Short-Handed Napavine Clips Toledo

Napavine's Stephanee Stedham slams the ball down on Toledo on Monday evening.

While missing three of its starting players, A Napavine volleyball team with three freshemen seeing a lot of action fought, scratched and clawed to a hard fought 22-25, 25-19, 28-26, 18-25, 15-9 victory over neighboring Toledo in a non-league match Monday evening.

Toledo's Vanessa Reich had power and cleverness, but at times was innaccurate with her "kills".

"There were moments when there was a spark tonight" said Tiger Coach Monica Daily who has been waiting for full development of her team.

Sophomore McKenna Hoyt contributed 10 kills and six blocks for the Tigers while Aimee Gerard had five blocks, three kills and perfect serving.

For Toledo, Holly Durham totaled 20 assists while Vanessa Reich added 10 kills and 15assists. Haylee Ashley had four blocks and three kills.

Stephanie Styger of Napavine hits the floor to defend a "kill" by Toledo.

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Other Volleyball Scores from Monday

Adna over South Bend 25-18, 25-14, 20-25, 22-25, 15-10

Area High Schools Enter the Field of Play this Week

The Toledo Cheer Squad pulls out the tradional banner during a football game in 2008.

With the beginning of school, also starts a season where coaches start sorting out the damage done by graduation on the field of play. While the first football games started last Friday, Volleyball, Soccer and Cross Country all start this week and next in our local high schools.

While Napavine dominated the local sports scene with powerful football (state champions), basketball and baseball (3rd place in state) teams, it looks like an exciting year for Onalaska with many exciting athletes returning to all sports.

The Napavine Football team is well positioned to make another run at state under the leadership of Head Coach Josh Fey.

In football, the Tigers won the 2B state championship in 2008 with a unit that developed as a smooth, effective operation through the season. They replace a few athletes, but return most of their skill players. Onalaska has perhaps the most exciting athlete in the area in Dalton Richey. With a couple of receivers developing, Onalaska could dominate the local 1A scene. Winlock takes on a dark-horse status after a two-win season with a young team barely affected by graduation and a couple of new athletes added to the campus. Toledo returns one of the best passers in the person of Andrew Blair, to grace area football fields in recent history. Expect the Indians to play total team ball and compete for a spot to state. Toutle Lake may be in a rebuilding year after graduating many great athletes, but expect Castle Rock to field a solid team despite the loss the great Zach Gehring and Kyle Karnofski among many others.

Onalaska Volleyball Coach Susan Gordon has a bevy of returning talent in the Lady Logger athletic program.

The Lady Loggers look to compete very well with Toledo on the Volleyball court as both schools bring back athletes and coaches in very proud programs. Other volleyball programs to watch include 2008 State Runner-up Castle Rock. Even with the graduation of five seniors off the 2008 team, the pipeline of talent will continue.

Olanlaska takes pride in not only its ability to field a competetive team, but host large meets like this one last fall.

Onalaska Cross Country will also bring back huge numbers of harriers to compete at the district level.

Rock-On and Castle Rock split two classic battles in 2008. Rock-On went on to State, could 2009 be the year for a rapidly developing CR program?

Count on three very good soccer programs from Castle Rock, Rock-On (a combined group from Onalaska and Napavine) and Toledo-Winlock United to battle for local supremacy.

Yes, it is that time of year; Entire communities come out to support their local student-athletes on the field of play and old rivalries are renewed with a new generation of athletes and fans.

Area Fastpitch back for Another Year of Domination

Last Spring just like baseball, District 4 fastpitch dominated the bracket with three out of the top four finishers. It was Montesano that defeated Castle Rock 3-0 in the final. Montesano had to climb over La Center in the semi-finals and Onalaska had a first round win.

Onalaska's Amber Durand slaps at a pitch during last spring's District playoffs.

