Polk County Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 13, 2016 11A
Riddell: Pirates
went 10-1 in ’15
Get down and give me 50!
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Keoni Piceno, left, encourages Logan Billman, Sydney Ball and Natalie Ball during a pushup drill at Western Ore-
gon’s speed camp on Friday morning. The camp welcomed around 45 kids who were split into two age groups:
Youth (6-11) and Elite (12-18). The camp runs weekly every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through July 29. The
youth group begins at 9:30 a.m. and the Elite group starts at 10:30 a.m. Cost is $27.50 per week. Forms are avail-
able online at www.wouwolves.com/news/2016/7/1/athletics-speed-camp-begins-wed-july-6.aspx. For more in-
formation: Cori Metzgar, 503-838-8312.
Continued from Page 10A
Riddell, a member of
Central’s athletic hall of
fame, has a long and sto-
ried career already, but he’s
about to add a new chapter.
Perrydale will mark his first
foray into eight-man foot-
ball.
“Luckily, they have some
great coaches there who
have helped me a great
deal,” Riddell said. “Dan
(Dugan) has also coached
as well. We had a scrim-
mage against Falls City and
I learned a great deal.”
The Pirates finished 10-1
in 2015 and advanced to
the OSAA Class 1A state
semifinals. Riddell is eager
to continue the Pirates’ tra-
dition of winning.
“Those kids at Perrydale
are really good kids,” Rid-
dell said. “I’ve been really
impressed. I had a chance
to be around the student
body. I think the team will
be very aggressive. I’m real-
ly excited about learning,
adjusting and progressing.”
Perrydale’s hiring of Rid-
dell turned out to be in the
nick of time. Not long after
accepting Perrydale’s posi-
tion, Riddell’s son, Josh, be-
came head coach at McKay
High School. Getting to
coach alongside your son
would be a tempting
proposition for anyone, but
Riddell stayed firm.
“I can tell you right now
that 99 percent of people
would have said I’m resign-
ing to go follow my son,”
Hedrick said. “Duane didn’t
do that. You don’t get to
coach with your son very
often. Duane committed to
Perrydale and made that
promise to those kids and
he’s upholding it. That
speaks to what kind of
character he brings.”
Riddell’s coaching career
has spanned decades, but
he’s just as excited as the
day he first stepped onto
the field as a coach. He
hopes to bring a wealth of
knowledge to Perrydale in
its quest for a state title.
“I’ve always loved foot-
ball,” Riddell said. “I love
being around it. I love
watching it. I loved playing
it. I admire the players a
great deal.”
LaCreole field receives new irrigation system
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Jeff Hevener was ecstatic to be
working on Saturday morning. Hevener,
along with numerous volunteers, spent the
weekend installing an irrigation system at
the LaCreole Middle School football field.
That may not sound fun to many, but for
Hevener, it was a moment three years in the
making.
“It may sound weird to be so excited
about an irrigation system, but I am
pumped this is happening,” he said.
—
Prior to the installation of the irrigation
system, watering and caring for the football
field was a laborious proposition.
“We would have to hook up these pipes
and turn on the water,” Hevener said. “Then,
before games or practices we’d have to take
apart the pipes and move them to the side-
lines and then move them back after they
were done on the field. We’d turn on the
water and some pipes wouldn’t be hooked
up all the way and water would shoot out
and we’d have to go fix it.”
The process was taxing physically, and
took time. It also led to the field’s condition
being uneven in spots.
“I had high school football players tell me
that this field was always a joke to them,”
Hevener said.
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Volunteers both young and old helped install the new irrigation system at the LaCre-
ole Middle School football field on Saturday morning.
That should no longer be the case.
Hevener has been involved with Dallas
Pop Warner to try and get an irrigation sys-
tem installed for the past three years.
In the summer of 2015, the group be-
lieved it was ready to install the irrigation
system until plans had to be put on hold.
“Last year, we were ready to get started
and at the last minute we found out that we
couldn’t due to additional approvals need-
ed,” he said. “At that point, it was too late to
move forward with the project.”
Dallas Pop Warner wouldn’t be denied this
year, Hevener said. They began holding reg-
ular discussions of the project in January to
ensure every detail, from the time of year to
all needed approvals, would be accounted
for.
“This year, we had all of the people need-
ed to complete the project on board from
the beginning, and we all had the motiva-
tion to get this done,” Hevener said. “Our
motivation was contagious and there was no
way we were going to come up short again.”
Work on the project began in earnest on
Thursday.
Volunteers showed up in full force,
whether donating equipment or time to
help shovel ditches, install sprinklers or refill
ditches.
Dallas High School football players came
out on Friday to help dig trenches. Middle
school players have pitched in, and volun-
teers from Morrison Plumbing, Fall Creek
Logging, the Hofrenbredl family and a num-
ber of other individuals pitched in, Hevener
said.
