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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 13, 2019)
2B COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL MARCH 13, 2019 ELLIS from B1 “I had a whole conversation with an athletic director from another school and I thought he was talking about Elkton and I was like, ‘Well, this won’t work in our schedule.’ And halfway through our conversation he goes, ‘I’m talking about Days Creek,’” said Ellis. “That was difficult. So, I have to be really careful.” Ultimately, things went off seemingly without a hitch throughout the year. For Days Creek athletic director Dunn, any challenges were well worth it in order to preserve the con- tinuity of Ellis’ coaching career. “That’s probably the most important thing: continuity and coaching. Especially if you get a good coach. People jump around so much at the smaller schools. So, when you get quali- ty and you get, in my case, I call it an investment. Stakeholders in the process,” said Dunn. t was not a forgone con- clusion that this Days Creek team was going to be a title contender this season. In the first league game of the year, North Douglas beat Days Creek by 21 points and the team moved to 6-5 on the young sea- son. From that point on, the team rallied off 16 straight wins, a school record, and did not lose until the state semifinals. This group that Ellis had made sure he was going to stick around for was suddenly click- ing. This three-point dependent side that features no one over 6-foot-2 had the mentality of “Why not us?” in a wide-open 1A race. “I honestly, have never had a team like this. I’ve had some pretty good kids, I’ve always had good kids, but I’ve never had a team that was this unselfish,” said Ellis. “They just wanted to win. And they never gave up, they never quit.” Included in that run of suc- cessful wins was the game that Ellis was especially worried about. Worried not about how his team will play but on how people would respond. He was worried about coaching against Elkton. “I was really concerned be- cause you build relationships with these kids here. I was re- ally concerned about what they would feel like. I was worried about what the community would feel like — but I got no negative backlash whatsoever,” said Ellis who felt a wave of re- lief when a pair of Elkton play- ers high-fived him during pre- game warm-ups. Once the game I started it was business as usual as the Wolves rolled to victories in both meetings. At the state tournament this season, the Wolves, the No. 7 seed, were part of a string of upsets in the quarterfinals that saw the top four seeds all sent to the consolation bracket. Against Trinity Lutheran in the semi- finals, the team lost by 13 but trailed by 3 with three minutes left in the game. “We had to gamble a little bit down the stretch, and they hurt us when we trapped and got some easy buckets, but that’s what happens. You either get the ball back or you give up some points. So, you know, that was disappointing. But I think I’m most proud of my kids for hav- ing lost that game and having come back the next day,” said Ellis as his team scored a 56- 53 victory over Prairie City to claim third place in state. W ith the season wrapped up, Ellis’ schedule becomes a little more open as the spring sports season begins and he has no practices to rush off to or games to coach. But now the question for Ellis is whether that becomes his new reality. Enter- ing the basketball season, he had his eyes set on this being his last year as head coach but staring that prospect in the face is more difficult than he imagined. “I really thought that this would be it for me. In my mind, my son is done, I’ve taken on a new job, I’ve moved on to a new chapter in my life and I would be done coaching. And it would be easy,” said Ellis. “That has not proven to be true and it is far from being easy. I’ve learned that, and I knew I loved these kids already and I’ve known them forever, but it’s going to be hard for me to walk away.” Your Family Deserves The BEST Technology... Value... TV!... Add High Speed Internet /mo. Subject to availability. Restrictions apply. Internet not provided by DISH and will be billed separately. 