In fast pitch, most coaches will tell you it is all about pitching and the Lady Bulldogs have it. They bring back to pitchers from last years team. Mikayla Shumate and Devyn Baker that were 1st team all Evergreen. La Center returns Natasha Moore as well as Trico League first-teamers Mariah Dawson and Brooke Gaston.

Castle Rock has to be considered a favorite with the number of returning players. While they graduated Samantha Watkins, they return all but two of their all-district players from a team that went to the state championship.

Onalaska has big shoes to fill on the mound with the departure of Kaylie Stanley, but remember the plethora of athletes available to make the Loggers competitive. Kalie Ritchey, Amber Durand, and Sophomore Hailey Givens all return with Givens probably laying claim to a specific role rather than a utility position this season.

Toledo's Alyssa Gallow brings sure solid pitching to her team.

Toledo will bring back Hillary Roeder, Jolaina Crawford and Evergreen League 2nd team pitcher Alyssa Gallow for her senior year

Onalaska Wins District 4 1A Championship in the 4th Quarter

The Onalaska girls hold up the District IV trophy after a 55-30 victory over Toledo on Saturday night.

There is something about the number four that is working for the Onlalaska Lady Loggers of late. The fourth seed from the Evergreen Conference have earned improbable wins in the last four games with two wins over league champion Toledo, one over Trico League champion La Center and one over nemesis Rainier.

On Saturday night, the Loggers polished off Toledo for the second time inside of the last four weeks with a 25-6 4th quarter to win the SWWA 1A District Championship going away 55-38.

The Loggers have been very special lately; Making great comebacks and picking themselves up after falling on their face early in each game.

Saturday night was no exception as The Lady Indians were up by six points late in the second quarter after making a methodical 10-0 run and seemed on the verge of stomping any thoughts of another Ony upset.

Onalaska's Hailey Givens (#3 left) and Mandy Reynoldson (#23 right) double team Toledo's Haley Hellem.

“That was our talk at halftime when we were down 25-20,” said Logger Head Coach Doug Ashmore. “I told them that we needed to stay calm and play our game”. He then allowed the girls to suggest what they need to do and they suggested running their patented full-court press against one of the quickest teams in the District.

“Can you handle (the physicality) it” he asked them. His team’s reply was an emphatic yes.

“I listen to my girls and they knew what we needed to do, they know how to run our system. They did what they needed to do,” he continued as he watched his girls cutting down the nets.

The Lady Loggers outscored Toledo in the 3rd quarter to narrow the gap to 32-30 and in the 4th, the Toledo wheels came off.

With both teams consistently pressing, loose balls were the rule of the day. Here players from both teams scramble for the advantage of possessing the ball.

Indian sharpshooter Tiffany Tornow gathered in 6 points by bombing a three in both the 1st and 2 quarters. Largely though, Logger defender Samantha Gordon was tasked with keeping the lid on the Evergreen MVP candidate and she was very effective. Tornow’s last basket came with 5:32 to go in the 4th . She finished with just 8 points.

Meanwhile, Onalaska’s Amber Durand was everywhere. She hit four treys in the first quarter, but was largely shut down in the second as Toledo made a serious run. With 12 seconds to go in the 3rd, she began a personal tear that lasted three minutes into the 4th as she personally outscored the Indians 11-4. Meanwhile, Ony went on an 18-4 run until Toledo scored their last basket with 3:20 left in the game to bring the score to 46-38 in favor of the Loggers.

Durand completed the game with 29 points and the Loggers finished the game on a 9-0 run.

Mandy Reynoldson and and Kalie Richey finished with nine points a piece for Ony. Toledo had balanced scoring with Tornow at 8, Haley Hellem and Cadi Zion both at 7 points each.

Toledo held a huge advantage in rebounding, Haley Hellem the games leading rebounder at 9 grabs.



Both teams are headed to state this week, but Onalaska won't be the 4th seed from District 4 and may carry the title of the hottest team to enter the tournament.

