NED HICKSON , SPORTS EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3523 ❘
SPORTS @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
SATURDAY EDITION
❘ MARCH 17, 2018 ❘
SECTION B
Siuslaw News
Sports & Recreation
Siuslaw begins search for new head coach
B Y N ED H ICKSON
Siuslaw News
With his third season as Siuslaw
High School’s head football coach on
the horizon, Jamin Pool informed
principal Kerri Tatum this past
Monday that his horizon would be tak-
ing him away from the helm of the
Vikings.
“Jamin let me know that he was
moving out of the area for personal
reasons,” said Tatum, who expressed
that his personal plans for the future
were exciting and “something [she]
was happy for.”
Jamin Pool, who was head coach
of Siuslaw’s football program
during the 2016 and 2017
seasons, resigned Monday.
Pool served as offensive coordina-
tor for two seasons under long-time
head coach Tim Dodson before taking
over the program following Dodson’s
retirement in 2016. During his time as
head coach, Pool was the subject of
some criticism. Between the 2016 and
2017 seasons, Siuslaw went 3-13
overall, including 1-7 last season, dur-
ing which Pool issued a rare forfeit to
Far West League opponent North
Bend on Sept. 22 with the support of
Tatum and athletic director Chris
Johnson.
The decision came as a result of
safety concerns related to Siuslaw’s
relative youth and size disparity com-
pared to North Bend’s line-up; of
Siuslaw’s 28-man roster, 20 were either
freshmen or sophomores, with only two
returning seniors.
By comparison, the Bulldogs’ roster
of juniors and seniors alone included 28
players — half of the team’s 47-man
line-up.
Those concerns, coupled with an
OSAA districting formula that many
school administrators felt needed re-
vamping, motivated the choice to forfeit.
The decision drew negative reaction
from some fans and support from others.
“There’s always a certain level of risk
when it comes to sports, but this was
more like throwing our freshmen and
sophomores to the wolves,” Pool said
last September. “Not acknowledging that
and putting the safety of our kids first
would be wrong, no matter how unpopu-
lar.”
The Vikings went on to finish the
See
COACH 3B
NED HICKSON/SIUSLAW NEWS
O N
On the
Bite
Time
Out
STRIKE
B Y L LOYD L ITTLE
A
WEEKLY
Retired teacher, coach
and game official
FISHING REPORT FOR
THE LOCAL REGION
(With more than 55
years as an athlete, coach,
official, parent and specta-
tor, I’ve gained some
insights and perspectives
regarding athletics. In this
weekly column, I share
what I’ve learned about
sports from these multiple
points of view.)
www.dfw.state.or.us/RR
W INTER STEELHEAD
Though many winter steel-
head runs have peaked, this
can be a good time to hit the
water. There are still lots of
fish available, but many
anglers have moved on to other
opportunities, leaving more
water for you.
See
I NS AND O UTS
OF S PORTS
FISHING 3B
I
T IDE T ABLE
Entrance Siuslaw River
High Tide
Low Tide
March 17
1:00am / 6.9
12:54pm/ 7.3
6:59am / 1.3
7:18pm/ 0.3
March 18
1:30am / 7.2
1:34pm / 7.3
7:36am / 1.0
7:50pm / 0.5
March 19
2:00am / 7.4
2:17pm / 7.1
8:15am / 0.6
8:24pm / 0.9
March 20
2:32am / 7.6
3:03pm / 6.7
8:57am / 0.4
8:59pm / 1.3
NED HICKSON/SIUSLAW NEWS
Mapleton junior Gabe Simington opened Siuslaw’s baseball season on the mound against Pleasant Hill Tuesday.
V IK
BASEBALL GETS UNDERWAY
B Y N ED H ICKSON
Siuslaw News
March 21
3:06am / 7.6
3:54pm / 6.3
March 22
3:46am / 7.6
4:54pm / 6.0
March 23
4:32am / 7.4
6:05pm / 5.6
9:44am / 0.3
9:39pm / 1.9
10:36am / 0.3
10:25pm / 2.5
11:36am / 0.3
11:23pm / 3.0
P. H ILL : 060 010 0 — 825
S IUSLAW : 000 002 0 — 237
The Viking baseball team kicked off
its season at John “Jiggs” Dodson Field
Tuesday as the Vikings hosted Pleasant
Hill.
