IF I GO THERE WILL BE TROUBLE

That's why they get paid the big bucks.

OK, so a high school football coach actually makes about 50 cents an hour when you factor in all of the time put in for little money, but you understand the cliche. Both Astoria and Y-C coaches had to make a headspinning array of decisions in Friday night's game. Some worked, some did not.

It started with the coin toss. Astoria won, but instead of the usual deferral, they opted to kick with the wind at their backs to start the game, which paid quick dividends after a deep kick, a three and out possession for Y-C and a punt into the wind. Good field position, a quick score and positive momentum at the start of the game.

Y-C had the choice at halftime and elected to have the wind at their backs in the fourth quarter, when they were able to score a pair of TD's. However, an earlier decision left them one two many touchdowns in the hole as their comeback fell short in a 24-19 loss.

I never played or coached the game, so all the knowledge I've picked up has been from watching and listening closely. You put me on the field to run a practice or devise a game-plan and I'll be as lost as Paris Hilton's virginity.

Yet, I found myself questioning decisions on the air more in Friday night's game than just about any other I can remember. It's not so much that Coach Rub and Coach Boschma didn't know what they were doing, they were just forced into positions repeatedly that left them open for second-guessing.

I'm sure there were plenty of Monday morning quarterbacks in Yamhill County this morning wondering what Boschma was thinking when he opted to go for it on 4th and a long 1 from his own 29 yard line early in the second half, with his team down 17-6. We were dumbfounded Friday night when it happened and as of this writing Monday afternoon, I still wouldn't have done it. But, there were certainly factors that played a part. Their punter averaged only 25 yards on three kicks in the game and was facing a stiff wind. Later in the game, Astoria punted into the wind and only netted 9 yards. The Fishermen have dangerous return men and Y-C tried to kick away from them all night. To do that would have lessened the chance of a long punt even more. Factor in the potential for a block as Astoria has gotten a couple this year and come close to several others. Boschma has shown that he is not afraid to take risks. A fake punt from their own end of the field prolonged their first scoring drive. They also ran a fake punt successfully from deep in their own end in last year's game. And Boschma obviously has confidence in his experienced linemen to be able to move the chains on short yardage situations. A 225-pound battering ram fullback named Kyle Bansen had moved Astoria's entire front five-plus yards down the field after contact on a couple of earlier dives. But, they didn't get the ball to Bansen, nor did they get the ball to their 1000-yard running back Willie Webb. Their QB took the snap, tap danced behind the line and was tackled for no gain. Astoria scored shortly thereafter and that touchdown proved to be the difference in the game.

Astoria didn't exactly play conservatively in this game either. Leading 10-6 with 20 seconds left in the first half, the Fishermen got the ball on a turnover on downs at their own 37 yard line. Going into the wind, the safe option would have been to run the ball into the line or take a knee and get the heck out of Dodge. Instead, Jordan Poyer nearly threw an interception, Hans Lund got tackled five yards behind the line on a shuffle pass and Poyer got his world rocked by Y-C lineman Collin Pickerill on an outside run.

Later, Rub took a play out of the Boschma book. Again facing the wind, Astoria went for it on 4th and 2 from their own 39 yard line, clinging to a 5-point lead with more than six minutes left in the game. This gamble happened to work, as Poyer got to the left sideline on a naked bootleg and picked up 16 yards, allowing Astoria to run more valuable time off the clock. The Fishermen were able to move the ball across the 50, thanks to good field position after a short Y-C kickoff toward the sideline after they had scored a TD to close within 24-19. Why not drive the ball downfield and use the wind to your advantage? After a touchdown earlier in the quarter, they kicked deep and tackled the Astoria returner at the 21?

Then there was Astoria's final drive of the game, in which they were successfully able to run out the clock. In ordinary circumstances, you would try to kill the clock and secure the win. But, with a potential for a 3-way tie for second at the end of the season, point spreads come into play in the tiebreaker. A more agressive approach to try and pad the lead would not have been a bad idea, however, Astoria felt confident that they could make up enough ground in the OZZI system the following week against Tillamook, so that they didn't need to risk a turnover by going for a TD at the end of the Y-C game. With Banks' 38-35 win over Scappoose, that became essentially a moot point, as a 3-way tie is now very unlikely, unless the Braves choke on their own tongues and lose to Seaside.

Then, of course there was the final play of the contest, in which quarterback Poyer took the snap and tried to run out the final nine seconds by going toward his own end zone. Rub was prepared to carry out the play to its fruition and take a safety. That would have meant a 70+ yard sprint upfield with nine seconds to run off the clock. Taking a safety is something that coaches have done for years in similar situations, although rarely from that distance. The last time I remember that happening was in the Washington 2A State Championship a handful of years ago, when I believe it was Lynden Christian, whose quarterback sprinted about 40-50 yards to the end zone, then celebrated by spiking the ball. Problem was, the play wasn't over. An Elma defender picked it up and the Eagles won the game. I'll bet that QB can't wait for his first reunion!

Poyer had one major advantage, though. The scoreboard was behind Astoria's end zone. He was able to start running right toward the scoreboard and see exactly when the time ran out before he slid to the turf.

