Polk County
Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • September 27, 2017 12A
SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, SEPT. 28
Boys soccer: Central at
Mountainside, 7:30 p.m.
Lebanon at Dallas, 6 p.m.
Crosshill Christian at Falls
City, 6 p.m.
Volleyball: Central at Sil-
verton, 6 p.m. Lebanon at
Dallas, 6 p.m. Crosshill
Christian at Falls City, 6 p.m.
Livingstone Adventist at
Perrydale, 6 p.m. Western
Oregon at Simon Fraser, 7
p.m.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 29
Football: Central at Dal-
las, 7 p.m. Alsea at Falls City,
7 p.m. Dufur at Perrydale, 7
p.m.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 30
Boys soccer: St. Helens
at Dallas, 4 p.m.
Cross-country: Central
at Woahink Lake XC Invita-
tional, TBA. Dallas at Nike
Portland XC Invite, TBA.
Western Oregon at Charles
Bowles Invite, 9:30 a.m.
Football: Western Ore-
gon at Azusa Pacific, 6 p.m.
Volleyball: Western Ore-
gon at Western Washing-
ton, 7 p.m.
Women’s soccer: Seattle
Pacific at Western Oregon, 1
p.m.
MONDAY, OCT. 2
Volleyball: Jewell at Per-
rydale, 5 p.m.
TUESDAY, OCT. 3
Boys soccer: Silverton at
Central, 6 p.m. Dallas at
Lebanon, 4 p.m.
Girls soccer: Central at
Silverton, 6 p.m. Lebanon at
Dallas, 4 p.m.
Volleyball: South Al-
bany at Central, 6 p.m. Dal-
las at Crescent Valley, 6 p.m.
Falls City at Livingstone Ad-
ventist, 6 p.m. Western Ore-
gon at Concordia, 7 p.m.
—
Schedules Subject to Change
PREP FOOTBALL
Pumping up the
Panthers
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — Prior to kickoff,
Central lineman Caleb Sedlacek is
pacing.
It’s not nerves.
The senior trusts the hours of work
spent preparing for the game.
It’s something else.
“My energy is out of the roof,” Sed-
lacek said. “Something about playing
under the Friday night lights with your
family (the team) that just gets me
hyped. I want the other teams to know
I am ready to play and that I may get
beat here and there, but I will be right
back up for the next play and ready to
go at it.”
Sedlacek, a starting lineman for the
Panthers, has had a big impact on the
field. But his true value to the Panthers
goes beyond any single play he can
make.
—
Sedlacek’s playing philosophy is
simple — dominate whoever is in
front of him.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Caleb Sedlacek awaits the start of Central’s game against South Albany on Friday night. The Panthers lost 24-7.
PREP GIRLS SOCCER
Building from the ground up
Kiner steps into leadership role on inexperienced squad
QUICK HITS
By Lukas Eggen
Cross Creek
men’s club results
DALLAS — Dallas junior
defender Callista Kiner
came into the season know-
ing things would be a bit
different for the girls soccer
program.
In 2016, Kiner was part of
a team that featured nine
seniors, many who saw sig-
nificant playing time. Kiner
expected a retooling of sorts
this fall.
She wasn’t expecting
quite how big of a rebuild
was in store.
Only a handful of players
have recent soccer experi-
ence, Kiner said.
The rest are playing for
the first time in years — and
some for the first time at all.
“We have a new team,”
Kiner said. “We’re learning
the ropes, learning the rules
and learning what to do on
the field.”
The experience has been
different for Kiner, who was
used playing on squads
with teammates who had
years of soccer experience
behind them.
“I’ve been playing it since
I was little,” she said. “It’s
just fun to be able to be out-
side and play with a ball at
DALLAS — Cross Creek’s
men’s club results for Sept.
19:
Low gross/low net
Gross: 1, Bill Karjala, 39; 2
(tie), Wayne Weathers, Jim
Schroeder, Lee Taylor and
Kevin O’Brien.
Net: 1, Lynn Hurt, 31; 2
(tie), Darrel Smedstad,
Eldon Rivers, Larry Hatcher
and Jack Duncan, 34; 6 (tie),
Rich Dominick and Greg
Fisher, 35.
Sept. 24
Progressive tees
Gross: 1, Lee Gameny, 76;
2 (tie), Bill Karjala and Bob
McCleery, 77.
Net: 1, Al Fahlman, 60; 2,
Pat Farrell, 67; 3 (tie), Kevin
O’Brien and Lynn Hurt, 68;
5, Ken Dankenbring, 69.
Bowling league
results
DALLAS — Super Senior
Bowling League results.
