Polk County Sports
12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 7, 2015
Rush: Players hope
to ‘restore’ name
Taking Names
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas athletic director Tim Larson writes his name down on a bid sheet during the
Dallas Booster Club Athletic Auction on Saturday evening. Silent and live auctions
helped raise money for Dallas High School athletics. The event will net about
$26,000 to be donated toward athletics.
Continued from Page 10A
“Keenan is a tough runner
and his biggest asset is his
vision,” Gubrud said. “He
sees things a lot of backs
don’t and his size (6-foot,
200 pounds) and strength is
an issue for tacklers.”
He’s far from the only key
to the team’s success.
“We have a bunch of guys
making huge contributions,
guys you don’t always read
about in the paper,” Perry-
dale coach Chris Gubrud
said. “Guys like Spencer
Bibler, Jacob Pope and
Hunter Sagmoen. Guys
coming off the bench like
Mike McGill and Logan
Shamblin have been huge
on special teams. Kirk
Fairchild's and CJ Marsters’
versatility have also been a
huge plus for us.”
On defense, Alex Hawes
has wreaked havoc on oppo-
nents.
“His ability to get off
blocks combined with a
nose for the ball has him as
one of our
leading
tacklers
from the
defensive
line posi-
t i o n , ”
Gubrud
said.
Domes
Add in
quarterback Daniel Domes
and tight end/linebacker
Brant Barnes, and the Pi-
rates have scored 264 total
points, the most in the
league.
“Daniel’s ability to grasp
the cognitive part of the po-
sition has helped our offense
be versatile,” Gubrud said.
“He has become an accurate
passer and his decision
making has been near per-
fect. Brant has emerged as a
weapon as a pass catcher.
His size and hands will be an
asset for us moving for-
ward.”
The Pirates aren’t content
with a fast start. Gubrud said
he’s looking for more consis-
tency — something that will
need to be fixed with show-
downs looming against
Sherman and Arlington to
end the regular season.
“We need to be able to
block all the different
fronts that we see and be
able to make those adjust-
m e n t s d u r i n g g a m e s,”
Gubrud said. “Defensively
we need to get lined up
correctly with all the for-
mation’s and then we need
to do a better job at rallying
to the ball.”
Still, Bailey said players
aren’t shy about their goal to
bring a state title back to
Perrydale.
“It would be huge,” Bailey
said. “It would put Perrydale
back on the map as a foot-
ball power. It’s really cool.
The school won a state
championship in 2004. We’d
love nothing more than do
that again for Perrydale and
bring some glory back to the
school and restore the Perry-
dale name.”
Bond: Team is
Dallas dominates rival Central now a family
Dragons open league play with a 5-1 victory on Monday
DALLAS ROUNDUP
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — The Dallas
girls soccer
t e a m
opened
M i d -
Willamette
Confer-
ence play
with a 5-1
victory
Tallon
over Cen-
tral on Monday.
“This was the first game
in which we played a full
match,” Dallas coach Kirk
Myrold said. “We were able
to put it all together. Our de-
fense held strong; our mid-
field was able to control and
dictate the play; and our for-
wards were able to attack
the goal.”
Stefani Tallon (2), Em-
malee Jones, Olivia Dalke
and Ashlee Lichtenberger
scored for the Dragons.
Dallas hosted Woodburn
Tuesday after press time. The
Dragons play at Crescent Val-
ley on Tuesday (Oct. 13).
“We look forward to be-
coming more aggressive, to
controlling the game from
our midfield, to learning
how to trust each other and
really, just having fun play-
ing on the field together,”
Myrold said.
VOLLEYBALL WINS TWO:
Dallas earned a pair of league
victories, defeating Woodburn
25-12, 25-19, 25-6 on Thursday
and Central 16-25, 25-22, 26-
24, 25-20 on Monday. The
Dragons (9-6 overall, 5-4
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Kloe Totten (left), Jenifer Webb and Callista Kiner go for a free ball against Central.
MWC) play at South Albany
Wednesday (today) and will
participate in the Glencoe
Tournament on Saturday be-
fore hosting Corvallis on Tues-
day. Dallas entered today’s
match in fourth place in the
league standings, one game
behind Corvallis and Silverton.
BOYS SOCCER EARNS TIE:
The Dallas boys soccer squad
closed out its nonleague season
with a 1-1 tie with Scappoose on
Sept. 30. The Dragons opened
league play with a 4-0 loss to
Central on Monday. Dallas
played Woodburn Tuesday after
press time and will host Crescent
Valley Tuesday at 4 p.m.
FOOTBALL FALLS: The Dal-
las football squad dropped to
1-4 overall after losing to South
Albany 27-12 on Friday.
Tanner Earhart scored on a
2-yard run in the second quar-
ter to pull the Dragons within
7-6 at the half, but the Rebels
scored 20 unanswered points
to pull away.
The Dragons gained 299
yards of total ofense, but had
10 penalties for 99 yards and
two turnovers.
“It was excruciating, it really
was,” Dallas coach Tracy Jack-
son said. “Our kids, they’re
good kids and they’re working
hard. We’re making mistakes
that are costing us. I guess
that’s on me and not teaching
them well enough.”
The Dragons play at Corval-
lis on Thursday.