When it works, you are a genius, when it doesn't, you are a fool. That's the life of a head coach.
When you are in a position of leadership, you will be second-guessed. It comes with the territory. It's one hell of a lot easier to coach from the stands or the broadcast booth than the sidelines.

As for Boschma, if his Tigers are able to defeat the Indians this week there will be no worries, as Y-C will be league champs. Even if Scappoose had beaten Banks, the Tigers would still have more on the line the final week than they did against Astoria. Of course, having a little playoff insurance is nice, but maybe that knowledge could have played a part in his aggressive play-calling. Rub's Fishermen still need a boost into the playoffs, needing a victory over Tillamook and a Scappoose win over Y-C.

ASTORIA AND SEASIDE TO MEET AGAIN

As expected, the Astoria Lady Fishermen cruised past Tillamook 5-0 Thursday night to claim a postseason berth for first time since 2001 and only the second time in the history of the girls soccer program.

Less predictably, Seaside upset O.E.S. 1-0, meaning the three teams finished in a 3-way tie for fourth place with 13 points each. In head-to-head meetings, Astoria had a 1-0-1 record with a 1-0 win over Seaside and a scoreless draw with O.E.S. Seaside split with the other two teams, while O.E.S. was 0-1-1 head-to-head. That means the Aardvarks are out and Astoria and Seaside will play off Saturday for the right to face Yamhill-Carlton in a Tuesday winner-to-state, loser out game. Astoria is the nominal home team and number four seed in Saturday's game at the Warrenton Soccer Complex.

The Cheesemakers were no match for Astoria, as the team is just getting its program started. Hannah Alley, one of seven Astoria seniors honored before the home crowd in their final regular season home game, tallied the first goal in the eighth minutes after intercepting a short goal kick. Lynnae Huber put Astoria up 2-0 in the 26th minute, shooting a penalty kick low and just inside the right post after a Tillamook handball in the box. Charlene Harber got a one-on-one opportunity and patiently chipped a shot over the Mooks keeper and Mary Jo Robertson sent a beautiful left-footed half-volley into the back of the net to put Astoria up 4-0 at the half.

Sarah Pope scored Astoria's only goal of the second half off an assist by Cristina Wilson. Astoria had an opportunity late in the match to add a seventh goal, but Ashley Hurburt's penalty kick veered outside the right post.

Astoria outshot Tillamook 26-0 for the game and had ten corner kicks in the first half alone. With the win, the Lady Fishermen finish with a 4-3-1 District 1 record, their first ever winning league record.

Now, the bad news. Junior center-midfielder Melissa Law went down in the first half with an ankle injury and had to be carried off the field. Her status for Saturday's game will depend on the severity of the injury. Charlene Harber also was helped off the field after being kicked in the shin and should be O.K. to go Saturday.

MOOKS CHEER FISH COMEBACK

The Tillamook Cheesemakers sent a delegation to Warrenton Wednesday night to watch the final regular season boys soccer Clatsop Clash between Astoria and Seaside.

The Mooks were decked out in their red and black warmups, but were clearly favoring the purple and gold on this night, needing a tie or Astoria victory to secure their first ever trip to the state playoffs.

Astoria made Coach Brian Reynolds and his crew sweat it out for more more than an hour as the Seagulls took a 2-0 first half lead on a Chris Senick penalty kick and a perfect deep cross into the side net by Lujac Desautel.

Down 2-1 at halftime after Jair Macareno got one back in the thirtieth minute off a Daniel Mathre assist, the Fishermen pushed up an extra forward and attacked the Seaside half relentlessly for the final thirty minutes until junior Zack Norton jabbed a free ball into the back of the net from about 15 yards out for the equalizer in the 72nd minute.

Thomas Kallestrup nearly won it for Astoria with a strong strike on a free kick, but sophomore goalkeeper Bren Bletcher made a spectacular diving save to preserve the tie.

It didn't matter for Seaside, which need a victory to vault past Tillamook in the standings. Now, the Gulls will host a winner-to-state, loser out playoff game next Tuesday, what could be part of a full day of soccer at the complex on Oct. 30. Astoria will also host Tillamook on that date to play off for state seeding.

The Astoria and Seaside girls are currently tied for the fifth and final postseason berth in District 1. Seaside has the much tougher task, needing a positive result at O.E.S., while hoping Astoria ties or loses to Tillamook. The good news for Seaside is that leading scorer Marla Olstedt, who took an elbow to the head in the second half against Rainier and ended up at the hospital, was given a clean bill of health and will play. Unfortunately for the Gulls, Tillamook has been outscored 67-4 during a 1-12 season.

Yamhill-Carlton is just a point ahead of Astoria and Seaside, but the Tigers also have a favorable matchup, closing their season at home against Rainier. The Tigers will be rooting for Seaside with an opportunity to vault past O.E.S. from fourth to third with a Seagull win or tie at O.E.S. The Catlin Gabel-Valley Catholic winner tomorrow will earn the District 1 regular season title and a home game in the rematch when the two teams meet again Tuesday for state seeding.

PLAYOFFS?...PLAYOFFS?

Cowapa League volleyball is set. Banks defeated Seaside in a four game match tonight to lock up the third seed to state. Astoria and Tillamook already decided one and two last week when the Fishermen defeated the Cheesemakers for the second time.

