Polk County Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • September 13, 2017 13A
Falls City: Coach
wants confidence
Clearing it out
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Jamie Shaw returns a serve during Falls City’s victory over Livingstone Adventist on Sept. 6.
PERRYDALE ROUNDUP
Volleyball extends win streak
Itemizer-Observer staff report
PERRYDALE — Perry-
dale’s volleyball team ex-
tended its winning streak
to 12 matches after going
4-0 last week.
The Pirates swept Living-
stone Adventist 25-4, 25-4,
25-4 on Sept. 5, Jewell 25-
14, 25-17, 25-9 on Thursday
and Damascus Christian
25-17, 25-20, 25-10 and
Southwest Christian 25-23,
25-12, 25-16 on Saturday.
Perrydale improved to
13-2 overall and 3-0 in
Casco League play.
The Pirates faced
Willamette Valley Christian
Tuesday after press time.
Perrydale plays at North
Douglas Saturday at noon
before hosting Crosshill
Christian Tuesday at 6 p.m.
FOOTBALL LOSES TO
LOWELL: Perrydale’s football
team lost to Lowell 42-22 on
Friday.
The Pi-
rates led 22-
20 at the
half but
L o w e l l
outscored
Perr ydale
22-0 in the
second half.
Butler
“In the
end, their size wore us down,”
coach Steve Mabry said. “They
averaged
about 230
pounds on
the line. It
was a good
test from a
good team.
We k now
where we
need to
Canfield
shore up
some things, but the game
was much closer than the final
score.”
Running back Cooper Butler
had 83 rushing yards and 86
receiving yards, including a
63-yard touchdown reception.
Running back Randall Can-
field recorded 97 rushing
yards.
Quarterback David Domes
threw for 135 yards and two
touchdowns.
On defense, JJ Avila and
Butler each had 12 tackles.
The Pirates host
Arlington/Condon Friday at 7
p.m.
Mabry said he expects to
see some fireworks from both
sides.
“This week’s match up is a
big game as league play
opens up,” Mabry said. “Every
game is paramount to stay in
the playoff hunt. We match up
well with Arlington as last
year’s game was a double-
overtime game. I expect a bit
of a shootout as both teams
have big play guys.”
Continued from Page 12A
“Anna Lammers was a
huge leader last year, and
once she graduated that left
a hole,” Barnhart said. “But
Jamie Shaw and Maddy
Hendrickson are on fire.
Amara Houghtaling is al-
ways dependable. Cassidy
Simmons is a sophomore,
and has grown by leaps and
bounds. She has a very
timid, quiet personality, but
she’s gotten more confident
in calling the ball and going
after it when it’s hers.”
The key is finding that
confidence in all the players
each match.
The Mountaineers lost to
Crosshill Christian 25-7, 25-
10, 25-10 on Friday. It was a
lopsided loss score-wise, but
Barnhart said her players
have the tools necessary to
compete — it’s about confi-
dence in themselves.
“It’s all about their mind-
set,” Barnhart said. “It’s not
about their physical ability.
They have all the physical
skills. I would like to see
them get a little grittier on
the court. We have this
mindset where we elevate
our play against teams they
feel confident against, but
falter with teams they don’t
feel as confident about. It’s
about getting mentally
tougher.”
Fa l l s C i t y p l a y s a t
Willamette Valley Christian
Thursday at 6 p.m. and at
Southwest Christian Tues-
day at 6 p.m. The Moun-
taineers host C.S. Lewis
Sept. 20 at 6 p.m.
Central: Panthers host Madison Tuesday
Continued from Page 12A
“Her footwork and just
overall dedication to soccer
has increased drastically,”
Lepe said. “... Her speed is
great, and I needed some-
one that complemented my
other forward. She has
grown as a player and as a
person.”
Rincon is now one of the
Panthers’ most dangerous
weapons on the field.
“You can’t let anybody
knock you down,” Rincon
said. “You have to keep
working hard because there
is always someone out there
better than you.”
That hard work has ex-
tended to the entire team.
Lepe said players like
Sophia Henke, Cristy Leon
and Mariah Hyre have all
shown improvement.
“I have seen great chem-
istry, communication and
growth from each individ-
ual player,” Lepe said.
Many of the girls on Cen-
tral’s roster have played to-
gether for years through
youth soccer leagues. But
something about this year is
different
that has
each ex-
c i t e d
a b o u t
their po-
tential.
“ O u r
passing is
Rincon
the best
it’s ever been,” Rincon said.
“It’s never been to the point
where it’s a natural habit.
Honestly, it felt at North
Salem like we were at prac-
tice like we weren’t being
watched by anybody.”
The Panthers play at Cas-
cade Thursday at 4 p.m. be-
fore hosting Madison Tues-
day at 6 p.m.
As Central makes its way
toward the start of Mid-
Willamette Conference play,
the Panthers are excited to
see what they can accom-
plish, and Rincon is ready
to do whatever is needed to
help her team.
“Even if we do take a loss,
we have to keep going,”
Rincon said. “We have to
put the past behind us and
keep moving forward.”
DALLAS ROUNDUP
Cross takes first at Saxon Invite
Itemizer-Observer staff report
SALEM — Dallas junior
cross-country runner
Trevor Cross won the
Saxon Invite on Saturday.
Cross completed the
5,000-meter race in 15
minutes, 58.91 seconds.
The boys placed third in
the team standings. Gavin
Grass finished 18th in
17:33.32 and Toby Ruston
placed 22nd in 17:41.20.
