Polk County Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • September 6, 2017 13A
WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP
Men’s cross-country places first at Harrier Classic
Itemizer-Observer staff report
McMINNVILLE — West-
ern Oregon University’s
men’s cross-country team
took the team title at the
Linfield Harrier Classic on
Friday.
Four of the Wolves’ top
five runners finished inside
the top 10.
Parker
Mason
took
fourth, finishing the 6,000-
meter race in 20 minutes,
13.86 seconds.
Alan Ekanger placed fifth
(20:24.88); Thomas Nor-
mandeau finished eighth
(20:33.86); and Hunter
Mosman
placed
10th
(20:37.56).
The
women’s
squad
placed fourth in the team
standings.
Kennedy Rufener won the
women’s race, finishing the
4,000-meter course in
15:21.41.
Felicia Covey placed 18th
in 16:53.93.
Western Oregon will host
the Ash Creek Invitational
Friday at 5 p.m.
FOOTBALL
FALLS
TO
IDAHO STATE: Western Ore-
gon’s football team was shut
out in the second half as the
Wolves fell to Idaho State 37-6
on Thursday.
WOU led 6-3 at the half after
outgaining the Bengals 193 to
152 in the first half, but
missed a field goal in the third
quarter.
Senior wide receiver Paul
Revis had 13 catches for 137
yards. Quarterback Nick Duck-
worth threw
for
232
yards.
Nathan
Jones led
the defense
with nine
tackles.
Tyler John-
son
had
Revis
eight tack-
les and an interception.
WOU opens Great Northwest
Athletic Conference play at
Central Washington Saturday
at 1 p.m. The team’s home-
opener is Sept. 23 against
Humboldt State.
VOLLEYBALL WINS TWO
OF THREE: Western Oregon’s
volleyball squad won two of
three matches at the Concor-
dia Labor Day Tournament on
Friday and Saturday.
The Wolves opened the tour-
nament with a 25-23, 11-25,
25-23, 25-14 loss to California
State Dominguez Hills on Fri-
day before beating Lubbock
Christian 25-20, 21-25, 25-23,
25-20.
Western Oregon defeated
Westminster College 25-15,
25-16, 25-21 on Saturday.
Alisha Bettinson had team
highs in kills (15) and digs (20)
against Westminster.
Western Oregon will host
the Division II West Region
Showcase Thursday through
Saturday.
The Wolves will play Cal
State San Marcos Thursday
at 8 p.m., Chaminade Friday
at 3 p.m., Fresno Pacific Sat-
urday at 10:30 a.m. and Cal
State East Bay Saturday at
6:30 p.m.
Panthers: Central faces Mountain View Friday
Continued from Page 11A
“I thought our defense and
special teams played very
well,” coach Shane Hedrick
said. “Xander Bailey, Caleb
Sedlacek and Isaiah Abra-
ham played at mid-season
form. That’s always exciting
to see in your first game.”
Quarterback Peter Menda-
zona hit Abraham for a 49-
yard touchdown to put the
Panthers up 21-0 in the first
quarter, and the rout was of-
ficially on.
“We had a good run game
going and that really opens it
up for the wide receivers,”
Abraham said.
Mendazona hit Gabe
Bergman for a 1-yard touch-
down, and Abraham re-
turned an interception 50
yards for a touchdown in the
second quarter to give the
Panthers a 35-0 lead.
“It was mostly about read-
ing the opponents and
watching a lot of film,” Abra-
ham said. “Then it’s about
getting into position to make
a play.”
Mendazona finished the
game with 97 passing yards
and two touchdowns. Chase
had 15 carries for 93 yards
and a touchdown, and Abra-
ham had two catches for 79
yards and a touchdown.
Junior Jesse Cable had
eight tackles on defense, and
Gabe Bergman and Xander
Bailey each had two sacks.
“It’s great (to get the win),”
Mendazona said. “As a start-
ing quarterback, I’ve never
beaten Bend before. I lost
my first year in Bend, and we
lost last year at home. The
defense looked real good
and we had a variety of
weapons on offense. Marcos
(Cedillo) in our slot, he’s a
train and runs people over.
Outside we have Isaiah and
Jesse. Our starting running
back, Hunter, he’s developed
well. He’s a really good guy
and he runs hard. Keegan,
the guy right behind him, is
good to give Hunter a break.
We can be deadly.”
Friday’s game was origi-
nally scheduled to be played
in Bend, but was moved due
to poor air conditions.
“Offensively, we’re still
looking to clean things up,”
Hedrick said. “Hunter Chase
gave us hope at the running
back position, and we look
to have Agard and Goodrich
contribute more in the fu-
ture. The passing game
showed first-game tenden-
cies with inconsistency
throughout the protection,
catching and throwing.”