The Braves got a balanced effort, with different girls stepping up offensively in different games. Whitney Blok had three kills and served 8-for-8 in game one as the Braves zoomed to a 14-7 lead then held off a late Seaside charge for a 25-20 result.

The Gulls solid blocking wall provided three early points in game one, but the Braves adjusted, moving back from the net and effectively hit over, around and through the Gulls the rest of the way.

Jordan Marsh, a 5-10 junior middle pounded six kills as Banks led wire-to-wire in game two on the way to a 25-16 finish. Seaside managed only one service run of two points in the game.

Backs against the wall, Seaside responded with a 25-19 game three. Sophomore setter Sarah LaCoste, who struggled a bit on serve, had her best run of the night with six straight points including two aces to put the Gulls up 21-14. Banks came back with four straight points with Blok serving and junior outside hitter Alexa Heilbrun providing two kills to close the Braves within 19-21. Heather Cleary served out the game, recording Seaside's fifth ace in the process. Megan Potter had five of her match-high 12 kills in game three.

Seaside found itself in a quick hole in game four, down 5-0 after back-to-back line drive ace serves by Heilbrun. But, the Gulls would fight back to tie at 9, 10 and again at 13. The Braves pulled ahead 20-15 on an ace by Ariel Schmidlin, but Seaside wouldn't go down easy, running off three straight points after a side out, helped by back-to-back kills by senior outside hitter Mollie Schmidt, whose play was limited after missing school with an illness. The Gulls crawled within one at 19-20, but a service error, a back row attack violation and a net violation killed momentum as the Braves capped the match with a Marsh kill for a 25-22 finish in game four.

Banks goes a game up on Seaside and owns the tiebreaker with two wins against the Gulls in three matches this year.

The Cowapa League girls soccer playoff picture is somewhat muddier. Valley Catholic and Catlin Gabel will decide the top two spots when they play each other on Thursday. There could be plenty of movement in playoff spots three through five, however. Right now, Astoria and Seaside are deadlocked in fifth, each team at 3-3-1. Astoria owns the tiebreak by virtue of their 1-0 win over Seaside and is expected to get past Tillamook to clinch a playoff spot, likely the fifth seed. The Seagulls, who defeated Rainier 5-0 Tuesday, finish with O.E.S. on the road. Seaside needs a win or a tie and to hope for an upset in either the Astoria match or the Yamhill-Carlton vs. Rainier match. Making things more difficult for the Gulls is the potential loss of another key player, as Marla Olstedt, their leading scorer, went to the hospital with an apparent concussion sustained in Tuesday's game.

Astoria, which had a bye on Tuesday, is gunning for only its second ever postseason appearance. The Fishermen would likely face Yamhill-Carlton in a loser out game at Yamhill Saturday. Y-C defeated Astoria 2-1 back on Oct. 4, but the Fishermen were playing the second of back-to-back games after their Seaside match was postponed a day. This should be a great game if these teams meet with their seasons on the line.

Apparently, I've been getting bad info on the boys soccer playoff schedule. Only the 5 at 4 game will be played on Saturday, with the winner playing at #3 on Tuesday. The top two teams will also play off on Tuesday, Oct 30 for state seeding. Should have looked on my own master schedule instead of listening to the coaches on that one. Seaside can move from a three seed to a two seed and clinch a state playoff berth if the Gulls knock off Astoria Wednesday night in their season finale.

SOCCER-MORE THAN SCORING

The biggest complaint from those that hate soccer is that there isn't enough scoring.

Well, many football fans might make that argument, but if you only look at touchdowns (chicks don't dig the field goal), an average football game doesn't have much more scoring than an average soccer game. Just looks that way because you get seven points instead of one.

Anyway, my point is that there is much to enjoy about a good soccer match even if goals are few and far between, or nonexistent in the case of last night's 0-0 tie between Astoria and Tillamook.

This was an entertaining, hard-fought, but cleanly played contest between the two best teams in the Cowapa League. It was also likely a preview of Saturday's district final when the number one and two teams in the league face off for state playoff seeds.

Tillamook, in just its second year of varsity soccer, has developed a strong program already, with skilled and talented players who work together well. Astoria has turned what looked to be a rebuilding year into another league championship and with a pair of high-scoring sophomore forwards in Jair Macareno and Sean Speer, an All-State caliber junior midfielder in Alfredo Garcia and a pair of freshmen getting some playing time, Astoria looks to be strong for the immediate future as well.

There was plenty of physical play and three yellow cards shown by a busy referee, but tempers never flared as both teams stayed focused. Both teams produced well-developed attacks and threatened deep in the opponent's defensive third, but both defenses were stout and protected their goalkeepers.

Astoria's best attack threat was nullified by a superb slide tackle in the penalty box by Tillamook defender Edgar Punta in the 33rd minute. Astoria junior Daniel Mathre had what appeared to be an unchallenged shot from inside of ten yards after receiving a pass from Macareno, but Punta came in from Mathre's right to put a boot on the ball just as he fired. Mathre got a second chance on a re-entry after the deflection, but Tillamook goalkeeper Noe Mendez, a sophomore, covered the ball just in front of the goal line, taking a Mathre cleat to the face. That resulted in the first of two yellow cards assessed to the Fishermen.

