The Main Event
SPRINGFIELD (1-0) vs. SILVERTON (0-0)
■Tipping off: The Millers are ranked No. 12 in Class 5A and the Foxes are unranked at press time. … Dec. 12, 6:45 p.m. start time at Fryback Court at Miller Pavilion, 875 7th St.
■Watch2Watch4: The Millers play host to one of their top opponents this week: the Silverton Foxes. Last season, the Millers edged out the Foxes 47-42. With the loss of Danaeja Romero-Ah Sam, this might pose to be a more difficult feat. Danaeja’s sister, Darissa, along with Ryan Kelly and Sailor Hall must rally and talk on defense. “We’re going to work on communication,” coach Joe Williamson said in preparation for the game. “We’ve got to do a better job of communicating and locating shooters because Silverton’s got good shooters; they’re everywhere.”
– McKenzie Days, The Chronicle
Boys Basketball Previews
#26 COTTAGE GROVE LIONS (0-2)
Tipping off: The Lions travel to No.8 Sweet Home on Friday on their first away game. Cottage Grove was 8-15 last season but beat Sweet Home 60-55 in their home opener. Sweet Home won only four games last year and was No.26. It started 1-1 this season. If the Lions wish to balance their current record, they’ll need Trevor Cooper whose been the leader on offense recently, scoring 20 points and 26 points in the Lions’ opening games.
#10 CRESWELL (1-0)
■ Tipping off: The Bulldogs face Santiam Christian this Thursday for their second home game of the year. Last year, the Bulldogs won 69-58 against the Eagles. The Bulldogs will once again have their home-court advantage and the strength of returning players Tyler Whitson and Darien Dewey.
#22 PLEASANT HILL BILLIES (2-1)
■ Tipping off: The Billies head to their first tournament of the year: the Dayton Invitational. The tournament can give a respite before league games begin and time to evaluate the tough schedule that coach Luke Jackson faces this year.
#23 SPRINGFIELD (0-4)
■ Tipping off: The Millers hit the road to the Centennial Tip-Off tournament this weekend. After a rough start to the season, this may be the opportunity for the Millers to get a break and reevaluate the team’s strengths. Vinnie Trinka and Jonte Arellano continue to lead the team.
#1 THURSTON (1-0)
■ Tipping off: The Colts play their home opener on Friday with the Ridgeview Ravens. Last year, the Colts did not face the Ravens, but Ridgeview went 12-13 and finished No.18 last year and the Colts went 17-8 and landed at No.12. Nate Stiffler and Noah Blair lead the Colts’ stats thus far.
Boys Basketball Recaps
■ Cottage Grove went 0-2 last week and fell to season openers Mollala and Sisters. The Indians downed the Lions 65-52 on Wednesday, followed by the Outlaws edging out the Lions 68-65 on Friday. Top performers for the Molalla game: sophomores Tai Lam with 14 points and Trevor Cooper with 13 rebounds and a total of 20 points. For Sisters, senior Josh Bruner had 17 points and Cooper had 13 rebounds and 26 points.
■ Springfield stumbled in its season-opening tournament Holiday Inn WIT last weekend and went 0-3, losing to Wilsonville (80-53), Mountain View (60-52), and McKay (61-50). Senior point guard Vinnie Trinka scored 34 points and senior Jonte Arellano scored 7 during the Wilsonville game. They then lost their home opener to Canby 71-34 on Monday and went 0-4 this week.
■ Thurston edged out the Central Panthers 54-47 last Wednesday on the road. Senior forward Nate Stiffler had 18 points, 8 rebounds (5 defensive), 2 steals, and 4 turnovers. Senior point guard Noah Blair had 11 points,7 rebounds (6 defensive), 2 assists and 1 steal, and 3 turnovers. Junior Grady Saunders had 8 points, and 7 total rebounds.
Girls Basketball Previews
#7 COTTAGE GROVE (1-1)
■ Tipping off: The Lions go to Sweet Home for their first road game of the season. Sweet Home has had a rocky start to the season at 0-2. Mariah Bailey, Abbi Hemenway, Makya Alsup and Emmy Bickford must play well for the Lions to get the upper hand on the Huskies.
