2017 Winter Sports Preview

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Sports Preview Winter 2017-18

COTTAGE GROVE•YONCALLA•NORTH DOUGLAS•ELKTON

GAME TIME

Coach outlooks Game schedules Player interviews Cottage Grove

Sentinel

2

GAME ON! A look at what's coming up in sports this winter around the valley.

Table of Contents Cottage Grove Boys Basketball ....................................PG.4 Cottage Grove Girls Basketball ...................................PG. 5 Cottage Grove Swimming............................................PG. 6 Cottage Grove Wrestling..............................................PG. 7 North Douglas Boys Basketball ...................................PG. 9 North Douglas Girls Basketball .................................PG. 10 Elkton Boys Basketball ..............................................PG. 12 Elkton Girls Basketball ..............................................PG. 13 Yoncalla Boys Basketball ..........................................PG. 15 Yoncalla Girls Basketball...........................................PG. 16

Photos and words by Zach Silva

Cottage Grove Schedules BOYS BASKETBALL

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Dec. 8

5:30 p.m.

@ Cascade

Dec. 12

7:15 p.m.

@ Siuslaw

Dec. 12

5:45 p.m.

@ Siuslaw

Dec. 19

6:00 p.m.

@ Madras

Dec. 19

7:30 p.m.

@ Madras

Dec. 20

7:00 p.m.

vs. Philomath

Dec. 29

7:00 p.m.

vs. Philomath

Jan. 2

6:00 p.m.

@ South Umpqua

Jan. 2

7:30 p.m.

@ South Umpqua

Jan. 5

5:30 p.m.

vs. Stayton

Jan. 5

7:00 p.m.

vs. Stayton

Jan. 9

7:00 p.m.

@ Gladstone

Jan. 9

5:30 p.m.

@ Gladstone

Jan. 12

7:15 p.m.

vs. Sisters

Jan. 12

5:45 p.m.

vs. Sisters

Jan. 16

7:15 p.m.

vs. Junction City

Jan. 16

5:45 p.m.

vs. Junction City

Jan. 19

7:15 p.m.

vs. Sutherlin

Jan. 19

5:45 p.m.

vs. Sutherlin

Jan. 23

7:15 p.m.

@ Sweet Home

Jan. 23

5:45 p.m.

@ Sweet Home

Jan. 30

7:15 p.m.

vs. Elmira

Jan. 30

5:45 p.m.

vs. Elmira

Feb. 2

5:45 p.m.

@ Sisters

Feb. 2

7:15 p.m.

@ Sisters

Feb. 6

5:45 p.m.

@ Junction City

Feb. 6

7:15 p.m.

@ Junction City

Feb. 9

5:45 p.m.

@ Sutherlin

Feb. 9

7:15 p.m.

@ Sutherlin

Feb. 13

5:45 p.m.

vs. Sweet Home

Feb. 13

7:15 p.m.

vs. Sweet Home

Feb. 16

5:45 p.m.

@ Elmira

Feb. 16

7:15 p.m.

@ Elmira

SWIMMING

Dec. 5

4:00 p.m.

vs. South Eugene and North Eugene

Jan 25.

4:30 p.m.

@ North Bend

Feb. 9

TBD

@ North Bend (Districts

Feb. 16-17

TBD

@ State Championship

Follow the action all season long on our twitter account.

@sports_cgs

WRESTLING Dec. 2 9:00 a.m. cade High School

@ Cas-

Dec. 8 TBD Bend High School

@ North

Dec. 9 TBD Bend High School

@ North

Dec. 16 9:00 a.m. School

@ Thurston High

Jan. 11 TBD erlin High School

vs. Suth-

Jan. 13 TBD uslaw High School

@ Si-

Jan. 18 ra High School

vs. Elmi-

TBD

Jan. 20 TBD erlin High School

@ Suth-

Jan. 25 TBD tion City High School

@ Junc-

Jan. 26 Grove Invite

TBD

Cottage

Jan. 27 Grove Invite

TBD

Cottage

Jan. 30 TBD ters High School

@ Sis-

Feb. 1 TBD Home High School

@ Sweet

Feb. 9 TBD Home High School (Regionals)

@ Sweet

Feb. 10 TBD Home High School (Regionals)

@ Sweet

Feb. 16 TBD morial Coliseum (State Meet)

@ Me-

Feb. 17 TBD morial Coliseum (State Meet)

@ Me-

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Cottage Grove Boys Basketball

