Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 4, 2015 13A
Polk County Sports
CLASS 5A PREP BOYS BASKETALL
Panthers adjusting to new look
Players get chance to step up in senior Kyler Fleming’s absence
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — To-
gether they formed the Cen-
tral boys basketball team’s
dynamic duo.
Seniors Kyler Fleming and
Kaj Bansen gave the Pan-
thers a dangerous finisher at
the rim (Fleming) and a
deadly 3-point shooter
(Bansen), helping Central to
a 2-0 start in Mid-Willamette
Conference play.
Less than two weeks later,
and the Panthers are looking
for new players to step up
quickly.
Central entered the week
tied for first place with the
Silver Foxes. The Panthers
lost to Silverton 57-48 in
overtime and Corvallis 53-36
on Friday and are adjusting
to life without Fleming who
will be out until at least late
February after suffering a
broken left hand during
practice on Jan. 20.
“Kyler was a big part of
(our offense); he was what
they call in football thunder
and lightning,” Panthers
coach Tim Kreta said. “He
was able to drive to the mid-
dle of the key, which really
opened up Kaj.”
Junior Jarrett Landers and
sophomore Alec Barba have
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Corvallis held senior Kaj Bansen to five points during the Panthers 53-36 loss on Friday.
seen their minutes increase
in Fleming’s absence.
The pair may lack Flem-
ing’s experience, but Kreta
said they both bring a
unique skill set to the lineup.
“Jarrett is a slasher who
can finish inside,” Kreta
said. “Alec is similar to Kaj, a
strong shooter. They just
need to bring their part to
things.”
Initially, the Panthers saw
success with wins over Cres-
cent Valley and Lebanon on
Jan. 21 and Jan. 23 in the
games directly following
Fleming’s injury.
Against Corvallis, the
Spartans’ plan on defense
Friday night was simple:
“They said we’re going to
take Kaj out of our offense
and make the other four
guys beat us,” Kreta said.
But the Panthers aren’t
looking for Peterson or
Barba to imitate Fleming.
They’re looking to use each
player’s strength as Central
prepares for the second half
of league play.
“Some of our younger
guys coming up, they know
what they have to do now,”
Bansen said. “We don’t need
them to try and do what
Kyler did. We need them to
do what they do in small
chunks. I don’t feel like I
have to do anything crazy. I
feel like we can play the
same way.”
The Panthers return to the
court to face Woodburn
Wednesday (today) and
South Albany on Friday, the
bottom two teams in the
league. Kreta said the em-
phasis will be on slowing
things down on offense and
not letting two losses linger
and turn into more.
“We’re still in second
place,” Kreta said. “We
worked hard to put our-
selves in this position. We
have the ability to be suc-
Up Next
• Central’s boys basket-
ball team hosts Woodburn
Wednesday (today) at 7
p.m. and plays at South Al-
bany on Friday.
• The Panthers host Dal-
las on Tuesday for the
teams’ second meeting of
the season.
cessful. We just need them
to have that confidence.
That’s where the craft of
coaching comes in, how do
we help mold our players?
They have the physical tools,
they just need to be confi-
dent in those tools.”
Fleming will have his in-
jury re-examined the week
of Feb. 23, leaving the possi-
bility open he could return –
if the Panthers advance far
enough into the postseason.
That’s something Bansen
said will help drive Central
even more down the stretch
and turn what could be a
difficult setback into a sea-
son-defining moment.
“We want him to play
again,” Bansen said. “I had a
conversation with him and I
said I’m going to try and rally
these guys and do as much
as I can do to have you play
at least one more game.”
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP
Falls
City:
Players
Dallas earns road wins
Dragons look to keep pace in league learning on the fly
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — As the Dallas
girls basketball team enters
the second half of Mid-
Willamette Conference play,
coach David Brautigam
knows one thing: Everything
is up for grabs.
The Dragons defeated
Crescent Valley 38-23 on Jan.
27 and Lebanon 48-35 on
Friday to improve to 4-2 in
league play, tying them with
Central for third place in the
league standings before
Tuesday night’s conference
games.
“If your teams are not
mentally tough, this league
will swallow you up, but we
have players on our team
who are in their second or
third year playing in our
league,” Brautigam said. “I
feel we stayed very mentally
tough and won two big road
games, but now it’s time to
prepare for Woodburn.”
Taylor Fennell hit four 3-
pointers en route to a team-
high 14 points against Cres-
cent Valley, while Sarah
Zwicker scored a team-high
15 points against Lebanon.
The Dragons (9-6 overall)
hosted Silverton Tuesday
after press time and travel to
play at Woodburn on Friday.
CENTRAL FALLS IN STAND-
I N G S : Fa c i n g t h e M i d -
Willamette Conference’s top
two teams, Central’s girls bas-
ketball squad fell to Corvallis
and Silverton, dropping a pair
of key early-season league
games in the battle for first
place. The Panthers began their
week with a 52-26 loss to Sil-
verton on Jan. 27. Junior Kylie
Nash led Central with 13
AARON YOST/for the Itemizer-Observer
Junior Kylie Nash talks to assistant coach Jon Carey dur-
ing the Panthers’ 71-37 loss to Corvallis on Friday.
points. Against Corvallis, the
Spartans led 42-12 at the half.
Nash scored a team-high 10
points, while Ryanne Huffman
added nine points. The Pan-
thers (9-6 overall, 4-2 MWC)
played at Woodburn Tuesday
after press time and host South
Albany Friday at 7 p.m.
FA L L S C I T Y B O U N C E S
BACK: Falls City shook off a 73-
19 loss to Casco League-lead-
ing Country Christian on Jan.
