Polk County Sports
12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 21, 2015
CENTRAL BOYS SOCCER
DALLAS ROUNDUP
Panthers upset Corvallis Volleyball falls
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral boys soccer coach Carlos
Esquivel preached one thing
to his players at the start of
the season: patience.
After a 1-0 victory over
Corvallis on Thursday, the
Panthers are starting to see
just how much that trait can
pay off.
—
The start of the 2015 sea-
son was as much a learning
process for Esquivel as it
was for his players.
“We had to get used to
the way he coaches,” senior
defender Alfredo Diaz said.
“We were used to last year’s
coach. We had to learn how
he wants us to play.”
Inheriting an inexperi-
enced squad, Esquivel had
the Panthers make several
adjustments on the field.
That required some play-
ers, like sophomore Evan
Hoover, to change posi-
tions. Hoover, a lifelong for-
ward, now starts on the de-
fensive line.
“The most difficult part is
when you have to make a
decision that could cost
your team,” Hoover said.
Players were eager to
help any way they could,
but the transition hasn’t al-
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Senior defender Alfredo Diaz looks to send a kick upfield
during Central’s 1-0 victory over Corvallis on Friday.
ways been smooth.
The Panthers went 1-4-2
during nonleague play.
After opening Mid-
Willamette Conference play
with a victory over Dallas,
Central suffered a pair of
close losses, including a 2-1
defeat to South Albany on
Oct. 6 in which they were
defeated in the final sec-
onds of the match.
“I told them when we do
get a lead, we can’t let down,
even for one second,” Es-
quivel said.
It was a painful lesson for
players to learn, but not one
that would go unnoticed.
After taking a 1-0 lead in the
second half over Corvallis
on Thursday, Central didn’t
let history repeat itself
again.
“We just told everyone to
start focusing,” Diaz said.
“League is what matters. We
have to go 100 percent
every game. Everyone start-
ed to step up to keep that
lead. It felt good to know we
kept composure.”
The result was a 1-0 win
that meant more than just
improving the team’s league
record to 2-2.
“It means everything,”
Diaz said. “We didn’t start
(the season) off so well, but
we’re coming together.
We’re working and every-
thing’s coming out really
well.”
After a season that’s been
spent largely learning new
roles, Thursday’s victory
was a validation for coaches
and players.
“It’s a huge boost of con-
fidence,” Esquivel said.
“We’ve had some tough
games, close games we feel
we should have won. It
gives us a little momentum
going into the rest of the
season and proving to our-
selves that we can play as a
team and win. We can’t let
down, even for one second.
They showed the dedication
to win that game. In the
end, we have to keep push-
ing to the end. They saw
that (on Thursday).”
Now, the Panthers look to
build on Thursday’s win.
“We just need to keep
sticking together,” Diaz
said.
to Spartans
Dallas hopes to advance to play-in
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — The Dallas
volleyball squad lost a pair
of league matches, falling
to Corvallis 25-17, 20-25,
25-19, 25-22 on Oct.13 and
t o C re s c e n t Va l l e y o n
Thursday.
The Dragons entered
Tuesday’s match against
Lebanon at 10-10 overall
and 5-7 in MWC play, tied
with Central for fifth place,
which has a 6-10 overall
mark.
Dallas closes out the reg-
ular season by hosting Sil-
verton Thursday at 6 p.m.
The third- through sixth-
place finishers advance to
the state play-in round.
South Albany entered the
week in seventh with a 4-8
league record.
GIRLS SOCCER DEFEATS
LEBANON: Dallas’ girls soccer
team earned a 3-2 victory over
Lebanon on Thursday. Jenifer
Webb scored twice and Callista
Kiner added one goal during
the win. The Dragons, which
opened the week with a 7-3
loss to Crescent Valley on Oct.
13, entered Tuesday’s match at
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Silverton in third place with a 2-
1-1 record in league play. The
Dragons close out the regular
season by hosting Corvallis on
Thursday and South Albany on
Tuesday. Both matches are
scheduled to start at 4 p.m. The
top two teams in the MWC earn
an automatic berth to the state
playofs. The league’s third and
fourth seeds will host a play-in
game, while the ifth- and
sixth-place squads will play on
the road against a Midwestern
League opponent.
