SIUSLAW NEWS | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2020 | 3B
MHS
from 1B
by only three points, 9-12. But
a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by
Days Creek took the wind out
of the Sailors sails, extending
the Wolves’ lead to 6 points.
“I felt like that gave them
more momentum going into
the second quarter,” Wolga-
mott said. “We didn’t play
our best basketball in the first
quarter, and I felt like if it was
12-9, it might have been a lit-
tle bit different. But when I go
back and see what could have
been different, what could
have changed the flow of the
game — I felt like that was a
big part of the first half.”
Despite the sudden change
of fortunes, the Sailors played
hard in the second quarter.
“Defensively, we gave up a
few threes when we probably
shouldn’t have,” Wolgamott
said. “Part of that was not be-
ing in the right place on the
rotation, but give credit to
Days Creek. They passed that
ball pretty quickly and got
that defense moving. That’s
the point when you play zone
defense — to get open shots —
and they were able to do that
by rotating the ball and hitting
the open guy.”
Still, the defense could
have held if the offense was
strong, but that’s where Ma-
pleton struggled, Wolgamott
said. “Days Creek pressed us
almost all night long. We had
a difficult time handling that.
We were sped up by the press,
and that was the goal of Days
Viks
from 1B
Jennings was dominant in
his next match, pinning his
opponent to secure a spot in
the second day of competi-
tion. Jen-nings then lost a
heartbreaker just before the
placing rounds to fourth-
place finisher Tanner Gibson
of Junction City.
In that match, Jennings led
Gibson in scoring the entire
match until, in the last 15
seconds, Gibson scored a
reversal for a 1-point victory.
The standout performanc-
es of the tournament came at
285 lbs. from Matthew
Horrillo, and at 138 lbs. from
Elijah La-Cosse.
On Friday, Horrillo
squelched two opponents to
make the semi-finals round,
advancing
to
meet
Christopher Woods of
Hidden Valley on the mats.
After a dead heat and score-
less first round, Woods caught
Horrillo for a second-round
pin. Horrillo went on to fight
his way back through the
consolation rounds, ending
SHS
from 1B
The Bulldogs came out in
the third and dominated,
almost shutting out the
Vikings completely, outscor-
ing Siuslaw 21-2.
Going into the fourth, the
Viks were down 49-31.
Siuslaw attempted a come-
back and were able to gain an
additional 8 points, but
Fishing
from 1B
TENMILE LAKES: Trout,
warmwater species, large-
mouth bass
Bass anglers will need to
slow down their presentation
Creek. They had a good game
plan and executed it well.”
So much so that, by half-
time, the Sailors’ deficit from
the first period had doubled
to 12.
“I told the boys at halftime,
this game is far from over,”
Wolgamott recalled. “We’ve
come too far to just give up
and concede the victory to
Days Creek. That’s not who we
are, and that’s not who we’ve
been all season long. We have
to go out in the second half,
we have to fight and give it the
absolute best effort we have.
We’ve got nothing to lose.”
They came up with a plan:
break the remaining quarters
into small sections, two min-
utes at a time. Don’t look for
a triumphant comeback, but
build the lead slowly, point by
point.
“We started off the second
half pretty well. We cut the
lead down to nine and we had
a chance to get even closer,”
Wolgamott said, “but the re-
bounds weren’t coming out in
our favor.
That was a little disheart-
ening because we’ve been so
good the past couple of games
controlling the boards and
owning the rebounds. But
really, Days Creek rebound-
ed us and a lot of it was sec-
ond-chance opportunities for
them, which led to points.”
Whenever Days Creek
missed a shot on their end, it
was followed by an offensive
rebound.
As the game wore on, the
Sailors wore out, and the defi-
cit of nine gradually grew to
14 at the final buzzer, 46-32.
After the game, there was
disappointment in the locker
room.
“You obviously want to
always play your best basket-
ball,” Wolgamott said. “When
you don’t, you shouldn’t be
satisfied if you’re a player that
cares about the game. If you
don’t play your best basket-
ball, you shouldn’t be satisfied
with the performance, and I
feel a lot of them weren’t satis-
fied. The players felt like they
let an opportunity slip. I told
them, let it hurt for a little bit.”
He told the players that
dwelling on the loss when they
got home was to be expected,
but when they wake up in the
morning, turn the page.
“We can’t let one result
cloud what we accomplished
all year long,” Wolgamott
said. “I just wanted them to
know that they had nothing
to be ashamed of, because
they made history at Maple-
ton. ‘You guys accomplished
that. Whatever the result was
of that game, no one can take
that away from you. That was
what was achieved and that’s
not going to change.’”
The season began and end-
ed with eight players, some-
thing that is rare for Maple-
ton.
“You always anticipate a
player here or two maybe not
sticking around for whatev-
er reason,” Wolgamott said.
“When you have small num-
bers, keeping the players mo-
tivated and interested is key.
the tournament with two very
decisive victories to stand on
the podium in third place.
LaCosse, meanwhile, suf-
fered a disappointing first-
round loss to Alex Kehr of La
Grande — the team that went
on to claim the team title.