Ryan Putman sneaked a direct free kick low through traffic late in the match, forcing Mendez to make another tough save. Three of Astoria's four second half shots came on direct free kicks. Tillamook outshot the Fishermen 12-10 in the game and dominated possession in the second half after an evenly played first 40 minutes. The Cheesemakers could never create a solid shot within the goal frame and failed to take advantage of six corner kicks and five direct free kick opportunities.

Mendez and Astoria keeper Alex Reya each recorded five saves. Putman and Tillamook's Alex Ramirez were each issued yellow cards for dangerous play. Tillamook was whistled for 16 fouls to 11 on Astoria.

The Fishermen face Seaside Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m. to close out the regular season. The Gulls, behind yet another goal by Chris Senick, defeated Scappoose 1-0 Monday night to secure a third place finish. Seaside will take on the winner of Scappoose against Yamhill-Carlton in a Saturday winner-to-state, loser out playoff. Astoria and Tillamook have each secured state berths and will also play off Saturday for the league's first and second seeds and a home state playoff date. Whoever comes out number one will not have an easy task, having to face either Gladstone or La Salle from the Capital Conference, two of the top teams in the state. The second place finisher will have a weaker opponent, but a long road trip to La Grande.

YOU DON'T MISS YOUR WATER

What's happening sports fans?

I'd love to give you a breakdown right now on the playoff implications of soccer and volleyball games the next few days, but my (and everybody else's) favorite high school sports website (other that lastdam of course) has disappeared.

Oregonprepsports.net has become a must-hit for high school sports fans in Oregon and the most accurate, up-to-date source for scores and standings for not just football, but volleyball, soccer, basketball, baseball and softball as well. I used to painstakingly try to collect scores from various sources and try to keep up spreadsheets with the standings for various leagues and sports that affect our local teams, but I have, like many sports journalists in this state, become increasingly reliant on oregonprepsports.net for quick access to this information. Unfortunately, newspapers have not been particularly helpful in getting this data together.

It is an impressive undertaking, that website! But, it does beg the question: why is some dude in North Carolina the authority we all turn to for information? I'm not questioning his motives, more power to the guy, but why can we not rely on our "state newspaper" (I call it "The Portlandian") for a comprehensive resource? Why can't the state association maintain such a site, like the WIAA does in Washington? If coaches were required to report to their local media and to OSAA after each game, they could track the data accurately and keep it up-to-date. OSAA has already done a great job of putting historical state tournament data on their site, this should be the next step in making their website a first-class resource (and profitable, too, if they market it properly).

Hopefully, the site will return soon. I understand they are having server issues and are working on the problem (sounds a lot like my workplace). And, to be honest, the disappearance did not come as a shock. I've been telling myself for weeks that I should copy records down every now and then in case of just such an emergency. Now that it's gone, I think we all realize that we can take for granted those things that others pour a lot of blood, sweat and tears into.

Speaking of websites, sports articles are now beginning to appear on kast1370.com, where the bread and butter sports news will be appearing regularly. Right now, go to news on the menu bar to get the drop down menu to find the sports stories. I'm told that eventually there will be a banner headline for sports on the front page to make it easier to find. Also, feel free to click on the Taco Bell "vote here" logo to vote for a (Football) Player of the Week. Each week, one Clatsop County (football) athlete will be nominated for each of the four schools. The votes will be tabulated at the end of the week and the winner gets a Taco Bell gift certificate (Twenty Taco Bell Bucks). The athletes are nominated by yours truly based on information received about their performances Friday nights. Or, in the case of Warrenton and Knappa, selected completely at random because we haven't been getting any information from the football coaches (not much good news to report lately, apparently). This promotion will continue into winter and will award boys and girls basketball players, so ladies, your chalupas are coming.

I can tell you that Astoria's boys can pretty much lock up a Cowapa League title in boys soccer tonight with a win over Tillamook. The game is at 6:00 p.m. at Warrenton.

See you at the game.

TO'S HELP TRIBE TRUMP ASTORIA

Scappoose took advantage of two Astoria turnovers and scored 20 unanswered second half points to come from behind for a 27-21 victory, spoiling homecoming for Astoria.

With Banks defeating Tillamook 26-20 tonight, Astoria might need Seaside to upset Banks to have a shot at the playoffs, provided they win their final two games at Y-C and home against Tillamook. Another possible scenario has Astoria, Banks and Y-C finishing tied for second, if Scappoose defeats Y-C the final week of the season. Then it would come down to a points margin tiebreaker that takes into account every league game, called the OZZI system. A team gets plus points up to 13 and minus points up to 13 for a win or loss. The two teams with the highest OZZI score would go to the playoffs and the third team would be eliminated. So far, Astoria is in pretty good shape, with their two losses coming by a combined 14 points and their lone win topping the 13-point margin. Banks lost to Y-C 31-0 and their two wins were a combined 14 points, leaving them at +1. Y-C is currently at +33, while Astoria is -1. The Fishermen need to defeat Y-C next week and try to win by at least 13 points to improve their chances.

