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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 2015)
Polk County Sports 12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 14, 2015 CENTRAL ROUNDUP Volleyball defeats Crescent Valley in five sets Panthers enter the week in a three-way tie for third place in the Mid-Willamette Conference Itemizer-Observer staff report CORVALLIS — The Cen- tral volleyball team earned a 25-15, 25-22, 17-25, 16-25, 15-5 road victory over Cres- cent Valley on Oct. 7. “The girls played well overall,” Panthers coach Claudine Mendazona said. “I was pleased to get the win.” Krista Omlid helped lead Central with 22 kills and three blocks, while Alex Dowdell added 18 kills and 25 digs. Kylie Nash recorded four aces and 47 aces during the victory. The Panthers played Lebanon Tuesday after press time. Cen- tral hosts Silverton Thursday at 6 p.m. b e f o r e playing at Corvallis o n Tu e s - Nash d a y. T h e Panthers entered the week in a three-way tie for third place in the MWC with Dal- las and Corvallis with a 5-5 mark in league play. BOYS CROSS - COUNTRY TAKES FIFTH: Central’s boys cross-country squad placed fifth at the George Fox XC Invi- tational on Saturday. Junior Zachary M e y e r placed 41st in 17 min- utes, 39.6 seconds to lead the Panthers, while senior Hartford D a r i e n Hume took 42nd in 17:40.6. The girls squad placed 12th. Sophomore Bailie Hartford fin- ished fifth overall in 19:58.3, while senior Jamie Smith placed 41st in 21:26.6. Central will compete at Silverton Wednesday (today) in the team’s final race before the Mid-Willamette Conference Rally: Central looks for win Continued from Page 10A Central coach Joe Orozco said the team must over- come it’s inexperience and nervousness. “We’re a young team,” Orozco said. “We’re nervous at the start of matches and w e d o n’t g e t m o re aggressive until we’re two or three goals down.” Much of that appre- Torres hension c o m e s from having many first-year varsity players playing major roles. That includes freshman midfielder Ana Becerra, who is helping to fill in for junior co-captain Alyssa Orozco, who suffered a torn ACL dur- ing the first match of the season. “I think we’re making progress,” Becerra said. “In the first half, I think we’re more worried about making mistakes. By the second half, that’s when we get more re- laxed and start doing well.” Finding that balance be- tween playing without nerves and wanting to suc- ceed has been a work in progress, Orozco said. While the process has been a long journey, it’s one that players are embracing. While the final results may not be what they hope for, Orozco said the building blocks are being laid for fu- ture success. “The girls always play hard,” Orozco said. “No mat- ter if they get down early, they keep playing hard. We’re young. We want to bring them up to speed, but it’s hard to do when you’re already in the season. They don’t quit, though.” Championships on Oct. 21. F O OT B A L L FA L L S I N THRILLER: For the second time in as many weeks, Central’s football team lost a heart- breaker, falling to Lebanon 36- 35 on Thursday. “The Panthers played a much improved Lebanon Warriors,” Central coach Shane Hedrick said. “As a whole, the Panthers improved on both sides of the ball. We are looking to reduce or limit the number of big plays on de- fense, while at the same time increase the big play opportu- nities on ofense.” Quarterback Peter Mendazona threw for 238 yards and four touch- downs, while receiver Peter Mason had four receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Panthers on of- fense. Senior defensive line- man Opeti Tuipulotu had seven total tackles to help lead the defense, as Central built a 35-15 lead in the third quarter. The Warriors scored the inal 21 points of the game to earn the victory. The Panthers play at Silverton on Friday. Central dropped to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in league play and into a three- way tie with Silverton and Cor- vallis. Lebanon, South Albany and Crescent Valley are tied for irst place in the conference with a 3-1 league record. The top four teams advance to the state playofs. “Friday’s game at Silverton will be a must win for both teams,” Hedrick said. BOYS SOCCER LOSES TO SOUTH ALBANY: Central ’s boys soccer team lost to South Albany 1-0 on Oct. 6. The Pan- thers (2-5-2 overall, 1-1 MWC) played Silverton Tuesday after press time. Central hosts Cor- vallis Thursday at 4 p.m. and Lebanon Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Panthers entered the week in a three-way tie for fourth with four matches to play. The top two teams in the league earn an automatic berth into the state tournament. The third through sixth place teams ad- vance to the play-in round. Stretching out LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Falls City junior outside hitter/middle blocker Anna Lammers attempts to hit the ball over during the Moun- taineers’ match against Perrydale