Polk County Sports
12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 28, 2015
State: McBeth missed three months of training
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Bailie Hartford (right) attempts to pass a runner during
the Mid-Willamette Conference Championships.
Continued from Page 10A
This season has been as
much about trying to get
back into running shape as
it has thinking about state,
McBeth said.
“We knew that there was a
lot of catching up to do
compared to where she has
been in the past,” Central
coach Eli Cirino said. “She
was very patient and did not
try to push too hard too
early.”
Entering Oct. 21’s race,
McBeth and Hartford knew
it’d be a challenge to book a
return trip to state.
“We’re both a little tore
up, I’m not going to lie,” Mc-
Beth said. “We both came in
knowing we’d have to give it
our all if we wanted to be
where we wanted and not be
too disappointed with our
times.”
The runners took oppo-
site approaches. Hartford
Just short
• Central’s girls cross-country team placed fourth in the team
standings. The Panthers finished four points behind third place.
The top three squads advanced to the state meet.
• Jamie Smith (16th, 21 minutes, 9:09 seconds), Annie Taylor
(23rd, 21:40.72), Beatriz Trujillo (24th, 21:41.68), Diana Nye
(38th, 22:47.28) and Bethanie Altamirano (39th, 23:01.0)
rounded out the Panthers’ varsity runners.
went out with the lead pack.
“I knew who I wanted to
run with,” she said. “At the
beginning, I put myself up
with them and tried to keep
their pace.”
McBeth tried a different
strategy.
“I tried to start out a little
slow and started with the
(main) pack,” McBeth said.
“Then, I knew I had to break
out of it. It was easy to know
who was in front of me and
who was behind me.”
Both runners executed
their strategies to perfection,
DALLAS FOOTBALL
Cirino said.
“I felt like both Bailie and
Abby ran very intelligent
races,” Cirino said. “The goal
was to run a controlled race
and to qualify. We knew if
they ran within themselves,
they would be right where
they wanted.”
As McBeth and Hartford
prepare for the state meet on
Saturday, they aren’t worried
about how they’ll finish. In-
stead, they’re ready to soak in
the moment.
“I go to state for the expe-
rience,” Hartford said. “It’s
fun to see all these girls who
have the same passion as
you and are just as passion-
ate about it as you.”
Cirino said he hopes that
experience is something
they’ll enjoy for a long time.
“My hope for them both is
to focus on running their
best and to have a great and
memorable experience,”
Cirino said. “They are com-
petitors and will be ready to
race. I hope that they are re-
laxed enough to appreciate
what they have accom-
plished as runners and to
soak it in for more than 20
minutes.”
For McBeth, qualifying for
state is nothing new, but this
year, it means more than it
ever has.
“Of all the years, this
year is probably the most
special to me,” McBeth
said. “I just want to have
fun (at state).”
DALLAS ROUNDUP
Dallas sees a return to form Girls soccer preps for play-in
By Lukas Eggen
Playoff push
The Itemizer-Observer
LEBANON — Dallas’ foot-
ball team rushed for 316
yards and four touchdowns
as the Dragons cruised to a
35-7 victory over Lebanon
on Friday.
Since losing to Corvallis
35-0, the Dragons have
outscored its last two oppo-
nents by a combined score
of 55-7. For
c o a c h
Tracy Jack-
son and his
players —
D a l l a s
football
was back.
Since
that
loss to
Hofferber
the Spar-
tans, the Dragons have
turned back to a run-first of-
fense.
“That’s what we’re used
to,” senior Mitchell Laizure
said. “We’ve been that smash
mouth football team. It feels
good getting back to that.”
On offense, Dallas’ offen-
sive line may be smaller
than its opponents, but it’s
effective in paving the way
on the ground.
“We’re pulling guards and
linemen so it’s not a matter of
having to beat a 280-pound
guy straight up one-on-one,”
Jackson said. “We’re blocking
him at an angle, or double
teaming him or kicking him
out laterally. That’s the kind
of football I’m most familiar
with and the kind of football I
love.”
Senior running back Alex
Hofferber rushed for 113
yards, while senior Tanner
Earhart ran for 86 yards and
a pair of touchdowns. Junior
Caedmon Blair also rushed
for two touchdowns.
Finishing drives helped
• Dallas enters the final
game of the regular sea-
son in a four-way tie for
fourth place in the Mid-
Willamette Conference.
• The Dragons will qual-
ify for the state playoffs
with a victory over Silver-
ton on Friday AND a loss
by Corvallis or Crescent
Valley.
spark both the offensive and
defensive units.
“It sucked,” Laizure said.
“(Earlier this season), we’d
get down to like the five and
we couldn’t punch it in. We’d
get a penalty or a turnover
and weren’t fully focused
yet.”
The last two games, that
hasn’t been a problem.