Loggers 55 Indians 38

ONALASKA (55) Amber Durand 29, Mandy Reynoldson 9, Kalie Ritchey 9, Hailey Givens 4, Samantha Gordon 4, Sarah Barnes 0, Erin Wrzesinski 0, Regan Givens 0, Amie Working 0.

TOLEDO (38) Tiffany Tornow 8, Haley Hellem 7, Candi Zion 7, Ashlee Coffey 5, Brianna Vowtow 5, Brittany Hope 4, Lia Lucas 2, Sara Buswell 0, Lacey Scott 0, Nicole Ewers 0, Kelsey Stone 0.

Onalaska 14 6 10 25-55
Toledo 11 14 7 6-38

A Reporter's View of Local Success

Sometimes we take so much pride in our work, that we live vicariously through it. Such is the case for me this week. I watched the success of the six schools that I cover on for my local newspaper and I beamed with pride. So far, four of the schools that are on my beat (Castle Rock, Toledo, Onalaska and Winlock) have qualified teams for the 1A and 2B State Tournament. Two schools, Napavine and Toutle Lake are just one away. Napavine is almost certain to qualify their unbeaten and #1 ranked girls. The Napavine or Toutle Lake boys will get at least one of their teams into the elite 2B tournament in Spokane because their next game is against each other. The loser will be forced to play a “loser-out” game for one of the final spots in the state tournament. This week, I am in heaven as my local teams celebrate their success and I take pride in their success.

After all, it is my job, to support my local schools and their athletic teams. It is a professional responsibility!

Toutle Lake

Coach Larry Hoff meets with his team during a time out early this season.

The Toutle Lake girls scored a first round victory 39-29 over Naselle as Christian Carlson
scored 11 of her 19 points in the 2nd quarter to keep the Lady Ducks in the game. Their defense stepped up and held Naselle to just 9 points in the second half. Meanwhile the Lady Ducks erupted for 25. On Thurs. the Lady Ducks took on the top seed from the Pacific League and dealt them a 46-25 loss. The Ducks went on a 30 to 8 run during the middle quarters. Carlson scored 13 points while Kiana Saluni produced nine. The Lady Ducks are one win away from a state birth. The Toutle Lake girls will face North Beach on Wednesday, February 25th at 5:30pm at W.F. West.

The Toutle Lake boys feature (top left) Dan Schilter (#42), Chris Foster (#24), Jeff Campbell (#32), Brian Nash (#22), Cody O' Connor (#5),
Tyler Elam (#20), Michael Chambers (#1), Zack Hayes (#10), Sage Chapman (#4 not currently with the team, Matt Toney (#2) not pictured Connor Vickaryous and Anthony Heintzman.

The Duck boys survived their first game in the 2B tournament when Tyler Elam hit a last second shot to force overtime with South Bend. Chris Foster exploded for 7 points in the overtime to propel the Ducks to a 50-42 win. On Wednesday, Foster scored 23 of his teams’ 38 points as the Ducks held the tempo in a 38-34 defeat of Adna. The Pirates led by as much as 16 in the 3rd quarter, but the Ducks are developing a reputation for engineering comebacks. The Ducks need just one win for a trip to state but they face Napavine at 6:30pm on Tuesday at W.F. West in Chehalis.

Napavine



The Napavine boys are playing well with a big win over Willapa Valley on Monday and then followed up with an overtime victory against Pacific League #1 seed Naselle. In the opening round , Blake Anthony, Jordan Brown, Justin Smith and Devin Carroll all scored in double figures as they mauled Willapa Valley 69-31. On Wed. it was Blake Anthony that nailed a 3 pointer as time expired as the Tiger overcame the number one seed Naselle. Anthony had 31 points in the game. The boys can punch their ticket to state with one more victory. They face Toutle Lake on Tuesday at 6:30pm at W.F. West.