The girls had two run-
ners compete in the varsi-
Cross
ty race.
B e k a h
R o c a k
took 73rd
with a
time of
24:24.25.
Mikayla
Thiel fin-
i s h e d
87th in 25:44.14.
The Dragons will com-
pete at the Northwest
Classic at Lane Communi-
ty College in Eugene Satur-
day afternoon before com-
peting at the Mid-
Willamette Conference
preview Sept. 20 at 3 p.m.
at Willamette Mission
State Park.
B OYS S O CC E R D O W N S
BENSON: Dallas’ boys soccer
team picked up its first win of
the season after defeating
Benson 2-1 on Thursday. Stats
were not available as of press
time.
The Dragons nonleague
match against St. Helens,
originally scheduled for Sept.
5, was canceled due to air
conditions. Dallas hosts
Southridge Thursday at 4 p.m.
before playing at Parkrose
Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER FALLS TO
EAGLE POINT: Dallas’ girls
soccer team lost to Eagle
Point 8-1 on Thursday. Stats
were not available as of press
time.
The Dragons played Red-
mond Tuesday after press
time. Dallas plays at McNary
Thursday at 7 p.m. and at
Canby Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Dragons: Dallas opens league play at Silverton
Continued from Page 12A
Courtney has led a potent
rushing attack. Through two
games, he has 298 rushing
yards and three touch-
downs.
“Personally, I like to be a
little shifty,” Courtney said.
“But when the time comes,
I’ll run people over.”
Courtney’s emergence —
along with the Dragons’
stable of running backs —
gives Dallas depth and a
shot for some new faces to
make a big impact on the
field.
“I think because we had
guys like Aaron White and
Jake Collins and Tanner
Earhart, you just never had a
chance to see what some of
these guys could do,” Jack-
son said. “Now, they’re get-
ting their opportunities.
Right now, I’m glad we have
depth. We don’t have to run
any single guy into the
ground because no one else
can play.”
The Dragons didn’t throw
often — quarterback Jaret
Stewart had three comple-
tions — but when they did,
it was successful. Stewart
threw a pair of touchdowns,
a 49-yard strike to Treve
Earhart and a 22-yard pass
to TJ Dimick.
“We’ve got a 6-foot-4
quarterback,” Jackson said.
“We’ll throw when the op-
portunity is right.”
Everything seems to be
going right for Dallas so far.
Through two games, Dallas
has yet to give up a single
point, while combining to
score 94.
But accomplishments
during nonleague contests
will mean little on Friday.
Dallas travels to Silverton
to open Mid-Willamette
Conference play in what
Jackson expects to be a
tough challenge.
Quarterback Levi Nielson
has thrown for 321 yards
and four touchdowns in two
games for the Silver Foxes,
and receiver Spencer
Clements has 11 catches for
150 yards and three touch-
downs.
“The thing about a good
quarterback is he can get the
ball down the field quickly,”
Jackson said. “Silverton has
good enough athletes that
can turn plays into big gains.
It’s going to be a challenge.
We’re going to have to get
after (Nielson) the best we
can.”
Silverton defeated Sandy
23-17 on Sept. 1 and Red-
mond 45-6 on Friday to
open the season.
“It’s going to be a fight,”
Jackson said. “We’ve got to
keep making steady im-
provements, but I’m proud
of the work our guys did this
last week. I think we had a
few letdowns the week be-
fore. There were no letdowns
tonight.”
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Five different running backs scored for Dallas during its
54-0 win over North Eugene on Friday night.
PREP VOLLEYBALL
Errors cost Dragons dearly during league openers
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Emma Classen (5) and Tristin Savage (7) go up for a block against Crescent Valley.
DALLAS — For two of the
three sets against Crescent
Valley on Thursday, Dallas’
volleyball team went point-
for-point with the Raiders.
Too many self-inflicted
proved to be the Dragons
undoing in a 25-14, 27-25,
25-23 loss.
“We didn’t pass the ball
well,” coach Shana Lavier
said. “It’s a mental game.
The girls just need to have
confidence in themselves.
We’re in a tough league.
There’s no one that’s easy to
put away. They’ll get there.”
Dallas (2-3 overall, 0-2
Mid-Willamette Confer-
ence), which also lost to
Lebanon on Sept. 5, showed
the good and the bad.
The good — the Dragons
put themselves in a position to
win and the bad — seeing
costly errors lead to a loss.
“It was a good match and
hard-fought,” Lavier said.
“Give it up to Crescent Val-
ley. They put the ball away
when they had to and we
had too many unforced er-
rors. … We have to stay dis-
ciplined on defense and on
offense, not put five balls
into the net in the last set.”
The key will be making
sure they are ready to take
advantage of opportunities.
“We definitely never gave
up,” Emma Classen said.
“We just need to keep work-
ing and come together
more. … Our practices go
well. I think we get a little
scared at the start of a game.
We have to learn to relax.”
Lavier said she’s seen sev-
eral players step up, but
finding that on a consistent
basis remains a challenge.
“We definitely have the
talent,” Classen said. “We
just need to put it all togeth-
er.”
Dallas played Corvallis
Tuesday after press time.
The Dragons play at Silver-
ton Thursday at 6 p.m. be-
fore hosting the Dallas Tour-
nament Saturday starting at
8 a.m. Dallas also hosts Cen-
tral Tuesday at 6 p.m.
“My hitters can go up
against anybody in this
league,” Lavier said. “When
they’re off, they have to find
a way to put the ball in
play.”