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.
The businesses on this page are:
SUPER FANS
They proudly support our local student athletes.
Please show your appreciation by patronizing their businesses.
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. Main
(541) 942-0750
P.O. 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