190 Channels America’s Top 120 CALL TODAY Save 20%! Ellis (right) and his Days Creek team take a picture with the third place state trophy. 1-866-373-9175 Offer ends 7/10/19. Savings with 2 year price guarantee with AT120 starting at $69.99 compared to everyday price. All offers require credit qualification, 2 year commitment with early termination fee and eAutoPay. Prices include Hopper Duo for qualifying customers. Hopper, Hopper w/ Sling or Hopper 3 $5/mo. more. Upfront fees may apply based on credit qualification. Fees apply for additional TVs: Hopper $15/mo., Joey $5/mo., Super Joey $10/mo. 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Cottage Grove High School North Douglas High School 3/13 3:00 p.m. Track and Field @ Pleasant Hill 3/14 4:30 p.m. Baseball @ Stayton 3/15 4:00 p.m. Baseball @ Hidden Valley 4:00 p.m. Softball @ Hidden Valley 3/19 2:00 p.m. Baseball vs. Mazama 4:00 p.m. Baseball vs. Mazama 3/13 4:30 p.m. Softball vs. Glide 3/14 4:30 p.m. Baseball vs. Lowell Yoncalla High School Elkton High School 3/14 4:30 p.m. Softball vs. Perrydale 3/15 4:30 p.m. Softball @ Bandon 3/19 4:30 p.m. Softball @ Siletz Valley 4:30 p.m. Baseball vs. South Umpqua (JV) 3/22 4:30 p.m. Baseball @ Myrtle Point 2019 PAC-12 MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT BRACKET March 13-16, 2019 – T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas www.bradschevy.com (541) 942-4415 FAX (541) 942-2881 Wed., March 13 Thurs., March 14 Fri., March 15 Sat., March 16 No. 8 USC 12:00 p.m. - PAC12 No. 9 ARIZONA 12:00 p.m. - PAC12 No. 1 WASHINGTON No. 5 COLORADO 6:00 p.m. - PAC12 2:30 p.m.* - PAC12 No. 12 CALIFORNIA 2:30 p.m.* - PAC12 No. 4 OREGON STATE Rogers & Son Floor Covering • Window Covering Saunas • Swimming Pool & Hot Tub Supplies Dave & Carol Rogers (541) 942-0500 1324 E. 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Box 40 (541) 942-0017 Fax Cottage Grove, OR 97424 www.rogersandsonfl oorcovering.com No. 7 UCLA 7:30 p.m. - ESPN 2019 Pac-12 Tournament Champions 6:00 p.m. - PAC12 No. 10 STANFORD 6:00 p.m. - PAC12 No. 2 ARIZONA STATE No. 6 OREGON 8:30 p.m.* - ESPN 8:30 p.m.* - PAC12 No. 11 WASHINGTON STATE 8:30 p.m.* - ESPN No. 3 UTAH 2019 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament Schedule T-Mobile Arena (Capacity: 18,000) – Las Vegas Cottage Grove Sentinel www.cgsentinel.com @ cgsentinel @cgsentinel #cgsentinel Cottage-Grove-Sentinel Wed., Game Game Game Game March 13 1: No. 8 USC vs. No. 9 ARIZONA, 12:00 p.m. PT 2: No. 5 COLORADO vs. No. 12 CALIFORNIA, 2:30 p.m. PT* 3: No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 STANFORD, 6:00 p.m. PT 4: No. 6 OREGON vs. No. 11 WASHINGTON STATE, 8:30 p.m. PT* Network PAC12 PAC12 PAC12 PAC12 Talent Roxy Bernstein, Don MacLean, Jill Savage Roxy Bernstein, Don MacLean, Jill Savage Ted Robinson, Bill Walton, Lewis Johnson Ted Robinson, Bill Walton, Lewis Johnson Thurs., March 14 Game 5: No. 1 WASHINGTON vs. Game 1 winner, 12:00 p.m. PT Game 6: No. 4 OREGON STATE vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m. PT* Game 7: No. 2 ARIZONA STATE vs. Game 3 winner, 6:00 p.m. PT Game 8: No. 3 UTAH vs. Game 4 winner, 8:30 p.m. PT* PAC12 PAC12 PAC12 ESPN Roxy Bernstein, Don MacLean, Jill Savage Roxy Bernstein, Don MacLean, Jill Savage Ted Robinson, Bill Walton, Lewis Johnson Dave Pasch, Bill Walton, Molly McGrath Fri., March 15 Game 9: Semifinal 1, 6:00 p.m. PT Game 10: Semifinal 2, 8:30 p.m. PT* PAC12 ESPN Ted Robinson, Bill Walton, Lewis Johnson Dave Pasch, Bill Walton, Molly McGrath Sat., March 16 Game 11: Championship, 7:30 p.m. PT ESPN Dave Pasch, Bill Walton, Molly McGrath Game times are local to site; * - approximate tip time
