ment wrestlers. Senior Luke Goozee is back for his final year, after placing second at state last year in the 132-pound divi- sion, where he lost an 11-7 decision to Lowell’s Kasey Erwin in the championship match. Also back is junior Robert Piña-Morton, a state qualifier at 113 pounds. He advanced to the semifinals before a loss to No. 1-seed Hunter McIrvin of Central Linn. Knappa has more return- ing experience in juniors Isaac Goozee and Kaleb Roe, and twins Jade and Shadia Somoza, both sophomores. Also in the lineup is Nathan Hoikka, who wrestled two years ago, but missed last season. After that, they’re all newcomers. Head coach Dan Owings has one first-year senior (Josh Jones), and two first-year junior wrestlers (Victor Carl- berg and Micah Sapp). Isaak Nauha is a soph- omore, with nine freshmen rounding out the Knappa ros- ter: Monte Hamilton, Zoe Leedy, Jonathan Lenhard, Devyn McCall, Pavlo Miller, Jacob Morey, Gauge Perdue, Addison Pietila and Lakota Schaeffler. The Daily Astorian Knappa wrestler Luke Goo- zee was the second-place competitor at 132 pounds in last year’s state meet. Knappa girls hoping for more wins in 2018-19 By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian A 12-game losing streak isn’t the ideal way to start a season, but that’s what the Knappa Lady Loggers had to endure last year, on their way to a 4-20 finish. A win over Gaston in the league playoffs softened the blow, but a 1-8 finish to the regular season had the Log- gers seeded low in the post- season, with little chance to advance in the league tournament. The bright side for Knappa: Three all-league players are back for coach Marie Green. NORTHWEST LEAGUE The Daily Astorian Knappa’s Eli Takalo lines up a shot in last year’s state tournament. ISOM TAKES OVER KNAPPA PROGRAM By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian I last regular-season game is Senior Night at Seaside.” KNAPPA BOYS s there such a thing as too much of a home court advantage? If there is, the Knappa Loggers may have it. The Loggers could — and did — beat just about everybody last year. At home. Knappa defeated No. 1-ranked West- ern Mennonite, at Knappa. The Log- gers also topped eventual 2A champion Columbia Christian and third-place Ver- nonia, at Knappa. It was a different story on the road or neutral sites. Knappa lost twice to Columbia Chris- tian (66-46 at Columbia Christian, and 64-44 in Forest Grove), and in one of the biggest upsets of the season, Vernonia defeated Knappa 52-50 in a state quarter- final game at Pendleton. The No. 3 seed Loggers were a disap- pointing 0-2 at the state tournament — a rough ending to an otherwise great season (23-6 overall, 17-1 in league). There’s at least one change on the side- lines this year, as former Logger Paul Isom takes over the coaching reigns from Chris Spencer. And Isom would just as soon forget about last season. “We’ve just been trying to forget about last year, and let last year be last year,” he said. “Especially with these new kids step- ping up, I don’t want to dwell on last year. We’ll just try to do what we can now, and control what we can control.” Which is get back to winning, like they do every year at Knappa. The Loggers have not missed the state playoffs since 2012-13. Coach: Paul Isom, 1st year 2017-18: 23-6 (17-1 league) Playoffs: Defeated Reedsport (81-35) in state playoff. Lost to Vernonia (50-52) and Kennedy (50-55) at state tournament. All-league losses: Dale Takalo, Colton Weirup All-league returners: Joe Ramvick, Jr., Eli Takalo, Jr. THE LOGGERS NORTHWEST LEAGUE Knappa will still win most (if not all) of its home games, but the Loggers will face a tough challenge from Columbia Christian, home or away. “Columbia Christian is probably the top team in the state,” Isom said. “They’re playing in the Les Schwab tournament this year. Their best player, Ben Gregg (6-foot-8 sophomore), I heard he’s already had an offer from Texas. He will be the one of the best players in the state, in any classification. “They would compete for a state title in any class,” he said of the Knights. “They lost one senior, and they replaced him with a big 6-6 kid who can shoot. They’ll be the top dog.” After that, it’s a question mark, Isom said. “Gaston should be pretty good, with a really athletic team. You never know with Portland Christian and who they have. Ver- nonia, losing Clay Sullivan will be tough to deal with, but they still have his brother (Kale), and he’s a good point guard.” Knappa’s nonleague schedule “is bru- tal,” he said. “We play Toledo to open the year, and they could