B
S PORTS
Section B
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com
Meeting
the Lions
Fall sports teams
introduced at CGHS
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Photo by Sam Wright
The Lions football team has been preparing for its season to start and looking sharper than last year.
Lions football gears up for season with a strong week
Head Coach Gary Roberts isn't concerned with last year's disappointing season or players that have left,
looks ahead with confi dence toward this new season and his refurbished team
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
T
he Lions football team
started its fi rst session of
practices last week and head
coach Gary Roberts feels like
the team is having a good start
to the season. After a rocky sea-
son last year, Roberts appears to
have a strong confi dence in his
team and isn’t too concerned
about the talent lost with gradu-
ating seniors.
In fact, last year the senior
class wasn’t all that prevalent.
Star quarterback and linebacker
from last year Cameron Sando-
val was injured at the beginning
of the season and missed all
of the remaining games. That
only left three other seniors on
the team: Tristan Peters (OL/
DL), Daniel Romero (OL/DL)
and Johnny Conrad (RB/DB).
While Roberts will miss his se-
nior players, the bulk of his team
still remains with players such
as Brynden Howell (WR/LB)
and Reily Boyce (WR/DB).
There was one other would-
be senior on the roster this year,
but external forces changed that.
Senior Austin Gordon (OL/LB),
who was a strong force on the
offensive line during his junior
year last season, has moved
elsewhere.
“Austin transferred elsewhere
outside of his control,” Roberts
said. “As our starting center,
that’s someone we’ll defi nitely
miss.”
And miss him they did. Thurs-
day’s practice showed signs of
struggle at the center position as
multiple bad snaps occurred in a
row. After which the entire team
hit the turf and did fi ve push-ups
for each faulty snap. “That can’t
happen!” Roberts shouted en-
couragingly.
The varsity Lions found or-
ganization and better compo-
sure during Friday’s scrimmage
at Meet the Lions night. Aside
from a few minor mistakes
such as missed blocks, the team
seemed educated and focused.
A well-composed man, Rob-
erts seems unshaken from this
year’s lost talent and a heart
-breaking 2014 season, which
started out 0-5, unable to se-
cure a victory until week six
against Sutherlin. But compar-
ing the past and the present
doesn’t always give an accurate
outlook for the upcoming year.
Just two seasons ago, the Lions
had stunned North Bend in the
semifi nals,\ and advanced to the
championship game in the state
playoffs. The loss to Ridgeview
in the championship game was
disappointing; however, overall
it was a fantastic season and a
great playoff run.
The only thing the previous
seasons have proved is that Rob-
erts and his coaching staff have
the ability to lock down a win-
ning season and that last year’s
slump remains irrelevant.
The Lions are keeping their
eyes straight ahead this season,
not allowing the shadow of the
past to loom over them.
The sun beat down on Cot-
tage Grove High School Friday
afternoon as fall sports teams
lined up to take pictures dur-
ing their annual Meet the Lions
night. The event brought tasty
concessions, scrimmage action
and restless teenagers attempt-
ing to stand still long enough for
Northwest Sports Photography
camera men to snap both team
and individual photos. Photog-
raphers and teams scrambled to
get organized for their photos.
I believe the analogy of “herd-
ing cats” was mentioned several
times.
Soccer, cross country, cheer,
and football teams all faced the
intensity of the sunshine outside
and the heat of the turf as they
stood for pictures and warmed
up for their respective scrim-
mages.
Men’s soccer kicked things off
for the evening with great chem-
istry and sportsmanship from
both varsity and junior varsity
teams during scrimmage, fol-
lowed by volleyball, women’s
soccer, cross country’s run on
the spirit trail, and football.
Please see LIONS, Page 2B
Lumberjack follow up: hosting world-class talent
WOE's Lumberjack
Show brings in heavy
equipment, large
events and renowned
talent from around
the country
Athlete of
the Week
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
TJ Bexten wins the
lumberjack show
yet again this year
after almost
breaking a world
record, beating out
Mel Lentz
I
t was my fi rst time watch-
ing, let alone attending, a
lumberjack show on Saturday,
Aug. 15, and needless to say I
had an innacurate impression of
what was going on.
Initially I believed the show to
be a fair event that was simply
meant to be a good time for fair-
goers and logging enthusiasts.
While the event is supposed
to be a fun time, it was not to
be taken as lightly as last week’s
article suggested. The truth is,
this competition consistently
brings in world-class lumber-
jack veterans from all over the
country, and while the WOE fair
is a small-town exposition, the
lumberjack show holds a more
national relevance.
The lumberjack show was
(and has been for many previ-
ous years) graced with the pres-
ence of world champions such
as Melvin Lentz, who is also
known as the “King of the Lum-
berjacks,” all the way from West
Virginia, and TJ Bexten from
Washington. Both Lentz and
Bexton fell within milliseconds
Photo by Sam Wright
The Gene Campbell Memorial Lumberjack Show brings in some of the best loggers in the nation.
of the world record for the cold-
start three-cut event, but it was
Bexten who won the race.
The competition also holds
the largest stock saw event on
the West Coast – quite possi-
bly the nation. The log itself is
roughly 50 inches in diameter.
The show is organized every
year by Kevin Dunnavin, who
said professionals approach him
saying “it’s the biggest little
show I’ve ever been to.”
The lumberjack show is offi -
cially named the Gene Campbell
Lumberjack Show. Campbell
was a dedicated worker for the
WOE fair, and organized one of
the fi rst logging shows in 1968.
He kept this tradition for over
40 years. Therefore, the current
logging shows at the fair are a
salute to a man with extreme
dedication and passion for his
community.
The reason for this follow up
is because the previous week’s
article did not refl ect the true es-
sence of the lumberjack show; it
was not a petty “just for kicks”
pick-up sporting event, but an
actual competitive and legiti-
mately organized competition
with trophies and high-reward-
ing cash prizes. Was there a lot
of fun with a lot of banter and
joking around? Of course, that’s
the entire mood around the fair.
But this Gene Campbell Memo-
rial Lumberjack Show brought
veteran experience from op-
posite ends of the country with
world-class skill and very seri-
ous equipment. Both organizers
and participants deserve more
in-depth coverage and for that
I apologize, to all who were in-
volved.
TJ Bexton came down
from Washington last week
to compete in the annual
Gene Campbell Memo-
rial Lumberjack Show. He
competed against 14-time
world champion Mel Lentz
in the cold-start three-cut
event. Both contestants
neared the world record
for that specifi c event,
but it was Bexten who
eventually won the race.
In last year's lumberjack
show, Bexten swept all the
events he participated in.
He seems to be the WOE
Lumberjack show master.
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