Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 18, 2015 13A
Polk County Sports
CLASS 5A PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Dallas, Central reach critical juncture
Dragons, Panthers appear headed in opposite directions after Dallas victory
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
AARON YOST/ for the Itemizer-Observer
Dallas senior Hayden Broadus goes up toward the hoop
over Kaj Bansen (4). Broadus finished with 10 points.
INDEPENDENCE — As
Dallas’ and Central’s boys
basketball teams squared off
for likely the final time this
season, it was a revealing
moment.
Dallas’ 43-19 win over
Central on Feb. 10 was more
than just a league victory. It
marked a turning point for
two programs headed in op-
posite directions.
“The Central game was
huge as we were a game
back of them going into it,”
Dallas coach Trent Schwartz
said. “Our kids appreciate
the Central matchup. It’s a
great competitive environ-
ment and both fans show up
in numbers. It makes for an
electric atmosphere.”
Hayden Broadus and Brad
Huey scored 10 points each
to lead the Dragons to the
victory.
Since starting league play
4-0, Central has seen its sea-
son crumble, losing five of its
last six games, including a
41-38 setback against Cres-
cent Valley on Friday. The
Panthers dropped from sec-
ond to fifth place in the MWC
entering the team’s contest
with Lebanon on Tuesday.
Since senior Kyler Flem-
ing suffered a broken left
hand on Jan. 23, Central’s of-
fense has stalled.
After scoring 51 or more
points in 11 of the team’s first
13 games, the Panthers have
scored 40 or fewer points in
four of the last five games.
“Dallas brought a lot of en-
ergy and excitement to the
Panther Pit,” Central coach
Tim Kreta said. “Unfortu-
nately, our team wasn't able
to match it. We got pushed
around on
the per-
imeter and
couldn't re-
spond.”
As the
Panthers
look for an
offensive
solution,
Bansen
the Drag-
ons hope their defense will
continue to lead to more op-
portunities on offense.
“Our keys have been our
team defense and hustle,”
Dallas senior Seth Fast said.
“We’ve been playing hard
with a lot of energy, and that
type of play makes good
things happen for us.”
The Dragons entered
Tuesday’s showdown with
Corvallis on a three-game
Up Next
• Dallas’ boys basketball
team plays at Crescent Val-
ley on Friday.
• Central hosts Silverton
Friday at 7 p.m.
• The Dragons defeated
the Panthers 43-19 on Feb.
10.
win streak and in a tie for
third place in the Mid-
Willamette Conference at 5-
4 in league play. With games
against Crescent Valley,
Lebanon and Silverton to
end the year, Dallas has a lot
to play for as the regular sea-
son winds down.
“If we win out we could
still finish in second place,
which gets you in the round
of 16 automatically and
hosting a home game to go
to (the state quarterfinals),”
Schwartz said. “On the flip
side, we could also slide as
low as sixth place, which
sends you on the road for a
play-in game against the
Midwestern Conference.”
The Panthers host Silver-
ton Friday at 7 p.m. before
playing at Corvallis on Tues-
day. Central stands one
game behind the Dragons
and Raiders and leads
Lebanon by one game for
sixth place.
“Teams are making adjust-
ments to Kaj (Bansen) and
crowding him more on the
perimeter,” Kreta said. “We
need our other players to see
this as their opportunity to
do what we did the first four
weeks of the season — attack
with confidence, make the
extra pass and finish with
poise around the basket.”
The top six teams advance
past the regular season. The
t h i r d -
through
sixth-place
teams will
play in a
Class 5A
play-in
r o u n d
against a
Midwest-
Huey
ern oppo-
nent based on finish.
As Central looks to right
its ship, Dallas is hoping to
punch its ticket to the state
playoffs.
“Essentially, the playoffs
have already begun for us,”
Schwartz said. “Three of the
four teams we are playing
(this week) are in the same
boat as we are, so it should
make for some competitive
basketball.”
Dallas: Dragons take aim at state team trophy
Continued from Page 12A
Hofenbredl has done
more than inspire his team-
mates. He’s become the
standard by which his oppo-
nents measure themselves.
“I’ve watched him for the
last four years,” South Al-
bany coach Andrew Peter-
son said. “He’s always been a
determined wrestler. He’s
tough. You always know
you’re an underdog going
against him.”
H o f e n b r e d l ’s s e c r e t
weapon this year isn’t any
technique he’s mastered.
“The difference between
Matt this year and last year
is he’s having a lot more
fun,” Olliff said. “We had all
these snow days last year
and it took a lot of fun out of
our season. Something had
to be trimmed and it was a
lot of the fun stuff. Matt’s en-
joying himself more and I
think that’s going to pay off.
The biggest challenge with
Matt is keeping him spunky,
keeping him liking
(wrestling).”
While Hofenbredl hopes
to cap off a historic career,
he was far from the only
bright spot for the Dragons,
who qualified 17 wrestlers
for the Class 5A state cham-
pionships, scheduled Feb.