be a top three or four team in the state. We open the Day- ton Christmas tournament with Dayton, which is one of the 3A favorites. Then our Go Loggers! The big losses were indeed big, as all- state players Dale Takalo and Colton Wei- rup have graduated. “We lost a lot of important seniors,” Isom said. “Two top 20 scorers, and Dale was top three in Knappa history, which is a pretty prestigious board. That’s a lot to fill.” So, “we have guys stepping into differ- ent roles,” he said. “We’ll have Eli Takalo (Jr.) taking on more of the scoring load, and Timber Engblom (Sr.) is another who will look to score more points. “The guys who were sort of second- ary players last year, like (juniors) Kanai Phillip, Joe Ramvick and Devin Hoover (So.), all three will have to help pick up that slack.” Other seniors include varsity returners Tyler Green and Ty Vanderburg, and Ryker Coffey off the junior varsity. Knappa’s big addition was Tristin Wal- lace, a senior transfer from Astoria, who missed last season with a knee injury. “He’s another who can put the ball in the basket and take up some of that scoring load from last year,” Isom said. “He hasn’t picked up a ball in a year and a half, but he’s knocking off some of the rust. He’s such a smart player, he can go out there and direct traffic. He will be a nice addition.” The juniors include Jaxson Goodman and Mason Westerholm, a 6-4 post who “practically lived in the gym this summer, and it shows,” Isom said. “He’s playing well early.” Assisting Isom on varsity will be Jed Miethe and Tim Pietsch, while James Nichols will coach the JV II squad. Good Luck Loggers! We Deliver! Knappa Offi ce (503) 458-6671 42894 Old Hwy. 30 Knappa, OR 97103 Rainier Offi ce (503) 556-0410 29191 Dike Road Rainier, OR 97048 www.teevinbros.com • CCB #133907 Portland Christian has dropped back down to the 2A level, and will make the NWL tougher. “It will be a good group of teams, but I don’t think there will be any standout teams right off,” Green said. “So, who knows?” She adds, “I’ve heard Ver- nonia may have a good fresh- man coming out, and Gaston might have a decent-sized freshman. Faith Bible lost their height, and they lost a couple other underclassmen, so they’re not even slotted to have a JV program. Same with Gaston. “Portland Christian is always tough, and City (Christian) will be good, because they have Emilee Owens (Jr.) and some others who are back.” THE LADY LOGGERS Knappa enters the season with three seniors — Katie Patterson, Kourtney Tischer and Jordan Walter, who is making her first basketball appearance since the eighth grade. The junior class includes three returning all-leaguers (“the three stooges,” as Green calls them) — Sophia Carlson, Aiko Miller and KNAPPA GIRLS Coach: Marie Green 2017-18: 4-20 (3-11 league) Playoffs: Defeated Gaston (33-32), lost to Neah-Kah- Nie (36-41) in league play- offs All-league loss: Paris Van- derburg All-league returners: So- phia Carlson, Jr., Aiko Miller, Jr., Madelynn Weaver, Jr. Madelynn Weaver. Bayle McCall and Emily Nichol- son will also be full-time varsity, as will sophomores Raven Corcoran and Vicki Ramvick. Also contributing time at the varsity level throughout the season could be soph- omores Megan Hellberg, 6-foot-1 Gabby Morrill and Olivia Rilatos. The Loggers also have a good future with freshmen Hannah Dietrich, Ella Jones, Tessa Lackey and Abby VanGundy. “We should be able to do something significant,” Green said. “All of the returners have improved over last year and the summer. Aiko will be one of our team captains, just the way she is. She’s the overall team leader for the whole program. She’s a great role model.” Knappa lost some size last year with Paris Vander- burg and Mackenzie Strain, but Ramvick “has already refined her post moves,” Green said. “She’s a lot stronger, and will be a lot bet- ter under the basket. “We have 17 girls in the program, with probably three true post players, and four others that we’re developing into post players. The rest are guards, so we’ll have to put some guards into posi- tions that they’re not used to. We’ll have a shorter lineup, but we’ve had that in years past.” Green is assisted by Tra- cie Brockey and Amanda Isom. Krissy Barendse-Goodman/For The Daily Astorian The three returning all-league players for the Knap- pa girls basketball team, from left to right: Aiko Miller, Madelynn Weaver and Sophia Carlson. Go ! s r e g g Lo 3693 LIEF ERIKSON DR. | ASTORIA (JUST EAST OF SAFEWAY) 503.325.4927 Hours: Sun-Thur 11am-10pm; Fri-Sat 11am-11pm (503) 458-6886 42929 Old Hwy 30 • Astoria