BOYS SOCCER LOSES
TWO: Dallas’ boys soccer team
dropped a pair of league
matches, falling to Crescent
Valley 4-1 on Oct. 13 and
Lebanon 5-2 on Thursday. The
Dragons played Silverton Tues-
day after press time. Dallas
closes out its season at Corval-
lis on Thursday and at South
Albany on Tuesday.
Run: Cross hopes to
Girls XC wins meet break 17 minutes
Panthers prep for conference championships
CENTRAL ROUNDUP
Itemizer-Observer staff report
SILVERTON — Central’s
girls cross-country team
took first out of three teams
at Silverton High School on
Oct. 14. Sophomore Bailie
Hartford
(19 min-
utes, 46.4
seconds),
j u n i o r
Abby Mc-
B e t h
(20:43.0)
and senior
J a m i e
Hartford
S m i t h
(20:51.2) took second, third
and fourth, respectively to
lead the Panthers.
The boys squad placed
second out of four teams.
Aaron Padilla took sixth in
17:44.0, while Darien
Hume (18:02.7), Jaydon Ay-
delotte (18:03.0), Ammon
Jeffries (18:06.6) and Josh
Peterson (18:07.7) placed
11th through 14th, respec-
tively.
The Panthers will com-
pete at the Mid-Willamette
Conference Championships
Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Cor-
vallis.
The top three teams ad-
vance to the state meet
along with any individuals
in the top seven from non-
qualifying teams.
“Our boys are running
well right now and are excit-
ed to see where they end up
at district,” Central coach Eli
Cirino said. “They have all
had recent PRs and are feel-
ing very optimistic. Getting
the boys to state may not be
a realistic goal but they have
talked about it and are
dreaming big.”
Central’s girls squad will
see several individual run-
ners competing for a spot
in the top 10, and may find
itself in a battle for one of
the three team qualifying
spots.
“It would take an amazing
performance to advance our
girls to state, but I feel like
they still believe in that pos-
sibility,” Cirino said. “I also
think they have a healthy
understanding of things and
that if they run well at dis-
trict, I feel like our girls will
be satisfied regardless of the
team’s place.”
Zachary Meyer, Darien
H u m e , A a r o n Pa d i l l a ,
Ammon Jeffries, Josh Dick-
son, Jaydon Aydelotte, and
Josh Peterson will run in the
varsity boys race, while
Bailie Hartford, Abby Mc-
Beth, Jamie Smith, Beatriz
Tr u j i l l o, A n n i e Ta y l o r,
Bethanie Altamirano, and
Diana Nye will compete in
the varsity girls race.
FOOTBALL DEFEATS SIL-
VERTON: Running back Alvin
Berroa led Central’s football
team to a 35-21 victory over
Silverton on Friday. Berroa
rushed for 217 yards and
three touchdowns against
the Silver
Foxes, aver-
aging 8.7
yards per
carry. Quar-
terback
Peter Men-
d a z o n a
threw for
Tuipulotu
210 yards
and a pair of touchdowns. On
defense, Marlon Tuipulotu
had 10 tackles and one sack.
The Panthers host Corvallis
Friday at 7 p.m. The show-
down will be the team’s final
home game of the regular
season. With two games re-
maining, Central (4-3 overall,
3-2 MWC) is in a four-way tie
for second with Lebanon (5-2
overall), Crescent Valley (4-3
overall) and Corvallis (3-4
overall). The top four teams
from the league advance to
the state playoffs.
GIRLS SOCCER DROPS
TWO: Central’s girls soccer
team lost a pair of league
matches, falling to Silverton 5-
0 on Oct. 13 before losing to
Corvallis 5-0 on Thursday. “Even
though we lost to Corvallis, the
girls played as a team,” Pan-
thers coach Joe Orozco said.
“That was probably their best
game we have played this year.”
Central played at Lebanon
Tuesday after press time. The
Panthers host Crescent Valley
at 4 p.m. Thursday and Wood-
burn at 6 p.m. Tuesday for the
team’s inal games of the sea-
son.
