B
S PORTS
Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016
Section B
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com
Lions take second place with grace
Despite not taking a
state title home, the
Cottage Grove football
program gave the state
champions the toughest
playoff game this season
and gracefully received
the runner-up trophy
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Reminiscent of the 2013 foot-
ball season, the Cottage Grove
Lions’ football team ended a
spectacular season in a heart-
breaking ending in the State
Championship game. The un-
defeated Lions traveled to Hill-
sboro just one week after dis-
mantling the Cascade Cougars
in a 48-20 semifi nal win at the
same stadium.
The Lions weren’t so fortu-
nate this time around, and the
team took its fi rst loss of the
season at the state fi nal, 35-21,
to the top-ranked team in the 4A
class.
The North Bend Bulldogs
breezed through the fi rst-three
rounds of the playoffs, beating
La Grande 69-13 in round one,
Banks 40-7 and Estacada 49-26.
The 35-21 victory over the Li-
ons was by far the closest play-
off game the Bulldogs played,
and even the score falsely rep-
resents just how close the Lions
were to an upset.
The Lions elected to receive
the ball on the opening kickoff
and were able to score on their
opening drive to start the game
off with a 7-0 lead. Within the
fi rst series, however, it seemed
like the Lions were going to
struggle moving the ball until
quarterback Blake Sentman hit
Photo by Sam Wright
Juice Clafl in attempts to push his way into the end zone. The Lions were able to move the ball against North Bend but were stopped in the red
zone on multiple occassions.
key fourth-down stop and got Sentman wide open on the right another defensive stop and got
Kory Parent for a 30-yard com- to score 14 unanswered points.
The Lions refused to be the ball back to begin the sec- side of the fi eld, giving Cottage the ball back in the beginning
pletion on a third-and-10 situ-
ation. After that, running back pushed aside so easily and an- ond half. Both teams came close Grove a fi rst-and-goal situation. of the fourth quarter. They then
Zane Levings was able to punch swered with a touchdown pass to scoring, but big defensive But the third quarter saw a stale- struck quickly with a deep pass
the ball in for the score. Cottage from Sentman to Jacob Woods stops kept both offenses out of mate between the two teams as from Sentman over the middle
the end zone. In an attempt to North Bend made a huge defen- to Woods, splitting the safeties
Grove was then able to hold the to tie the game.
The Bulldogs received the shake things up, Cottage Grove sive stop on fourth-and-goal to and taking the ball all the way
strong rushing attack of North
Bend, forcing a punt. But the second-half kickoff with a 21- called a play that had Parent barely hold onto their lead en- into the end zone to tie the game
Bulldogs tightened things up, 14 lead over a tenacious Cottage take the ball on a jet sweep to tering the fourth quarter. Cot-
and North Bend soon was able Grove team. The Lions made a the left, only to pull up and fi nd tage Grove was able to make yet
Please see STATE, Page 3B
Youth football team
takes second place in
Vegas tournament
Athlete of
the Week
Blake Sentman
proves he can do it all
Despite a loss in the
4A State Championship
game against North Bend,
Blake Sentman boasted a
strong performance like
he's done all season long.
The senior quarterback
completed 24 of 44 passes
for 386 yards. In the third
quarter, Sentman also
caught an 18-yard pass
from Kory Parent on a trick
play to put the Lions in
scoring position.
Macauley, Miller,
Hendricks earn gold in Vegas
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Cottage Grove’s Andrea
(Andi) Macauley once again
traveled to Las Vegas to com-
pete in the World Bench Press
and Dead Lifting Champion-
ships presented by the World
Association of Benchers and
Dead Lifters. In 2015, Macau-
ley earned a fi rst-place fi nish
in her age and weight division.
That gold medal wasn’t her fi rst
and now isn't her las last, as she
once again came away with a
gold medal.
But this time, Macauley didn’t
go on her own. She brought
along her friends and fellow
members of the Emerald Fitness
Club, Chet Hendricks and Chel-
sea Miller. All three contestants
brought back a gold medal.
Macauley once again entered
in the Master Women’s bench
press in the 148-pound weight
class for the 47-53 age group.
She hit a personal record twice
in the competition: once at
170.6 and then again at 176.2—
the personal record that gave her
the gold.
Hendricks participated in the
Class I Men’s division in the
242-pound weight class. He
took fi rst place by benching
352.7 pounds.
Miller received two medals
over that weekend. She fi rst
competed in the Open Women’s
148-pound weight class, where
she took home a bronze medal.
But her crowning achievement
Please see WEIGHTS, Page 3B
Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
Left to right: Chelsea Miller, Chet Hendricks and Andi
Macauley traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the an-
nual World Bench Press and Dead Lift Championships.
Local football stars Corbin
Hoover, Chandler Houck and
Nathin Lemmon were selected
to join a team representing the
Lane County area in a National
tournament in Las Vegas over
Thanksgiving Weekend. The
athletes were accompanied by
coach Brent Hoover who coach-
es the Cottage Grove Pee Wee
Football team. The teams were
placed in a double elimination
bracket and the local team took
second place in the entire tour-
Cottage Grove
Sentinel
nament.
This was the fi rst year kids
from Cottage Grove were given
the opportunity to compete on
such a wide scale level. The
state of Oregon produces one
of the lowest amounts of Divi-
sion I athletes in the country
and therefore doesn't get much
consideration for national tour-
naments such as this. Coach
Hoover says that the experience
challenges the kids in a way the
local level cannot.