The Fishermen led 14-7 at the half, beginning the game in exciting style with a trick play and a quick touchdown drive. Tom Jaworski threw a halfback pass to a wide-open Hans Lund for 54 yards on Astoria's first play from scrimmage. Jordan Poyer, who started at QB and played the whole game on offense two weeks after suffering a high ankle sprain, scored on a 4-yard TD run to put the Fish up 7-0.

Scappoose countered instantly when Ryland Geiger took an option pitch from quarterback Brian Jackson and raced 69 yards down the left sideline for a tying touchdown on the next play from scrimmage.

Jaworski capped a 12-play scoring drive with an amazing over-the-shoulder catch of a 21-yard Poyer pass to put the Fishermen up 14-7 early in the second quarter.

Scappoose was unable to sustain any offensive momentum in the first half, collecting just four first downs. The Indians first drive of the second half went nowhere after a 16-yard run by Jackson on the first play, but momentum seemed to turn following what seemed like a costly penalty.

Seth Honl returned a punt 66 yards for an apparent touchdown, but it was called back by a holding penalty. Starting a drive at their own 27-yard line, the Indians controlled the line of scrimmage on nine consecutive running plays, before Jackson spotted an open Chance Rice on a bootleg option rollout, throwing a game-tying 21 yard touchdown pass.

Three plays later, Seth Honl intercepted a Poyer pass near midfield and returned to the Astoria 36, where Sean Wasson busted loose on a 33 yard TD run on the second play of the drive to give the Indians a 21-14 lead with 8:43 to go in the game.

After the teams exchanged punts, Astoria rode the legs of Poyer, who had been limited to 3 yards rushing up to that point, on a drive from their own 45 to the Scappoose 6-yard line. On second and goal, Poyer pitched the ball to Jaworski on an option run to the wide side. The Astoria running back was stripped of the ball from behind and Scappoose defensive end Jesse Lindsey picked it up and ran 88 yards for a score that sucked the life out of the stadium.

Still, Astoria had two time outs left and Scappoose couldn't convert the PAT, leaving the Fishermen 2:08 left to score a TD and try for an onside kick. Hans Lund returned the kickoff 30 yards to the 45-yard line, with the kicker Maloney getting in his way to slow him down, saving a potential TD runback. Poyer ran for 12 yards, then connected with Jaworski on a 22 yard pass on third down to the Indians 19-yard line. After an 18-yard Poyer run to the one, the Astoria QB sneaked it in and Max Johnson kicked the PAT, making it 27-21 Scappoose with 57 seconds left.

Nick Paxton recovered Max Johnson's onside kick attempt and Jackson ran a bootleg for 13 yards, before taking a knee three times to run the clock out.

The Fishermen fell to 1-2 in Cowapa League and 3-5 overall with the loss. In consecutive losses to Banks and Scappoose, Astoria has turned the ball over five times, leading to four touchdowns, while not forcing a single turnover from the opposition. The Fishermen had the edge in total yards, time of possession and field position in this game, but both turnovers were extremely costly.

Scappoose and Y-C remain tied for first in the Cowapa at 3-0 and Banks has the inside track on third place with a 2-1 record with games against Scappoose and Seaside remaining.

ILWACO FOLDS FOOTBALL TENT THIS WEEK

Tonight's Ilwaco home football game against Kalama has been cancelled and the Chinooks will be credited with a forfeit victory, according to Ilwaco High School athletic director Nathan Plummer.

Ilwaco is coming off one its worst football losses ever, a 75-6 assault at Castle Rock, that has aroused the ire of fans in both communities. Strangely enough, Ilwaco was not alone last Friday night as there were a number of blowout games with point totals and margins of defeat topping 60 points on both sides of the river.

The Fishermen had a total varsity turnout of 36 players (including all freshmen) to begin the season after a few weeks were able to add three more. However, with accumulated injuries, including the loss of star running back Eddie Knick to a hip pointer last week, along with the usual academic and discipline suspensions and various illnesses, Ilwaco is missing a total of 15 starting positions. Only three seniors are healthy enough to play, a couple of starters who are able to play are nursing injuries and the remainder are inexperienced, physically underdeveloped sophomores and freshmen.

For safety reasons, Ilwaco High School's football staff and administration decided to cancel both the J.V. and varsity football games against Kalama, a team currently ranked #2 in Washington at the 1A level that beat Castle Rock earlier this season and defeated Toledo 88-0

Now, back to last week's debacle at Castle Rock. Yes, C.R. is about that much better than Ilwaco and Kalama is probably 88 points better than Toledo and there are many mismatches during the course of a high school season where one team could easily beat another by seventy points or more if they tried. But, what are you trying to prove after taking a 49-0 lead at halftime, Castle Rock? Many observers were put out that Castle Rock came out with their starters on the field and threw a pass on the first play for a touchdown. I will let them off the hook for that one, although if it were me, I would have my top guys, all-league guys, on the sideline to start the second half. After that score, it should have been second string and J.V.'s for the remainder of the contest, maybe leave a skill starter out there that hadn't had a chance to score.

And I don't care what kind of offense you run, you don't continue to spread the field and throw the ball. Even Mouse Davis has a goal line and short yardage package. Work on that. Run your vanilla offense and work on basic techniques. If you have the reserves on the field, throw the ball only on obvious passing downs, third and long. Do not go for it on fourth down under any circumstances.

