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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (March 11, 2015)
Polk County Sports Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 11, 2015 10A SCHEDULE COLLEGE COLLEGE SOFTBALL SOFTBALL FRIDAY, MARCH 13 Baseball: Montana State Billings at Western Oregon (DH), 1 p.m. M e n ’s B a s k e t b a l l : NCAA Division II West Re- gional: Western Oregon vs. Azusa Pacific at Azusa Pa- cific, 7:30 p.m. Swinging away Junior leads team in hits, RBIs SATURDAY, MARCH 14 Baseball: Montana State Billings at Western Oregon (DH), noon. Softball: Simon Fraser at Western Oregon (DH), 1 p.m. M e n ’s B a s k e t b a l l : NCAA Division II West Re- gional: TBA, 5 p.m. Track and Field: West- ern Oregon at Mt. Hood Community College Saints Open, 10 a.m. Schedules Subject to Change 12 The number of doubles (nine) and home runs (three) Knowles has hit, both team highs. 9 The number of walks Knowles has drawn this year, the most of any Western Oregon player. Sign-ups ending for Mighty Mites DALLAS — Registration for the Dallas Mighty Mites program ends Thursday. The program runs from March 14 to April 4 at Lyle Elementary School from 9 to 10 a.m. Mighty Mites is open to children ages 3 to 5. The Mighty Mites pro- gram teaches participants basic fundamentals of youth sports. Cost is $25 per child and includes a T-shirt. Registra- tion forms are available on- line at www.dallasor.gov. Registration can be turned in at 187 SE Court St. in Dallas. For more information: David Brautigam, 503-831- 3559 or david.brau- tigam@dallasor.gov. Registration open for sports camp DALLAS — Registration is open for Grace Commu- nity Church’s Sports Camp March 23-25. The camp runs from 8:30 a.m. to noon each day at LaCreole Middle School. Campers can choose be- tween a sports or dance track. The cost is $30 per child or $70 for three or more from the same family. Registration is due by March 19. Registration is available online at www.graceindal- las.org. For more information: Suzy Frey, 503-623-4961; email to suzy@graceindal- las.org. See SWING, Page 11A CLASS 5A PREP BOYS BASKETBALL Dragons’ run to tourney falls short Dallas cruises by Eagle Point, loses to Wilsonville in playoffs By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer QUICK HITS MONMOUTH — It’s become a motto for Western Oregon junior Brandy Knowles; a phrase that helps Knowles calm any nerves and get excited. “Before every single game, I tweet or write on my Facebook status ‘Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose,’” Knowles said. “I write it everywhere I can see it.” The phrase, from “Friday Night Lights,” a TV show about high school football in Texas, helps inspire Knowles to give it everything she has each time she puts on the cleats. Knowles, who transferred from Walla Walla Com- munity College in Washington, redshirted in 2014 after recovering from a knee injury. Coming into this season, her focus was on regain- ing confidence at the plate. “I made some adjustments for hitting and it’s help- ing me a lot,” Knowles said. “It’s getting better and better every day. I worked on keeping my hands tucked.” 16 MONDAY, MARCH 16 Baseball: Dallas at Sil- verton Jamboree, 4 p.m. Central at Stayton, 4 p.m. Perrydale at Sheridan, 4:30 p.m. M e n ’s B a s k e t b a l l : NCAA Division II West Re- gional: TBA, 7 p.m. Softball: Perrydale at Sheridan, 4:30 p.m. Boys Tennis: McMin- nville at Dallas, 4 p.m. Girls Tennis: Dallas at McMinnville, 4 p.m. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5 Baseball: Cascade at Central, 4 p.m. Girls Basketball: McKay at Central, 4:30 p.m. — The Itemizer-Observer The number of hits Brandy Knowles has through 18 games this season. SUNDAY, MARCH 15 Softball: Western Wash- ington at Western Oregon (DH), noon. TUESDAY, MARCH 4 Baseball: Gaston at Per- rydale, 4:30 p.m. Softball: Franklin at Central, 4:30 p.m. Gaston at Perrydale, 4:30 p.m. By Lukas Eggen By The Numbers WILSONVILLE — From the moment the season began, Dallas’ boys basket- ball team had its eyes set on one goal: Get to the state quarterfinals at Gill Colise- um in Corvallis. On Friday, the Dragons fell just short, losing in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs to Wilsonville, 69-35. “We played a great team,” Dallas co- ach Trent Schwartz said. “We needed a lot of things to go right for us. We did- Tichenor n’ t d o a great job finding their shoot- ers on defense.” Everett Minahan, Dallas’ leading scorer on the sea- son, was held scoreless until the second half. From there, Wilsonville pulled away to advance to the quarterfinals. “It was fun to experience the playoff environment,” Dallas senior guard Isaak Tichenor said. “While I feel we could have played a much better game against them, you can’t take any credit away from them. Wilsonville played a great game.” The Dragons’ offense may have sputtered against Wilsonville, but it soared against Eagle Point in the state play- in round on March 3. Minahan scored 20 points as D a l l a s rolled past Minahan the Eagles 84-59, a season-high in points scored by DHS. The Dragons led 29-26 with two minutes left in the first half. By the end of the third quar- ter, Dallas led 60-38. “We shot the ball well and I think it showed what we could do on the offensive end,” Tichenor said. “Our defense had really defined us (this season) and it was nice to see a good offensive performance.” The Dragons will lose six seniors to graduation, in- cluding starting posts Hay- den Broadus and Brad Huey. But Dallas’ younger players didn’t wait long to start working toward next season. See DRAGONS, Page 12A CLASS 5A PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL Central’s playoff push ends in first round Crater’s pressure defense allows Comets to pull away from Panthers By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer CENTRAL POINT — The Central girls basketball team’s season didn’t start as planned, as the Panthers opened 0-3. Central refused to panic, recovering to qualify for the OSAA Class 5A state playoffs. And while the Panthers won’t be bringing home a state title, players are excited for the future. Central’s season came to an end when the Panthers lost to Crater 56-33 in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs on Saturday. Senior Sai Tapasa and jun- ior Kylie Nash scored 11 points each, but the Comets pulled away in the second half, outscoring Central 35- 16 as Crater’s pressure de- fense began to take its toll on players. “Crater traps and presses www.polkio.com/ns/sports the whole game, and they do a very good job of doing that,” Panthers coach Julie McDonald said. “They wear you down and the majority of their of- fense co- mes from their pr- ess.” Central advanced to the first round after defeating Tapasa Churchill 50-28 in the state play-in round on March 4. Nash scored 24 points, while senior Ryanne Huffman added eight points during the victory. “I don’t think Churchill played its best ball,” McDon- ald said. “Our girls played exactly how we wanted to defensively. We helped on a few girls we thought would be their offensive go-to play- ers and did that very well. We proba- bly played our best team de- fensive game in a long time.” The Pan- thers fin- Nash ished the 2014-15 season with a 14- 11 overall record and were 8-6 in Mid-Willamette Con- ference play. “This season was a good experience,” Huffman said. “We knew going into 5A was going to be tough. We all worked hard, all the coaches worked hard, and we did better than anyone expect- ed.” The Panthers’ transition to a new classification saw some growing pains, as Cen- tral adjusted to life in a com- petitive league with no easy games on the schedule. See CENTRAL, Page 11A LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Central senior Ryanne Huffman goes up for a shot against Churchill on March 4. www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209 Mon -Fri 8am - 6pm • Sat 8am - 5pm DALLAS 121 Main St • 503-623-8155 INDEPENDENCE 1710 Monmouth St • 503-838-6340 www.LesSchwab.com Prices good through 3/31/15 www.twitter.com/PolkIOSports