Team Rundown: After winning back-to-back league titles, the Lions are facing a pair of new things this season: a new coach and four new starters. “I’m excited. It’s just new. The whole atmosphere of the gym, the program, everything is new to me,� said first year coach Nick Finley. Finley won a state title while playing at Creswell in 2003-04 and most recently won back-to-back state titles as head coach at Ninilchik High School in Ninilchik, Alaska. Cottage Grove’s lone returning starter this season is 6’2 junior DeJean Alonzo. “The first time I met DeJean, great kid by the way, and he was like, ‘Yeah I’m the only returning starter’ and I was like, ‘Yeah that doesn’t mean anything to me,’� said Finley. Finley is committed to giving every

kid a chance to succeed in his system. A system based on being in peak shape. Last year’s Ninilchik team used traps and speed to consistently blow teams out to the point the starters rarely played in the second half. Except on senior night. “I told the other coach, I’m going to play my seniors the whole game‌ I told him the situation that they’ve had to sit out like half the games. They just want to play and it’s senior night, their last game at home,â€? said Finley. “And we beat them 130-40.â€? This year the Cottage Grove players have felt the uptick in focus on being in game shape. “A lot more cardio and a lot more conditioning. Like we’re working on a lot more fast break stuff. We’re going to have a fast-paced offense,â€? said returning player Jesse Ellingsworth. “It’s a lot more fun to play that style.â€?

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On the changes to the team: It’s going to be interesting. Haven’t played with the guys for awhile. New coach, new players. And then next year, the new league. We condition more. We’re going to be running teams pretty fast. We plan to be the in the best shape of a team in state. Everyone wants to reach their goal of being the fastest and the best they can be early. I think it is going to translate into a lot of points. Quick points. We’re going to score a lot. Very exciting. On being a successful team: Successful season like shortterm goal is to win the league championship for the third time

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Team Perspective in a row. And then the long term is holding another blue trowith DeJean Alonzo: goal phy up.

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On how football translates to basketball: The success for football we had to put in a lot of work: early in the summer, all the way up during and before practices, practices. And that’s what needs to happen on the basketball court, too. People coming early and doing everything. On a teammate he is excited about: The first person that comes to mind is Jordan Hagewood. He came in, he played his freshman year on varsity and then he was playing in the morning and tore his ACL and his MCL playing with some teachers and took two years off and now he’s back which makes me really excited.

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Cottage Grove Girls Basketball

Team Rundown:

While the Lions made it to the first round of the playoffs last year and took second in the Sky-Em league, their biggest accomplishment of the year was a regular season victory over Sutherlin. For the Bulldogs, who went on to win their fourth consecutive state title, it was their first league play loss since the 2010-11 season. This year, Cottage Grove is looking to build off their late-season success and be able to contend with the best in the state. “Well I think that we’re really close to starting where we left off. Not quite there yet because we have some young girls in the program that are still getting used to what we’re trying to do. But the girls are working really hard and that’s a really good sign,” said head coach Kevin Yoss. To get to the level they want, the Lions are going to have to get bet-

ter on the defensive end. Yoss notes that the effects of losing two starters from last year’s team will be primarily felt on that end of the court. “Last year we relied on our length and size and didn’t necessarily put a lot of pressure on the basketball; we were trying to make them shoot long shots. This year I think the difference is going to be we’ll be able to challenge those long shots and put more pressure and hopefully get more turnovers,” said Yoss. If the team gets to this level, there is a belief in the program that they can make a deep run at the state tournament. “I would, not only I but the girls, would be very disappointed if we didn’t get back to at least as far as we were last year. And if not further,” said Yoss.

Team Perspective with Maria, Keara and Tara: On how to be successful this season: Maria Pardee: It’s definitely carrying on the winning streak that we had last year onto this season and not doubting ourselves and definitely pushing ourselves. Tara Child: We were more positive towards the end of the season. And we want to bring that into this year instead of starting off negative like we did last year. Keara Murphy: I think it’s just like being positive overall. Like telling people push through it, we can do this. I don’t want to say having the winning mentality but having a positive mentality overall. Maria Pardee: Sharing that dedication and motivation with the rest

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of the team. So they can see how strong you are and your dedication to the team so that it goes on to them as well. Tara Child: Showing through actions, definitely a big one. You do it, the rest of the team is going to do it too. Maria Pardee: We didn’t get it until last year late into the season. Something definitely clicked. On what they are looking forward to this year: Maria: Just the games. The excitement. And definitely going farther then the playoffs. Making it to state and getting in the maybe semifinals because we know we can make it to play-ins so we can obviously get past that. Keara: I also think that a goal for us is getting first in league. We can definitely get first in league this year.

