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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 2016)
B S PORTS Wednesday, October 12, 2016 Section B South Lane County Sports and Recreation Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com CG volleyball bounces back with win after two straight losses The Lions lost back-to-back games against Sisters but answered with a shutout win over Elmira BY SAM WRIGHT The Cottage Grove Sentinel Cottage Grove has slipped since being ranked number one at the beginning of the season. But with so many games in a volleyball season, it’s hard to maintain such high and often unfounded expectations. The Lions have shown weaknesses in some areas but have also shown their ability to fi x those mistakes and move on. Losing to Sisters in back- to-back matchups was the fi rst time Cottage Grove has lost two games in a row since last year, and the team wasn’t about to let it become three in a row, although in the fi rst set against Elmira, fans might have feared the worst. After losing 3-0 and 3-1 against the Outlaws, Cottage Grove also looked in trouble at the beginning of its match against Elmira. The Falcons took a commanding 14-6 lead over the Lions, and after being unable to capitalize on many opportunities, head coach Jason Corwin took a time out. Like basketball, volleyball is a game of “runs.” Teams go on scoring streak after scoring streak, and an eight-point lead in the fi rst set won’t dictate the outcome of the game. So the Li- ons went back out onto the court and went on a 10-2 run, taking a 16-15 lead. Sophomore Isabelle Hirst took a few plays into her own hands and was set up for a few hard spikes to give her team Please see VOLLEYBALL, Page 3B Lions football enters top three after JC blowout BY SAM WRIGHT The Cottage Grove Sentinel The Cottage Grove High School football program is showing no signs of slowing down after dismantling the Junc- tion City Tigers 49-7 on Friday. Cottage Grove moved to 6-0 and racked up their fourth win that was decided by 42 points or more. The Lions’ successful season has now jumped them to num- ber three in the OSAA rankings, behind North Bend in fi rst and Ontario in second. The Lions have now outscored their opponents 271-57 with the only really close game coming from a strong Scappoose team where the Lions won 24-21. Cottage Grove beat Sisters 34- 22, but don’t forget, Cottage Grove was up 24-0 at halftime. The Outlaws may have tried to creep back into the game, but it was only a fl uke mistake by Blake Sentman throwing a pick- six to make it 34-22. The score could have just as easily ended up 34-15 or 41-15. The pattern continued as the Lions racked up over 400 yards of offense against the Tigers on Friday. Blake Sentman was 23 for 37 through the air with 328 yards and four touchdowns. Kory Parent managed a perfect four-for-four effi ciency for 85 yards and a touchdown. The running game was a con- cern for the Lions against Sis- ters, but they still managed to improve that aspect of their of- fense despite the wet conditions on the fi eld. The stats recorded were 25 carries for 93 yards but include a 22-yard loss by Erick Giffen when a bad snap went over his head on a punt. “I think we’re defi nitely get- ting a bit better in the run game,” Head Coach Gary Roberts said. Jacob Woods led the receiv- ing corps with an impressive 149 yards on three carries and two touchdowns. The passing game has been Cottage Grove’s answer all sea- son, but if the bad snap is taken out of the statistics, the Lions easily rushed for over 100 yards against the Tigers, and averaged Please see FOOTBALL, Page 3B Photo by Sam Wright Sophomore Isabelle Hirst strategically taps the ball over the net instead of going for a hard spike against Elmira. Athletes of the Week Harriers team remains hard at work despite girls struggling Saturday Boys place in top 10 Philomath’s Paul Mariman Classic provided the fi rst real head- to-head matchup between the Sky-Em cross country teams this last Saturday. The Lions came through the test with mixed results. The girls’ varsity team has an uphill climb if they are to be competitive with the front runners in the district, while the boys varsity team came out on top compared to every district team on this day except Elmira (not in the race). The results were in reverse with the JV teams as the girl JVs fi nished higher in the standings, and it was the boys with the most room for improvement. Great efforts turned in by the 32 athletes representing CG were highlighted by the personal bests turned in by Jacob Justis (24:11), Konnor Owens (20:47), Justin Francis (20:34), Adam Marsh (23:31), Matteo Liserre (22:56), Braedon Rinck (25:13), Mitchell Johnson (23:52), Nadia Witt (24:43), Emma Sexton (30:09) and Rylee Williams (32:14). This day’s course ushers in the end of the season stretch of fl at courses for the harriers. They have had no real obstacles unless inclement weather turns otherwise fl at fast courses into muddy marshes. The focus turns to working on speed and polishing race strategy as head coach Jim Settelmeyer says that everyone wants to earn personal records to highlight the hard work they are putting in. Next up is the speedy three-loop course offered by George Fox University this coming Saturday at Willamette Mission State Park. Photo courtesy of Jim Settelmeyer Rylee Williams, Tatiana Baird, Jessica Ray and Emma Sexton push hard in Philomath on Saturday. Tenacity and morale remain high after girls' soccer suffers two more losses BY SAM WRIGHT The Cottage Grove Sentinel The Cottage Grove girls’ soc- cer team has been struggling since entering Sky-Em play. The team has yet to win a Sky- Em contest and has managed only to tie Sutherlin. The most recent losses have come from Sisters and Elmira this past week, marking a four- game losing streak since tying Sutherlin. But if there’s one thing to say about the team it's that the players manage to main- tain a positive attitude and team morale stays strong. Though the Lions stand at 2-7-1 team, bonding remains a fi rm habit of Cottage Grove’s. “Regardless, they always do their cheers and run across the fi eld together at the end of every game,” Head Coach Samantha Shine said, “There is some frus- tration, but they manage to stay positive amongst themselves. They’ve been very graceful.” Sisters routed the Lions 4-0 last Tuesday, but Shine says the more heartbreaking loss came from Elmira on Thursday. Cottage Grove managed to take a 1-0 lead with a goal from Miranda McCasline. But the Li- ons couldn’t put them away and the Falcons came back with two unanswered goals, defeating Cottage Grove 2-1. “It was tough because we knew we could beat Elmira,” Shine said. Please see SOCCER, Page 3B photo by Sam Wright Junior Chelsea Armstrong helps move the ball past midfi eld.