Turning to the run game
has also yielded another ad-
vantage: time of possession.
Against Lebanon, the
Dragons went on a 10-
minute drive to open the
second half. After a rough-
ing-the-kicker penalty, Dal-
las successfully recovered an
onside kick. The result?
Lebanon didn’t touch the
ball on offense during the
third quarter.
Those time-consuming
drives shortens the game
and keeps the defense fresh.
Early in the season, Dallas
looked for the big play. Now,
it’s content to grind away
one yard at a time.
“That’s the kind of football
we’re trying to play,” Jackson
said. “It keeps our defense
off the field so they’re fresh
when they get on. As long as
we have the ball, they can’t
score. That’s the way we look
at it, keep getting first downs
and moving the chains.”
Once the defense enters
the field, it’s playing with an
aggressive-
ness and
tenacity
that was
missing
early in the
year.
“We have
a saying
Laizure
that
if
you’re the last man to the
football, you don’t care,”
Laizure said. “That helps get
all 11 guys looking to make
the tackle.”
With the victory, Dallas
improved to 3-5 overall and
3-3 in Mid-Willamette Con-
ference play. The victory
moved the Dragons into a tie
with Lebanon (5-3 overall),
Silverton (4-4 overall) and
Corvallis (3-5 overall) for
fourth place in the league
standings. South Albany,
Central and Crescent Valley
are tied for first with a 4-2
mark in league play.
But Jackson isn’t worried
about playoff scenarios.
“We could win and still
not make it,” Jackson said.
“We need to focus on play-
ing well enough to beat Sil-
verton and we can finish
with honor.”
That doesn’t mean players
haven’t thought of the possi-
bility, but Laizure said
they’re focused on one
thing.
“It would be sweet to
make the playoffs, but if we
don’t get the job done,
there’s not even a chance.
Our focus is on beating Sil-
verton,” Laizure said.
Dallas plays at Silverton
on Friday. The Dragons will
advance to the state playoffs
with a win over Silverton
and a loss by either Crescent
Valley or Corvallis. Corvallis
hosts South Albany while
Crescent Valley plays at
Lebanon.
PERRYDALE FOOTBALL
Perrydale improves to 7-0
Itemizer-Observer staff report
PERRYDALE — Junior
Keenan Bailey rushed for
253 yards and three touch-
downs as Perrydale defeat-
ed Sherman 52-20 on Fri-
day.
With the victory, the Pi-
rates improved to 5-0 in Spe-
cial District 4 play and 7-0
overall and clinched at least
a share of the league title.
C.J. Marsters rushed for
168 yards
and
a
t o u c h -
d o w n ,
w h i l e
Haylen
Janesofsky
ran for 52
yards and
Bailey
two .
While the Pirates re-
mained undefeated, Gubrud
said this isn’t the end of their
pursuit to improve.
A win in the team’s final
regular season game will
give the Pirates the outright
league title.
“We’ve accomplished the
first of many aspirations we
h a v e f o r t h e s e a s o n ,”
Gubrud said. “(I’m looking
for) better ball security and
fewer penalties.”
The Pirates host Arlington
Friday at 5 p.m.
FALLS CITY ROUNDUP
Football aims for playoff run
Itemizer-Observer staff report
FALLS CITY — Falls City is
a game away from earning a
trip to the state playoffs.
The Mountaineers defeat-
ed Alsea 62-6 on Friday in
the team’s regular season fi-
nale thanks in part to strong
performances from Zach
Weems, who rushed for 159
yards and four touchdowns
and Jeremy Labrado, who
ran for two touchdowns and
Weems
threw for
one.
Now the
M o u n -
taineers get
set for a
l e a g u e
playoff
game at
North Dou-
glas on Friday.
Falls City lost to North
Douglas 52-14 earlier this
season. The winner ad-
vances to the 1A state play-
offs. The loser is eliminated.
VOLLEYBALL FALLS AT
LEAGUE TOURNAMENT: Falls
City’s volleyball squad saw its
season come to a close after a
25-16, 25-20, 25-10 loss to
Willamette Valley Christian at
the Casco League Tournament
o n S a t u rd ay. Th e M o u n -
taineers finished the 2015 sea-
son with a 6-10 record overall
and 6-8 mark in league play.
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — Dallas junior
Emmalee Jones wasn’t used
to being the “go-to” player.
“I’ve never been one of
the key players,” Jones said.
That’s all changed during
the 2015 season.
“I got more playing time
this year and I’m finding
ways to actually help the
team, whereas in the past,
I’ve relied on everybody
else.”
Jones, a midfielder, has
become a constant pres-
ence on the field during a
season that’s seen multiple
injuries force a number of
lineup changes.
