S PORTS
Cottage Grove Sentinel
B
Section B
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com
Cottage Grove turns back a three-point storm
Coach Donn Pollard said that after half-
time his team started to execute in some
very key areas.
“We rebounded a lot better and attacked
pretty well in the second half. And when
they started to sink [back toward the hoop
defensively], we were able to kick it back
out for some shots,” he said
The game was tied at 53 apiece heading
into the fourth quarter. But the Lancers were
unable to keep pace with Cottage Grove,
and when they were forced to foul, the Li-
ons converted enough free throws to ice the
game away.
“I’m pleased,” said Pollard. “That was a
big step for a young team. We hung in there
until we could get some momentum, and
in the end the end we were able to put the
game away with free throws.”
On the opposite bench, coach Bob Feasel
said he was disappointed
Lions over come Johnson, Lancers for a 79-69 victory
Athlete of the Week
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Kory Parent
scored a team-
high 28 points
in the Lions' 79-
69 come-from-
behind win over
South Umpqua
last Friday. The
sophomore
shot 3-for-6
from 3-point
range and was
also clutch from
the free-throw
line, where he
went 7-for-10.
S
outh Umpqua’s Eric Johnson came
in to Cottage Grove raining 3-point-
ers on Friday night, but the young Lions
showed poise beyond their years in weath-
ering the early Lancer storm and came away
with their most impressive win of the season
— a 79-69 triumph.
Johnson scored 19 of his career-high 36
points in the opening quarter, as he went 5-
for-5 from beyond the arc. Cottage Grove
sophomores Kory Parent and Blake Sent-
man countered with 53 points, combined.
Despite Johnson’s early barrage, Cottage
Grove (4-7) only trailed South Umpqua (6-
2) by fi ve after the fi rst quarter and had the
lead cut down to two at halftime.
Parent said that the Lions realized they
were up against a talented scorer and that
they did not panic when Johnson’s shots
were falling.
“We knew he was a good shooter and that
he was going to get his shots, but that’s the
way it goes — me and Blake are going to
get ours, as well. You just got to hope that
he’s going to miss a few here and there, and
that you can capitalize,” he said.
And just as the Lions hoped, Johnson
and the Lancers started to cool off. South
Umpqua shot a combined 60% on fi eld goal
and 3-point attempts in the fi rst quarter, but
made just 36% of its shots the rest of the
night.
South Umpqua did take a nine-point lead
midway through third quarter, but the Lions
responded by hitting three 3-pointers in a
row to go up 51-48 — their fi rst lead of the
second half.
Please see BOYS BASKETBALL, Page 2B
Obstructed
view at the
Rose Bowl
BY MATT HOLLANDER
AND JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
J
on Stinnett: So Matt, we
fi nd ourselves on this sunny
Friday afternoon basking in the
glory of a lopsided Oregon Rose
Bowl victory and an undeniable
statement by the Duck football
team, in addition to a larger but
in many ways foreseeable narra-
tive that continues to take shape
off the fi eld at Pasadena.
It’s also a game and an at-
mosphere you were fortunate
enough to experience yourself.
You’ll likely want to share de-
tails of that experience with
readers yourself this week, but
in the interest of continuing
the conversation we’ve already
started in these pages, I’m cu-
rious how your view of things
may have compared with those
witnessed by folks at home (and
later covered by countless media
outlets.)
More specifi cally, the story on
Friday morning seemed in many
ways to be (or at least to be de-
picted as) Florida State quarter-
back Jameis Winston leading a
spectacular meltdown by a team
that had won each of its previous
29 games, a meltdown deemed
by many as some sort of karmic
payback for Winston’s actions
and character both off the fi eld
and as a competitor faced with
tremendous adversity on the in-
ternational stage. (Which is not
meant, of course, to take any-
thing away from a tremendous
performance by the Ducks in ar-
guably the biggest game of their
program’s history.)
First, did you witness interest-
ing examples of this narrative
playing out as a spectator in the
stadium, a journalist and Duck
fan? Were fan actions and reac-
tions notable for any reason?
What was the atmosphere like in
the stands on Thursday?
Matt Hollander: The anti-Win-
ston sentiment could be heard
loud and clear.
photo by Eric Evans
Senior Oregon linebacker and Cottage Grove alum Grant Thompson hoisted the Rose Bowl Trophy after the Ducks defeated the Florida State
Seminoles 59-20 on New Year's Day. Oregon will play Ohio State on Jan. 12 in Dallas, Tex. for the National Championship.
Thompson, Ducks on to national championship
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
T
he Ducks have been on the win-
ning side of many blowouts since
this era of Oregon football began in
2007, but perhaps none was more im-
pressive, or more surprising, than their
59-20 rout of No. 3 Florida State in the
Rose Bowl.
