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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2017)
Polk County Sports Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 11, 2017 11A CENTRAL ROUNDUP Boys pick up first win against Silverton Itemizer-Observer staff report SILVERTON — Central’s boys basketball team defeat- ed Silverton 45-36 on Friday to open Mid-Willamette Conference play. The Pan- thers also dropped a non- league game to Putnam 47- 42 on Jan. 3. “Our kids played a great game on Friday,” coach Tim Kreta said. “They executed our game plan very well and were able to finish off the fourth quarter with poise. This was our first win against Silverton since join- ing the MWC. Our team de- fense kept the game close down the stretch, and we were able to take ad- vantage of some tran- Barba s i t i o n points to get a lead.” Against Silverton, Peter Me n d a z o n a s c o re d 1 8 points, and Alec Barba added 16 points to lead Cen- tral. “Peter Mendazona and Alec Barba led the way of- fensively by getting to the rack and hitting a few out- side shots, and we hit our free throws to finish the game,” Kreta said. “Peter Mason kept our offense moving and found shooters to help keep their defense honest.” Central hosts undefeated South Albany Wednesday (today) at 7 p.m. and Cres- cent Valley Friday at 7 p.m. GLADE PACES CENTRAL SWIM TEAM: Central junior Daniel Glade won the boys 200-yard freestyle during the Panthers’ swim meet at Cres- cent Valley on Thursday with a time of 2 min- utes, 2.31 seconds. Isa- iah Comp- ton took second in 2:22.45. Glade G l a d e also won the 100 backstroke in 1:12.28. Compton took first in the 100 freestyle in 1:00.20, and Ethan Davis won the 500 freestyle in 7:32.09. On the girls side, Reann Kel- ley won the 100 freestyle in WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP 1:23.44. The Clemens Invitational, scheduled for Saturday, was canceled due to weather. The Panthers competed at Lebanon Tuesday after press time. Central will compete at Cor- vallis Tuesday at 4 p.m. C E N T R A L G I R L S LO S E LEAGUE-OPENER: Central’s girls basketball team lost to Sil- verton 50-33 on Friday in the team’s MWC opener. “We played a good game, even though the score didn’t reflect it,” coach Julie McDon- ald said. “Silverton is a mature team with seven seniors who are very disciplined both offen- sively and defensively. On the offensive end, we limited our turnovers to 11, but just didn’t make our shots, and we gave up too many defensive re- bounds for second-chance points.” The Panthers (3-5 overall) played at South Albany Tues- day after press time. Central travels to face Crescent Valley Friday at 7 p.m. before play- ing at Lebanon Tuesday at 7 p.m. “We are improving every game and looking forward to seeing the growth by the end of the season,” McDonald said. DALLAS ROUNDUP Omlid leads WOU to wins Boys basketball opens Itemizer-Observer staff report LACEY, Wash. — Western Oregon’s men’s basketball picked up a pair of confer- ence wins, beating Seattle Pacific 76-74 on Thursday and Saint Martin’s 80-67 on Saturday. Ta n n e r Omlid led the Wolves to the win over Seat- tle Pacific. Omlid had a career- high 34 points and Omlid re c o rd e d seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals. WOU never trailed in the second half. Ali Faruq-Bey scored 11 points in the sec- ond half, including a free throw that pushed WOU’s lead to two with 16 seconds left in the game. The Wolves rallied from a four-point halftime deficit against Saint Martin’s. Omlid scored 18 points and had three assists, three blocks, three steals and two rebounds. J.J. Chirnside recorded his first collegiate double- double, adding 13 points and 11 rebounds. Western Oregon (7-7 overall, 4-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) re- turns home to host Simon Fraser Thursday at 7 p.m. and Western Washington Saturday at 7 p.m. