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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 6, 2017)
WEDNESDAY September 6, 2017 Prairie City wins home VB invitational Panther spikers host Pine Eagle Friday By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle The Prairie City Panthers overcame some challenging opponents at their home invi- tational, winning the tourna- ment championship title over Joseph. Seven teams joined Prairie City for the daylong compe- tition, including cross-county opponents Monument/Day- ville and Huntington, Mitch- ell/Spray, North Powder, Adrian and Cove. After beating Mitchell/ Spray 2-0 in pool play, Prai- rie City head coach Lance Zweygardt said he was pleased with his team’s per- formance. “They’re working on cov- erage to keep the ball alive and to be more aggressive on our offense,” he said. “We’re working on some offensive plays, so they have to think a lot more. We’re really work- Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter The Prairie City Panthers celebrate after a successful rally at their home tournament on Saturday, including Sierra Dahlen (11), Brianna Zweygardt (13) and Emily Ennis (6). ing on spot serving to keep the other team off balance, and they’re doing well at that.” The Monument/Dayville Tigers got off to a shaky start with losses to North Powder and Adrian in pool play. After the losses Tiger head coach Kristi Emerson said her team needed to im- prove their communication, coverage and intensity. Emerson was elated when her team turned things Tight-knit team views season with positivity Five-year assistant coach takes helm around, beating Cove, also in pool play, 21-17 and 21-14. “It was amazing,” she said. “Finally, this is what we’ve been working on, with very few mistakes. I’m hap- py.” Prairie City and Monu- ment/Dayville faced off in the quarterfi nal match, Prai- rie City winning with scores of 25-14 and 25-21. The Panthers overcame the Powder Valley Badgers 2-0 in close sets in the semi- fi nals, winning 26-24 and 25- 21. In the fi nal match, Prairie City put together a 2-1 win over Joseph. The Panthers won the fi rst match 25-22, then lost the second 12-25. Prairie City rallied for the title with a 15-13 win in the fi nal match. Zweygardt, who co-coach- es with Louanne Zweygardt, said the team rallied in the fi - nal game, not letting their mis- takes bring them down. “It was fun to fi ght back Prairie City’s Katie Hire in action at the Panther’s home tournament. See more photos at myeaglenews.com. and beat Joseph in the fi nal set of the championship match after losing the second set,” said setter Brianna Zweygardt. “It gives me confi dence in our ability to not give in and to be resilient. It felt really good to win.” Other teammates expressed similar sentiments. “We worked really hard, and it paid off,” Cassie Hire said. “I’m excited to see where we go from here.” Sierra Dahlen said they kept positive attitudes all day and stayed strong despite feel- ing tired. “We worked really well as a team,” added Megan Ca- marena. “We accomplished what we have been working on, and I am looking forward to the future.” Prairie City will host Pine Eagle in a nonleague game Friday in Prairie City with ju- nior varsity starting at 4 p.m., followed by varsity. Monument/Dayville will host Harper at 4 p.m. Friday in Dayville. A DETERMINED Panthers come up EFFORT short in season opener By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle New Monument/Dayville head coach Kristi Emerson is no stranger to the Tiger vol- leyball team. She was the squad’s as- sistant coach for fi ve years before taking the helm this season. Cheyenne Perkins is step- ping into the role of assistant coach. Though the team is young, with just one senior, the play- ers and coaches say the team’s future is bright. Monument/Dayville lost three players to graduation, including strong outside hitter Kendall Hettinga, defensive specialist Ravyn Walker and Dinorha Vidreo Landin. The coaches are working on new lineups with some players taking on new posi- tions. “We have a pretty positive team,” Emerson said. “(Most) have grown up together since grade school, and they do get along very well, which I think is a positive aspect. We have some strong servers and some strong hitters.” Returning starters are se- nior Danielle Rhoda, junior Kyla Emerson, junior Faythe Schafer and sophomore Dena- li Twehues. The team of 10 includes Danielle Rhoda one senior, four juniors, four sophomores and one fresh- man, who has junior high vol- leyball experience. Emerson said the team returners are ex- cited to be back and the new players are happy to be on the