This week’s High School Sports Zone capsules contain: weekly recaps and previews for our area schools, tidbits from around our area teams’ conferences, and this week’s results/schedules.
Recaps
VOLLEYBALL
■ Creswell started the year 1-1 after competing at the Cascade Christian HS tournament. The Bulldogs took down Westside Christian in a competitive 2-1 series before falling 2-0 to Class 4A’s Marshfield, the defending state champions.
■ Pleasant Hill had a busy first week, beating Class 5A’s Springfield 3-0 before heading to the Cascade Christian HS tournament. At the tournament the Billies handled Mazama 2-0 before falling to Class 5A preseason No. 7 Crater.
■ Thurston started its season at the Mountain View Invite. Head coach David Natt and the Colts faced off against defending Class 6A champion Sheldon and fell 2-0 and 2-1 against 6A’s South Salem. Thurston ended the day on a high note, beating host Mountain View 2-1.
GIRLS SOCCER
■ Springfield grabbed a win in its first game under new head coach Alyssa Hinojosa, beating Ridgeview 1-0. Sophomore Kenya Bautista Valencia scored the game’s only goal off an assist from Keeley Battey.
Previews
VOLLEYBALL
Cottage Grove Lions: 0-0
■ Setting up: Head coach Abby Ladd and the Lions get their season underway this week. Cottage Grove plays host to Class 3A’s South Umpqua on Thursday. A young Lions squad that has only one senior looks to get some much-needed experience on the court.
Creswell Bulldogs: 1-1, ranked #11
■ Setting up: Creswell heads to Class 2A’s Monroe on Thursday before starting league play on Tuesday at home against Harrisburg. The Bulldogs have seven seniors on the team, including returning star Kimberlee Kelsey.
Pleasant Hill Billies: 2-1, ranked #9
■ Setting up: Pleasant Hill opens league play next Tuesday at La Pine. The Billies are trying to build off a second-place finish in the Mountain Valley Conference last season, and will need stellar play from the returning captain trio of juniors Claire Crawford, Cheyenne Green, and Emily Krauss.
Springfield Millers: 0-2, ranked #8
■ Setting up: Springfield heads to two Eugene teams this week. The Millers face Willamette on Thursday and Marist next Tuesday. Keep an eye on top returners Danaeja Romero-Ah Sam, Juju Henderson, and Emily Waddell as the Millers look to get their first win.
Thurston Colts: 1-2, ranked #10
■ Setting up: Thurston continues its difficult early-season schedule against two more Class 6A teams this week. The Colts travel to Lakeridge on Thursday before hosting North Salem on Tuesday. Eight of Thurston’s players are seniors so an experienced team with a tough early season should pay dividends down the road.
Boys Soccer
Cottage Grove: 0-0
■ Kicking off: The Lions host Philomath in new head coach Jaime Urenda’s first home game on Tuesday. Cottage Grove must replace last year’s Sky-Em player of the year Aldo Rea, but luckily they return his younger brother in sophomore Emmanuel Rea.
Creswell: 0-0
■ Kicking off: Creswell heads to Sutherlin on Thursday for their first road game of the year. Head coach Brandi Wittenborn and the Bulldogs have an experienced team of 14 upperclassmen that should work well off each other this year.
Pleasant Hill: 0-0
■ Kicking off: The Billies open their season at home on Thursday against preseason No. 9 Delphian before hosting preseason No. 12 De La Salle North Catholic on Saturday. Pleasant Hill must regroup after losing Oregon’s all-time boys soccer scoring leading scorer Adrian Arellano, but six returning seniors should soften the blow.
Springfield: 0-1, ranked #5
■ Kicking off: Springfield’s big competition of the week is at home next Tuesday against preseason No. 9 Crescent Valley. The Millers lost all four captains from last year’s quarterfinal team, but tough non-league competition should give head coach Juan Gonzalez a good idea of where his team stands.
Thurston: 0-0
■ Kicking off: Thurston heads to Caldera on Friday and Silverton on Tuesday for this week’s games. Head coach Jake Bonnett is understandably excited about his team that lost only two seniors, and two road games against beatable opponents should be great early season experience for the Colts.
Girls Soccer
Cottage Grove: 0-0
■ Kicking off: The Lions head to preseason No. 7 Philomath on Tuesday for their first road game of the year. Head coach Kalli Schwehr is expecting big things from sophomore midfielder Emmerson Bickford, who should get plenty of work against one of Class 4A’s best teams.
Creswell: 0-0
■ Kicking off: Creswell starts league play right away as the Bulldogs host preseason No. 7 Sisters on Tuesday. Creswell has a unique mix of seniors and underclassmen, with only one junior in Lexi Williamson. A strong start in league will be important if Creswell wants to compete for a top-three finish in league.
Pleasant Hill: 0-0
■ Kicking off: Pleasant Hill, ranked No. 11 in the preseason coaches poll, starts league play at La Pine on Tuesday. The Billies finished third in the league last season and return many key players, including senior captain Isabel Anderson, who will anchor the team’s defense this season.
Springfield: 1-0, ranked #2
■ Kicking off: Springfield grabbed a win in head coach Alyssa Hinojosa’s debut and look to build off that this week. The Millers host preseason No. 11 Silverton on Thursday in what will be the team’s first real test of the early-season.
