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.