#38 CRESWELL (0-1)
■ Tipping off: The Bulldogs play host to Santiam Christian in their second home game of the season. The Bulldogs haven’t seen the Eagles since February 2023, when they lost 74-51. However, coach Tyler Hollingsworth remains aware of the areas of improvement after their first home game against Marist Catholic. Look out for the play of Brooke Moehlmann, Kylie Leonard, and Elliette Kinney.
#6 PLEASANT HILL (2-1)
■ Tipping off: The Billies head to the Dayton Invitational, which would give the team a break from their killer schedule. The Billies rely upon their strong senior strength of Cheyenne Green, Claire Crawford, and Katie Dutton.
#21 THURSTON (1-1)
■ Tipping off: The Colts play host to the Ridgeview Ravens on Friday. The Ravens edged out the Colts last season 49-43. This is a rematch that returners Bridgette Nault, Gracie Nissen, and Payton Tovey are seeking.
Girls Basketball Recaps
■ Cottage Grove lost to Molalla 44-32 last Wednesday. There were several leaders for the Lions: Junior point guard Mariah Bailey with 9 points, senior wing Abbi Hemenway with 7 points, junior point guard Makya Alsup with 6 points, and junior point guard Emmy Bickford with 5 points.
■ Creswell fell to Marist Catholic 52-47 at home last Friday. Senior forward Brooke Moehlmann had 1 offensive rebound, 7 defensive rebounds, and 1 steal. Kylie Leonard had 2 offensive rebounds, 4 defensive rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 6 turnovers. Elliette Kinney had three offensive rebounds, 2 defensive rebounds, 1 assist, 7 steals, one block and 2 turnovers. Coach Tyler Hollingsworth said he hopes to work on possession and accurate shots with his team after this game. “We knew it would be a close game,” he said. “Last year, we won by two points at their court. So you talk about home advantage, but maybe we had better luck there and should’ve been there again. Even though we fought hard tonight and rallied, we missed a lot of points. We missed 15 three throws and 10 layups! That’s 35 points! We let them get the ball too. We let them get those lucky three-pointers and they got the final edge over us.”
■ Pleasant Hill went 2-1 last week against Jefferson (36-34), Western Christian (40-29), and Valley Catholic (42-30). Against the Jefferson Lions, senior forward Claire Crawford had 5 offensive rebounds, and 8 defensive rebounds with a total of 5 points; senior forward Trinity Hawkins had 3 offensive rebounds and 6 defensive rebounds with a total of 11 points. Lastly, senior guard Katie Dutton had 3 steals with 9 points. For Western Christian, Crawford had 13 rebounds and 15 points. Senior forward Cheyenne Green had 11 rebounds with 10 points. While facing the Valiants, Green had 7 rebounds, and 2 steals with 24 points and
Crawford had 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals with 12 points.
■ Thurston swept Roseburg 47-33 and then lost to Century 66-29 last Friday.
Wrestling Recaps
■ Cottage Grove boys took 10th in the Perry Burlison Classic at Cascade High School last weekend. Jayden Davis (157) won 5th place. … Cottage Grove girls grabbed 6th place at the Willie Wilkerson Memorial in Glide with Boston Kent (140) leading the team with a 3rd-place finish.
■ Creswell, Pleasant Hill, Springfield,and Thurston competed at the Kenny Cox tournament last weekend. On the the boys’ side, Thurston earned first, Creswell third, Pleasant Hill 11th, and Springfield 15th. For the girls, Thurston placed first, Creswell seventh, Springfield ninth, and Pleasant Hill 12th. Thurston boys Lukas Salas-Sanchez (106), Michael Salas-Sanchez (113), Ivan Henderson (120) Mason Hakki (126), Ethan Regas (132), Sean Regas (138), Jaxon Harada (144) Jaden Ellis (150) and Colton Annis (157) won first in their respective weight classes. On the girls’ side, Eily Asher (105), Kaylee Hadden (110), Teagan Merritt (115), Kassidy Hadden (135), Kristal Zamora (140), Izabella Castlebery (190) won first in their respective classes.