The outcome was shocking for: one,
the stakes: a trip to the national cham-
pionship game; two, the opponent: the
Seminoles had won their past 29 games,
including last year’s title; and three, the
defense forced fi ve Florida-State turn-
overs and stole more than a few head-
lines from Heisman-winner Marcus
Mariota and the Ducks’ offense.
Despite their ranking in the polls,
however, the Seminoles had shown
signs of implosion all season long. For-
mer Heisman-winning quarterback Ja-
meis Winston threw 17 regular-season
interceptions, and Florida State had to
eke out several close wins in an under-
whelming schedule.
Oregon linebacker and Cottage
Grove alum Grant Thompson said the
Seminoles' lack of ball security gave
the defense hope that it could force a
few Florida State turnovers, but that
fi ve was more than they could have ever
asked for.
In Florida State, the Ducks faced an
opponent that was extremely hyped
— even by comparison to the top teams
in college football. But Thompson said
that this reality only sharpened the
team’s focus.
In the fi rst year of the College Foot-
ball Playoffs, the Rose Bowl served as
a semifi nal site for the National Cham-
pionship Game, in which Oregon will
play Ohio State on Jan. 12 in Dallas,
Tex. And although the Rose Bowl had
added signifi cance this year, Thompson
said that the experience felt similar to
2012, when Oregon defeated Wisconsin
on New Year’s Day in Pasadena.
Thompson said that Ohio State is a
great team that has fought through ad-
versity all season. The Buckeyes lost
two all-American caliber quarterbacks
over the year, but third-string sopho-
more quarterback Cardale Jones has
looked more than competent in wins
over Wisconsin and Alabama.
As part of the scout team, Thompson
will impersonate Buckeye linebacker
Joshua Perry, who had 99 tackles for an
Ohio State defense that was one of the
best in the country this year.
The Ducks leave for Dallas on Friday,
which gives the team just two full days
on site, rather than the six they had in
Southern California prior to the Rose
Bowl.
Please see OBSTRUCTED VIEW, Page
2B
Practice helps get Cottage Grove back on track
Lions mending from injuries, illness; defeat
Lancers 60-28
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
W
photo by Matt Hollander
Cottage Grove's Hannah Arnold scored nine points in the Lions' 60-28
win over South Umpqua.
Against South Umpqua (1-
10), Cottage Grove showed
the benefi ts of preparation as it
played with improved patience
and spacing on offense. The
Lions scored on their fi rst three
possessions as they built a 19-6
lead through the opening quar-
ter. Senior Conner Borigo was
once again unstoppable as she
scored 10 of her game-high 20
points in the opening frame.
Clawson also commented that
the team showed signifi cant im-
provement with unforced errors.
“[South Umpqua] isn’t a team
that’s going to have an intimida-
tion factor,” she said. “But you
can still commit unforced errors
against a team like that.”
ith a full compliment
of players available
for Friday night’s game against
South Umpqua, eight different
Lions scored in a 60-28 rout of
the visiting Lancers.
Prior to Christmas, Cottage
Grove (6-5) was beset with ill-
ness and injury. At times the Li-
ons were down to six or seven
players. This lack of depth was
an obvious factor in blowout
losses to Philomath and Hen-
ley, but it also limited Cottage
Grove’s ability to practice.
“It’s been diffi cult to do some
of the things in practice that we
need to do in order to bring it to
a game. We just haven’t had the
numbers to do so,” said coach Please see GIRLS BASKETBALL, Page 2B
Kerry Clawson.
Hall seeks
nominations
The Athletic Hall of Fame at Cottage Grove
High School is seeking nominations for its
2015 class, which will be inducted this spring.
The Hall of Fame selection committee will ul-
timately choose fi ve athletes, a coach, a team
and a community contributor. To be eligible,
an individual athlete must have graduated from
CGHS at least fi ve years ago.
Interested persons can pick up a nomination
form from CGHS, or contact sports secretary
Pam Ewing by Jan. 14. Please have the folloing
information available:
Nominee’s name
Nominee’s current address (if available)
Nominee’s phone number
Dates of attendance at CGHS
The 2015 class will be the eighth inducted to
the Hall of Fame. Last year’s class was com-
prised of athletes Butch Wicks (’68), Steve
Hilgendorf (’79), Daryl Dapron (’84), Kelli
Hollenbeck (’91) and Bryant Sentman (’07);
longtime football coach Bob Heckman; the
1977 boy’s track and fi eld team, which placed
second at the state meet for the school’s high-
est fi nish ever, and Becky Venice, for her work
with the local Special Olympics chapter.