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Cottage Grove Swimming

Team Rundown: After two years of consecutively more swimmers at the state meet, the Lions are looking to continue to build on their success. Two years ago the team brought eight students and last year, 12. While no one in that group got out of the qualifying rounds, there is optimism about the team. On the boys side, head coach Tyson Pilling is excited to see what his upperclassmen can bring to the table this season. “Really looking forward to how two of our senior boys do. Joseph [Pifer] and Ethan [Burleson], it’s their senior year and they’ll be big players in our district meet. I’m hoping they both get qualified for state, we’ll see how they do at state. And then we have a junior, Ian Dukes, and he’ll be

a big help for districts and state as well,” he said. After graduating some senior girls that qualified for state, Pilling is excited about the underclassmen on the girls team who will be looking to fill their shoes. “We have Mikayala as a sophomore. And she should be a big help at our district and state meet and as far as girls coming out for the season we have Emma Barlston, which is Ethan’s sister. It’s her first year of doing swimming and she’s doing a great job. Picks it up pretty quick. But it generally takes a year or two to kind of develop up before they can get some big damage going for us,” said Pilling.

Team Perspective with Tyson Pilling On how things are going this year Great. Really good. We’re up. Our numbers are up this year, so that’s great. Yes, more kids out it helps. Some new kids. Freshman, they’re doing a great job for their first year. So it’s exciting. On the upcoming schedule First of all, the first meet is not your traditional setup meet. So it’s really good to get kids started with that. It’s a relay meet so they get lots of exchanges on relays. Relays are really important at championship meets, they score double. So they’re worth good practice and it’s a good set. Like I said, it takes some of the pressure away from your first meet. It’s not your traditional set up.

Then we have our meet at Cottage Grove with North Eugene and South Eugene. And that will be a fun one. We’ll have some really fast swimmers out. On the goals for the team Well, always looking at the best time improvements. Seeing where you started out. We also do goals and seeing if we reach our goals. Scoring at districts, seeing if we placed better the previous year. So looking for the best times, the qualifying times ane measuring up how we did from the previous year to this year, those are some of the three things I’ll be looking for and what I want to take as a win for a good season. And there’s also, there’s two trophies they hand out. One is sportsmanship and one is the district championship and you know I would like to go for both.

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Cottage Grove Wrestling

Team Rundown: The Cottage Grove wrestling team is depending on quality and not quantity this season. With less than 20 students out for wrestling this year, the Lions have four returners with state wrestling experience under their belt. What the Lions do have to look forward to is having four wrestlers on their roster, Aaron Boitz, Adam Lamb, Chance Ralston and Nate Farrell, who have qualified for the state meet. Of that group Lamb is especially notable due to his promising season being cut short by an injury last year. “I’m looking for that state title because last year I broke my arm and I ended up beating the champion that year in 30 seconds so I want to try to walk through state this year,” said

Lamb. During the summer Lamb travelled around the country for wrestling nationals and was part of a group that competed in Russia. “I’m excited about Adam Lamb because he’s had an unfortunate couple years but I hope he takes home the state champ because he deserves it,” said Boitz. “He’s probably been in the mat room longer than the football player practice.” The wrestling coaches, Chris Joyce and Rich Herzog, while excited about this year are also thinking about the long-term of the program. “We’re rebuilding right now… You know in the grand scheme of things, we’re still green, still young. We don’t have a whole lot of experience with returners and that type of thing,” said Joyce.

Team Perspective with Nate Farrell On his progress: I definitely think I’ve gotten better. I pushed myself on the bike so that when I got on the mat I wasn’t lacking. And then I started, I ended up going to state last year. I went two and out at state, so I didn’t go very far but it was my first year going there so I was really excited. On his goals: You know, I think to be honest with you, it would be nice to place as a senior going out. But the main goal is just to get better on the mat. It’s definitely not my main sport, I haven’t been doing this since I was three years old. But I just want to get better on

the mat. Whether that is winning more matches then I did last year. Or maybe placing in a tournament. I’ve never placed in a tournament except for the regional and I only placed fifth. On a teammate he is excited for: For the most part it would be my partner Drew. Because I have a personal connection with my partner. Last year he wrestled a match against this kid against Sisters and this kid was good and we knew it was going to be a tough match but he destroyed the kid. Dominated. It was the coolest thing to see my partner go out and dominate somebody. So I want to see him get better, too.

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North Douglas Schedule BOYS BASKETBALL Dec. 1

7:30 p.m.

@ Lowell (Lowell Tournament)

Dec. 2

TBD

TBD (Lowell Tournament)

Dec. 8

4:30 p.m.

@ Mohawk (Elkton Tournament)

Dec. 8

TBD

TBD (Elkton Tournament)

Dec. 9

TBD

TBD (Elkton Tournament)

Dec. 1

GIRLS BASKETBALL 6:00 p.m.

@ Lowell (Lowell Tournament)

Dec. 1

TBD

TBD (Lowell Tournament)

Dec. 2

TBD

TBD (Lowell Tournament)

Dec. 8

4:00 p.m.

