B
S PORTS
Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016
Section B
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com
Volleyball falls in
rankings despite
remaining undefeated
Due to less games under its belt, Cottage
Grove is now ranked third behind teams
with more wins
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Despite maintaining their undefeated status, the Lion volleyball
team dropped to number three in the OSAA rankings this past week
after defeating South Umpqua 3-1.
Cottage Grove fi nds themselves behind Crook County (5-0) and
Hidden Valley (7-0). The Lions haven’t had the opportunity to
boast such a record with a less-packed schedule at the beginning of
the season, but as they enter this week and Sky-Em contests, they
should be able to maintain a position in the top fi ve and even be able
to climb back to the top.
Cottage Grove faces Creswell and Elmira this week. Creswell
sits at 7-3 with a lot more games under their belt and hold impres-
sive victories over teams such as Marshfi eld, Blanchet Catholic and
Del Norte, a strong Northern-California program that holds a 9-1
record. Creswell will be a strong test for Cottage Grove, but Elmira
Please see VOLLEYBALL, Page 3B
Photo by Sam Wright
Freshman Reilly Kelty jumps to tap the ball back over the net.
Boys' soccer falls into a slump, yet the team remains confi dent
Cottage Grove lost 6-0 twice in a row but isn't giving up
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
The Cottage Grove boys’ soc-
cer fell into a bit of a slump last
week. The Lions stumbled on
the road in Phoenix and in North
Bend, losing both games 6-0.
In both games, Cottage Grove
ran into travel issues that Head
Coach Vern Stewart says aren’t
excuses but defi nitely didn’t
help the team.
The journey to Phoenix ended
in a late arrival. The game was
meant to begin at 4:30, and the
bus arrived at Phoenix High
School at 4:25. The offi cials al-
lowed only 10 minutes of warm-
up time when teams usually get
an hour to prepare.
With not much preparation,
the Lions collapsed, and Phoe-
nix scored four goals within
the fi rst 10 minutes. Still, Zach
Stewart managed to rack up 15
saves.
In the North Bend matchup,
the game was delayed due to
North Bend’s JV football game
going longer than intended. Cot-
tage Grove had yet again little
time to prepare, and North Bend
consequentially eviscerated the
Lions’ defense.
Stewart does not blame the
losses on the unforeseen com-
plications, though it’s more than
possible that these issues im-
pacted the players.
With these losses, Stewart
intends to change his strategy
for the time being. Instead of
the usual 4-2-3-1 formation, the
coach intends to change to a 4-
4-2 and has also moved Kyle
Browning back to defense.
“The basic problem was that
Marshfi eld this week before
kicking off league play with
Elmira on Thursday.
While Marshfi eld is a strong
team that defeated Junction City
6-4 in its opening game, the Li-
ons are thinking positively about
the future.
“The players are optimistic,
they told me ‘We’ll do what-
ever you want us to do and we’ll
keep working on it,’” Stewart
explained. The coach also says
the team may eventually return
to the 4-2-3-1 but acknowledged
that it can be hard for players to
learn and get used to a new sys-
tem.
“They’re very receptive to
trying to make anything work,”
Stewart said. As for the coach
himself, he’ll be focusing on
fi xing up the defense.
“Whenever I’m trying to
build a program I usually start
on building a strong defense and
only then do I move forward to
developing the middle and for-
ward positions,” he said.
Cottage Grove will face the
Elmira Falcons tomorrow at 7
p.m.
Sentman returns as
Lions put on another
dominating performance
PRs all around!
Photo by Rylee Williams
The rolling hills of the Tualatin course
gave an opportunity to many on the
Cottage Grove squad to challenge their
personal records at 5,000 meters. PRs
were recorded by Adam Marsh (23:38),
Braeden Rinck (25:21), Cody Smelser
(22:59), Eric Cortes (20:49), Jacob Justis
(25:30), Jesse Ellingworth (18:08), Jimmy
Talley (18:56), Johnny Witt (25:35), Justin
Francis (21:23), Kaitlyn Brooks (27:11),
Kenzie Parsons (25:34), Lake Fultz
(23:39), Leslie Chacon-Romero (28:47),
Mitchell Johnson (25:18), Nadia Witt
(27:15), Paesen Timm (17:48) and Tatiana
Baird (28:56), while 3K runners Allie
Gifford (21:23) and Carson Violet (21:23)
made their own PRs.
no one on our starting defense
really had much experience,”
Stewart said. Which is why
Browning, a junior, will be
back playing defense to tighten
things up.
The two routs in a row are not
concerning Stewart to an ex-
treme level, and he’s confi dent
that the team will be able to
bounce back and that last week
will not refl ect the season.
“It’s just a matter of time be-
fore we get back on our feet,” he
added.
Cottage Grove takes on
Two sophomores, Kenzie Parsons and
Konrad Raum, led the Lion Girl and Boy
teams Saturday with their efforts. The
whole team found it slightly odd to have
only gradual hills to tackle after recent
challenge courses. The hill work the team
has been struggling through in workouts
is starting to pay dividends in improved
strength and fi tness. This weekend
outside of Seaside, the course choice
switches back to the “irregular” with
the unique experience of the “3 Course
Challenge”. Runners will join thousands
of other athletes running through the
obstacles offered in the dunes and mead-
ows of Camp Rilea Military Base.
541-942-7561
Photo courtesy of Jeff Wilson, Madras Pioneer
Blake Sentman connects with Kory Parent on a short reception in Madras on Friday.
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
The Lions have yet to be truly
tested this season. Just a week
after the team’s 59-7 rout of
Newport, Cottage Grove trav-
eled east to Madras, where they
demolished the White Buffa-
loes, 63-0.
Cottage Grove welcomed
back senior quarterback Blake
Sentman. While Sentman starts
behind center over Kory Par-
ent, the Lions’ explosive of-
fense was more consistent on
the ground than through the air.
Which is not to say Parent is a
better quarterback, but more so
that the offense can be more
productive with Parent able to
utilize his versatility.
Sentman was 11 for 20
through the air with 261 yards
and three touchdowns, a solid
performance for being out for a
while. Like Parent the previous
week, he also spread the ball
around very well, throwing to
six different receivers.
“I think he did well,” said
Head Coach Gary Roberts. “He
throws a different ball than Kory
but does just fi ne.”
On the ground, Cottage Grove
carried the ball 19 times for 165
yards. Sentman utilized his
feet well, averaging 17.5 yards
on four carries and two touch-
downs. Zane Levings carried
the ball in for a score along with
Jacob Woods from fi ve yards out
and Parent from 20 yards out.
Such dominating perfor-
mance will always come with
highlight-reel plays. In this
case, Sentman threw an 82-
yard touchdown pass to Hayden
Glenn and a 76-yard touchdown
Please see FOOTBALL, Page 2B
September 16th & 17th
MONSTER TRUCKS
www.cottagegrovespeedway.com
Freestyle Motorcycle Jumpers