Peak: Play-in round
coming on Tuesday
Continued from Page 10A
Many of the issues have
been self-inflicted, Nash
said, including service er-
rors, lack of communication
and hitting errors.
“I think we’re still waiting
for that time to peak,” Nash
said. “I’m looking for every-
thing to mesh on the court.”
Central ends the regular
season against Woodburn,
which entered the week 0-12
in league play.
“The girls need to come
together, which means play-
ing well consistently, en-
couraging each other on the
court and when things don’t
go well on the court, to move
on to the next ball,” Panthers
coach Claudine Mendazona
said. “I want these girls to
have the best opportunity
(to succeed) out there.”
Continued from Page 10A
“I expected success, but
it was hard to tell (what
would happen),” Trevor
said. “I wanted to do soccer
and cross-country, but I
didn’t know what to think at
the beginning or what it
would be like.”
He may be a freshman,
but it hasn’t taken long for
Cross to excel in both
sports.
On the soccer field,
Trevor earned himself a
starting role.
In cross-country, he be-
came one of the Dragons’
top runners.
Cross recorded Dallas’
fastest time at the North-
west Classic on Sept. 26 and
has been the Dragons’ top
finisher in three of his last
four races.
Though his latest time
was his fastest yet, Trevor
wasn’t fully happy with his
performance.
“I wanted to get under 17
minutes, but I barely
missed it,” Trevor said.
That drive is what’s
helped the freshman be
successful.
“Trevor has the most
amazing work ethic,” Dallas
coach Monique Lankheet
said. “I have given him
workouts to do in addition
to soccer practice, and he
does it on his own.”
Training for two sports
has led to some long and
t i r i n g
evenings,
but Trevor
d o e s n’t
d r e a d
t h o s e
days.
“I enjoy
both of
Stuhr
them,”
Trevor said. “It’s fun. I like
the competition.”
Trevor has wasted little
time endearing himself to
teammates outside of
sports as well — something
that has impressed his
coaches.
“He is super competi-
tive,” Lankheet said. “He
has a very positive outlook
and is humble, which I
think is a wonderful quality.
I can’t say enough good
things about him. He’s a
good guy.”
He’s hoping a season
spent pulling double duty
results in his best race yet
on Wednesday.
“I’d like to get under 17
minutes, it’s what I’m really
close to,” Cross said. “If I do,
it would mean success for
the season.”
MWC championships
The Dallas boys and
girls cross-country squads
will compete at the Mid-
Willamette Conference
Championships on
Wednesday (today) in
Corvallis.
The top
t h r e e
teams ad-
vance to
the state
c r o s s -
country
meet, plus
any indi-
Sletten
vidual in
the top seven from a non-
qualifying team. Qualifying
for state will be a tall order
for the Dragons, but run-
ners are hoping for a strong
showing.
“We have a solid team
now,” Trevor said. “We have
a chance to do better than
we have in the past.”
Trevor and T.J., Jesse
Stuhr, Isaiah Letney, Kenny
Sutton, Justin Huxel and
Cody Tilgner will compete
in the boys varsity race.
Angie Sletten, Elizabeth
Sutton, Alyssa Miller, An-
neka Bloomstrom, Peyton
Fast, Bekah Rocak and Eliz-
abeth Dressel will run in the
girls varsity race.
“The kids are well pre-
pared,” Lankheet said.
“They have worked really
hard and they have set
themselves up to have their
best performance. … All are
running their best times
and my hope is that they
put out their best perform-
ance when it really counts.
Everyone is super excited
and optimistic about racing
Wednesday (today).”
Using your head
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Central breaks out of a timeout during its match against
Silverton on Thursday evening at Central High.
When they do come to-
gether, Nash said the Pan-
thers will be a force to be
reckoned with.
“Once we come together,
it’s going to be really fun to
watch,” Nash said. “I think
we’ll get there.”
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Central senior midfielder Angel Morenilla goes up for a header against Corvallis on
Thursday afternoon. The Panthers upset Corvallis 1-0 to improve to 3-6-2 overall
and 2-2-0 in Mid-Willamette Conference play.