Polk County
Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • September 30, 2015 12A
PREP GIRLS SOCCER
SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 30
Boys soccer: Scap -
poose at Dallas, 4 p.m.
Tallon hopes to provide spark for Dallas
THURSDAY, OCT. 1
Volleyball: Central at
South Albany, 6 p.m.
Woodburn at Dallas, 6
p.m. C.S. Lewis at Falls
City, 5:30 p.m. Living-
stone at Perrydale, 5:30
p.m.
By Lukas Eggen
FRIDAY, OCT. 2
Football: Crescent Val-
ley at Central, 7 p.m. South
Albany at Dallas, 7 p.m.
Falls City at Mapleton, 7
p.m. Perrydale at South
Wasco County, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, OCT. 3
Cross-country: Central,
Dallas at Harrier Classic,
9:30 a.m.
Football: Western Ore-
gon at Portland State, 2:05
p.m.
Volleyball: Perrydale at
Amity Tournament, 8 a.m.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas junior forward Stefani Tallon looks to get past a
Gresham defender on Thursday afternoon.
MONDAY, OCT. 5
Boys soccer: Central at
Dallas, 4 p.m.
Girls soccer: Dallas at
Central, 6 p.m.
Volleyball: Dallas at
Central, 6 p.m.
New beginning
DALLAS — During the
first half of a 2-1 loss to Gre-
sham, Dallas’ girls soccer
team looked sluggish. Junior
Stefani Tallon wasn’t going
to let that continue.
Tallon spurred her team
on, shouting encourage-
ment and urging her team-
mates to communicate.
The difference in halves
was night and day.
The Dragons had several
scoring opportunities — and
cashed in on one opportuni-
ty.
“I think the biggest thing
is there’s contagious energy
whenever you start playing
t o g e t h e r,” Ta l l o n s a i d .
• Dallas’ girls soccer team
lost to Century 1-0 and Gre-
sham 2-1 to end its non-
league season.
• The Dragons (1-6 over-
all) play at Central Monday
at 6 p.m. to open Mid-
Willamette
Conference
play.
“When one player starts
playing with energy, it’s easi-
er to get the whole team to-
gether.”
The junior forward
showed why she can be that
spark.
—
When Tallon began her
high school career with Dal-
PREP FOOTBALL
Best foot forward
TUESDAY, OCT. 6
Boys soccer: South Al-
bany at Central, 6 p.m. Dal-
las at Woodburn, 6 p.m.
Girls soccer: Central at
South Albany, 6 p.m.
Woodburn at Dallas, 4 p.m.
Volleyball: Falls City at
Jewell, 5:30 p.m. Perry-
dale at Crosshill Christian,
5:30 p.m.
Powder puff inspires senior to play football
By Lukas Eggen
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 7
Cross-country: Central
at Mid-Willamette 4-Way,
at Avery Park, Corvallis,
TBA.
Volleyball: Central at
Crescent Valley, 6 p.m.
Dallas at South Albany, 6
p.m.
—
Schedules Subject to Change
QUICK HITS
Youth wrestling
registration
DALLAS — Registration
for the Dallas Mat Club and
LaCreole wrestling team
will be on Oct. 28 from 6 to
8 p.m. at LaCreole Middle
School.
Dallas Mat Club is open
to wrestlers in grades 1-5.
Cost is $100 and includes a
USA Wrestling card and T-
shirt. Practices begin Nov.
17 at Dallas High.
The LaCreole wrestling
team is open to students
in grades 6-8. Cost is $125
and includes a USA
Wrestling card and a T-
shirt. Practices begin Nov.
2 at LaCreole.
For more information:
dallasmatclub@gmail.com
or lacreolewildcat-
wrestling@gmail.com.
The Itemizer-Observer
las, she saw the beginnings
of a successful run with her
teammates, many of whom
had played together growing
up.
The Dragons have found
levels of success, but the
path hasn’t been ideal.
“This is my third year and
my third coach,” Tallon said.
“That transition is always
hard. I think we had trust is-
sues as a team.”
This year, the girls aren’t
just playing for personal sta-
tistics. They’re out to prove
to themselves they can over-
come whatever situation
comes their way.
“We want to be successful
so badly for each other,” Tal-
lon said.
