Sports & recreation
Cottage Grove Sentinel
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Cottage Grove
drops pair of
league games
Section B
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail zsilva@cgsentinel.com
Lions get mid-season 'playoff ' win
By Zach Silva
zsilva@cgsentinel.com
After finding success in the
first week of league play, the
Cottage Grove girls’ soccer
team dropped a pair of games
in week two to go from the
top of the table to a three way
tie for second place.
Last Tuesday at Junction
City, it was the Tigers (2-7-
1, 2-2 Sky-Em) catching the
Lions (4-5-1, 2-2 Sky-Em) by
surprise in a 2-0 victory.
“We didn’t play with ener-
gy. When you don’t pick up
your level of play when you’re
playing a lesser opponent you
lower everything and end of
losing. It’s just very frustrat-
ing,” said Cottage Grove head
coach Reed Levings.
Coming into the game, the
Tigers had one win on the
season, a victory over a win-
less Marshfield side, and had
been shut out five times. But
for the second time all sea-
son, they were able to score
multiple times in a game.
The Tigers got on the
scoreboard after Cottage
Grove was called for a foul,
which the Lions protested, in
the fifth minute of the game.
Junction City’s Bailey Mullins
took the free kick that was
placed just outside the box
on the left side and found the
upper right corner for a goal.
With the wind at their
back, the opening 30 min-
utes of the game belonged to
Junction City. The home side
owned possession and fin-
ished with six shots and three
corners in the first half. Cot-
tage Grove had one shot and
no corners in the half.
“The wind was a huge fac-
tor in this game. We were able
to get the jump on them be-
cause we had the wind at our
back. And so that was part of
it,” said Junction City head
coach Chris Bolton. “Part of
it also is that we can’t lose. I
mean, if we lose one more
game we’re probably done as
far as playoffs go...As poor-
ly as all of the teams in our
league have done besides
Marist, we’re fighting for that
(second) spot.”
The Lions were unable
to string passes together to
create meaningful posses-
sion but were aided by their
backline that was able to limit
Junction City in the run of
play. In the second half, Cot-
tage Grove began to find a
rhythm and were able to push
their front line up but were
unable to score.
“I think the biggest thing
is mentally being prepared
when you step on the field.
Having the energy when you
step onto the field. It was
completely different when
we went on in the first half
compared to halftime when it
was like we’ve got to go,” said
Levings.
The Tigers struck again
in the 76th minute. After a
Cottage Grove player fell, or
was pushed, (depending on
which sideline you asked) the
Tigers countered and Ellie
Brackett scored.
“They had one shot on
goal which was a free kick,
which was a bogus call. And
same with offsides right here.
That’s the thing, refs should
know you can’t extend your
arm and push somebody but
it doesn’t matter how bad a
ref is, you’ve still got to come
to play,” said Levings.
On Thursday, Cottage
Grove lost 8-1 at home to
Marist to move to 2-2 in
league play. The Spartans
sit on the top of the Sky-Em
standings at 4-0 while the Li-
ons, Tigers and Elmira are all
tied. Marshfield os 0-4.
PHOTOS BY ZACH SILVA/CG SENTINEL
Cottage Grove’s Dylan Graves run into the end zone for one of his three rushing touchdowns in the game.
Cottage Grove football wins
'must-win' home game
against Elmira
By Zach Silva
zsilva@cgsentinel.com
After three straight losses and the
team’s playoff hopes hanging in the bal-
ance, the Cottage Grove football team
was in desperate search of a win. On Fri-
day night, they got what they were look-
ing for as they defeated Elmira 45-13 at
home.
“This is the start of the playoffs for us
even though we have three more games
left in the league, this is the start of our
playoffs because if we didn’t beat Elmi-
ra then we were done,” said quarterback
Dylan Graves. “That’s definitely not what
we wanted so we just came out and exe-
cuted.”
For the Lions, that execution was best
on display in their rushing game.
Heading into the game, Cottage Grove
averaged 99 rushing yards per game and
had rushed for two touchdowns on the
year. On Friday, the Lions just eclipsed
their average finishing with 120 yards to
go with six rushing touchdowns – three
from Graves and three from freshman
running back Fernando Giffen. Graves
finished with 13 carries for 44 yards and
Giffen, 11 carries for 33 yards.
“(Our rushing attack) is getting bet-
ter. We’re getting there. Kids are starting
to understand firing out, maintaining
blocks, being more aggressive,” said head
coach Gary Roberts. “Playing a little bit
more angry, you know? And they did a
good job tonight. It was a good night to
be a Lion, that’s for sure.”
To Lions started the game strong as
they turned an Elmira fumble, punt and
bad snap into three offensive first quar-
ter touchdowns. Mixed in with a 70-yard
drive in the second quarter, the Lions
were up four touchdowns.