Thus far, the Napavine girls have not been challenged in the 2B regional tournament. They handled Wahkiakum 51-31 on Thursday. The Tigers highlighted balanced scoring as Ali Brossard, Kristin Lantau and Nicole Hamre, all scored 10 points. Two other players scored 8. The Lady Tigers can earn a trip to state with one more win this week. Napavine will face White Pass at 8:00pm on Wednesday, February 25th at W.F. West in Chehalis.


Onalaska

Samantha Gordon is a floor leader for the state tournament bound Lady Loggers.

The Onalaska girls are perhaps the team playing the best basketball. Amber Durand had a huge night as she led all scorers with 29 points and seven rebounds in an outstanding victory over the Trico League Champion La Center 58-41. Sam Gordon added 10 assists, and six rebounds. On Sat. the Lady Loggers defeated Rainier, a team that had beat them twice before, to earn a trip to the state tournament and a third match against rival Toledo at 8:00pm at Kelso High School on Saturday, February 28th for the District Championship.

Highly respected Coach Dennis Bowers has a talented group of young athletes.

The Onalaska boys continued their winning ways in the SWWA 1A Tournament by defeating Ilwaco 57-38 on Wednesday night. Cody Naillon led the Loggers with 18 points, but a close game became more distant thanks to the defense of Eric Messal and Dalton Ritchey in the 4th quarter. In that eight minute period, the Loggers outscored the Fishermen 24-7.
On Friday night, the Loggers met Castle Rock and suffered their 3rd loss, of the season to one of the hottest teams in the region. Dalton Richey scored 12 points in the 53-41 defeat.

Winlock

Coach Gary Viggers Sr. is in his 11th and final year of coaching at Winlock.

The Winlock boys escaped their 1st round District 4 Tournament game with a 31-28 win over a very clever Kalama team. The Chinooks slowed the pace of the game and hit key shots. Tyler Hertz scored 10 points while Jake Brown added 13 on several assists from Hertz. Stevenson awaited them on Friday evening, but the Cardinals were up to the challenge as they sent the Bulldogs to a 63-46 defeat and earned a trip to the state tournament in Yakima. Jordan Davis led the team with 23 while Jake Brown added 18 points. Both Davis and Brown were the beneficiaries of nine assists by Tyler Hertz.

Castle Rock

Big 6'5" Zack Gehring anchors an offense that features several sharpshooters on the outside.

The Rocket boys drew a SWWA 1A tournament match with Montesano and handled them easily 57-42. Zack Gehring led the Rockets with 18 points and 8 rebounds. On Friday, Castle Rock met up with highly touted Onalaska in the 2nd round of the tournament. Excellent defense and balanced offense amounted to a 53-41 victory over the Loggers. Kyle Karnofski led the Rockets with 11 points, but five other players scored at least 6 points. Castle Rock earned a state birth tournament and will meet Winlock for the district championship on Friday, February 27th at W.F. West in Chehalis.

Toledo

Toledo Head Coach Mandy Olson has her girls playing tenacious defense and taking advantage of every mistake.

The Toledo girls survived a first round match with district rival Forks with a 42-33 win. Kelsy Stone hit a late 3 pointer that went a long way to sealing the victory. On Saturday night, The Lady Indians played wicked defense while Tiffany Tornow nearly had a record breaking night when she buried eight three pointers and amassed 27 points in an 82-47 win over Ilwaco. Candi Zion added 21 points in the victory that gave them a pass to the state tournament. The Lady Indians will face Onalaska at 8:00pm at Kelso High School on Saturday, February 28th for the District Championship.

Toledo Blows By Ilwaco in 2nd Round

Everything Ilwaco did was was contested by the Lady Indians as Toledo crushed the Fishermen 82-47.

Speed and defense, It can make a good team great and that is how the Lady Indians of Toledo looked on Saturday night as they ran all over Ilwaco 82-47 in the second round of the SWWA 1A Girls Tournament on Saturday night at Mark Morris High School in Longview.

