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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2016)
Polk County Sports Polk County Itemizer-Observer • September 28, 2016 11A WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP Wolves hold on to defeat Humboldt State Itemizer-Observer staff report ARCATA, Calif. — Western Oregon’s football team build a 27-point lead before hold- ing off Humboldt State 48- 42 on Saturday evening. The Wolves jumped out to a 23-0 lead in the first quar- ter thanks to a touchdown pass from Phillip Fenumiai to Andy Avgi and two touch- down runs by Malik Braxton. The two teams began scoring at will with WOU ex- tending its lead to 48-21 in the third quarter after a t o u c h - down pass from Fenu- miai to Revis. H u m - Revis boldt State would score 21 unanswered points and had the ball on Western Oregon’s 6-yard line with two seconds left in the game. The Wolves defense stopped Humboldt’s final play on the four to preserve the win. WOU gained 539 yards of total offense. Braxton fin- ished the game with a ca- reer-high 191 yards on the ground. Western Oregon hosts Azusa Pacific Saturday at 1 p.m. W O M E N ’ S S O CC E R D E - F E ATS N O R T H W E S T NAZARENE: Western Oregon’s women’s soccer team defeated Northwest Nazarene 2-1 on Saturday. WOU scored the match’s first goal in the 12th minute as P h o e b e H e n d r y struck from inside the Higa 18-yard box. The Crusaders recorded the equalizer on a penalty kick in the 63rd minute. The Wolves scored the game-winner six minutes later as Taylor Higa found the back of the net off a pass from Meli Cortez. WOU opened the week with a 3-1 loss to Montana State Billings on Thursday. WOU (4-4 overall, 1-2 GNAC) plays at Central Washington on Thursday and at Simon Fraser on Saturday. VOLLEYBALL SPLITS: West- ern Oregon’s volleyball squad lost to Seattle Pacific 25-22, 25- 17, 25-19 on Thursday before defeating Saint Martin’s 17-25, 25-20, 25-21, 24-26, 15-10 on Saturday. Alisha Bettinson recorded a career-high of 27 kills during the Wolves’ vic tor y on Saturday. M a d d i e Mehciz had 5 8 a s s i s t s, w h i l e Christie Co- lasurdo had Bettinson 19 digs. The Wolves (5-6 overall, 2-2 GNAC) return home to host Simon Fraser on Thursday and Western Washington on Satur- day at 7 p.m. Central: Mendazona throws for five TDs LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Central quarterback Peter Mendazona (10) gets the Panthers’ offense ready for a snap during Central’s 35-28 win over South Albany on Friday night. Speed: Ribich hungry to return to nationals Continued from Page 10A “At our high school, who- ever wins state gets a banner hung up in our gym,” Ribich said. “That was a driving force for me. I told my mom I’m going to get a banner.” He had the desire, but Ribich didn’t look the part of a state champion. “I was 4-foot-11 and weighed 86 pounds entering high school,” Ribich said. “I was pretty small for my age.” Running provided a sport where size didn’t count for everything. “Growing up, everyone needs to find that one thing that they can find confi- dence and support in,” he said. “Slowly and surely I grew. I had great coaching. (My high school coach) Dan Moody, he’s the reason why I’m able to have success in college. He let my body de- velop and he knew how to push his runners without breaking them.” During his senior season, Ribich captured a state title, but his times weren’t fast enough to attract interest from Division I universities. “Western was one of the only schools that seemed like they wanted me in a way,” Ribich said. “They were the right fit. So many athletes try to go to a Divi- sion I school and just break when there’s sometimes a Division II program that is perfect for what they need. When I looked at Western, I saw runners improve from high school instead of taper- ing off. That is important to me.” Ribich qualified for the NCAA Cross-Country Cham- pionships as a sophomore, finishing 67th. “That was a high success point and a really low point for me,” Ribich said. “I made it to nationals, which is what I wanted to do all season. I was in the top 20 for more than half the race and ever ything started falling apart. It was really a wakeup call. Once you get to that competitive of a level, everyone is fit. It’s who is mentally tough that matters.” Ribich certainly appears to have a mental edge. “The invitational in Cor- vallis was a competitive meet, but there were a lot of smaller schools,” Ribich said. “Ash Creek was bigger and the Sundodger Invita- tional was