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SPLITS HOME GAMES: West- ern Oregon’s women’s basket- ball team lost to Alaska An- chorage 105-62 on Thursday before defeating Alaska Fair- banks 72-67 on Saturday. Jasmine Miller led WOU with 14 points and six re- bounds against Alaska An- chorage, but the Seawolves led 32-13 after the first quarter and never looked back. Against Alaska Fairbanks, the Wolves overcame a slow start that saw WOU trailing 20- 4 after the first quarter. The Wolves responded by outscor- ing Alaska Fairbanks 26-9 in the second quarter. Shelby Snook scored 23 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter. Sydney Azorr added 20 points. WOU (6-7 overall, 2-4 GNAC) faced Concordia Tues- day after press time. The Wolves play at Montana State Billings Saturday at 4:15 p.m. WILLIAMS UP FOR AWARD: Former Western Ore- gon wide receiver Tyrell Williams is a nominee for the 10th annual VIZIO Top Value Performer trophy. The award is given to the NFL player who’s on-field performance most ex- ceeds the value of their con- tract. Williams, a receiver with the San Diego Chargers, had 69 catches for 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns during the 2016 season. He has a base salary of $525,000. The other nominees are running back Jay Ajayi of the Miami Dol- phins, run- ning back Spencer Ware of the Kansas City Chiefs, wide re- c e i v e r Michael Williams Thomas of the New Orleans Saints, and running back Latavius Murray of the Oakland Raiders. The Top Value performer is decided by fan votes. Voting is open through Monday at 11:59 p.m. To vote, visit www.vizio.- com/TVP. Foster: Made state as a freshman last year guys, they are winning their matches, but they give up because they get tired. You have to work through it.” Foster now knows whether he’ll wrestle at 126 or 132 when it comes time for districts, but no matter what weight class he’s in, Foster is ready to use his ex- perience to bring the pain to his opponents. “It makes me feel good when I can go out there, shake someone’s hand and then beat them up,” Foster said. “I love getting my hand raised and knowing that everything I am work- ing for is paying off.” league play with win Itemizer-Observer staff report DALLAS — Dallas’ boys basketball team opened Mid-Willamette Conference play with a 59-55 win over Lebanon on Thursday. The Dragons lost to Hermiston 54-51 in overtime on Friday. Jason Richey led Dallas against the Warriors with 20 points. Aaron White added 13 points, and the Dragons went 15 for 17 from the free- throw line in the fourth quarter to hold off Lebanon. Richey scored a team- high 14 points against Her- miston. Jake Ronco and Carter Weisensee scored seven points each. “I like how we battled in both games,” coach Trent Schwartz said. “It’s always nice to get conference wins, and this year is just going to be a donnybrook each night, as I believe there is great par- ity in the MWC this season. Against Hermiston … I think our kids were able to make the necessary defensive ad- justments and tighten up the team defense from the sec- ond quarter on to put us in a position to have a chance to win the game. I’m hoping the experience will help us down the road in ultimately pre- vailing. I like how we re- sponded from being down 10 in the first half at one point to taking a one-point lead into the half.” Dallas plays at Crescent Valley Wednesday (today) at 7 p.m. and at Corvallis Fri- day at 7 p.m. before hosting Silverton on Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. “This week we’ll be tested LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Jake Collins goes up for a lay up against Lebanon on Thursday. Collins scored nine points during the Dragons’ 59-55 victory over the Warriors. by a very athletic Crescent Valley squad, and a very physical and inside-oriented Corvallis squad on the road,” Schwartz said. WRESTLING GOES 3-0 AT L E A G U E D UA L S : D a l l a s ’ wrestling team defeated Cor- vallis, Lebanon and Silverton in league duals on Thursday. Jacob Jones (126 pounds) went 3-0 during the duals to help lead the Dragons. Sophomore PJ Holgate picked up wins against Silver- ton and Lebanon. Dallas’ home tournament, the Brunner Invitational, was canceled due to weather con- ditions. The Dragons host South Albany Wednesday (today) at 6 p.m. before com- peting at the Oregon Classic on Friday and Saturday in Red- mond. Dragons: Have won four straight Pirates: Girls Continued from Page 10A Senior Stefani Tallon said during the first few games, players tried to do too much by themselves. Brautigam believed the team was close to putting it all together. The key was not getting frustrated before that happened. “We had some adapting to do and made a few changes here and there,” Brautigam said. “We faced some challenges, but that’s what basketball is all about. There wasn’t any finger- pointing, and our kids bought in and have been on a roll since then.” What a roll it’s been. Since losing to Churchill, Dallas has won six of its last seven games, including four in a row. This stretch includ- ed a fifth-place finish at the Nike Interstate Shootout Dec. 27-30. “We’re working together,” senior Olivia Nelson said. “We’re communicating to- gether