27 by defeating C.S. Lewis
Academy’s junior varsity squad
48-15 on Friday. Junior Brittany
Varney scored a game-high 18
points against C.S. Lewis, as the
Mountaineers jumped out to a
22-2 lead at the half. Allison
Kidd and Shea Coker added
eight points each. Falls City
opened its week against Coun-
try Christian, which held the
Mountaineers to zero points in
the first quarter. At 4-2 in Casco
League play, Falls City controls
its own destiny to earn the sec-
ond seed in the league play-
offs. The Mountaineers host
Livingstone Adventist Tuesday
before ending the regular sea-
son Feb. 13 at Jewell.
PIRATES DROP THRILLER:
Facing the Tri-River Confer-
ence’s second-place team, the
Perrydale’s girls basketball
team lost a thriller to Regis on
M o n d ay, f a l l i n g 3 3 - 3 1 .
Cheyenne Locke and Anna
McGill scored eight points each
to lead the Pirates, who fell to
4-5 in league play. Perrydale
began its week by losing to
Kennedy 58-33 on Jan. 27 be-
fore defeating Central Linn 39-
20 on Friday. The Pirates look to
rebound when they host East
Linn Christian Wednesday
(today) at 5:30 p.m. Perrydale
also hosts Western Mennonite
Friday at 5:30 p.m.
Continued from Page 12A
“It’s always been our goal
since the beginning of the
season,” junior Brittany Var-
ney said. “Seeing the other
teams has made it more re-
alistic.”
Varney and senior Tierra
Reynolds have led the
Mountaineers in the scor-
ing column. But freshmen
Drew Ellingson and Sarah
Ziola, forced to see signifi-
cant action all season long,
have grown quickly.
“Our younger girls have
been improving fast,” Kidd
said. “Our two freshmen
are just really smart girls.
They used to make fresh-
men mistakes, checking in
and not knowing who they
were guarding. Now, when
they check in, I’m not fo-
cused on them because
they are doing their jobs.
Our older girls are also
doing a better job at being
leaders.”
With so few players to
turn to on the bench, Kidd
said the team’s focused on
how to play smarter and
how to play when in foul
trouble.
With only seven players,
Kidd said he works hard to
keep players rested during
the week.
Still, the biggest chal-
lenge the squad may face,
may not be keeping every-
one’s energy level up.
“What I’m looking for is
more trust from the other
players,” Coker said. “We’ve
been having some small
problems with that, but if
we trust each other, I think
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Junior Brittany Varney is one of Falls City’s most reli-
able offensive threats.
we can do well in league
playoffs then.”
As Falls City prepares for
its final regular season
game against Jewell on Feb.
13, the Mountaineers know
they may not have the
depth that they are used to,
but they’re finding ways to
make this season a big suc-
cess.
Competing for one of the
Casco League’s berths to the
Class 1A state playoffs may
not have been on the play-
ers’ radar at the start of this
season, but the Moun-
taineers are discovering it’s
not the size of a roster that
determines how successful
they can be.
“They’ve been focused
on that goal all season,”
Kidd said. “They’ve never
lost confidence and we’re
getting better every day.”
Freshman: Brothers push each other
Continued from Page 12A
“I think it’s been pretty av-
erage so far,” Sickles said. “I
go out and wrestle and what-
ever happens, happens.”
Entering the season, Sick-
les didn’t know how he
would fare against new
competition. But Sickles isn’t
a typical freshman. With
nine years of wrestling expe-
rience under his belt, Sickles
is thriving.
“I’ve learned how to have
a good work ethic,” Sickles
said. “Austin Markee is a
great coach. I’ve had good
workout programs that have
helped me get to where I am
today. I have to get on of-
fense and get the takedown.
If you can get the first take-
down, you usually win the
match.”
Now that he’s tasted some
success, Sickles isn’t satisfied
with original goals.
“(At the start) I was just
hoping to maybe go to
state,” Sickles said. “I didn’t
have too many expectations.
I’m thinking I can place at
state now. I’m starting to get
more confidence.”
But Sickles isn’t the only
freshmen making his pres-
ence felt for the Dragons.
Earharts
Growing up, freshmen
Treve Earhart always had his
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Brothers Treve and Tanner Earhart have both wrestled
varsity in their first year in high school together.
brother, Tanner, by his side.
Watching Tanner’s freshman
year in 2014, Treve said he
gained invaluable insight
about high school wrestling.
“I learned a lot from his
matches,” Treve Earhart
said. “I learned how to get
into better position and
what he was doing to win
his matches.”
Treve Earhart has wres-
tled at 152 and 160 pounds
for the Dragons, where he’s
won the Herrin Holiday
Classic on Dec. 13.
“I’m really happy with
what I’ve seen so far,” Treve
Earhart said. “I started
wrestling just to see what I
could do. Now, I want to keep
getting better and better.”
Tanner, who battled a
head injury earlier this sea-
son, placed fourth at the
Tournament of Champions
on Jan. 24 and is looking to
make a return trip to state.
“I’ve watched them put
countless hours in all the
sports in which they partici-
pate,” Olliff said. “They’ve
often had one another, so
they’ve always had to rely on
each other to get better.”
Now, with the two broth-
ers there to push each other
in practice, the pair shares a
special bond that helps
them stay closer than they
ever would be without
wrestling.
“It’s nice having someone
there who I can talk to when
I’m feeling down,” Tanner
Earhart said. “We can talk
about whatever is on our
mind because we know the
other is going through the
exact same thing.”