huge. Coach Johnson did a good job set- ting up the schedule to where it got more and more competitive. The biggest thing now is we’re thinking about building before we get into the championship sea- son.” As a team, the Wolves’ men’s squad has seven new faces among their top 10 compared to a season ago. But Ribich said the team is a dark horse, one that could make some noise at the West Regional later this fall. As for his own hopes, Ribich doesn’t want to share his ul- timate goals, though a top- 40 finish at nationals is one of his micro goals. “In the most non-cheesy way running has gone from my identity to my passion,” Ribich said. Continued from Page 10A Just as important as Mason’s speed and hands, is Mendazona’s evolution as a quarterback beyond just being able to make all the throws asked of him. “Last season, the first few games you saw a little of the jitters,” Mason said. “This season so far, he’s shown his maturity. If we make a mis- take, he says I don’t care, we are coming back. A leader like that helps the whole team, not just the receivers.” Mendazona, Mason and others on the offense kept working during the offsea- son. That work is beginning to pay off for the Panthers. “A lot of our chemistry de- veloped last year,” Mason said. “This year, it’s about get- ting the finer details down like how if you throw it high, I’ll chase the ball down. If you throw it low, it’s going to be a little tougher. I trust that if I’m open, he’ll give me a chance at the ball.” While Mendazona and Mason have formed a formi- dable aerial attack, Central can also pound it out on the ground — opening up even more opportunities for the pass game. “We’re not scared of hand- ing the ball off,” Mason said. “We know we can get five to seven yards each carry. That can set up a play action here and there and make the cor- nerbacks make a choice whether they think it’s a run or pass. It’s great.” Ahead of a showdown with Dallas on Friday, the biggest issue facing the Panthers (2-2 overall, 1-0 Mid-Willamette Conference) is consistency. Central built a 35-14 lead over South Albany with 3:23 left in the third quarter be- fore having to hold off the Rebels to win by seven, not clinching the victory until stopping a potential game- tying drive with less than a minute left in the game. “We have to keep our heads up and do it over and over again so we can blow teams out and not make it this close,” Mendazona said. CENTRAL ROUNDUP Cross-country takes third Itemizer-Observer staff report GERVAIS — Central’s boys and girls cross-coun- try teams finished third at the Mid-Willamette Confer- ence District Preview meet on Sept. 21. Zach Meyer led the boys after tak- ing 11th overall in 17 min- utes, 22.68 s e c o n d s. He was f o l l ow e d by Mat Raines Meyer ( 1 3 t h , 17:26.23), Jaydon Aydelotte (14th, 17:28.62), Caedmon Whisenhunt (22nd, 17:54.47) and Jonathon Brown (26th, 17:57.07). Beatriz Trujillo led the girls after taking 16th over- all in 21:30.13. Bailie Hart- f o rd ( 1 7 t h , 2 1 : 3 2 . 8 2 ) , Bethanie Altamirano (19th, 21:46.81), Diana Nye (20th, 21:49.35) and Naomi Vega (35th, 22:58.97) rounded out the Panthers’ scoring runners. “We’re all cautiously ex- cited about the potential of the girls and boys t e a m s,” coach Eli Cirino said. “The boys race was espe- c i a l l y Hartford close (in the team standings). Our league is so strong. We could be one of the top 10 teams in the state and maybe only finish fifth in our league.” Central will compete at the Harrier Classic at Bryant Park in Albany on Saturday. Varsity races begin at 12:40 p.m. PANTHERS DOWN DRAG- ONS: Central’s volleyball team defeated Dallas 25-15, 25-13, 25-19 on Sept. 20 before falling to Corvallis 25-10, 25-12, 25-21 on Thursday. The Panthers’ vic- tory over the Dragons was Central’s first since joining the Mid-Willamette Conference in 2014. Central (4-4 overall, 3-3 MWC) played Woodburn Tues- day after press time. The Pan- thers host Silverton Thursday at 6 p.m. before playing at South Albany on Tuesday. GIRLS SOCCER FALLS TO ROOSEVELT: Central’s girls soccer team lost to Roosevelt 2-0 on Thursday. “Throughout the game we were playing re- ally well with very minimal er- rors,” coach Veronica Lepe said. “Savannah Mendoza, Sophia Henke played an out- standing game. Noah Torres also had a very good game by playing aggressive and smart.” The Panthers (1-3-1) closed out nonleague play against Milwaukie Tuesday after press time. Central opens league play by hosting Silverton Tues- day at 6 p.m. BOYS SOCCER DROPS FIRST