Ilwaco's Cameo Ulbricht receives an inbounds pass as Toledo enforces 90 feet of defense. Behind Ulbricht Haley Hellem (#14)and Tiffany Tornow (#12) are set for the assult.

Tiffany Tornow exploded for 27 points as she shot lights-out from beyond the arc and Candi Zion finished with 21 points. Most of Zion’s contributions were the result of transition baskets off of Toledo’s incredible number of steals or second attempts on offensive rebounds.

Candi Zion (#30) shoots an eight-footer over Ilwaco's Ashley Tapio (#44).

Until halftime, Toledo would run and Ilwaco would surge back. With 2:39 to go before the intermission, Kady Kirby hit a shot to bring the Fishermen to within four at 32-28. Earlier in the 2nd quarter, Ilwaco went on a 7-0 run when Ashley Tapio had a nice put-back, Vallori Crowston scored then Aimee Banuet busted a memorable three that banked in as the shot clock buzzer sounded.

A physical game amounted to 47 total fouls and 39 free throws in the first half alone. Both teams were in the double bonus early in the 2nd quarter.

Despite sickness, Toledo's Ashley Coffey (#44 in white) checks her Ilwaco counterpart Ashley Tapio (#44).

The Lady Indians finished the half on an 8-1 run with Zion hitting 3-4 free throws and then converting two transition buckets in the last 40 seconds. Toledo took an 11 point advantage into the halftime locker room.

In the 3rd quarter, Tornow went off, threatening the tournament record for the number of threes made by a team. In all she hit eight, five of which came in a six minute period in the 3rd quarter and was some of the fuel to allow a 16-0 Toledo run.

Tiffany Tornow (#12) was in a familiar pose as she hit 8 three-pointers in the game against Ilwaco on Saturday night.

It was Toledo’s patented full-court defense that rattled Ilwaco into submission as ball after ball found its way into the hands of the Lady Indians and would more often than not, result in points on a transition. Even after missed baskets, the Toledo transition game was always in effect. The shot clock was never a threat.

Ilwaco now plays familiar foe La Center in a loser-out game on Thursday while Toledo looks to face rival Onalaska for the District Championship on Saturday, February 28th.

Ilwaco (47) Karly Kitzman 16, Amy Banuet 5, Elleigh Kaino 0, Cameo Ulbricht 3, Vallori Crowston 6, Alexa Wirkkala 5, Kady Kirby o, Erin Kelly 0, Marin McDonnell 1, Sydney Ward 3, Kenzi Wirkkala 2, Ashley Tapio 7
Toledo (82) Kelsey Stone 7, Tiffany Tornow 27, Haley Hellem 14, Lacey Scott 2, Nicole Ewers 2, Sara Buswell 3, Candi Zion 21, Brittany Hope 2, Lia Lucas 2, Brianna Votaw 6, Ashley Coffey 2

Ilwaco 11 17 8 9-47
Toledo 18 22 27 15-82

Last Second Shot Propels Lady Cards Over Toledo

I told you the Evergreen Conference was going to be a minefield.

Winlock Senior post Tasha Sayers hit a three pointer with 3.4 seconds to go to give Winlock a 52-50 upset of Toledo this evening.

Toledo led throughout the game, but Winlock climbed slowy back from a double-digit deficit beginning in the 3rd quarter.

Toledo Contains Onalaska in Overtime Thriller

Toledo's Candi Zion (#30) of Toledo takes a shot over two Onalaska players Tuesday night.

It's the loneliest place in the gym and Onalaska Senior Guard Mandy Reynoldson stood there. The Lady Loggers were down by two points with 11.6 seconds left in regulation with Reynoldson at the line for two free throws. “I was nervous, but I just focused and tried to shut out the crowd noise” she said. She calmly sank both free throws at the end of regulation in a 1A Girls Evergreen League game between Onalaska and Toledo. The Lady Indians came back in the overtime to capture a hard fought, 48-44 victory.