team. Rhoda said she’s glad to have several starters back on the court. “We play pretty well to- gether,” she said. “For a strength, I think we defi nite- ly have a lot of hitters. There are some girls who didn’t get a chance to hit or play front row, who are doing really well.” Player Kyla Emerson said that even though the team is young, she’s looking forward to seeing how far they go as the season progresses. “I’m excited to play vol- leyball with all my friends,” she said. “I think everyone See TEAM, Page B2 The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Prairie City Panther Lane Williams (62) breaks up a pass intended for Mitchell/ Spray’s McCoy Cook (2). Prairie City will host Spartans at 7 p.m. Sept. 8 By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle It wasn’t the outcome they were looking for, but the Prairie City Pan- thers made a determined effort in their fi rst eight-man football game of the season, hosting the Mitchell/ Spray/Wheeler Rattlers. The game was scoreless until midway through the third quarter, but the Rattlers went on to claim a 22-0 win. Near the end of the fi rst half, Prai- rie City’s Jonathan Lawrence picked off a Rattler pass, and the Panthers moved the ball into the red zone be- fore being halted. The Rattlers took possession at the start of the third and gained ground with a 35-yard carry from midfi eld. Prairie City put on the brakes and took over on downs at their 15-yard line. On the Rattlers’ next possession, with about 6 minutes to go in the third, Mitchell/Spray’s Myles Mc- Cormick ran 30-plus yards for the team’s fi rst touchdown, the conver- sion no good. See PANTHERS, Page B10 Tiger football team is young and determined Tigers host Harper Sept. 8 in Dayville By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Monument/Dayville head coach Nathaniel Ashley said this is a building year for the junior varsity football team, but the 11 players he has to con- struct his Tiger team are show- ing determination. “Just four out of the 11 guys have worn shoulder pads,” Ashley said. “We’re starting from square one, but they’re all working hard and picking up everything — learning every- thing.” Monument/Dayville will host the Harper Hornets at 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, in Day- ville. Ashley is in his seventh year coaching, and his assistant The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Monument/Dayville Tiger DJ Howell hikes the ball to teammate JT Hand in a recent practice in Dayville with head coach Nathaniel Ashley looking on. coach is Kyle Hand. Three returning starters are helping the newer players, in- cluding juniors Cade Milton and Gabe Walker and sopho- more Wesley Adams. “These guys are stepping up into leadership roles,” the coach said. Milton said he’s looking forward to the season. “We’re seeing what we can do for the kids that are just com- ing in and see what they can do to improve for next year,” he said. “I’m ready to learn new things and play different positions.” “I’m look- ing forward to hanging out with my Rafael Adas friends, and Dualibi seeing how well they do, and getting to know them bet- ter,” said Gabe Walker. “I’m looking forward to seeing how everyone does in a game situa- tion, and I’m going to help as much as I can.” The sole senior on the team is Raphael Adas Dualibi, a for- eign exhange student from Brazil. Although it’s his first time taking the field for American football, he has experience playing soccer, surfing and competitive rowing in his home country. He also has enjoyed working out at the gym every day. 2017 Monument/Dayville football schedule Sept 8: vs. Harper in Dayville, 1 p.m. Sept. 16: @ North Powder Tournament, TBD Oct. 7: vs. Adrian JV in Monument, 1 p.m. Oct. 16: @ Crane, 4 p.m. Oct. 20: vs. South Wasco in Monument, 2 p.m. “I’m very excited,” he said. “I want to learn with them, and I’m happy to play with the team.” There are three juniors, two sophomores and fi ve freshmen rounding out the team. The freshmen all played Monument fl ag football last year, Ashley said. Among the freshmen are the two quarterbacks for the team, JT Hand and Mark Thomas. Mark Thomas has been among the top cross country and track runners in the state since fi fth grade. He earned fourth place in the 1,500-meter run at the Middle School Statewide Championships in La Pine last year, with a personal re- cord of 4:50.85 and was sixth in the 800-meter. Ashley said his goals for the team this year are hav- ing fun playing football and making sure everyone plays safe. Also, “getting those fun- damentals down and build- ing on and improving,” he said. “They’re getting better every day.”
