B
S PORTS
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Section B
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com
LIONS ON TO STATE
Cottage Grove
dismantled the
Cascade Cougars in
Hillsboro on Saturday,
marching to a 48-20
victory. The Lions
now have an
opportunity for a
state title, their
second chance in
four years
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
The Lions have done it once
again this season. After a tough
road game against Astoria, Cot-
tage Grove traveled to Hillsboro,
where they quickly took care of
Cascade in a 48-20 victory. The
15th ranked Cougars seemed to
be underrated coming into the
playoffs. Cascade easily dis-
mantled second-ranked Maza-
ma 40-21 in the fi rst round of
the playoffs and then similarly
defeated South Umpqua 34-21
in the quarterfi nals.
The Cougars would not be so
fortunate in the semifi nal match-
up against a determined sixth-
ranked Cottage Grove, coming
off one of the best fi nishes the
team has seen all season.
The Lion offense has consis-
tently been able to rely on its
speed since the team overall is
relatively small. On the second
play of the game, quarterback
Blake Sentman threw a screen
pass to receiver Jacob Woods,
who turned on the jets and left
the Cascade defense in the dust
for a 64-yard touchdown.
The fast-paced offense is
noteworthy, defi nitely, but what
really gave the Lions their dom-
inating lead and the ability to
score a lot of points was the de-
fense. Multiple times in the fi rst
half, the Lions were backed up
in the red zone and made several
fourth-down stops, which was
crucial for the Lions’ halftime
lead.
Cascade found themselves
down only 13-6 near the end of
the fi rst half, but Cougar quar-
Photo by Sam Wright
Jacob Woods comes away with the ball after being contested for it on a long pass from Blake Sentman to end the fi rst half.
terback Quinn Legner threw an
interception into the hands of
safety Hayden Glenn of Cot-
tage Grove. Directly after, Sent-
man threw a lateral pass to Kory
Parent, who then pulled up and
threw a deep ball to Woods, who
was wide open and scored for a
20-6 lead.
The Cougars managed to drive
the ball again near the Lions’
redzone, but Glenn once again
made another interception, this
time in the endzone, and he ran
the ball out to the 42-yard line
with an impressive return. Cot-
tage Grove wasn’t aching for
one more score, but an opportu-
nity presented itself.
With less than 30 seconds left
in the half, Sentman saw Woods
line up in single coverage with
no help over the top. The quar-
terback audibled and sent Woods
down the left sideline, where the
ball was tipped and eventually
taken away by Woods and run
into the endzone, despite a de-
fensive pass interference call.
The game seemed to be in
control for Cottage Grove with
a 27-6 lead at halftime.
But the suffering wasn’t over
for the Cascade Cougars. The
Lions recovered a Cascade
fumble on the opening kickoff,
which led to an easy score, and
the game was essentially out of
reach.
The Lions were able to capi-
talize off of turnovers and strike
quickly all night.
“That’s what happens when
you have Marty Johnson call-
ing the plays,” Roberts said.
Johnson, a legend of Eugene’s
Sheldon High School, has been
a key to the Lions’ success as
the offensive coordinator.
“He believes in the quick
strike,” Roberts added.
Cottage Grove totaled 389
yards of total offense. Sent-
man completed 16 of 33 passes
for 244 yards and fi ve touch-
downs—two of which were to
Woods, who caught fi ve passes
for 160 yards and three touch-
downs. Zane Levings won play-
er of the game for his defensive
play and rushing for 100 yards
on 19 carries and one touch-
down. Parent had both a touch-
down throw and a touchdown
reception on the game.
“Two years ago we were 3-7,
last year we were 4-5. What we
have are a bunch of kids who are
willing to work for what they
want,” Roberts said.
Cottage Grove’s 11-0 record
proves that they not only have
the talent but also the work
ethic.
“They have big hearts, and
they want to bring something to
Cottage Grove,” Roberts said.
The Lions now face top-
ranked North Bend on Saturday.
Cottage Grove will head back to
Hillsboro stadium to compete
for a state title, the second op-
portunity in four years.