It was Tiffany Tornow though that struck the first and most striking blow a minute into the overtime. She hit a three-pointer and then sank one of two free throws 16 seconds later. Brittany Hope was fouled on the ensuing rebound and she hit two free throws to extend the Toledo lead to 43-37. Baskets by Reynoldson and Amber Durand brought the Loggers back to within two at 43-41. With 1:01 left, Candi Zion was fouled and hit one of two free throws. The Loggers cashed in on the next possession as Hailey Givens was fouled and made two free throws drawing the score to 44-43. Toledo’s next possession ended with a Candi Zion jumper that led to a 46-43 lead. When Givens was fouled again with 4.5 seconds left, she missed the first and converted the second. In an attempt to stop the clock, Brittany Hope was fouled and she stepped up to the line and drained the last two shots of the night.

Few could have foreseen the dramatic ending when the Lady Indians took an 11-2 lead after the first quarter. The Loggers seemed to miss everything. Later in the game, they improved their field goal percentage to a paltry 25%.

Unhappiness seem to be the tone early.

“We didn’t play very smart tonight,” said Toledo Head Coach Mandie Olson. “I don’t know if that was contributed by their athleticism. We came out very hard and then we lapsed. I felt like we were playing at a seven or eight and then we dropped to a four,” Olson continued.

Onalaska came alive in the second quarter, taking advantage of Toledo fouls and converting six free throws from a variety of Lady Loggers and two three pointers by Amber Durand but Toledo took a 18-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Despite tough defense by Toledo's Tiffany Tornow, Onalaska's Amber Durand (#25) finished the game with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals. She played all 36 minutes of the game.


1:38 into the 4th quarter found Onalaska leading for the first time when Durand put in two more of her 18 points. The two teams then proceeded exchange the lead 5 times. With 1:26 to go Haley Hellem drove the lane successfully for two points a 37-35 Toledo lead.

“They are quick and they are athletic, and we could have pressed earlier, but we were more concerned with Durand then we were with the rest of the kids,” continued Olson. “That was our focus tonight to try and limit her touches of the ball. I think Tiffany Tornow did a good job on her.”

Toledo's Haley Hellem (#14) drives along the baseline during Tuesday's game against Onalaska. Hellem finished with 9 points, and 4 rebounds.

Candi Zion quietly accumulated 12 points but four other Lady Indians accumulated 6 or more points including Hellem and Tornow who both had 9 points each. Onalaska out rebounded Toledo 44 to 35 with Hailey Givens grabbing 10 and Durand 9. Above all, there was a striking difference in mistakes with Toledo forcing 32 Onalaska turnovers even though they rarely extended their defense.

“We decided not to go into a trap because they were so quick and athletic,” said Toledo Senior Post Ashley Coffey. When the Indians did employ a full court trap in the 4th quarter, the pace of the game sped up, but neither team seemed to grab an advantage.

Toledo is now 5-1 in conference play (9-2 overall) and will host Winlock on Thursday. Onalaska 3-3 (6-5) will play Montesano at home on Thursday.

ONALASKA-Amber Durand 18, Kalie Ritchey 9, Mandy Reynoldson 7, Samantha Gordon 7, Hailey Givens 3, Sarah Barnes 0, Erin Wrzesinski 0, Regan Givens 0, Amie Working

TOLEDO-Candi Zion 12, Haley Hellem 9, Tiffany Tornow 9, Kelsey Stone 8, Brittany Hope 6, Ashley Coffey 2, Sara Buswell 2, Nicole Ewers 0, Lia Lucas 0, Lacey Scott 0, Brianna Votaw 0

Onalaska 2 12 8 15 7-44
Toledo 11 7 5 14 11-48

With Onalaska and Toledo, Anything can Happen

Onalaska at Toledo (Girls)

The Lady Loggers visit Toledo today. Onalaska certainly takes the role of an underdog, but there is a lot of history between these two schools and only a fool would count out either one. Onalaska is 6-4 but has lost 3 of their last 6 against tough Evergreen competition. Toledo dropped their first game to Forks last week and will probably be very focused on a tough, physical Ony team.
Tiffany Tornow carries the banner for the Lady Indians, but in recent weeks Lea Lucas has been hitting double figures on a regular basis. Don’t forget about the supporting cast that includes Candi Zion and Ashley Coffey.

