THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM SATURDAY EDITION | FEBRUARY 29, 2020 | $1.00 T IME O UT By Lloyd Little Retired teacher, coach and game offi cial Sports & Recreation Feb. 29 • SHS wrestling State meet Day two Session two: 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Semi-finals: 10 a.m. Championships 7 to 10:30 p.m. Tide Tables Entrance Siuslaw River High Tide Low Tide With more than55 years as an athlete, coach, parent and specta- tor, Lloyd Little has gained some insights and perspectives regarding athletics. Each week, he shares what he's learned about sports from his multiple points of view. In The Zone COURTESY PHOTO Girls team members include Trista Torres, Destiny Teel, Elissa Hurley, Faith Coday, Winnie Zehn, Jessica South, Makenna Mammerberg and Bailey Overton, along with coaches Dusty Anderson (far left) and Maxine Jones (second from right). L ADY V IKS ROLL THIRD AT STATE Last weekend, the Siuslaw Lady Vikings bowling team recently competed at the Oregon State bowling tourna- ment against 15 of the state’s best teams. Unlike most other high school athletics competition, bowling is not classified by size of school, meaning that all qualifying schools, regard- less of size, compete together for the state title. This year, three teams from District 4 qualified for the state tournament this year, includng Siuslaw, Cottage Grove and Marshfield. After 30 baker games of qualifying rounds — 24 on Saturday and six more early Sunday morning — the Lady Vikings came away with the No. 6 seed advancing into the head-to-head portion of the tournament. In that round, any team los- ing two matches was eliminat- ed. Cottage Grove earned the second seed, with Marshfield earning the No. 3 seed — giv- ing District 4 three of the top six qualifying positions. In the double elimination tournament Sunday, the Lady Vikings squared off against Oregon City in the opening game. In a close two-game match, Siuslaw went on to defeat Oregon City 287-267. Unfortunately in the next match, the Vikings had to face District 4’s Marshfield, which defeated Siuslaw 355-277. The loss sent Siuslaw into See STATE 2B Feb. 29 3:11am / 6.8 3:47pm / 5.5 9:49am / 1.6 9:27pm / 2.6 March 1 3:45am / 6.7 4:52pm / 5.1 10:43am / 1.6 10:06pm / 3.2 March 2 4:29am / 6.7 6:13pm / 4.9 11:47am / 1.4 11:01pm / 3.6 March 3 5:24am / 6.7 7:41pm / 5.0 12:58pm / 1.2 March 4 6:32am / 6.8 8:54pm / 5.3 12:21am / 3.8 2:06pm / 0.8 March 5 7:42am / 7.1 9:47pm/ 5.8 1:45am/ 3.8 3:05pm/ 0.2 March 6 8:46am / 7.5 10:30pm / 6.2 2:55am / 3.5 3:56pm / -0.4 JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS ODFW R EGIONAL F ISHING R EPORT www.dfw.state.or.us/RR MID COAST LAKES: Stocking of the mid-coast lakes will start up again the first week of February. Check the stocking schedule online for dates and locations. Lakes that are sched- uled to be stocked in February include: Alder, Dune, Carter, Lost, Elbow, Cleawox, Munsel, Siltcoos, Thissel Pond, Big Creek Reservoirs, Olalla Reservoir, and Devils Lake. Warmwater fisheries are slow- ing down for the year as water temperatures cool down. SIUSLAW RIVER: Winter steelhead Winter steelhead fishing has picked up on the Siuslaw as the river is finally back in shape after high water and tough conditions for the last few weeks. Expect the fishing to remain fair to good through February as more fish move into the system each day. The best fishing has been around the Whitaker Creek area. Lake Creek opened for winter See FISHING 2B Siuslaw’s Brody Terry has been one of the Vikings’ top scorers this season. V IKS SEE FIRST POST - SEASON SINCE 2017 B Y J ARED A NDERSON Siuslaw News After a season filled with close wins and multiple over- time nailbiters, it was last Tuesday night in front of the computer that was among the most suspenseful for the Viking boys’ basketball team. Following overtime games, Siuslaw coach Dylan Perry often laughs and says “It was a fun game.” On Wednesday morning, just hours after learning the Viks had made it into the playoffs for the first time since 2017, Perry laughed again. “It was a pretty fun night — watching the computer,” he said. After the Feb. 21 loss in OT to Junction City, Siuslaw’s chances of making it to the state playoffs appeared slim. “ On