on Thursday evening. Falls City lost to Perrydale 25-16, 25-6, 25-13. The Mountaineers opened the week by defeating Jewell 25-19, 17-25, 25-15, 25-17 on Oct. 6. Falls City entered the week with a 5-6 record in Casco League play and tied for fourth with Willamette Valley Christian. Seniors: DHS Cross leads cross-country tied for third Boys cross-country team places seventh at invitational DALLAS ROUNDUP Itemizer-Observer staff report GERVAIS — Dallas’ boys cross-country team placed seventh at the George Fox XC Invitational on Saturday. Freshman Tr e v o r C r o s s p l a c e d 24th over- all in 17 minutes, 22 seconds to lead the Dragons. Cross S e n i o r Cody Tilgner placed 55th in 17:52.1. The girls placed 21st. Sen- ior Elizabeth Sutton took 70th in 22:03.8, while senior Angie Sletten finished 92nd in 22:39.6 to lead the Drag- ons. Dallas hosts Crescent Val- ley, Corvallis and South Al- bany Wednesday (today) at 4 p.m. at Dallas City Park. The meet is the Dragons’ final race before the Mid- Willamette Conference Championships in Corvallis on Oct. 21. CORVALLIS SHUTS OUT DALLAS FOOTBALL: Corvallis running back Hunter Mattson rushed for 215 yards and four touchdowns, as Corvallis shut out Dallas 35-0 on Thursday. The Spartans gained 325 yards on the ground. Dragons’ run- ning back Alex Hofferber rushed for 88 yards, but Dallas failed to find the end zone, de- spite 10 first downs. Dallas (1- 5 overall, 1-3 MWC) hosts Cres- cent Valley Friday at 7 p.m. in the school’s Homecoming game. BOYS SOCCER FALLS: Dallas’ boys soccer team lost to Wood- burn 10-0 on Oct. 6. The Dragons (1-6-2 overall, 0-2 MWC) played Crescent Valley Tuesday after press time. Dallas plays at Lebanon on Thursday before hosting Silverton Tuesday at 4 p.m. in the team’s inal home match of the season. GIRLS SOCCER EARNS TIE: Dallas’ girls soccer team earned a 1-1 tie against Wo o d b u r n on Oct. 6. Junior midielder Sarah Ussery Ussery s co re d fo r the Dragons. Dallas played at Crescent Valley Tuesday after press time. The Dragons host Lebanon Thursday at 4 p.m. and travel to Silverton on Tues- day. Dallas entered the week in third place in the MWC with a 2-6-1 record overall and 1-0-1 mark in league play. Strength in numbers WOU ATHLETICS/for the Itemizer-Observer Western Oregon defenders make a tackle against North Alabama on Saturday afternoon. The Wolves earned a 24- 22 victory over North Alabama, improving their record to 3-3 overall. Continued from Page 10A The 2015 season hasn’t gone according to plan for Dallas senior Cambria Blair. Blair, one of six Dragon seniors, was expected to play a major role on the court. A pulled abdominal muscle and a concussion forced Blair to miss the first half of the season. “It’s not the way you want your senior year to go,” Dallas coach Shana Lavier said. Blair hopes to make up for lost time and help, along with her fellow sen- iors, to inspire her team- mates. “She’s coming back with a vengeance,” Lavier said. Blair and Ackerman have helped bring a high energy to the court — one that has helped inspire their team- mates. “I want us to play for e v e r y touch,” Blair said. “ I d o n’t want us to just be in it for the game, but for every touch and Ackerman to really have fun and work hard.” The Dragons entered Tuesday’s match against Corvallis with a 5-5 record in Mid-Willamette Confer- ence play and tied for third place in the MWC with Cor- vallis and Central. Crescent Valley and South Albany are tied at 4-6 in MWC play. Dallas ends the regular season with matches against Lebanon and Silver- ton, the MWC’s top two teams. “We want to go out and have fun because when we do play together as a team, we’re a force to be reckoned with,” Ackerman s a i d . “ We’re going to go against s o m e t o u g h teams and Blair we want to be at our peak, play to- gether and just have fun.” The matches will have big impacts on postseason play. The top two teams in the league gain an auto- matic berth to the state playoffs. The third and fourth seeds host a play-in match, while the fifth-and sixth seeds will play on the road. Dallas may be fighting for postseason position, but Lavier isn’t putting too much emphasis on where they end up. “I had been pushing power rankings and post- season probably too much and probably lost focus on the immediate and what has to happen right now in- stead of long term,” Lavier said. “We just need to get back to our foundation – playing solid defense and ensuring the girls are hav- ing fun on the court.” Wherever the Dragons end up, Blair said they’ll be ready to face anyone in the state. “I would love to win, that would be awesome,” Blair said. “I want to compete, no matter who we play.” As Dallas prepares to face the MWC’s top teams, the seniors know when they truly play to their po- tential, they can compete with anyone in the league. “When we have fun and come together, it’s really good,” Ackerman said. “We’ve been on a roller coaster. We want to hit that peak and go from there.”