Standings
Senior Moments: 8-4
Cherry Pickers: 8-4
High scratch game
(men): Terry Casper, 221
High scratch game
(women): Pat Ghormley,
183
High handicap game
(men): Terry Smith, 292
High handicap game
(women): Debbie Cates, 246
Scratch series (men):
Dennis Fritz, 558
Scratch series (women):
Sherrie Johnson, 469
Handicap series (men):
Terry Smith, 691
Handicap series
(women): Debbie Cates,
678.
Falls City football
defeats Lowell
FALLS CITY — Falls City’s
football team defeated
Lowell 60-12 on Friday.
Stats were not available as
of press time.
The Mountaineers host
Alsea Friday at 7 p.m.
STAT SHEET
7
The total number of
touchdowns West-
ern Oregon’s foot-
ball scored against
Humboldt State.
www.polkio.com
“Caleb is a very mobile and ex-
plosive player and has the ability to
change the opponent’s point of at-
tack,” coach Shane Hedrick said.
“On offense, he brings a great deal
of strength to the running game
and gives great protection to the
passer.”
Sedlacek is driven by an over-
whelming desire to do anything and
everything he can to help his team win
each play.
“I think about how I can push my-
self to help my team get that W and
that I have to do my best to be a
leader.”
On a personal level, that means im-
proving every part of his game, from
his speed to his strength.
That has resulted in 26 tackles and
three sacks so far this fall.
But Sedlacek knows being a leader
requires more than making a tackle or
opening a hole for a teammate.
One look onto the field, and you’ll
likely see Sedlacek getting teammates
fired up.
See PANTHERS, Page 14A
The Itemizer-Observer
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer file
Dallas’ girls soccer team is in the midst of a rebuild.
your feet.”
Adjusting to new team-
mates and having to build
from the ground up hasn’t
been easy.
“It’s hard,” Kiner said. “It
requires a lot of patience.”
It’s also led Kiner to take
on a new role. As a center
defender, Kiner helps direct
teammates to the right
spots.
“The center defense is
kind of like the core of the
team,” she said. “Besides
the goalie, we see every-
thing on the field.”
What’s been more chal-
lenging is becoming a
leader — and teacher — on
the field.
“I think I’ve always been a
lead-by-example type of
person,” Kiner said. “With
this team, I need to be more
vocal.”
It’s not just the x’s and o’s
of the sport they are teach-
ing.
See KINER, Page 13A
Booster
Club to kick
off turf
project
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — The Dallas
Booster Club will kick off its
turf field fundraising drive
Friday at 5 p.m. at Dallas
High School.
Fundraising efforts have
been underway for months,
but Friday will mark the offi-
cial beginning of the drive.
The event starts in the
DHS gym. There is no cost to
attend. RSVP to RSVP@dhs-
boosterclub.org.
Dylan August and Jim
Boutin will speak about field
turf. A light dinner will be
served at 5:50 p.m.
Those in attendance will
get free admission and spe-
cial reserved seating to the
Central vs. Dallas football
game. The August family will
perform the coin toss at the
game. Guests, booster club
supporters, past athletes and
state championships will be
honored during halftime.
William McNutt said
about $600,000 in pledged
cash and in-kind work had
been donated as of press day.
The Booster Club has a
goal of raising $850,000 in
cash and in-kind work by
April 2018 to have the field
turf installed in time for the
2018-19 school year.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Linemen pave the way for offense
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — When senior of-
fensive linemen Brad Christensen,
Ron Rose and Bryson Dizon arrived
as freshmen at Western Oregon Uni-
versity, they figured playing time
would be minimal.
They were, after all, the new kids
on the block with plenty of older,
more experienced linemen ahead of
them on the depth chart.
The three players figured their
first season would be spent bulking
up and, maybe see a little game ac-
tion if a blowout occurred.
After a series of events, all three
wound up seeing significant action
as freshmen.
The experience was humbling.
“It’s definitely not ideal to start as
an 18-year-old against people who
weigh 300 pounds,” Rose said.
The trio wasn’t fully ready to take
on collegiate defensive linemen, but
they found a way to keep their spots
on the line and lay the groundwork
for future success.
“It was almost surreal at first,”
Dizon said. “But we started to re-
member, it’s just football. It was
tough, but freshman year gave us a
lot of good experience.”
The trio has started together ever
since and has formed the core of the
Wolves’ offensive line.
“We’re on the same page,” Rose
said. “We can communicate really
easily with each other. We know the
little stuff that you need to get
done.”
As they have gone from nervous
freshmen starters to seasoned veter-
ans, they have reveled in sharing
their experiences together.
“I don’t think you can get a bigger
bond than we have,” Dizon said.
The trio has blocked for tradition-
al pass-first quarterbacks and dual-
threat quarterbacks.
See WOU, Page 14A
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Western Oregon’s offensive line awaits a play call during the Wolves’
49-48 overtime loss to Humboldt State on Saturday afternoon.
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