Like the Lions, North Bend
is undefeated (10-0). The Bull-
dogs’ closest game was their
season opener where they won
31-21 against Astoria, every-
thing else has been a blowout.
“They’re defi nitely going to
be the best team we’ve played
all year, but I think we’re going
MVP Raade, CG athletes
honored on All-League
Sky-Em rosters
Athlete of
the Week
Tori Raade was the Southern League's Most Valuable Player, headlining
the All-League rosters which featured dozens of CGHS athletes
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Though they didn’t make
it all the way to the fi nals, the
Cottage Grove girls’ water polo
team went out with a bang with
one of the best seasons they
have had in a long time. Due to
the lack of water polo teams in
the area, the Aqua Lions aren’t
in the Sky-Em League like the
rest of the Cottage Grove teams.
The team plays in the Southern
League,” which is a mix of 4A
and 5A schools such as Ash-
land, South Albany and even
North Eugene.
The league recently released
its All-League roster, which
gave Cottage Grove a fi nal ex-
clamation mark on their season.
Tori Raade was the league’s
Most Valuable Player on the
girl’s side, and Clover Rudicel
joined her on the fi rst-team ros-
ter. Head Coach Tyson Pilling
won Coach of the Year for the
girls’ team, which dominated
many of its games throughout
league play.
Seth Chambers and Jeremiah
West both received second-team
spots on the All-League roster,
too.
Around the Sky-Em
The Sky-Em League also re-
leased its rosters for all sports.
Cottage Grove volleyball was
pleasantly surprised, with Head
Coach Jason Corwin winning
Coach of the Year. Usually, the
head coach of the team that
wins the Sky-Em League will
win Coach of the Year, and the
Lions only took second place
to the undefeated Outlaws (26-
3 overall). But the huge im-
provement from Corwin’s fi rst
year to his second year made
him slightly more outstanding.
Sophomore Cassidy Herbert
and freshman Reilly Kelty both
received fi rst-team All-League
spots, and senior Carly Sand
received a second-team spot.
Senior Ellie Brown received an
honorable mention.
Girls’ soccer struggled this
year, but it’s no surprise that se-
nior Kia Hemenway was put on
the fi rst team of the All-League
roster. Hemenway, the star for-
ward of the team, was the league
MVP last year after Cottage
Grove won the League Title.
Hudson Weybright received a
second-team spot on the roster,
and Halle Peterson and Bailey
May received honorable men-
tions.
On the boys’ soccer team,
Kyle Browning, a junior, was
picked for the fi rst team ros-
ter. Teammates Kyle Conley,
Lathon Van Wagner and Zacha-
riah Stewart were on the second
team and Jasper Nichols-Fergu-
son received an honorable men-
tion.
The undefeated football team
was all over the Sky-Em All-
League rosters. Blake Sentman
won Offensive Player of the Year
and Gary Roberts won Coach
of the Year. On the offensive
line, junior Cooper Ladd was
the fi rst-team center, Seth Mor-
Please see ALL-LEAGUE, Page 3B
to be the best team they have
played all year,” Roberts said.
North Bend’s aggressive style
of play is keeping Roberts and
the rest of his coaching staff
busy.
“I think the question is what
aren’t I concerned about,” he
said laughing.
Roberts believes that North
Bend’s Trey Woods (RB/DB)
and Brody Lucero (QB/DB) are
the two best players in the state
at the 4A level.
“They play really aggressive
defense, and they’re very fast,”
he added, “but I’m confi dent in
our players to play a really good
game.”
But the Lions are fast too. The
two teams are scheduled to kick
off at 2:30 p.m. at Hillsboro Sta-
dium on Nov. 26.
Hayden Glenn
shows up on defense
Photo courtesy of Stafford D. Photography
Tori Raade of the CG girls' water polo team won MVP in
the class 5A/4A Southern League.
Cottage Grove
Sentinel
Junior Hayden Glenn
received a fi rst-team spot
on the Sky-Em All-League
roster. The defensive
back and receiver had
two interceptions and two
touchdown grabs against
Cascade on Saturday.
Glenn can be seen lined
up on the right side or
deep in the secondary.