Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 2015)
Polk County Sports Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 14, 2015 10A DALLAS VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY, OCT. 14 Cross-country: Central at Silverton, 4:45 p.m. Dal- las vs. Corvallis, Crescent Valley, and South Albany (at Dallas City Park), TBA. S e n io r s hope t o surprise THURSDAY, OCT. 15 Boys soccer: Corvallis at Central, 4 p.m. Dallas at Lebanon, 4 p.m. Girls soccer: Central at Corvallis, 7 p.m. Lebanon at Dallas, 4 p.m. Western Oregon at Saint Martin’s 12:15 p.m. Volleyball: Silverton at Central, 6 p.m. Dallas at Crescent Valley, 6 p.m. Crosshill Christian at Falls City, 5:30 p.m. Perrydale at Jewell, 5:30 p.m. West- ern Oregon at Montana State Billings, 6 p.m. By Lukas Eggen FRIDAY, OCT. 16 Football: Central at Sil- verton, 7 p.m. Crescent Valley at Dallas, 7 p.m. Falls City at Triangle Lake, 7 p.m. The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — The Dallas volleyball team wasn’t sup- posed to be in contention. With nearly half (five) of its team on varsity for the first time, the Dragons were supposed to be facing a year of transition. “We have a lot of heart,” senior Maci Ackerman said. “This team, we never give up. We’ve gone five sets with Central, five sets with Corvallis and no one really expected that from us. We wanted to prove something.” Dallas hopes to prove it belongs among the Mid- Willamette Conference’s top teams. — See SENIORS, Page 12A SATURDAY, OCT. 17 Football: Central Wash- ington at Western Oregon, 1 p.m. Girls soccer: Western Oregon at Concordia, 7 p.m. TUESDAY, OCT. 20 Boys soccer: Lebanon at Central, 6 p.m. Silverton at Dallas, 4 p.m. Girls soccer: Central at Lebanon, 4 p.m. Dallas at Silverton, 6 p.m. Volleyball: Central at Corvallis, 6 p.m. Lebanon at Dallas, 6 p.m. Living- stone Adventist at Falls City, 5:30 p.m. C.S. Lewis at Perrydale, 5:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY, OCT. 21 Cross-country: Central, Dallas at Mid-Willamette Conference Champi- onships at Crystal Lake Sports Park, Corvallis, 2 p.m. — Schedules Subject to Change LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Seniors Maci Ackerman and Cambria Blair have helped lead the Dragons’ volleyball team during the 2015 season. FALLS CITY FOOTBALL Walking before they can run Second-year coach sees improvement on week-to-week basis By Lukas Eggen Playoff push The Itemizer-Observer QUICK HITS Avgi named to preseason list PORTLAND — Western Oregon senior forward A n d y Av g i h a s b e e n named to the Division II Bulletin’s annual presea- son Super 16 list. Avgi was named the 2015-16 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason Play- er of the Year award. Avgi averaged 18.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game during his junior season. He helped Western Oregon win the GNAC regular sea- son title and earn an ap- pearance in the NCAA Divi- sion II West Regional. Avgi was also named to the Sporting News’ Divi- sion II Preseason All-Amer- ican First Team. FALLS CITY — Falls City football coach Laric Cook isn’t used to having to wait. During his tenure as head coach at Mohawk, Cook won his first of two state titles in 2005, just two years after taking over the program in 2003. “It just seems I’ve had early success everywhere I’ve been before,” Cook said. Si n c e b e c o m i n g t h e Mountaineers’ coach in 2014, Cook has made it his mission to change the cul- ture around the football pro- gram. Now, he’s finding out that task will have to be taken one step at a time. — • Special District 3 will be split into a north and south division. The north con- tains Siletz Valley ,Triangle Lake, Mapleton, Alsea and Falls City. The Moun- taineers entered the week in fourth place. • The second seed from the north will host the third seed from the south and vice versa. The winners of those games will advance to the Class 1A state play- offs. Division winners auto- matically qualify. Cook knew Falls City pre- sented a different challenge than any of his previous stops, including a smaller team, and a different atti- tude from players. Last year, Cook began im- plementing his plan, includ- ing weight room workouts and more. The Mountaineers opened the season with a 28-24 loss to Perrydale, a team that entered the week undefeated and has scored 36 or more points in each of its other games. On Friday, Falls City (1-5 overall, 1-1 Special District 3) lost to Siletz Valley 36-32. “We just fell a little short,” Cook said. “When you’re changing things around here, you’re going to have that. I’m proud of the kids. They played their butts off and they get better every week.” See RUN, Page 11A CENTRAL GIRLS SOCCER Torres helps rally teammates together STAT SHEET By Lukas Eggen 9 INDEPENDENCE — Sen- ior Naomi Torres knew something wasn’t right with the Panthers. Eleven players stepped onto the field for each , but there was a disconnect. “We had a lot of players who were playing well by themselves, but not work- ing together,” Torres said. “We were like zombies out there.” The team wasn’t truly to- gether, Torres said. That needed to change and quickly. The Itemizer-Observer The number of touchdowns Perry- dale’s football team score against Ione, including three on de- fense. The Pirates defeated Ione 62-20 on Thursday evening to improve to 6-0. 3 The number of vol- leyball teams in the Mid-Willamette Conference that en- tered the week tied for third with a 5-5 record in league play: Central, Dallas and Corvallis. LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Senior Naomi Torres prepares to shoot during practice. www.polkio.com LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Falls City coach Laric Cook talks to players during the Mountaineers’ 36-32 loss on Friday night. Up next • Central plays at Corvallis on Thursday and at Lebanon on Tuesday. The Panthers close the regular season at home against Crescent Valley on Oct. 22 and Woodburn on Oct. 27. • The Panthers entered the week in search of their first victory of the season. “We started to have team bonding and we really grew close to each other,” Torres said. Among the team building included hosting team func- tions at her house. As one of the team’s few returning varsity players, Torres took it upon herself to help bring players closer on www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209 DALLAS 121 Main St 503-623-8155 INDEPENDENCE 1710 Monmouth St 503-838-6340 www.LesSchwab.com Mon -Fri 8am - 6pm Sat 8am - 5pm and off the field. “We’re playing together now,” Torres said. “We have great chemistry.” Now, the Panthers look to turning that chemistry in success on the field. Central entered the week 0-7 overall and in search of its first vic- tory. See RALLY, Page 12A www.twitter.com/PolkIOSports