“She’s the epitome of
what our entire team is,”
Dallas coach Kirk Myrold
said. “The girls have had to
take on different roles and
learn new responsibilities. I
have trust in what she can
do and know she’s going to
give it her all no matter
what she’s doing for you.”
Myrold hopes Jones leads
the Dragons to postseason
success. Dallas hosted
South Albany Tuesday after
press time in its final regu-
lar season match. The Drag-
ons already clinched a spot
in the OSAA Class 5A play-
in round and entered Tues-
day’s match in fourth place
in the Mid-Willamette Con-
ference.
A victory on Tuesday
meant a home match in the
Play-in
• Dallas’ girls soccer
team will compete in the
play-in round on Saturday.
play-in round on Saturday.
A loss meant going on the
road. See online for up-
dates.
No matter where they
play, Myrold said the girls —
with players like Jones lead-
ing the charge — will be
ready to show their true po-
tential.
“We’ve practiced and
played this entire year for
our play-in game,” Myrold
said. “We want to prove and
show everybody this is what
we’ve done all year and this
is what we can do.”
VOLLEYBALL ADVANCES
TO PLAY-IN: The Dallas volley-
ball squad lost its inal two
matches of the regular season,
but held on for a sixth-place
inish in the MWC. The Drag-
ons (10-12 overall, 5-9 MWC)
lost to Lebanon 24-26, 25-23,
25-10, 25-18 on Oct. 20 and to
Silverton 25-18, 25-14, 28-30,
25-18 on Thursday. Dallas
ended the regular season on a
ive-match losing streak. The
Dragons played at Churchill
Tuesday after press time in the
play-in round. The winner ad-
vances to the state tourna-
ment. Visit www.polkio.com
for results.
BOYS CROSS-COUNTRY
NARROWLY MISSES STATE:
The Dallas
boys cross-
country
team saw
its bid to
qualify for
the state
cross-coun-
try meet fall
short, in-
Stuhr
i s h i n g
fourth at the Mid-Willamette
Conference Championships on
Oct. 21. The Dragons inished
with 109 points, ive behind
Crescent Valley. The top three
teams advanced to state.
Freshman Trevor Cross and
senior Justin Huxel led the
Dragons, inishing in 18th and
19th overall in 17 minutes,
26.69 seconds and 17:26.94, re-
spectively. Seniors Cody Tilgner
(22nd, 17:27.65), T.J. Cross
(23rd, 17:27.98) and Isaiah Let-
ney (27th, 17:31.21) rounded
out Dallas’ top-ive inishers.
The Dragons’ girls team in-
ished sixth. Senior Elizabeth Sut-
ton led the girls in 14th place
with a time of 21:06.30. Seniors
Angie Sletten (27th, 22:01.36),
Anneka Bloomstrom (29th,
22:07.03), Alyssa Miller (32nd,
22:09.92) and freshman Peyton
Fast (37th, 22:45.95) rounded
out the Dragons’ scorers.
BOYS SOCCER ENDS SEA-
SON: Dallas’ boys soccer team
dropped a pair of league
matches, falling to Silverton 3-
0 on Oct. 20 before losing to
Corvallis 7-1 on Friday. The
Dragons (1-10-2 overall, 0-6
MWC) played at South Albany
Tuesday after press time in the
team’s inal match of the sea-
son.
Lead: Panthers can
still earn league title
Continued from Page 10A
After being held to 13 or
fewer points in three of its
first four games, Central
has scored at least 33
points in its last four con-
tests.
“We have seen tremen-
dous growth from Peter
Mendazona,” Hedrick said.
“He has grown exponential-
ly as a leader and play-
maker.”
During that four game
stretch, Mendazona has
thrown for 13 touchdowns.
He has 16 total for the sea-
son.
“I’m more confident,”
Mendazona said. “I have
the poise to stick in there
and make good throws and
good decisions.”
The Panthers’ win did
more for the team than
just clinch a playoff berth.
After losing two games in
the fourth quarter earlier
this season, Central
showed it knows what it
takes to win a close game.
“Our players learned that
good teams must make big
plays in critical situations
and that was apparent Fri-
day,” Hedrick said. “The de-
fense created three
turnovers in the fourth
quarter. The offense capital-
ized on several key pass
plays led by Peter Menda-
zona.”
Central closes the regular
season at Woodburn on Fri-
day. The Bulldogs are win-
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Central quarterback Peter Mendazona warms up be-
fore the start of the second half of the Panthers’ 36-30
win over Corvallis on Friday night.
less on the season, but
Hedrick said the Panthers
aren’t taking anything for
granted.
“We see Woodburn as a
team who has shown im-
provement from week to
week,” Hedrick said. “…
Our team knows we can-
not take a step backwards
and therefore a letdown is
not an option. We must
take the needed steps to
show improvement as we
prepare for postseason
play.”