Though the Billies only had 2 hits in
the game, they were able to manufac-
ture 8 runs, including six in the second
inning. But errors aside, the Viks
matched Pleasant Hill run for run, with
the Billies scoring 1 run each in the
fourth and sixth innings, and Siuslaw
scoring 2 runs in the sixth.
After going scoreless for the first
five innings, the Viks got their first run
in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice
fly from sophomore Zach Stinger, fol-
lowed by an RBI single from freshman
Clay Kramer.
Mapleton junior Gabe Simington
started on the mound for Siuslaw, strik-
ing out 6 and walking 4 runners before
getting relief from sophomore Jared
Northrop in the top of the fifth inning.
Freshman Dalton Stinger pitched the
seventh inning before the game ended
in an 8-2 loss to the Billies.
Despite a loss in the opener, New
coach Tom Shinn said he sees potential
in his predominantly underclassman
team comprised of players from both
Florence and Mapleton.
“I saw a lot of growth from the team
over the course of the game,” Shinn
said of the effort, which included 7
errors, most of which occurred in the
second inning during the Billies’ scor-
ing run. “Once the kids settled in, I felt
we played better.”
Yesterday, the Viks hosted Sutherlin
(after press deadlines) and will play a
re-match at Sutherlin this Tuesday,
March 20, beginning at 4 p.m.
asked readers to suggest
topics for my weekly
column. Beverly Apple
of Florence asked that I pro-
vide some easy-to-follow
explanations about a variety
of sports. Though she likes
watching sports, like some
folks she has difficulty fol-
lowing the announcers and
some of the calls based on
the rules of different games.
This week’s column will
kick off a multi-week series
covering the objectives,
rules and strategy behind
different sports.
Since March Madness is
under way, we’ll kick things
off with basketball.
The goal of basketball,
like many sports, is to score
more points than your
opponent. When you have
the ball it is called offense.
The players trying to stop
you are called defense. The
offense has many plays
See
LITTLE 2B
S PORTS
Calendar
• MARCH 20
MHS TRACK
MAPLETON 300
4 P.M.
SHS SOFTBALL
AT SUTHERLIN
S IUSLAW
N EWS
148 Maple St.
Florence
541-997-3441
4 P.M.
SHS BASEBALL
SHS boys second, girls third at P. Hill meet
B Y N ED H ICKSON
Siuslaw News
Siuslaw was among 11 teams com-
peting at the Pleasant Hill Icebreaker
track and field invitational Wednesday,
where five Viking athletes took home
individual first-place medals.
Three girls had top finishes for
Siuslaw, including first place for fresh-
man Brea Blankenship in the 800
meters with a time of 2:41.51; sopho-
more Chloe Madden in the 3,000-meter
race at 13:14.07; and freshman Gracie
Freudenthal in the 300-meter hurdles
after clocking 52.13.
In the girls 4x4, Blankenship and
Freudennthal teamed ran legs with
sophomores Hannah Rannow and Anne
Wartnik to win the event in an impres-
sive 4:30.08.
For the boys team, sophomore Ryan
Rendon-Padilla threw the javelin 167
feet, 6 inches for th win and a personal
best, with senior leaper Kyle King
clearing 38-35 in the triple jump for the
win.
Other top finishes included second
place in the 1,500 meters (5:12.98),
third place for senior Kaylee Graham in
the 100-meter hurdles (18.01), second
place in the shot put for senior KC
Tatum (41-4.5) and third in the discus
(122-4), second in the 800 meters for
See
TRACK 2B
AT SUTHERLIN
4 P.M.
• MARCH 22
SHS TRACK
AT SIUSLAW
4 P.M.
SHS BASEBALL
AT PLEASANT HILL
4 P.M.