CROSS-COUNTRY TAKES
18TH: The Dallas boys cross-
country team placed 18th at
the Harrier Classic at Albany
on Saturday. Senior Jesse
Stuhr placed 67th overall (17
minutes, 44.76 seconds), while
senior Cody Tilgner took 77th
(17:52.0) to lead the Dragons.
Dallas will compete at the
George Fox Cross-country
Classic on Saturday and host a
meet at Dallas City Park on
Wednesday (Oct. 14).
Continued from Page 10A
He also had a larger goal
in mind. Cirino wanted to
show his runners that while
workouts may be difficult,
it’s nothing compared to
what life would throw at
them. Something else hap-
pened.
Cirino became more
than a coach. He became a
father figure for his run-
ners.
“When you look at them
in middle school, they’re
kids,” Cirino said. “I think
now they’ve had genuine,
real life experiences togeth-
er. When we say it’s like a
family, it truly is. We’ve
gone through everything
together.”
That is Cirino’s ultimate
goal: help his runners be-
come better people.
Whether that means help-
ing them through a difficult
time or not being afraid to
show their emotions, Ciri-
no hopes running helps
teach them about how to
live.
“He has high expecta-
tions for us as runners and
as people,” Engle said. “It
was new to us at first, but it
led us to realize this is what
we love doing. … It’s given
me a new perspective on
life. It’s helped us see some
problems we think are real-
ly difficult aren’t that diffi-
cult when you put it in per-
spective.”
This fall, Hume and
Smith are on varsity. Engle
and Omlid are returning
Harrier Classic
• Central’s boys cross-
country team placed
13th at the Harrier Clas-
sic. The girls squad
placed eighth.
• Bailie Hartford placed
ninth overall to lead the
girls. Zachary Meyer took
45th to lead the boys.
from injuries. Each of them
knows they won’t be the
fastest runners in the state,
but they’ve become lifelong
runners.
This year, the seniors
hope to pass on their love
of running to the next gen-
eration.
“There’s a strong feeling
that we want to show (the
younger runners) if you
work hard, you can
achieve anything,” Smith
said. “I came in being
pretty slow as a freshman
and I’ve worked up to
where I am now. We want
to instill that determina-
tion in them.”
Cirino knows he’ll have
plenty of other runners he’ll
get to know in the future.
The feeling won’t quite be
the same.
That sentiment is mutual
for his runners, who discov-
ered more than a team.
“Without cross-country, I
wouldn’t be the same loving
person that I am,” Hume
said. “I wouldn’t be as
h a p py. I w o u l d n’t b e
happy.”
CENTRAL VOLLEYBALL
Dowdell, Central searches for confidence
Junior hopes she and her team reach a turning point
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE —
Growing up, Alex Dowdell
always wanted to play a
sport.
Living outside of town
on a farm, she spent much
of her time caring for hors-
es.
The distance away from
school and the time need-
ed to care for her horses
prevented her from realiz-
ing her athletic ambitions.
Prior to her eighth-grade
y e a r, c i rc u m s t a n c e s
changed, and Dowdell
would get her chance.
“We moved into (Inde-
pendence),” Dowdell said.
“Transportation was a lot
easier and volleyball seemed
like an easy enough sport to
get into. I just wanted to play
a sport and I found out I was
pretty good at it.”
She quickly found her role
as an outside hitter. Despite
not having traditional ath-
letic experience, training
horses gave her all the phys-
ical preparation she needed.
“Handling horses, you
need strength,” Dowdell
said. “Physically I was ready
for sports.”
As she began her high
school career, her greatest
obstacle has been herself.
“Mentally, I was worried
about what was going on,”
Dowdell said.
The junior has all the
physical tools necessary to
succeed. The question is
whether her confidence can
match her ability.
“When I have two other
good hitters by me, I get a
little self-conscious and
don’t perform as well,”
Dowdell said.
Central coach Claudine
Mendazona said it’s an issue
they’ve been working to
overcome, and it’s fueled
Dowdell to improve her
game in all facets. That’s
lead to a breakthrough sea-
son for Dowdell.
Up next
• Central lost to Dallas 3
sets to 1 on Monday.
• The Panthers play at
Crescent Valley Wednes-
day (today) before host-
ing Lebanon Tuesday at 6
p.m.
“Alex is a very hard work-
er,” Mendazona said. “She
puts in the time to improve
her game. Her hitting is get-
ting more consistent. We
have been stronger in exe-
cuting our offense and she is
leading our team in kills.
Alex is also one of the top
four servers, with over 90
percent. … She’s a competi-
tor.”
Dowdell had perhaps her
best match of the season
against Corvallis on Sept. 24,
when she recorded 26 kills
and 21 digs during the five-
set victory over the Mid-
Willamette Conference’s sec-
ond place team.
Now, Dowdell hopes that
match shows her that she
belongs on the court along-
side any player in the
league.
Her success isn’t enough
for Dowdell, or her team-
mates.
The Panthers began the
second half of league play
last week, and Mendazona
knows its biggest problem is
the same as Dowdell’s: con-
fidence.
“It’s important to stay
positive,” Dowdell said. “If
someone makes a mistake,
sometimes we shut down a
little bit. We want to have
everyone cheering each
other on.”
The Panthers have been a
work in progress this season,
but Dowdell sees everything
coming together.
“Our offense is getting
better as we practice more,”
she said. “Everyone is work-
ing on getting a good pass
and quicker sets so the other
team isn’t ready for it.”
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Alex Dowdell goes up for a hit against Dallas on Monday.