Monday, we were kind of disappointed about the Junction City game, losing control of our own fate of making the playoffs,” Perry said. “We had a team meeting and a light practice with a shootaround. We cancelled practice on Tuesday. There were some kids who were kind of down, not knowing if our season was over and wish- ing to do some stuff over again. “Now, we had to rely on other teams helping us get in, waiting to see how things played out.” No. 21-ranked Siuslaw was poised just one spot away from a state playoff appear- ance, pending a loss by a high- er-ranked team — and elevat- ing the Viks into the top 20. Perry’s eyes were focused on No. 20-ranked Newport, which had lost games last week to Woodburn and Philomath, both of which were ranked higher. “But the points just didn’t change like we thought they would, and the rank stayed the same,” Perry said. “We didn’t really know how the calculations worked or how much it was going to drop, depending on how other teams do.” Newport had one more game to play Tuesday night, which was also when the state ranking froze. But with the small point drops the week before, it didn’t seem like there was much of a chance. Then came Monday night, when Marshfield beat Junction City. “In that same ranking where we needed to jump Newport, Junction City had dropped 18 points from their loss,” Perry said. “We roughly needed a 10-point drop from Newport. When I saw that, I knew we had a chance.” Right before Newport start- ed its final league game against Sweet Home, Perry sat down in front of his comput- er. See VIKS 3B “In the Zone” moments oc- cur during a dominant perfor- mance by a player who steps up to take over or lead a game, for either a short time or ex- tended period. Depending on your perspective, the criteria for being “In the Zone” varies. Two Super Bowl “In the Zone” moments for me are Joe Montana in Super Bowl XXXII, when he drove the San Francisco 49ers 96 yards for the winning score against Cincinnati. Until this drive, the Bengals had shut down the 49ers — yet Montana moved the team methodically down the fi eld and the winning touchdown with less than 30 seconds left . My second “In the Zone” example covers nearly an en- tire second half of one particu- lar football game. Th e Atlanta Falcons led the New England Patriots by 25 points midway through the third quarter of the 51st Super Bowl. Tom Brady proceeded to bring the Patriots back from this huge defi cit, successful- ly lead the Patriots to three touchdowns, — including a pair of 2-point conversions to tie the score in regulation. Th e Patriots then won the coin toss and Brady led his team to the winning touchdown in over- time. So, are all undefeated teams playing “In the Zone” for an entire season? In 1965, my Fort Stevens Ju- nior High football team went 5-0. Add to that no one scored against that team. In the 1966- 67 season, my Warrenton High School JV basketball team went undefeated. Th en, in 1976, I scored 57 points in a Spray City League basketball game. I would defi nitely say I was “In the Zone” that night. As a parent, I have witnesses at least one occasion for each of my children I would qual- ify as being “In the Zone.” In 1992, my son Brandon who was 8 years old at the time, made 29 of 30 free throws in the local Elks free throw com- petition; in 1999, our daughter Charnae served 25 consecu- tive serves in a volleyball game at the Reedsport JV tourna- ment; in 1999, our daughter Alaura, who was then age 10, fi elded all 31 chances in a soft ball tournament. She was awarded a special umpire’s de- fensive plaque; lastly, in 2006, our youngest daughter, Mi- randa, reached bases 17 times in a row over a period of fi ve soft ball games as a senior for Siuslaw. In the movie “Tomb Raid- er,” Laura Croft was trying to pawn a jade medallion for money to fi nd her father. Th e pawn shop owner asked for proof it was worth the mon- ey being off ered. Croft had no proof, so she received far less than desired. It is the same sometimes when parents relive their chil- dren’s athletic achievements. Th is is why all the above “In the Zone” moments have ei- ther been in the newspaper, in a scorebook or immortalized with an award. Sometimes I even get “In the Zone” while writing this column!