@ Mohawk (Elkton Tournament)

Dec. 8

TBD

TBD (Elkton Tournament)

Dec. 9

TBD

TBD (Elkton Tournament)

Dec. 12

6:00 p.m.

vs. Oakland

Dec. 15 Invitational)

6:00 p.m.

vs. Mohawk (North Douglas Winter

Dec. 16

6:00 p.m.

vs. Triangle Lake

Dec. 19

5:30 p.m.

@ Crosshill Christian

Dec. 22

5:30 p.m.

@ Mohawk

Dec. 28

6:00 p.m.

vs. Lowell

Dec. 30

3:30 p.m.

@ Triad

Jan. 5 rose Christian

6:00 p.m.

@ Umpqua Valley Christian/Mel-

Jan. 6

6:00 p.m.

vs. Camas Valley

Jan. 9

6:00 p.m.

@ Powers

Jan. 12

6:00 p.m.

vs. Yoncalla

Jan. 13

6:00 p.m.

vs. Pacific

Dec. 12

7:30 p.m.

vs. Oakland

Dec. 15 Invitational)

7:30 p.m.

vs. Mohawk (North Douglas Winter

Dec. 19

7:00 p.m.

@ Crosshill Christian

Dec. 22

7:00 p.m.

@ Mohawk

Dec. 28

7:30 p.m.

vs. Lowell

Dec. 30

5:00 p.m.

@ Triad

Jan. 5 rose Christian

7:30 p.m.

@ Umpqua Valley Christian/Mel-

Jan. 6

7:30 p.m.

vs. Camas Valley

Jan. 9

7:30 p.m.

@ Powers

Jan. 12

7:30 p.m.

vs. Yoncalla

Jan. 13

7:30 p.m.

vs. Pacific

Jan. 19

7:30 p.m.

@ Elkton

Jan. 20

7:30 p.m.

@ Days Creek

Jan. 19

6:00 p.m.

@ Elkton

Jan. 26

7:30 p.m.

@ Yoncalla

Jan. 20

6:00 p.m.

@ Days Creek

Jan. 27 rose Christian

7:30 p.m.

vs. Umpqua Valley Christian/Mel-

Jan. 26

6:00 p.m.

vs. Yoncalla

Jan. 30

7:30 p.m.

vs. Glendale

Jan. 27 rose Christian

6:00 p.m.

vs. Umpqua Valley Christian/Mel-

Feb. 2

7:30 p.m.

vs. Elkton

Jan. 30

6:00 p.m.

vs. Glendale

Feb. 3

7:30 p.m.

@ New Hope Christian

Feb. 2

6:00 p.m.

vs. Elkton

Feb. 9

7:30 p.m.

vs. Days Creek

Feb. 3

6:00 p.m.

@ New Hope Christian

Feb. 9

6:00 p.m.

vs. Days Creek

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North Douglas Boys Basketball

Team Rundown:

After taking fourth place at the state tournament last season, and losing to the eventual state champions in the first round, the Warriors are going to look a little different this season. This year North Douglas has a new leader in first year coach Tyle Vancil, in addition to four open starting spots. But Vancil, a 2008 North Douglas graduate and a current police officer and school resource officer in Roseburg, is excited for the opportunity to lead this group. “My wife has been asking me every day, ‘How did practice go?’ And I said, ‘It’s been awesome.’ I didn’t know how much fun I would have just being on the court and coaching kids,” said Vancil. “This is a great group of kids and they are so coachable. You know, you

hear that all the time growing up. You guys are coachable, you’re coachable, but I didn’t quite grasp it. I mean, I knew what they were saying but when you switch roles that’s when I really realized what they mean.” The goal for this team will be to build off of the success of the lone returning starter, junior Caleb Parks, and see if the team can get back to the level of success that they experienced last season. “It’s going to be through effort,” said Vancil. “We have a lot of younger guys that are stepping up and filling those roles and that’s what you need… Your hope is that the next guys coming up that played JV last year and maybe swung, step up into those starting roles and are ready to go.”

CALL FOR A QUOTE

Team Perspective with Caleb Parks: On his new role: It kind of is a little different because last year we had so many seniors on the squad that I was kind of, not necessarily an outcast, but not necessarily a leader as all of them are. And now taking all of their roles kind of and having put together and keep the team strong and together is going to be a big difference. On teammates stepping up: I feel there were quite a few guys on the JV squad last season that if we didn’t have so many varsity guys could have played some significant minutes for the varsity. I’m extremely hopeful for the guys that could have played a bubble slash

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swing or even started some varsity games. To come in and take those spots that were left behind by those seniors and the now seniors, they’re going to get some more minutes that they got more at the end of games last year when they still performed extremely well and to be able to play 32 minutes of their basketball. On how they can succeed: I think if we keep strong and not compare ourselves to last year’s team but build our own team from what we have, then we can go on and make another big run like we did last year. As long as we try to stay away from some of the mistakes we made last year and learn from our own this year I think we can have a good, solid team.