You do not lay down for any opponent, ever! If you continue to dominate, so be it. The other team is accountable for it's inability to compete. But, there are proper ways to handle a mismatch like this. I wasn't there to witness this game, but judging by the outcry, it was a poor display of sportsmanship on the part of Castle Rock and their coach should be reprimanded, at least by his A.D. and principal and probably by the district commissioner and the W.I.A.A.

I am the last one who is going to say that a team should lay down or show pity to it's opponent. The second and third stringers have every right to go on that field and play hard. Intentionally sandbagging a game to me is more insulting than running up the score. I am also not a proponent of mercy rules or running clocks. Coaches should be required to substitute at a certain point threshold (lead over 35 points in the second half or over 42 points in the first half) and should be limited in their play-calling. Required running plays on first downs and second and less than ten is appropriate. The ball should never be thrown more than twice the distance to the line to gain and punts should be required on any fourth down.

According to Plummer, three starters, including Knick, are expected to be able to return by next Friday's road game at Stevenson.

Play hard and play fair. See you at the game!

COWAPA CHAMPS REDUX

The Astoria girls have secured the Cowapa League title in volleyball for the second straight year and third time in three years with a 22-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-22 win at Tillamook.

Great crowd, great atmosphere, could have been a great match if not for a ridiculously overofficious and inconsistent chair umpire, who called more setting faults in this match than I would estimate have been called in Astoria and Tillamook's last ten matches combined! This is not blogosphere hyperbole, but probably a conservative estimate! Seriously, there were 17 (!!!) set faults called in this match. You might be able to go to twenty matches combined to get that total. Ridiculous!

If Astoria isn't called for SIX set faults in the first game, it's probably a sweep for the Lady Fish tonight. Although many more were called on Astoria than Tillamook, the Cheesemakers didn't escape this fate. They even got called for it at game point in the second game. Apparently this official will call it anytime there is the slightest bit of spin on the ball off the setter's hands. OK, if that's the rule, it's the rule, but call it consistently. It's still unfortunate that these girls can play all year long without any issue and one referee comes into the gym with her pet call and completely disrupts what should be a highlight match of the year.

And what are the rules of volleyball anyway? I'm no expert, but it seems that just about every discipline in volleyball has had a rule change in the last ten years and the end result is sloppier skills and highly inconsistent applications of the rules by officials. This sport did not need fixing, in my opinion. I am not a proponent of rally scoring, but I can understand why they did it at the high school level. And if I had to watch a lesser quality small school program consistenty play endless matches where both teams side out and error repeatedly and never score.

Anyway, big props to Astoria, and particularly Sara Cullen who was specifically targeted, for fighting through this adversity and the racous crowd in that loud gymnasium. Both student sections were very entertaining. Tillamook's seemed to be fixated on Jordan Poyer. That was a funny reenactment of his injury by that Tillamook kid. Borderline tasteless, but funny nonetheless. If he had a more serious injury, it would be out of line, but it looks like he may play on Friday.

Sophie DeWitt was an animal! I particularly enjoyed her final match point block and subsequent celebration. This girl seems so relentlessly nice, it was fun to see her beserk like that. Instead of, "Oh yay, ladies what a splendid time we've had", it was more like, "AAAAAARGH! That's what I'm !@#$*@#in' talking about! I am the goddess of hellfire!!!!" She attacked full force all night. Sophie, keep the beast off the leash, baby! Big game player, that girl. I expect to see more of that in the playoffs.

One final thought (it's late and I have real, like, radio work and stuff to do, OK): I rode the rooter bus to the game and whoever had the idea that schools should not be able to charter buses for long sports trips is an idiot! In my day (pre-Field Turf and 3-point lines), we chartered buses for most trips of more than an hour. I realize that is not even the average road trip length in some of these leagues, but if the school has the resources they should be allowed to use them. And who in their right mind thinks a school bus is the safefest means of transport? Would you feel safer in a rickety old school bus with no safety belts going over a mountain pass or a modern, luxurious charter bus?

Who is coming up with this stuff? Is this the same people that are trying to force schools to change Native American mascots? Good God, please, find something productive to do with your time while you are collecting our tax dollars! I may be completely insensitive, but it's my opinion that most Native American mascots are tributes and not insulting caricatures. Redskins? Got to go, but how in the hell is Warriors offensive to anyone? Shame on the bleeding heart, hand-wringing white-guilt types who are taking up a crusade for a segment of society that for the most part, has no strong feelings about the subject and has plenty of other problems of more pressing concern. Like, how their kids are all going to need chiropracters after riding that freakin' school bus on a six hour playoff trip to the other side of the state.

Good night. I'll see you at the game!

ANNOUNCEMENT

Dear faithful Last Dam Followers (all five of you): If you have been following the blog for awhile, you've noticed that things have slowed down a bit this year.

There are some major changes afoot here in radioland. I'm still getting accustomed to my new night schedule and have not posted as much information as I have in the past year.

For all of you who have asked about the radio show (on hiatus since March), I'm afraid that it will not be coming back any time soon. Thanks to all of you who have expressed support and concern, but it is something that is out of my control.