See TALLON, Page 13A
The Itemizer-Observer
Bringing the ‘D’
INDEPENDENCE — Throughout her life,
Central senior Reba Hoffman has always
kept herself busy, from track and field to the-
ater.
On her long list of interests, football was
never among her favorites.
“I never really liked football,” Hoffman
said. “The last few years, I see that it’s inter-
esting, I guess. I love high school games be-
cause I love being in the student section, but
watching on TV has never been exciting for
me.”
That all began to change in 2014. Thanks
to an unexpected event, Hoffman is more
than a fan — she’s part of the team.
—
Prior to the 2014-15 school year, high
school football games was as much about
the social aspect as it was the game itself.
It was during the school’s annual Home-
coming powder puff game that Hoffman, as
a running back, got her first taste of playing
football.
Much to her surprise, Hoffman took a lik-
ing to a sport she’d never considered before.
“Last year during powder puff, I had a re-
ally good time,” Hoffman said. “I said, ‘Hey, I
wonder if this could be an option for real.’”
The thought intrigued her, but one obsta-
cle remained.
“It was hard at first because I’m coming in
and I’ve never played football before,” Hoff-
• Central’s football team defeated Dallas
8-0 on Friday night.
• Running back Alvin Berroa scored the
game’s lone touchdown in the second quar-
ter.
• The Panthers held Dallas to 29 yards of
total offense.
man said.
She had a basic understanding of the
game thanks to powder puff, but that was
the full extent of her football knowledge.
It was time for a crash course.
“I watched a lot of football and listened,”
Hoffman said. “I asked a lot of questions to
my friends, and they’d answer my ques-
tions.”
Near the end of the 2014-15 school year,
Hoffman approached Panthers football
coach Shane Hedrick about trying out for
the team. Hedrick was more than open to
the idea.
“There’s not a female issue there,” Hedrick
said. “She’s another player and we’ll go to
battle with her every day.”
—
Hoffman knew she was at a unique disad-
vantage coming into the season, but not be-
cause of her gender.
Hoffman had to learn a position — and
learn it fast.
See FOOT, Page 13A
PREP VOLLEYBALL
Senior keeping the focus on fun
Youth wrestling Kidd helping to lead young Mountaineers squad during league play
camp coming
on the task at hand. Kidd young team going through
By Lukas Eggen
DALLAS — A youth
wrestling camp will be of-
fered the last two Tuesdays
and Thursdays in October
at Dallas High School.
Cost is $20 per camper
and includes a tournament
entry on Oct. 31 and a T-
shirt.
Registration will be held
Oct. 20 at Dallas High at 6
p.m.
Practices will be held
Oct. 20, 22, 27 and 29 from
6:30 to 7:30 p.m. during
the camp.
For more information:
T o n y O l l i ff , t o n y . -
olliff@dsd2.org.
www.polkio.com
The Itemizer-Observer
FALLS CITY — With eight
freshmen and five sopho-
mores, Falls City’s volleyball
team has seen a resurgence
in numbers. The dramatic
increase also means the
Mountaineers are among
the youngest teams in the
Casco League.
Senior Allison Kidd has
seen the volleyball squad
grow from six players in 2014
to more than 20 in 2015.
For some, high school
athletics is a serious matter
— a place where student-
athletes should focus only
doesn’t subscribe to that line
of thinking.
Instead, Kidd has taken a
different approach to help
her team stay relaxed.
On the court, Kidd is one
of the Mountaineers’ most
consistent players, from
serving to hitting. Yet, Kidd’s
impact goes beyond what
she adds during a match.
“What I try to do is make
(my teammates) laugh,”
Kidd said. “I try and make
them have fun with it. If I
have fun with it, it seems to
help them.”
Making sure players are
smiling is imperative for a
growing pains, Kidd said.
“We have a lot of young
players and we’re quiet,”
Kidd said. “It can be hard to
get us pumped up, but we’re
getting to where we start out
better and louder.”
Falls City entered Tues-
day’s match against Country
Christian on a two-match
win streak — a sign that
these young players are
growing up fast.
“The freshmen coming in
have played all through
middle school and they
have a really good base,”
Kidd said.
See KIDD, Page 13A
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer file
Falls City senior Allison Kidd (9) awaits a point earlier this
season. Kidd is one of four seniors for the Mountaineers.
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