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North Douglas Girls Basketball

Team Rundown:

Since the North Douglas girls basketball team moved down to the 1A classification at the start of the 2013 school year, the lowest the Warriors have been ranked at the end of the regular season is third. But after losing four seniors from last year’s team, including the 6’2 post presence of Jhana Lane, the Warriors are facing their biggest challenge to stay at the top. “That’s the neat thing about high school athletics in the four-year plan that it cycles. When we lose kids and miss the heck out of them they meant a lot to us, it’s an opportunity for that next group,” said head coach Jeff Davis. This is not the first time this year that the Warriors are adjusting to losing players and experiencing low-

er expectations. The North Douglas volleyball team – that features eight girls from the basketball team – was in a the boat this past season. The volleyball team ended up with the top seed in the state and took fourth place at the state tournament. “Oh I think the fact that, and it was true in volleyball, too that people have written us off because we lost some talent.,” said Davis. For this year’s basketball team, not only will there be a personnel change but how the Warriors execute is going to be different as well. Now that the tallest player on the team is 5’9 (Abby Whipple and Ashley Powers) the Warriors will be relying on their speed when they take the court. “We’re not 6’2,” said Davis. “We’re 5’5 and quick so there’s some obvious changes there.”

Team Perspective with Abby and Amy: On how practices are going so far: Amy Dooley: We’ve been putting in a lot of hard work and learning a lot more about some new stuff for the program. And we’re using it well. Abby Whipple: We’ve been really disciplined with our orders and following through. On how to get back to where they were last season: Abby Whipple: I think our level is going to get to be the same eventually but it’s just going to be a very different game. We’re going to be a lot faster and push the ball more than we did last year. Amy Dooley: This year it’s a longer journey to get to that experience level and that level of play that you can

Go

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s!

play up with all those bigger teams that are better and we have a longer journey and it doesn’t make it any less easy to get to. What they are excited for this season: Abby Whipple: I think I’m more excited for our underclassmen like the sophomores this year because they’re going to get a lot more playing time and a lot more experience this year. Amy Dooley: I’m excited for our defense. I think we’re really going to ramp it up and use some of the speed we have this year to push and go hard. On if they prefer volleyball or basketball more: Abby Whipple: I’m more of a basketball girl. Amy Dooley: I like air hockey, so…

Elkton High School BOYS BASKETBALL

Dec. 5

GIRLS BASKETBALL 6:00 p.m.

vs. Oakland

6:00 p.m.

vs. Triangle Lake (Elkton Tip-Off

Dec. 5

7:30 p.m.

vs. Oakland

Dec. 8 Classic)

7:30 p.m.

vs. Triangle Lake (Elkton Tip-Off

Dec. 8 Classic)

4:00 p.m.

vs. Mohawk (Elkton Tip-Off Clas-

Dec. 9 sic)

5:30 p.m.

vs. Mohawk (Elkton Tip-Off Clas-

Dec. 9 sic) Dec. 12

6:00 p.m.

vs. Riddle

Dec. 12

7:30 p.m.

TBD

vs. TBD (North Douglas Winter

TBD

vs. TBD (North Douglas Winter

vs. Riddle

Dec. 15 5:30 p.m. Invitational)

vs. Mohawk (North Douglas Winter

Dec. 15 Invitational)

Dec. 16 2:30 p.m. Douglas Winter Invitational)

vs. Cottage Grove [JV] (North

Dec. 16 Invitational)

Dec. 28 Classic)

1:00 p.m.

vs. Mohawk (McKenzie 1A Hoops

Dec. 28 Classic)

TBD

vs. TBD (McKenzie 1A Hoops

Dec. 29 Classic)

TBD

vs. TBD (McKenzie 1A Hoops

Dec. 28 Classic)

TBD

vs. TBD (McKenzie 1A Hoops

Dec. 30 Classic)

TBD

vs. TBD (McKenzie 1A Hoops

Dec. 29 Classic)

TBD

vs. TBD (McKenzie 1A Hoops

11:00 a.m.

vs. Mohawk (McKenzie 1A Hoops

Jan. 5

7:30 p.m.

vs. Powers

Dec. 30 Classic)

Jan. 6 rose Christian

7:30 p.m.

vs. Umpqua Valley Christian/Mel-

Jan. 5

6:00 p.m.

vs. Powers

6:00 p.m.

vs. Umpqua Valley Christian/Mel-

Jan. 9

7:30 p.m.