The future still has plenty of sports coverage here at NNB, with daily reports running on Coastwatch In The Morning on KAST-AM 1370 from 6-8:00 a.m. with updates on the noon and 5:00 p.m. newscasts. We will continue to broadcast Astoria High School sports on 1370-AM with a full schedule of boys basketball and baseball will be on the radio come spring. At this point, we are continuing to broadcast Ilwaco High School sports on KKEE-AM 1230. It looks like we may be broadcasting Astoria volleyball and soccer playoffs again, although that is in the early discussion stage and contingent upon sponsor interest.

I would also like to direct regular blog readers to www.kast1370.com, where a lot of the sports stories you are used to reading on here will be found in the future. It may be a few days before a lot of sports content gets posted as I familiarize myself with the programming process, but that will be the place to go for game write-ups, standings and schedules and updated scoreboards.

This blog will continue on, but it will act more like a blog in the future. In other words, more off the cuff and opinionated and oriented toward discussion topics. Hopefully, we will get some kind of forum going on here as well.

So, to reiterate, go to www.kast1370.com for local sports news and scores online, wake up with KAST-AM 1370 for the latest regional and local sports news and check The Last Dam Blog for occasional rants and editorials on sports related topics of local and regional interest.

TUESDAY PREP SCOREBOARD

BOYS SOCCER
Astoria 2, Scappoose 0
Tillamook at Yamhill-Carlton, 4:15 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Valley Catholic 4, Astoria 0
Catlin Gabel 4, Seaside 1
Yamhill-Carlton 11, Tillamook 0
Scappoose at Rainier, 6:00 p.m.

VOLLEYBALL
Astoria def. Scappoose 25-6, 25-16, 25-13
Knappa def. Portland Lutheran 25-19, 25-11, 25-19
Naselle def. Willapa Valley 25-20, 25-17, 21-25, 25-14
SEASIDE vs. Tillamook def, 23-25, 15-25, 25-12, 25-11, 15-7
JEWELL def. Country Christian 25-13, 25-17, 25-14
BANKS def. Yamhill-Carlton 25-17, 25-18, 16-25, 25-17

WEDNESDAY PREP SCOREBOARD

GIRLS SOCCER
Astoria 0, O.E.S 0
SEASIDE 5, Tillamook 0
Valley Catholic 9, Scappoose 0
Yamhill-Carlton 1, Catlin Gabel 1

VOLLEYBALL
Astoria def. Seaside 25-17, 25-12, 25-20
TILLAMOOK def. Banks 25-16, 25-21, 25-16
Yamhill-Carlton def. Scappoose 23-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-21

TUESDAY PREP ROUNDUP

BOYS SOCCER

Astoria 1, Seaside 0...Through rain and gusty winds and a twenty minute delay for a lighting failure, the Fishermen and Seagulls played an hour of soccer to a scoreless deadlock until injured Astoria goalkeeper Daniel Mathre deflected a Sean Speer crossing pass to an open Jair Macareno, who scored the only goal of the game in the 68th minute of play. With the victory, the Fishermen complete their first tour through the Cowapa League schedule with an unbeaten record and improve to 7-3 overall. Both goalkeepers had to make one tough save in the defensive contest as Mathre's replacement in goal, junior Alex Reya, recorded the shutout. Seaside's sophomore goalkeeper Bren Bletscher left the match with an injury after a collision with Astoria's Zack Norton late in the second half. "He took a big old charley horse just above the kneecap," said Seaside head coach John Broderick. "He thinks he's gonna be OK. Its one I hate to lose. We made enough mistakes that Astoria could have scored a number of goals on us." Astoria had about a 2-to-1 advantage in shots on goal in improving its Cowapa League record to 5-0. "Seaside is really coming along," said Astoria head coach Bill Patterson. "John Broderick does a wonderful job with that bunch and they could have easily beat us tonight." The Fishermen host Yamhill-Carlton on Thursday afternoon while Seaside (2-1-1, 5-4-1) travels to Tillamook for the first of three consecutive road games.


VOLLEYBALL
Warrenton 3, Riverdale 0...The Warriors put on a serving exhibition against the Mavericks at Riverdale as Ashley Poole, Jordane Marxer and Brooklyn Campbell combined for 19 aces in a dominating three game sweep. Poole led the way with a paltry four kills, but not too many balls were making it back over the net as the Warriors cruised 25-8, 25-9, 25-8. Warrenton should get a much stiffer test as the Warriors travel to Rainier to face the Columbians Thursday night.
Corbett 3, Knappa 2...For the second time this year, the undersized, overmatched Loggers gave perennial power Corbett a battle, taking the Cardinals to a fifth game before falling 15-10. "It was one of our best games of the whole season," said Loggers head coach Bob Harn. "They all really stepped up and played well tonight." When the teams last faced each other at the Neah-Kah-Nie Tournament, the game went down to the wire in a best of three format. Knappa next hosts Gaston on Thursday.
Columbia 3, Ilwaco 0...Still without three starters due to injury and a suspension for fighting, the Lady Fishermen lost another key player early in the match when Erin McDonnell left during game one and did not return after falling ill. With four JV players on the floor at times, the Fishermen fought hard, rallying from 13-2 down in game one to close within 17-25, then losing late leads in games two and three before falling 25-22, 25-20. Ilwaco hosts Rochester on Thursday.
Naselle 3, Tacoma Baptist 0...Sylvia Herrold charted 13 kills and Emily Green added eight as the Comets recorded their first Pacific 2B League win, evening their record at 1-1. Naselle returns home Thursday to face Northwest Christian, which defeated the Comets in a non-league match in Lacey earlier in the season.
Jewell 3, Perrydale 1...The Jays lost Stephanie Ames to a shoulder injury in game one and stumbled 19-25, but rebounded to win the next three games 25-23, 25-10, 25-14. Ames was able to return by the end of the match.