27-28 in Portland.
Among the highlights in-
cluded district titles by
Six and Counting
• The Dallas High wres-
tling team won its sixth
Mid-Willamette Conference
district championship in a
row.
• The Dragons had 17
wrestlers earn a berth to
the OSAA Class 5A state
wrestling championships,
scheduled Feb. 27-28 in
Portland.
• Senior Matt Hofenbredl
won his fourth district title,
the first time in Dallas his-
tory a Dragon wrestler won
a district title in each of his
four seasons.
Nolan Miller (120), Noel
Reyes (145) and Treve
Earhart (152), and second-
place finishes from Noah
Sickles (113), Jordan
Williams (120), Sammy
Chung (126), Cody Janssen
(145), Jeff Dunagan (160)
and Tyson Janssen (170).
“It was just exciting,”
Earhart said. “I learned that
if I wrestle like I can, I can do
big things.”
Earhart earned an 11-5
decision over Lebanon’s
Tanner Sallee to earn the
152-pound title.
For Miller, a senior, a dis-
trict title remained as one of
the few accomplishments
he’d yet to achieve during
his career.
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Dallas senior Nolan Miller (left) wrestles teammate Jordan Williams in the finals of the 120-pound weight class on
Saturday night. Miller pinned Williams to earn his first Mid-Willamette Conference district title.
Miller pinned teammate
Jordan Williams to win his
title.
“I was happy to finally
win,” Miller said. “Now, I just
have to get ready for state. I
just need to work hard and
not overlook anybody.”
Reyes earned a 4-1 deci-
sion over teammate Cody
Janssen to earn his district
championship.
With 17 qualifiers, Dallas
finds itself in a strong posi-
tion entering the Class 5A
state wrestling champi-
onships.
“This makes us a con-
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP
tender for a state title,” Olliff
said. “The goal is always to
be in the discussion. I’d like
to think that we’re bringing
quality and enough quantity
to give it a go.”
Despite celebrating a
sixth-straight team title, Ol-
liff said his qualifiers aren’t
considering their season a
success just yet.
“(Winning district) is a
neat step,” Olliff said. “This
is something to be proud of.
But many of these boys still
have something they want
to do, and I want to help
them do it.”
Itemizer-Observer
Pirates win playoff opener
Athlete of the Week
Perrydale defeats Santiam 53-38 to advance
Tanner Swinehart
Itemizer-Observer staff report
PERRYDALE — Perrydale
isn’t ready to see their season
come to a close just yet.
The Perrydale boys bas-
ketball team defeated sixth-
seeded
Santiam
53-38 on
Monday in
the first
round of
t h e Tr i -
River Con-
ference
playoffs.
Janesofsky
T r o y
Trembly scored 14 points,
while Haylen Janesofsky
added 11 points.
Keenan Bailey scored a
career-high 10 points and
Chad Price recorded eight
points.
“We are playing better bas-
ketball and the players are
starting to understand their
strengths and that is making
us a better team,” Pirates
coach Mike Lowry said.
Perrydale plays at Central
Linn Wednesday (today) at 6
p.m. The winner advances to
face the loser of the
Kennedy/Western Mennon-
ite matchup on Saturday
with a trip to the state play-
offs on the line.
The Pirates clinched the
fifth seed after defeating St.
Paul 53-42 in their regular
season finale to finish 5-9 in
league play.
FALLS CITY WINS FINALE:
Falls City’s boys basketball
team saw its season come to an
end after a 44-29 win over Jew-
ell on Friday. The Mountaineers
fell to Livingstone Adventist 68-
60 on Feb. 10 to finish 5-15
overall and 2-10 in Casco
League play, good for sixth
place. The top five teams ad-
vanced to the Casco League
playoffs. “My goal was to make
sure the guys had fun playing
basketball,” coach Jim Owre
said. “And we achieved that
goal.”
Central High
The senior went 4-0 with three pins en
route to winning the 170-pound title at
the Mid-Willamette Conference District
Wrestling Championships Friday and Sat-
urday at Silverton. Swinehart improved
his overall season record to 43-0 entering the Class 5A state
championship tournament Feb. 27-28 in Portland. He is
ranked No. 1 at the 5A level in the state individual rankings
compiled by Richard Rockwell.
Sarah Zwicker
Dallas High
Zwicker, a 5-foot-9 sophomore
guard/wing, scored 35 points in two
games as the Dallas girls basketball
team moved up in the Mid-Willamette
Conference standings. Zwicker made
four 3-point baskets en route to 19 points in a 62-31 Feb. 11
win over archrival Central, then she scored a team-high 16
points in the Dragons’ 74-51 win Friday night over South Al-
bany.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer file
Perrydale’s Chad Price has been a consistent scoring
leader for the Pirates this season.
To submit nominations for the Itemizer-Observer Athlete of
the Week, contact Sports Editor Lukas Eggen at 503-623-2373
or leggen@polkio.com by 9 a.m. on Monday.