@ Yoncalla

Jan. 6 rose Christian

Jan. 12

7:30 p.m.

@ Camas Valley

Jan. 9

6:00 p.m.

@ Yoncalla

Jan. 13

6:00 p.m.

@ Days Creek

Jan. 12

6:00 p.m.

@ Camas Valley

Jan. 19

7:30 p.m.

vs. North Douglas

Jan. 13

7:30 p.m.

@ Days Creek

Jan. 20

7:30 p.m.

vs. Yoncalla

Jan. 19

6:00 p.m.

vs. North Douglas

Jan. 26 rose Christian

7:30 p.m.

@ Umpqua Valley Christian/Mel-

Jan. 20

6:00 p.m.

vs. Yoncalla

6:00 p.m.

@ Umpqua Valley Christian/Mel-

Jan. 27

7:30 p.m.

vs. New Hope Christian

Jan. 26 rose Christian

Jan. 30

7:30 p.m.

vs. Days Creek

Jan. 27

6:00 p.m.

vs. New Hope Christian

Feb. 2

7:30 p.m.

@ North Douglas

Feb. 3

7:30 p.m.

vs. Glendale

Feb. 2

6:00 p.m.

@ North Douglas

Feb. 9

7:30 p.m.

@ Pacific

Feb. 3

6:00 p.m.

vs. Glendale

Feb. 9

6:00 p.m.

@ Pacific

Jan.M 30 E SPOTLIGHT Days GAME G A SP6:00Op.m.TLIGvs.H TCreek

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Elkton Boys Basketball

Team Rundown: Elkton is not a basketball school. But with the right mindset, head coach Gary Trout believes that this team can achieve more than last season’s six-win squad. “These kids they haven’t even scratched their potential in basketball yet. And they’re a group of kids that hasn’t had a lot of success on the basketball court and to see them start to realize how good they can be it really all starts with that work ethic and establishing that kind of blue collar mentality, which these kids already have. It’s just how to apply it here and how to put it in the right direction,� said Trout. Trout notes that the kids he coaches know how to work hard. The majority play football in the fall, basketball in the winter, baseball in spring and then work in the summer. Trout

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is working to harness this mentality and to apply it to basketball. “They come from good solid families but you know, but our basketball skills are a little bit lacking. And that’s fine. But if they buy in to the blue-collar attitude, I think we’re going to be fine and the potential is unlimited,� said Trout. “If we start trying to be a bunch of NBA players, we’re going to struggle.� The personification of this hard work comes in the form of senior guard Brad Doudna. Doudna finished last season averaging a double-double in points and rebounds and was on second-team all-league. As a leader of the team, Doudna points out that its success revolves around understanding what comes first to the team. “It has to be teammates; team; myself,� he said.

Team Perspective with Jesse Abraham: On changing team attitudes: Last year we did pretty good but we still dogged on each other when we got upset and were losing and it was like that in football too. But this year in football we changed our whole mindset with everything. Everyone got along, whenever something wasn’t going right for us we tried to keep our heads up and work our way through it and that’s what we plan to do with basketball, too. Whenever someone is having a rough day or, we always keep the practice hype up. Whenever we’re going through drills we’re always, okay, let’s go boys, let’s go, get them pumped up and when someone messes up or head drops down we pick them up, immediately.

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Last year we did good but then we didn’t. We got in our heads and I think we lost the game before we even got out there. On what would make a successful season: What I think about for a good season is just we want to develop good leaders. And not just because if we leave we don’t want leaders to be bad next year, we want the previous people, from freshmen up, to have good leaders and we all want to be a family, just like football. Leadership and keeping people’s heads up and being a family change the way things go. On a teammate he is excited about: Well, we did bring a player in, that hasn’t played previous years, Trentyn, and he’s stepped up in practice without ever playing basketball. He is an amazing athlete and he has some good stuff already.

Elkton Girls Basketball

Team Rundown:

No guards; no problem. Or at least that is the hope for this year’s Elkton basketball team. After their two primary ball-handlers graduated –including Maggie Briggs who is now on the Pacific University JV team – the Elks are looking to find a new way forward but their success, they believe, is not dependent on it. “I’ve got some girls that are decent ball handlers, just not real true point guards which in our offense doesn’t really matter a whole lot,” said Rob Parker who is in his 28th year of coaching. Parker is not worried because his team utilizes a read-and-react offense that is predicated on playing without positions so the use of a traditional ball handler is non-essential. Some of his players were first introduced to the system when Parker’s wife first

taught them the style of play in fifth grade. Regardless of what offense the team runs, there is excitement on the defensive end. “Honestly, I think defense has always been our strong suit,” said senior Hannah Maxwell. “We’ve always ran a full-court press so I’m excited to see where that goes this year because we have some quick girls on our team.” The Elks will be dependent on their stingy defense again if they are going to replicate the success of last year’s 22-7 team that lost in the second round of the playoffs. While they only lost two seniors from that team, the team is returning just two starters this season and have no juniors on the roster.