“It’s kind of the opposite of what’s
been happening. We’ve been the team
that turns over other teams and other
teams capitalize on it. We were able to
capitalize on some of their mistakes and
they helped us and you know, I think by
the time they figured out what was go-
ing on it was 28-0,” said Roberts. “I was
just proud of the kids and the way they
fought. We needed it. We needed to get
back in the winning column.”
Before the half Elmira’s Brady Nagel
slipped by the Cottage Grove defense for
a 44-yard touchdown run. To start the
third quarter, it was Nagel again but this
time on a run from 66-yards to cut the
Cottage Grove lead to 28-13.
While Nagel had the two explosive
runs, the Lions, for the first time since
their three-game losing streak were able
to stop the run. In the past three games
teams have ran for 293 yards and five
touchdowns; 435 yards and two touch-
downs; and 257 yards and three touch-
downs. After a number of running plays
for negative yardage, the Falcons finished
the game with 94 yards rushing and two
touchdowns.
“Coach Jordan Johnson did a great
job of putting a defensive game plan in
against a running team with a really good
back. And then our kids went out and ex-
ecuted it pretty well. We had two hiccups
but when you take out those two runs,
they barely had 50 yards,” said Roberts.
“I was just really proud of how our kids
rallied and played.”
It looked like the Falcons had a chance
at seizing momentum in the third quar-
ter down two scores when they got close
to blocking Erick Giffen’s punt. Instead,
Giffen side-stepped the defender and re-
corded a 62-yard punt that pinned the
Falcons deep and they were unable to
score the rest of the game. Erick Giffen
finished the game with 85 yards receiv-
ing, an interception and a made field
goal.
With two weeks left in the regular sea-
son, the Lions have a favorable schedule
as they face a pair of winless opponents
in the final weeks of the season. This Fri-
day the Lions are on the road at Phoenix
before returning home to face Junction
City.
“We know we can’t sleep on them and
we’ve just got to go out and just keep
playing our game and just know that if
we lose we go home and we’re done after
that so we’re definitely going to be fired
up,” said Graves.
The Lions are sitting in third place in
the Sky-Em League which takes them
out of contention for an automatic play-
off spot for the top two teams in league.
Twelve teams from around the state au-
tomatically qualify for the playoffs with
the next highest ranked teams claiming
a play-in spot. Cottage Grove currently is
in a favorable position ranked at #13.
But for Cottage Grove, it’s a simple
message for how they want to move for-
ward.
“They’re all must-win from now on,”
said Roberts.
Elkton seniors stick together, find success
From a two-win season to the
playoffs: how the seniors of the
Elkton football team found success
By Zach Silva
zsilva@cgsentinel.com
O
Elkton’s coaches Bill Shaw and Mike Hughes speak to their
team after a practice at the start of the season.
Athletes of
the Week
n the first day of football practice, fresh-
men Spencer Moore got a concussion.
“I could barely see the road over there,” the now
senior Moore says about Umpqua Highway that
runs right next to the Elkton football field. Going
through drills, Moore, from what he remembers,
was hit in the head by a trio of senior teammates.
For Moore and his fellow freshmen teammates,
that first practice set the tone for the upcoming
year. Moore and his freshmen counterparts made
up over 50 percent of the Elkton roster (10 of the
19 players) and were in for a long year. The group
of 10, 13 and 14-year-old boys competing every
week against 17 and 18-year-olds did not fare well.
“I got beat up big time, a lot of us did,” said Jase
Billman. “I was thinking this kind of sucks. I was
just a dumb freshman that got thrown in with a
couple seniors and juniors.”
This week’s athletes of the
week are the members of the
Cottage Grove boys’ soccer
team. Behind a team effort,
the Lions defeated Junction
City with three players
scoring goals and the defense
recording a shutout. For more
on the game, turn to B4.
They lost big and they lost often. The team went
2-7 on the year and in five games, they lost by at
least 40 points. Against North Douglas they were
shut out 72-0.
“A lot of us started as freshman which was kind
of hard for us,” said senior Mark Russell. “We got
our ass handed to us.”
But since that painful first season, things have
changed.
That group of once small freshmen are now
slightly larger seniors and they have brought win-
ning ways to Elkton. Since those early losses, they
have put together a winning season, hosted the
school’s first playoff game in over 25 years and
were ranked as high as #2 in state earlier this sea-
son. A group that would have once been happy
just with winning now have their sights set a little
higher this season as they chase a deep playoff run
and an elusive state title.
“Our main goal has been to go to state and win
a championship. And it seems like all of us are
really focused on that. And it shows,” said senior
Gunnar Lynn. “We just go from there. Making it a
good last year.”
SUCCESS see B3
Cottage
Grove’s
Lathan
Van Wag-
ner (right)
races to gain
possession
in Tuesday’s
game.