and talking it out. We’re rebounding well with- out having a big team. It’s a lot of effort, but you just have to work harder than the bigger people.” The Dragons showed en- ergy and tenacity on defense after working on fundamen- tals such as rotating and boxing out for rebounds. Dallas lacks a player taller than 5-foot-10, but the team finds other ways to gets stops. “We have a lot of quick- ness,” Tallon said. On offense, Dallas’ play- ers possess a willingness to find the best shot, no mat- ter who is taking it, Brautigam said. During the interstate shootout, three different players led the Dragons in scoring throughout the team’s four games. “There’s not one player we are looking to go to on of- fense,” Brautigam said. “There’s a lot of balance on our team.” The team’s performance at the shootout may be an early turning point in the season. “It’s a lot of confidence to know that we could be in a tournament with some of the top teams in the state and be able to run with them and get a glimpse of what we can do,” Tallon said. The Dragons hope the momentum they’ve built carries into Mid-Willamette Conference play. “We’ve got a chance early in league to build on that confidence, and confidence is everything in basketball.” Brautigam said. defeat Jewell Continued from Page 10A GIRLS BASKETBALL DE- FEATS JEWELL: PERRYDALE – Perrydale’s girls basketball team defeated Jewell 30-25 on Thursday. The Pirates opened the week by falling to Willamette Valley Christian 44- 34 on Jan. 3. Facing one of the Casco League’s top teams, the Pi- rates fell behind 13-2, but bat- tled back to within eight in the fourth quarter, coach Terry Newton said. “Against Willamette, we came out scared,” Newton said. “But we competed and got back into the game.” Against Jewell, the Pirates opened by hitting four of their first five shots and led by dou- ble digits in the fourth quar- ter. Perrydale played Living- stone Adventist Tuesday after press time. The Pirates host Oregon School for the Deaf Thursday at 5:30 p.m.; North Clackamas Christian Saturday at 4 p.m.; and Sherman Mon- day at 4 p.m. FALLS CITY ROUNDUP Morales: Senior finds his rhythm Continued from Page 10A “I had a hard time with the rules,” Morales said. “I didn’t know what was legal or not.” Thanks to football and track, he already had an ath- letic base to build on. As he gained more famil- iarity with what was allowed and what wasn’t, he began to find his groove. “After you get (the ba- sics) and find a couple of moves, it starts becoming easier,” Morales said. “You find a rhythm and find your own strengths.” For Morales, that means letting his opponents show what kind of match they want to wrestle, and reacting accordingly. “If he goes up top and looks for a shot, I know I have to up my defense,” Morales said. “If he is a lit- tle more relaxed, I know I can maybe take a shot or two.” From there, he looks to work his way into his strengths. “I like to grapple and throw,” Morales said. The Panthers host Corval- lis Wednesday (today) at 6 p.m. As weather has caused numerous tournaments to be canceled, these will be opportunities to face oppo- nents and see where they are at. “It seems like you’re not getting your chance right now to see (how you com- pare),” Morales said. “All of a sudden, districts are coming up and you’re not sure what to expect, but we’ll take every match and give it 100 per- cent.” Morales knows he has to make up for lost time if he wants to compete with the state’s best wrestlers. But he sees improvement every time and is ready to challenge. “I’m still trying to find it right now,” Morales said. “I’m doing better than last year. It gets better and better every time you wrestle.” Girls win two Itemizer-Observer staff report FALLS CITY — Falls City’s girls basketball team defeat- ed Oregon School for the Deaf 33-17 on Jan. 3 and Livingstone Adventist 28-23 on Thursday. Amara Hough- taling scored 12 points against OSD. Emma Burgess added 10 points and seven rebounds. Against Livingstone, Houghtaling scored 11 points and Sarah Mack added seven points. Falls City shot 27 free throws during the game. The boys defeated OSD 53-24 before falling to Liv- ingstone Adventist 49-32. Austin Burgess had 20 points and 10 rebounds against OSD. Jeremy Labra- do added 15 points and Zach Varney recorded 10 points and six rebounds. Labrado scored 13 points against Livingstone. Falls City played Willamette Valley Christian Tuesday after press time. The Mountaineers host Crosshill Christian on Tues- day. The girls tip off at 5:30 p.m., and the boys game be- gins at 7 p.m.