Thurston: 0-0
■ Kicking off: The Colts head to Caldera for their sole game of this week. Thurston has more freshmen than seniors on the roster, so head coach Benton Canaga will look to get his young team as much experience as possible.
Conference Call
Weekly tidbits from around our area teams’ conferences:
■ As the fall season gets underway, two members of Cottage Grove’s Sky-Em League start the season as defending champions.
Marshfield volleyball took home the Class 4A state championship after sweeping defending champion Cascade in the finals. Marshfield returns all of its starters from last season except one and starts this season as the clear No. 1 team in the state.
Marist Catholic also won a state title, but in girls soccer. The Spartans, ranked No. 1 going into the playoffs, routed No. 2 Hidden Valley 4-0 to grab the teams first state title. Marist lost one game all of last year and only lost three seniors, which is likely why they were overwhelmingly voted as the No. 1 team entering this season.
■ Class 5A’s Churchill, a member of the Midwestern League with Thurston and Springfield, hosts Marist Catholic on Friday to open the football season. Both teams start the year with new head coaches.
After firing new Springfield coach Frank Geske, Marist hired Charlie Landgraf, a former Oregon football player who spent the last two seasons coaching the offensive line at 6A’s Central Catholic.
Meanwhile at Churchill, Layne Coffin takes over after Kirk Miller lasted only a year for the Lancers. Coffin moves to Eugene from Idaho, where he coached two state title teams in the Idaho High School Activities Association.
RESULTS
VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Aug. 24
■ Pleasant Hill 3, Springfield 0 (25-11, 25-7, 25-12)
Friday, Aug. 25
■ Sheldon 2, Thurston 0 (25-18, 25-6)
■ South Salem 2, Thurston 1 (24-26, 25-14, 15-10)
■ Thurston 2, Mountain View 1 (25-23, 18-25, 17-15)
Saturday, Aug. 26
■ Creswell 2, Westside Christian 1 (25-21, 20-25, 18-16)
■ Marshfield 2, Creswell 0 (25-20, 25-20)
■ Pleasant Hill 2, Mazama 0 (25-15, 25-18)
■ Crater 2, Pleasant Hill 1 (21-25, 25-21, 15-13)
■ Grants Pass 2, Springfield 0 (25-20, 25-18)
BOYS SOCCER
Friday, Aug. 25
■ Ridgeview 3, Springfield 2
GIRLS SOCCER
Friday, Aug. 25
■ Springfield 1, Ridgeview 0
SCHEDULES
FOOTBALL
Friday, Sept. 1
■ Cottage Grove at Pleasant Hill,
7 p.m.
■ Taft at Creswell, 7 p.m.
■ Springfield at Ridgeview, 7 p.m.
■ Thurston at Wilsonville, 7 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Aug. 31
■ Creswell at Monroe, 6 p.m.
■ South Umpqua at Cottage Grove, 6:30 p.m.
■ Thurston at Lakeridge, 6:30 p.m.
■ Springfield at Willamette,
6:45 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 5
■ Molalla at Cottage Grove, 6 p.m.
■ Harrisburg at Creswell, 6:30 p.m.
■ Pleasant Hill at La Pine, 6:30 p.m.
■ Springfield at Marist, 6:45 p.m.
■ North Salem at Thurston,
6:45 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 7
■ Cottage Grove at Hidden Valley, 6:30 p.m.
Creswell at Pleasant Hill, 6:30 p.m.
Ashland at Thurston, 6:45 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Thursday, Aug. 31
■ Delphian / Willamina at Pleasant Hill, 2 p.m.
■ Creswell at Sutherlin, 6 p.m.
■ Silverton at Springfield, 6 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 1
■ Thurston at Caldera, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 2
■ De La Salle North Catholic at Pleasant Hill, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 5
■ Philomath at Cottage Grove,
6 p.m.
■ Crescent Valley at Springfield,
6 p.m.
■ Thurston at Silverton, 7:15 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 7
■ Creswell at South Umpqua,
4:30 p.m.
■ Taft at Pleasant Hill, 4:30 p.m.
■ Stayton at Cottage Grove, 6 p.m.
■ Marist at Springfield, 6 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Thursday, Aug. 31
■ Silverton at Springfield, 4 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 1
■ Thurston at Caldera, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 5
■ Sisters at Creswell, 4:30 p.m.
■ Pleasant Hill at La Pine, 4:30 p.m.
■ Cottage Grove at Philomath,
6 p.m.
■ Springfield at Crescent Valley, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 7
■ Silverton at Thurston, 4 p.m.
■ Siuslaw at Creswell, 4:30 p.m.
■ Cottage Grove at Stayton, 6 p.m.
■ Sisters at Pleasant Hill, 6 p.m.
■ Springfield at Marist, 6:30 p.m.
CROSS COUNTRY
Saturday, Sept. 2
■ Cottage Grove, Thurston at Ultimook Race (Tillamook),
8:15 a.m.
■ Springfield at Marist Invite,
11:15 a.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 6
■ Creswell at Umpqua Opener (Roseburg), 4 p.m.