Ashley Coffey is a strong rebounder for Toledo.

For Onalaska, Amber Durand covers the post area and scores from the inside while Samantha Gordon and Kaley Ritchey score well from the outside. Mandy Reynoldson plays tough defense on the opponents ball handler.

Kaley Richey (#15) has a good outside shooting resume for the Lady Loggers.

Forks Girls Takes a Big Step with Home Defeat of Toledo

As I have been watching the scores come in, only one really surprised....no, let's say shocked me. Forks jumped out to a 16-4 lead early in the game and never had to look back. No disrespect to the folks at Forks, but the 61-49 victory over Toledo caught me off guard. I still will change nothing about what I have said about Toledo, but now the Lady Spartans climbs higher in regard to the Girls Evergreen power teams. For the time being, Forks sits atop of the league with a perfect 4-0 league record, there is a lot of miles to travel between now and the end of the season, literally. They have shown that they can play tough on the road with a solid 50-41 win at Onalaska. Will they be able to go to Rainier, Winlock and Toledo and get road wins while still taking care of business with the rest of the league?

Victories and Losses of Note

Victories of Note

Prairie 54 Union 28

In what looked like a 1-2 match-up in the 3A Girl's Greater St. Helens Conference, the Prairie Girls dispatched what appears to be their closest competition with a 26 point drubbing.


Napavine 59 Pe Ell 38

The Napavine girls just keep on winning! They are 8-0 and 6-0 in the tough Central 2B League.

Kalama 69 Ilwaco 56

Robby Sanders continued his torrid ways with a 22 point effort Tuesday night as Kalama took another step towards the Trico League lead. Mark Pollock scored 24 and while Brandon Walker had 8 assists with 12 points from the point position. Kalama continues to impress.

Stevenson 68 Castle Rock 47

Stevenson made the most of a home game and dealt a serious blow to Castle Rock. Stevenson and Ilwaco are now the ones to watch for 2nd in the Boy's Trico.

Toledo 80 Rochester 34

Toledo is now 8-1 and what is more surprising is that Tiffany Tornow put up her usual numbers but Candi Zion scored just 6 points. Several unheralded names like Brittany Hope, and Lia Lucas put up double digits.

La Center 57 White Salmon 25

The La Center girls have just quietly won. That now sets up a great match-up with Castle Rock on Friday.

Losses of Note

Black Hills 59 Centralia 48

In my continuing crusade that says you can’t rank them without watching them in person. My economic stimulus plan would have more prep reporters in the stands actually watching games.

This goes under the heading of "the experts know nothing". Centralia, unbeaten and ranked 5th in the state were taken to the woodshed by 2-6 Black Hills. The Tacoma News Tribune had Centralia ranked 5th this week, but a pair of eyes would reveal that Centralia's unbeaten streak was the result of little competition not superior play and talent by the Tigers. In a pre-season jamboree, 1A Winlock put 27-14 licking on them in a quarter of play. Now, how does that match-up with 9th ranked River Ridge look on Friday?

A Mid-Season Look at the District IV 1A and 2B Favorites

Now that we are beginning the league Season, some stories are starting to write themselves. One of my favorites (Napavine Boys) has an uphill climb while two others are standing tall. The excitement is just beginning so put on your seat belts and get read for a wild ride in the various District IV leagues.

Follow these links for discussion about the Evergreen Boys 1A and the Trico 1A. Castle Rock had a key victory over Ridgefield to confuse the discussion, but the return of Kalama’s Brandon Walker still gives the Chinooks the advantage.