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so that we can get as far as Team Perspective percent we’re able to. I mean honestly, the first couple with Hannah Maxwell practices I’m just surprised with Expectations for the season: I think last year we had a really high expectation to where we would finish because the years before, even our freshmen year, we made it to state. Sophomore year we just missed state and last year we were like, we’re doing it, this is where we’re going, we’re going to state. So I think we were just really focused on going to state last year. Goals for the season: I think for us, at least for me personally, we kind of just want to influence them to the best of our ability to be positive and to put 100 percent onto the court because we do have a really young team. It’s really hard to say where we’re going to go this year but I just want everyone to give 110

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how far we’ve made it. How well we’ve done in the first two practices. I think, and I notice that, I think everyone’s there and they want to do their best and I think that’s really going to help us at the end of the season putting in the work now. On their offense: We don’t really have an offense. If you ask Mr. Parker, his famous quote will be, technically we don’t have an offense, well we do but, we don’t actually run any set plays. It’s like a read and react offense and you just go with what the game gives you. And honestly it takes teams by surprise and I think it’s been a great advantage all of these years.

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Yoncalla High School BOYS BASKETBALL Dec. 1 4:30 p.m. gar Classic – Crow High School)

@ Eddyville Char (Tom Page Cou-

Dec. 2. 1:30 p.m. – Crow High School)

@ TBD (Tom Page Cougar Classic

Dec. 6

@ Perrydale

7:00 p.m.

Dec. 8 4:30 p.m. Riddle High School)

@ Glide (Cow Creek Tournament –

Dec. 9 11:30 a.m. Riddle High School)

@ TBD (Cow Creek Tournament –

Dec. 11

7:00 p.m.

vs. Lowell

Dec. 19

7:30 p.m.

vs. Rogue River

Dec. 20

7:30 p.m.

vs. Mapleton

Dec. 29

7:30 p.m.

@ Mapleton

Jan. 5

7:30 p.m.

@ New Hope Christian

Jan. 6

7:30 p.m.

vs. Days Creek

Jan. 9

7:30 p.m.

vs. Elkton

Jan. 12

7:30 p.m.

@ North Douglas

Jan. 13 rose Christian

7:30 p.m.

vs. Umpqua Valley Christian/Mel-

Jan. 19

7:30 p.m.

@ Glendale

Jan. 20

7:30 p.m.

@ Elkton

Jan. 26

7:30 p.m.

vs. North Douglas

Jan. 27

7:30 p.m.

@ Days Creek

Jan. 30

7:30 p.m.

@ Pacific

Feb. 2

7:30 p.m.

vs. Camas Valley

Feb. 3 rose Christian

7:30 p.m.

@ Umpqua Valley Christian/Mel-

Feb. 9

7:30 p.m.

vs. Powers

GIRLS BASKETBALL Dec. 1 6:00 p.m. Crow High School)

@ Crow (Tom Page Cougar Classic –

Dec. 2. 10:00 a.m. Crow High School)

@ TBD (Tom Page Cougar Classic –

Dec. 6

@ Perrydale

6:00 p.m.

Dec. 8 3:00 p.m. Riddle High School)

@ Glide (Cow Creek Tournament –

Dec. 9 10:00 a.m. Riddle High School)

@ TBD (Cow Creek Tournament –

Dec. 11

5:30 p.m.

vs. Lowell

Dec. 19

3:00 p.m.

vs. Rogue River

Dec. 20

6:00 p.m.

vs. Mapleton

Dec. 29

6:00 p.m.

@ Mapleton

Jan. 5

6:00 p.m.

@ New Hope Christian

Jan. 6

6:00 p.m.

vs. Days Creek

Jan. 9

6:00 p.m.

vs. Elkton

Jan. 12

6:00 p.m.

@ North Douglas

Jan. 13 Christian

6:00 p.m.

vs. Umpqua Valley Christian/Melrose

Jan. 19

6:00 p.m.

@ Glendale

Jan. 20

6:00 p.m.

@ Elkton

Jan. 26

6:00 p.m.

vs. North Douglas

Jan. 27

6:00 p.m.

@ Days Creek

Jan. 30

6:00 p.m.

@ Pacific

Feb. 2

6:00 p.m.

vs. Camas Valley

Feb. 3 Christian

6:00 p.m.

