Polk County
Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 28, 2015 10A
PREP SPORTS
SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 28
Boys Basketball: Cres-
cent Valley at Dallas, 7 p.m.
Central at Silverton, 7 p.m.
Wrestling: Dallas at
South Albany, 6 p.m. Wood-
burn at Central, 6 p.m.
THURSDAY, JAN. 29
Men’s Basketball: Mon-
tana State Billings at West-
ern Oregon, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, JAN. 30
Boys Basketball:
Lebanon at Dallas, 7 p.m.
Corvallis at Central, 7 p.m.
Central Linn at Perrydale, 7
p.m. Falls City at C.S. Lewis,
7 p.m.
Girls Basketball: Central
Linn at Perrydale, 5:30 p.m.
Falls City at C.S. Lewis JV,
5:30 p.m. Dallas at Lebanon,
7 p.m. Central at Corvallis, 7
p.m.
SATURDAY, JAN. 31
Wrestling: Central at
Monroe Tournament, 9 a.m.
Men’s Basketball: Seat-
tle Pacific at Western Ore-
gon, 7 p.m.
Women’s Basketball:
Western Oregon at Saint
Martin’s, 5:15 p.m.
SUNDAY, FEB. 1
Baseball: Western Ore-
gon at California, San Diego
(DH), noon.
MONDAY, FEB, 2
Boys Basketball: Perry-
dale at Regis, 8 p.m.
Girls Basketball: Perry-
dale at Regis, 6:30 p.m.
Baseball: Western Ore-
gon at California, San Diego
(DH), 6 p.m.
TUESDAY, FEB. 3
Boys Basketball: Cro-
sshill Christian at Falls City,
7 p.m.
Girls Basketball: Silver-
ton at Dallas, 7 p.m. Central
at Woodburn, 7 p.m.
Swimming: Central at
Dallas, 4 p.m.
Baseball: Western Ore-
gon at California, San Diego
(DH), 6 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 4
Boys Basketball: Dallas
at Silverton 7 p.m., Wood-
burn at Central, 7 p.m. East
Linn Christian at Perrydale,
7 p.m.
Girls Basketball: East
Linn Christian at Perrydale,
5:30 p.m.
Wrestling: Silverton at
Dallas, 6 p.m. Central at Cres-
cent Valley, 6 p.m.
—
Until the last whistle
Experienced official doesn’t show any signs of stopping
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — As a basketball player
through college, Charlie Goodman
wasn’t a fan of officials.
Little did he know that he would see
what it was like to see the game from
the striped shirt’s perspective.
Once his playing career was over,
Goodman gave coaching a try, but that
lasted just two seasons.
“I didn’t have the patience,” Good-
man said. “I played the game, but I did-
n’t study the coaching aspect.”
Goodman, who has lived in Dallas
for the past 12 years, was teaching ele-
mentary school in Silverton in 1991
when he was approached about be-
coming a referee.
“One of the substitute teachers came
in and talked to me about refereeing
basketball,” Goodman said. “He told
me they were low on numbers and he
talked me into it.”
See WHISTLE, Page 12A
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Dallas resident Charlie Goodman became an official Oregon referee 24 years ago. He’s been officiating basketball exclusively since then.
Need for new referees grows stronger
Lack of officials leaves current referees in a bind to cover all games
By Lukas Eggen
Schedules Subject to Change
QUICK HITS
Central volleyball
coach to return
INDEPENDENCE — Clau-
dine Mendazona will return
as Central High’s head vol-
leyball coach next fall, Pan-
thers Athletics Director
Shane Hedrick announced
on Monday.
“(Claudine) is one of the
most respected volleyball
coaches in the state of Ore-
gon and Panther Nation is
excited to have her back,”
Hedrick said.
Mendazona previously
coached the Panthers for 16
years before stepping down
before the 2014 season.
“I am in a very fortunate
situation,” Mendazona said.
“I was able to take last sea-
son off to watch my kids
play their fall sports.
“With the previous coach
being a one-year interim, it
was a perfect opportunity to
get back to coaching the
game. I’ve had a lot of suc-
cess at Central and I hope to
get us back to the tradition
of competing for champi-
onships.”
Central finished 4-14
overall in 2014.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Cody Coleman was one of two officials to work the Dallas
girls basketball game on Friday night.
The Itemizer-Observer
Learn More
POLK COUNTY — For some fans, they’re
a savior, someone to bail out a team in a
tight spot.
For others, they’re a villain, someone who
deserves blame in a loss.
They are the referees — and across Ore-
gon, their numbers are continuing to dwin-
dle.
“We have about 3,300 officials, which is
about 10 percent short of where we want to
be,” Jack Folliard, Oregon Athletic Officials
Association executive director said. “That’s
about 300 to 400 short spread out across all
seven sports that we service. All (sports) are
• The Oregon Athletic Officials Association
employs referees for the OSAA.
• Different sports and areas have commis-
sioners to coordinate training and assign-
ments
• Visit www.ore-officials.org for more infor-
mation.
CLASS 5A PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
down in numbers over the last several
years.”
Oregon has about 1,100 basketball refer-
ees, Folliard said. Any shortage puts referees
in a difficult spot.
See REFEREES, Page 12A
CLASS 1A PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Fennell eyes the drive Falls City revival
Senior adding new dimension to her game
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — For years, Tay-
lor Fennell has known her
role for Dallas’ girls basket-
ball team, but that can be
both a blessing and a curse.
“The biggest advantage of
us playing together for so
long is that we know how
each other plays,” Fennell
said. “The disadvantage is
other teams in the league
knows that this player plays
this way or this player does
that thing.”
In the past, when Fennell
www.polkio.com/ns/sports
received a
pass from
outside
the 3-
point line,
her mind
w e n t
largely to
two tho-
Fennell
ughts —
take the shot or pass the
ball.
It’s over the last couple of
weeks that Fennell has
added a new element to her
game.
“We worked on attacking
the hoop and getting to the
free-throw line more,”
Dragons coach David
Brautigam said.
Fennell is no longer the
pop-out shooter. She’s a full
blown offensive threat ready
to shoot or drive.
“Instead of just focusing
on shooting, I wanted to
bring a little more to the
table,” Fennell said.
For the 5-foot-7 senior
guard/wing, that means
analyzing the defense op-
ponents are playing on her
and at times be willing to
get physical in the paint.
See FENNELL, Page 12A
Simmons, team, having a blast
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
FALLS CITY — On Dec. 12,
Falls City’s boys basketball
team sat in its locker room.
The Mountaineers had just
defeated Eddyville Charter
School 45-26, the squad’s
first victory in more than a
full season. But there were
no cheers or hollers.
“In the beginning, it was
dead silent,” senior Tanner
Simmons said. “We didn’t
know what was going to
happen. Coach (Jim Owre)
came in. He smiled, possibly
for the first time, and we all
www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209
exploded in
laughter. It
was some-
thing we
never expe-
rienced be-
fore. It was
amazing.”
Falls City
Simmons
entered the
week sitting at three wins for
the season, but the Moun-
taineers believe they are
making progress.
Simmons is playing a big
role in building the Moun-
taineers into something spe-
cial.
See REVIVAL, Page 14A
www.twitter.com/PolkIOSports
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