The Panthers host Moun-
tain View Friday at 7 p.m.
Mountain View defeated
South Albany 28-7 in its sea-
son-opener.
“I know Mountain View is
big up front,” Mendazona
said. “We’re going to have to
work hard and see what we
can do to exploit their weak-
nesses.”
Central came out and
dominated Bend on Friday
night, but with a new chal-
lenge looming, Abraham
said the Panthers are ready
to tackle the next oppo-
nent.
“We could have done a lot
better tonight, but to come
out strong like this, it’s
good,” Abraham said. “We’re
going to come out strong,
study in the film room, and
see what they got and start
from there.”
Notes:
Abraham
was
named team MVP after Fri-
day’s game. Offensive player
of the game was Hunter
Chase; defense was Xander
Bailey and special teams was
Omar Parroquin.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Central quarterback Peter Mendazona (10) escapes the pressure against Bend.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Top: Central defensive lineman Xander Bailey sacks Bend
quarterback Cooper Simmonds during the first quarter
of the Panthers’ 35-6 victory over the Lava Bears on Fri-
day night.
Left: Bailey (98) works to bring down Simmonds during
Central’s victory over Bend on Friday night. The Panthers
built a 35-0 lead in the first half. Central hosts Mountain
View Friday at 7 p.m.
CENTRAL ROUNDUP
Wolves: Home matches
Girls
soccer
defeats
North
were moved to Salem
Salem 5-2 in season-opener
Continued from Page 11A
Against Biola, Dana Jacobs
gave WOU a 1-0 lead in the
14th minute. After Biola tied
the match, the Wolves retook
the lead after a goal from
Kennedy Clay just before the
half.
But WOU would not regis-
ter another shot the rest of
the way, and the Eagles tied
the match again in the 71st
minute before scoring the
game-winning goal in the
104th minute.
On Saturday, the Wolves
saw several scoring chances,
but could not find the back
of the net.
“We had some good
chances,” Ancheta said.
“We’re happy with the pro-
gression. Ultimately, it’s a
loss, and you can’t change
that, but you have to keep
moving forward. I think we
did that from the first match
to the second.”
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dacia Alexander looks for a teammate on Saturday.
Both matches had to be
moved to the Capital City
Soccer Complex in Salem
because Western’s home
field on campus was not
ready for play.
“The field will be nice once
it’s ready,” Ancheta said.
WOU hosted Northwest
Christian Tuesday after press
time.
The Wolves play at Hawaii
Pacific on Friday and at
Chaminade on Sunday to
finish its nonconference sea-
son.
Itemizer-Observer staff report
SALEM — Ysabella Rin-
con recorded a hat trick,
leading
Central’s
girls soc-
cer team
to a 5-2
victory
o v e r
N o r t h
Salem on
Thursday.
Becerra
Ana Be-
cerra and
Allison
Wells also
scored
one goal
each.
“When
we star-
ted
the
Wells
game, we
were struggling with our
passing,” coach Veronica
Lepe said. “... As the game
went on, the girls got a
good momentum going
and were able to move up
and down the field using
their passing. I’m surprised
with how well the girls did
with their passing. It has
been one of our biggest
struggles in past years, and
I feel like this year every-
thing is finally coming to-
gether.”
The Panthers play at
North Marion Tuesday at 4
p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
DEFEATS
NORTH MARION: Central’s
volleyball team defeated North
Marion 25-19, 25-22, 25-23 on
Thursday.
Stats were not available as of
press time. The Panthers played
Silverton Tuesday after press
time. Central travels to face
South Albany Thursday at 6
p.m. and Crescent Valley Tues-
day at 6 p.m.
CROSS-COUNTRY
COM-
PETES AT ULTIMOOK: Cen-
tral’s boys cross-country team
placed 11th at the Ultimook
Nike Invitational at Tillamook
High School on Saturday.
Jonathan Brown finished
24th in 19 minutes, 8.14 sec-
onds to lead the Panthers.
The girls squad finished 14th
in the team standings.
Naomi Vega placed 63rd in
26:15 to pace the Panthers.
Central will compete at the
Ash Creek Invitational at West-
ern Oregon Saturday at noon.
BOYS SOCCER OPENS
WITH VICTORIES: Central’s
boys soccer team defeated
Thurston 2-1 on Aug. 30 and
Sprague 3-1 on Thursday. Stats
were not available as of press
time.
The Panthers play at Barlow
Thursday at 7 p.m. before host-
ing North Marion Tuesday at 6
p.m.