Central 2B Boys

Napavine is smarting from two losses this week that shows the depth of the Central 2B Boys. Mossyrock applied a box and one defense to essentially deny Napavine’s Blake Anthony the ball. It worked and Mossyrock ran away with the home victory. On Saturday night, Toutle Lake’s starless team had too many weapons for the Tigers to overcome. With Mossyrock’s 47-44 home victory over Toutle Lake in their pocket, the 2B Central is theirs to lose. The caveat of course is that they must visit both Toutle Lake and Napavine later in the season. Great for my upcoming calendar!

Pacific 2B Boys

Naselle took the first big opportunity and cashed it in with a 60-57 victory over South Bend last week. They are unbeaten in conference and their lone loss comes to a larger (756 student, a 2A Washington equivalent) Astoria, Oregon school. South Bend will host Naselle again on February 3rd. Their only other loss was to thus far undefeated 1A Onalaska.

Central 2B Girls

The Napavine girls made a big statement this week by defeating Mossyrock at the Lady Viking’s gym. Those two teams look like the class of the Central 2B with Wahkiakum and Adna lurking in the distance. Mossyrock will travel to Adna this week, but mark February 9th on you calendar if you like high quality girls basketball as the Vikings visit Napavine.

Remember that Mossyrock and Napavine both fit well in with the areas best 1A schools in the area. Both Mossyrock and Napavine already have victories over Onalaska.

Pacific 2B Girls

To be honest, the Girls on the coast are going to have a tough time matching up with the big four of the Central . Raymond has played the toughest schedule of all, sampling the best basketball teams of the area. They lost to both Onalaska and Toledo, but defeated a tough Rainier team at the Napavine 1A/2B Challenge and Northwest Christian. Northwest Christian of Lacey is 7-2 and has been less than dominant. They split with Pe Ell in a home and home series and defeated South Bend. Of course one of their two losses was to Raymond. North Beach looks like a distant third in this division.

Evergreen 1A Girls

The Evergreen 1A girls heart is in Toledo. The Lady Indians put themselves in the driver’s seat with a big win over Winlock in late December and then a hard fought win over Rainier last week. In this league, it is never easy, but Toledo is making it look that way. In second is Onalaska which faces Toledo on January 20th. The Lady Loggers have two non-league losses to neighboring Napavine and Mossyrock from the 2B Central. They took care of Winlock this week, but Montesano, Rainier and Forks are all solid opponents in a very competitive league.

Trico 1A Girls

La Center appears to be the class of the Trico with big wins over 2A Washougal and large margins of victory most of the time. The Lady Rocket of Castle Rock has a similar resume with wins of Rochester and Knappa of Oregon. La Center and Castle Rock will meet for the first time on January 27th. Ilwaco’s One loss to impressive 2B Raymond also makes them look like a contender. Ilwaco will visit Castle Rock this Friday to clear up that picture a little.

My Early Season All-Stars

Call it my own early season All-Star team, but after having observed a few teams this year, there are a number of ball players that have been striking.

First of all, I can’t help but have my share of bias. I was a “true” point guard and love to watch a good #1 at work. Second, I have been to six of eight Winlock games and there is a good probability that I won’t miss another.

Having that, here are some of the players on my All-Star team at this young point in the season.

Point Guards

Brandon Walker, Kalama
Robby Sanders, Kalama
Tyler Hertz, Winlock
Mason Keller, Napavine

Wings
Blake Anthony, Napavine
Jordan Davis, Winlock
Nathan Booth, Winlock
David Wallace, Toledo

Post
Jake Brown, Winlock
Zack Gehring, Castle Rock

Honorable Mention
Jeff Campbell, Toutle Lake
Sage Chapman, Toutle Lake
Dustin Hamilton, Castle Rock
Cody O’Connor, Toutle Lake

Top Defenders
D.J. Herbert, Toledo
Matt Waltenberg, Napavine