Kehr pulled ahead early and
went on to pin LaCosse in the
second round. But the Viking
138-pounder rose above the
defeat, dominating and pin-
ning five consecutive oppo-
nents to secure third place
overall.
Along the way, LaCosse
defeated two returning
state-placers, eliminated No.
3 seed Keegan Hagerty of
Tillamook from the tourna-
ment and also defeating Sweet
Home’s Tristan Spencer.
LaCosse’s final match of the
tournament was a re-match
against Kehr for third place
— with LaCosse pinning
Kehr in the first round to
secure the win.
The eight-man team fin-
ished 13th out of 32 teams,
with LaCosse scoring an
impressive 23 team points —
the most points that can be
scored by a third-place finish-
er at state.
In the girls’ tournament,
sophomores Bailey Overton
and Hayden Muller endured
difficult first-round matches
against the No. 2 seeds in
their brackets. Unlike the
boys tournament, the girls
compete against every
Oregon division (1A-6A),
making the competition espe-
cially tough.
Overton and Muller com-
peted well, with each of them
winning matches at state.
Muller was matched against
Haylee Davis, a regional
champion from Banks. The
Viking sophomore defeated
Davis with a first-round pin
to move into the semifinals.
Though she suffered a loss in
the next round, Muller domi-
nated Jasmine Hopkins from
Forrest Grove to place fourth
in her weight class.
On the podium, Muller
was flanked by three upper-
classman (two seniors and
one junior), two of whom
were returning state champi-
ons.
Woodburn answered back
with an additional 11, cinch-
ing the win.
Braydon Thornon led the
Viks in scoring with 14.
Despite the loss, it was a
strong finish for the relatively
young team, which consists of
only one senior, Kiger
Johnson.
It was the first time the
Viking’s made it to the state
playoffs since 2017, and the
experience this year could
make Siuslaw a force to be
reckoned with in next years
season.
In Saturday’s edition,
Vikings coach Dylan Perry
sits down with Siuslaw News
for comments on Friday’s
game, as well as a reflection of
the season’s rollercoaster ride
to success.
as the water temperatures
continue to drop. Anglers
are catching most of the bass
along the deeper weedlines
and submerged trees. Yellow
perch are cruising on the
deep-water mud flats. Most
of the fish are under 10-inch-
es long but anglers are catch-
ing a few 12 inch-plus fish.
Trout anglers continue to
troll for trout. A few trout
have been caught on bait by
anglers targeting yellow
perch.
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We were able to do that. That
says a lot about the character
of the players. They started
something and they wanted
to finish it — and they did a
pretty damn good job along
the way.”
That’s not to say that every
member showed up for every
game. Wolgamott pointed to
a game at Elkton as a turning
point for the team, where only
five players were able to make
the game and they still won,
46-37.
“No subs, and they never
used that as an excuse,” he
said. “The way they battled
with five guys playing the en-
tire game, playing well, and
actually getting the win was
a moment that I won’t forget
this year or for years after
this. I told them throughout
the year because they made
it difficult for themselves —
because if you can win with
five guys — you can win with
eight.”
The wins they had during
league were also outstanding,
winning 8 of 12 games.
“That’s a long period of
time to sustain that level of
play, over a month playing
well, that’s something to be
proud of,” Wolgamott said.
And of course, there was
finishing out the year in the
final spot for the playoffs.
“The league playoff game
against Crow, that was prob-
ably the highlight of the year
right there,” Wolgamott said.
“With everything on the line,
the way they came out, the
way they believed and the way
they executed — and frankly
the way they dominated that
game and winning by 26 — I
felt like that was a statement
game. When that final buzz-
er sounded, it’s something we
won’t forget anytime soon.
Those are memories you’ll
never forget.”
This will be the last year
for two key players for Maple-
ton, Nate Neece and Justyce
Weirchs.
“Those players won’t be
replaceable,” Wolgamott said.
“You always want to leave a
legacy each year, and their
legacy was that they were able
to compete when stakes were
high, and they brought Ma-
pleton back to respectability.
They brought Mapleton back
to a very high level where we
were a factor in every game
we played. Because of their
leadership and what they were
able to play at, those seniors
are leaving with two state
playoff berths, one football,
one basketball. That will nev-
er be taken away from them.
I just wanted them to know
how much they meant to the
program and that without
them, none of this would be
possible.”
As for the team as a whole,
Wolgamott said it was one of
the best he had ever coached.
“Just playing really good
basketball when it mattered
at the end of the year,” he said.
“Seeing the boys improve, be-
ing positive the whole time,
even if we dropped a game.
They always looked forward
to the next game. In my three
years of being the head coach,
they’re one of the most coach-
able groups I had.”
As for next year, Wolgamott
sees great possibilities.
“Everybody can make im-
provements over the off sea-
son, and we’ll ultimately be a
better team,” he said. “It’s go-
ing to be tough to do, but I like
the attitude that the players
have shown throughout this
year. The way I feel, why not
try and make another run at
it next year, with maybe even
more success? I’m excited to
see what the future holds for
these boys.”