MATCH OF THE SEA- SON: Central’s boys soccer team fell for the first time this season, los- ing to La Salle 2-1 on Thurs- day. Tony Rincon scored for the Pan- Rincon thers. “We had very good chances, but couldn’t capitalize on them,” coach Joe Orozco said. Central (3-1-1) played New- berg Tuesday after press time. The Panthers open MWC play at Silverton on Tuesday. DALLAS ROUNDUP Dragons defeat Glencoe, move to 4-0 Itemizer-Observer staff report DALLAS — Dallas High School’s football team has been running over oppo- nents all season long. That trend continued on Friday as the Dragons defeated Glencoe 51-18. Running back Tanner Earhart ran for 231 yards and three touchdowns. Tris- tan Evans, Jacob Collins and Aaron White also scored rushing touchdowns. Quar- terback Caedmon Blair added a 25-yard touchdown pass to Collins. Jason Richey, Damon Hodge and Jacob Deming each recorded an intercep- tion to lead Dallas on de- fense. The Dragons (4-0 overall, 1-0 Mid-Willamette Confer- ence) has scored 181 points so far this season, the most in the state in Class 5A. Dallas plays at Central Dallas: Dragons remain confident Continued from Page 10A Dallas entered the week with a 4-8 mark overall and a 2-4 record in league play. Ronco believes the Dragons have the pieces in place to surprise people the rest of the way. “Everyone underestimates us,” Ronco said. “No one knows what we can really do.” Dallas will get another chance to begin showing them Thursday, when the Dragons play at Lebanon before hosting Corvallis Tuesday at 6 p.m. “We need consistency,” Lavier said. “The girls need that pos- itive energy and to have discipline. They have to take care of the ball. If we can control our side of the court, we will be fine.” Friday at 7 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER FALLS TO CENTENNIAL: Dallas’ girls soc- cer team fell to Centennial 4-1 on Thursday evening. The loss dropped Dallas’ record to 1-4 overall. Results for the Dragons’ match against McKay on Satur- day were not reported as of press time. Dallas played at Oregon City Tuesday after press time. The Dragons open MWC play at Lebanon on Tuesday. B OYS S O CC E R D R O P S TWO: Dallas’ boys soccer team lost a pair of nonconference matches last week, falling to Parkrose 6-2 on Sept. 20 and Sandy 1-0 on Thursday. The Dragons (1-5 overall) concluded its nonconference schedule at Milwaukie Tuesday after press time. Dallas begins league play by hosting Lebanon Tuesday at 4 p.m. C RO S S TA K E S S E CO N D : Dallas sophomore Trevor Cross finished second in the boys varsit y race at the M id- Willamette Conference District Preview meet on Sept. 21 to lead the Dragons at Gervais. Cross finished the 5-kilome- ter race in 16 minutes, 11.15 seconds, setting a new person- al record. Silverton’s Hosea Cat- terall won the race in 16:04.40. Dallas finished sixth in the team standings. Gavin Grass took 15th overall (17:34.87), Ryan Bibler finished 31st (18:03.92), Daniel Gagner took 39th (18:16.25) and Antonio Barrientos placed 5th (18:25.00) to round out the boys’ scorers. The girls team finished sev- enth in the team standings. Jamie English led the girls taking 22nd in 22:05.64. Alyssa Garner (37th, 23:17.23), Bekah Rocak (38th, 23:25.08), Anne Van de Ven (40th, 23:52.51) and Leah Miller (43rd, 24:15.53) rounded out the Dragons’ scorers. Dallas will compete at the Harrier Classic at Bryant Park in Albany on Saturday. Varsity races begin at 12:40 p.m. Perrydale volleyball defeats C.S. Lewis Itemizer-Observer staff report PERRYDALE — Perry- dale’s volleyball team de- feated C.S. Lewis 25-4, 25-2, 25-8 on Thursday before falling to Heppner and Dufur on Friday. The Pirates also lost to Willamina 25-14, 25-22, 12- 25, 18-25, 15-4 on Monday night. Perrydale (5-8 overall, 3-3 Casco League) will travel to Falls City Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before hosting Damas- cus Christian and North Douglas on Saturday at 11 a.m. F O O T B A L L FA L L S T O DUFUR: Perrydale’s football team fell to Dufur 56-14 on Fri- day. The Pirates (2-2 overall) host South Wasco County Fri- day at 7 p.m. Falls City shuts out Siletz Valley Itemizer-Observer staff report FALLS CITY — Falls City’s football team scored 58 points for the second week in a row. This time, the Mountaineers earned a 58-0 win over Siletz Valley on Fri- day. Falls City scored a com- bined 20 points in its first two games. The Mountaineers (2-0 Special District 3) entered the week in second place in the league standings. Falls City hosts Lowell Friday at 7 p.m.