@ Umpqua Valley Christian/Melrose

Feb. 9

6:00 p.m.

vs. Powers

Yoncalla Boys Basketball

Team Rundown: High school sports generally have quiet offseasons. But this was not the case for the Yoncalla boys basketball team when an OSAA investigation into a recruiting violation began last May. After an anonymous tip, the OSAA opened an investigation for undue influence by head coach Bid Van Loon. Van Loon resigned from his post in September and the school was fined $2,500 for the incident. With an opening for head coach, the Eagles brought on Jarred Eakin. Prior to this position, Eakin was an assistant coach at Umpqua Community College and head coach for the boys team at Umpqua Valley Christian High School for one year and the girls South Umpqua High School for two years. Through those head coaching stints Eakin’s teams finished 3-66 including UVC losing to Yoncalla 100-6 in the 2015-16 season.

Despite how his teams struggled in the past, Eakin remains upbeat and is excited about this group at Yoncalla. “You can tell in a few open gyms that I had that they play basketball here. They get it. They’re doing stuff on their own that I’d have to tell other teams. Just a sense of where to be and things like that. But like any other program we’ve got stuff to iron,� he said. This season Eakin is committed to playing up-tempo with his team. He wants a constant full-court press and believes that he can get his team, that features star-athlete Ted Wickman, to the next level. “I want to win the league and get to Baker,� said Eakin. “And I had interviews on day one with the kids, one-on-ones with the kids and every single one of them said, even the JVers, we want to go to Baker.�

Have a Starring Season, CG Lions!

Team Perspective with Ted Wickman On coaching change: Me and the old coach, we had a good relationship. We were pretty close so obviously it’s a change but [Eakin] coached at UCC and UVC. The UVC years were kind of down but what he was running with those freshman it would work with a talented group of kids, they were just young. So the system he’s trying to run with us, I’m trying to have all the kids buy into. It means just not slacking off during plays. Just trying to play every play, whether it’s defense or offense, just get everyone to want to be here and give out full effort.

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The goal for the season: A run at Baker. That’s the plan. Last year, I don’t think we even made it to league playoffs and that was really disappointing so the plan is Baker. On making the team better: Our older guys are much more talented so our older guys buying into the system and getting the younger guys to want to be here. And everyone wanting to be here and give out full effort, that’s what it takes. On personal goals: Hopefully getting the other guys on the all-league team. For me, I don’t really care about what I get but hopefully some of the guys can step up and get an all-league spot.

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Team Rundown:

Yoncalla Girls Basketball

Yoncalla’s fall from the top of 1A did not happen gradually but came all at once. Since being seeded fourth at state in the 2013-14 season, the team has had three straight years of losing records and last season finished the season ranked 46th of the 62 teams in the 1A classification. But Nicolas Edera, in his first year as a head coach, is already thinking about the long term success of the team. “The expectations are not to go out there and compete and win a state championship now, but I also told [the team] that they are the stepping stones to start doing that to build the mountain. And they understand that,� said Edera. “But I tell ya, in preseason we might not win a game and I’m okay with that. They just have to trust me

and we’ll put the pieces in the right direction.� When Edera was hired for the job, there were a total of four girls signed up to play this season. After getting a few more girls interested, the roster is now up to nine and includes four freshman. Before coaching at Yoncalla, Edera was an assistant at Sutherlin, where he won three consecutive titles, and most recently was an assistant at Tacoma Community College. To get this program to the same level of a powerhouse like Sutherlin, Edera understands that the program has to first grow roots. “We’re back to basics and we can start over. We’re planning on being here quite a few years to get the elementary program started and when we get to here, then we can just plug them in when they know what to do,� said Edera.

Team Perspective Team Perspective with Shanausi Hardy with Jamie Ladd On the upcoming season: I’m looking forward to having a positive season. We haven’t had positive seasons the last couple years and just a fun season whether we win a bunch of games or not. I just want to have fun. Just having fun with each other, being friends and being a family as a team and not getting mad at each other. On what she can bring to the team: Being a good teammate. Having a good attitude all the time, doing my best, not slacking off. On what she wants to accomplish: Just possible districts. Even if it’s not state, I’m looking forward to possible districts. Then if we can go to state, that would be awesome but we’re not there yet.

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On being a senior: It feels pretty good. I’ve always been the only one from my class to ever continue to play basketball. So I’ve always been around people who are either older than me or younger than me and no one in between. I have liked this role. It makes my performance improve, I feel like. I feel like a lot of young eyes are watching me and trying to figure out what the standard is and I hope that I can display that for everybody else. On what she wants from the team: Just everybody working together as a team. We’re up as a team, we’re down as a team. If we just work harder than our opponents then we should go far this season.

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