“Everyone benefits, and it did not cost our
school district any time or resources,”
Hevener said. “Our football players will have
a better field for practice and games, and
our community has a nice field to be proud
of.”
Mid-Valley Pop Warner covered the entire
cost of the project, which was about $5,000,
Hevener said. Dallas Pop Warner and volun-
teers will continue to maintain the field.
“The general feeling is relief that we have
it done,” Hevener said. “I was very proud. I
love our community, and when you see peo-
ple giving back, it’s a great feeling.”
Globe: Germany trip looms on Sunday
Continued from Page 10A
The invitational attracts scouts
and coaches from a number of in-
ternational leagues and is one of
many that Alexander looked at at-
tending.
“Western Oregon coach Jim
(Shaw) helped me with finding the
right camps to go to,” Alexander
said. “There are a lot of camps that
are misleading and are just out to
get you to pay them money. This
camp has proven to be very legiti-
mate and has gotten college ath-
letes a job overseas at a good per-
centage.”
It will be a new experience for
Alexander, but he’s put in the hours
working on strength, conditioning
and fine tuning his basketball
skills. Now, it’s time to trust his
training.
“I have to stay composed and
enjoy the moment and the oppor-
tunity,” Alexander said. “I get too
far ahead of myself. You can’t al-
ways go in guns blazing and be re-
ally anxious. You have to prepare
the right way for it. I’m a little nerv-
ous, but not worked up. It’s a good
nervous.”
No matter what happens in
Vegas, Alexander won’t be staying
there for long. On Sunday, Alexan-
der will begin traveling for another
Vegas, baby
• Devon Alexander will take part
in the Mavericks Sports Invitational
in Las Vegas.
• During the invitational, which
began Tuesday after press time,
players are put on teams and will
play a series of games against each
other. Scouts, coaches and agents
attend the invitational from
around the world.
• Alexander leaves for Germany
on Sunday. He will compete along-
side other players for a chance to
get a contract playing profession-
ally overseas.
opportunity.
This one is a little farther away
from home — Frankfurt, Germany.
“It kind of surprised me because
I got this gig a couple weeks ago,”
Alexander said. “I’ve never been
overseas. I didn’t even know my
passport was expired. I had to fig-
ure that out and rush that a bit.”
Alexander said he’ll be practic-
ing alongside eight other American
players for three to four weeks with
the hope of getting offered a con-
tract.
“I’m not trying to pressure my-
self,” Alexander said. “This is po-
tentially a once-in-a-life-time op-
portunity and a chance to experi-
ence another culture. My family re-
minded me that worst-case sce-
nario is you go to Germany to play
basketball and then you’re back.”
With opportunities lining up
quickly, the last month has been a
whirlwind, Alexander said. But it’s
also meant rarely getting to see
family and friends, as his focus has
solely been on basketball.
“It’s tough not seeing my family
as much as I wanted to,” Alexander
said. “It’s just not in the schedule
right now to be able to see them
and put so much focus and effort
into preparing for these opportuni-
ties coming up. At the same time, I
love it because I know it’s what
they want me to do.”
As Alexander prepares for his
first real shots at landing a profes-
sional contract, he’s realized his
journey will mean more than just
self-satisfaction. He’s doing this for
others who may follow in his foot-
steps.
“It gives people coming from a
small school more of a drive,” he
said. “I hope this gives them more
of an inspiration to pursue their
dreams after their four years of eli-
gibility. It all comes down to how
bad you want it and what you’re
willing to sacrifice to go for it.”
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer file
Former Western Oregon men’s basketball player Devon Alexander
is taking part in an invitational in Las Vegas this week. He will travel
to Germany on Sunday.
Dirtbags: Squad features talented mix of players
Continued from Page 10A
“As long as you know
baseball, you can get along
with almost anyone,” Mc-
Beth said. “When you have
that common interest, it’s
pretty easy to have fun
when you’re surrounded by
baseball players.”
Playing as a team is essen-
tial when each squad fea-
tures a deep, talented line-
up.
“I come out every time I
step on the field with the in-
tention to dominate and
control the game as best I
can,” Weaver said. “The hit-
ters are better, so I have to
be better at hitting my spots
and being confident with
each pitch. There’s less room
for mistakes. The competi-
tion is tougher, but so are
we.”
The Dirtbags are out to
finish what they started in
2015, when the team ad-
vanced to the state semifi-
nals.
The players may come
from rival teams, but at least
for a few months, these ri-
vals stand together for a
common goal.
“There’s something mu-
tual there, since while you
represent your high
school, you also represent
Post 20. That’s a great
thing to be a part of,”
Weaver said. “We know
how bad we want it after
what happened last year.
Coming up just short the
way we did last summer is
a great motivation tool. …
We’re a dangerous ball
club this year, and I’m re-
ally excited for what we
can accomplish. I’m hop-
ing this year we can make
history and leave a legacy
for this team.”