TUESDAY PREP SCOREBOARD

BOYS SOCCER
ASTORIA 1, Seaside 0
SCAPPOOSE 2, Yamhill-Carlton 0
VOLLEYBALL
Ilwaco at Columbia def. Ilwaco 25-17, 25-22, 25-20
Warrenton def. Riverdale 25-8, 25-9, 25-8
Corbett def. Knappa 25-21, 22-25, 25-17, 23-25, 15-13
Naselle def. Tacoma Baptist 25-16, 25-17, 25-22
Jewell def. Perrydale 19-25, 25-23, 25-10, 25-14

LADY FISH CHASING SOCCER HISTORY

The Astoria Lady Fishermen started sluggishly, but finished strong, scoring three second half goals to pull away for a 4-0 victory over the winless Rainier Columbians Monday.

With that win, Astoria improves to 3-1-0 in District 1 play, one win away from making history on multiple fronts. Astoria has already equalled its most ever district wins, matching the 2001 team that went 3-7-2 and made the only playoff appearance in the program's history. If Astoria can win it's next match at Oregon Episcopal School Wednesday night, they would equal the 2005 team for total wins in a season (4) and, because they would have to score to win the match, they would record their first goal against the Aardvarks this decade. In their last ten meetings, including a playoff game in 2001, O.E.S. has outscored Astoria 39-0.

In a year when the Lady Fishermen expect to be able to compete with the Catlin Gabels and O.E.S.'s of the world for the first time, they need to dominate teams like Rainier. And while possession analysis, shots on goal and corner kicks prove they did just that, the Lady Fishermen are still struggling to finish scoring opportunities.

Astoria had multiple close range looks at the goal early on, yet despite six shots on goal and three corner kick opportunities, the match remained a scoreless draw until a Kristina Wilson cross made it's way through the box, where junior forward Shelly Gregory tapped it just inside the far post for Astoria's first goal in the 19th minute.

A first half with more frustration than exaltation ended with Astoria leading 1-0.

"We came out flat in the middle," said head coach Jim Flint. "Were were not possessing the ball. We kept winning it, but we did not retain possession and that's frustrating."

Neither did Astoria take advantage of seven corner kick attempts. However, it took only four minutes of the second half for Astoria to get on the board as Melissa Law scored on a one-on-one challenge with Rainier goalkeeper Sarah Farrell after receiving a pass from Jordan Crownover.

Astoria deluged the hapless Columbians goalminder with 18 shot attempts in the second half, but Farrell hung in tough with ten saves, often operating with traffic deep in the goal box.

Sarah Pope put the game to rest with an unassisted goal in the 64th minute and Dani Stevens scored off a Lynnae Huber assist to account for the final margin.

"We had both Melissa Law and Dani Stevens had one-on-ones with the keeper and were very patient and really focused and finished," said Flint. "That's exactly what we need to do, particulary against stronger sides. When we get against stronger teams like the Valley Catholics, O.E.S., even Catlin Gabel, we're going to have to be able to finish our opportunities because we're not going to have as many as we had today."

The Fishermen rarely allowed Rainier over the half-line over the final 40 minutes, outshooting the Columbians 27-1 with a 12-0 edge in corner kicks. Rainier's only shot on goal came from midfielder Kayla Nagunst off a second-half free kick. The shot from 30-yards out was easily saved by Bug Coggins.

Astoria played without senior leader Brooke Schauermann, sidelined by knee troubles. Schauermann was a vocal presence on the sideline and took over the huddle at halftime, breaking down the team's deficiencies and explaining what had to be done in the second half.

"After three years it's really nice to see these players coming together," said Flint, "because so many of them have been playing varsity for the three years I've been here. They are beginning to understand the game better. They are beginning to look to how they can work off of each other. That's when it's fun."

What could be more fun than knocking off one of the private powers? Oregon Episcopal is still a tough customer, but graduated a number of senior standouts, including Jessica Tsao, now playing for one of the top college programs at the University of Portland. Wednesday's game kicks off at 6:30 p.m.

MONDAY PREP ROUNDUP

VOLLEYBALL
Astoria 3, Banks 0...Sophie DeWitt had a big night with 16 kills as the Lady Fishermen dispatched the young Braves in straight sets to keep pace with Tillamook atop the Cowapa League standings. Astoria continues to get strong back row play from juniors Dani Bergeson and Kelsey Takko, who passed a remarkable 2.71 on the three point rating scale. "That was one of the best individual performances we've had in a long time," said head coach Angee Hunt. Astoria will host Seaside for the third and final time at the Brick House on Wednesday night. The Seagulls did not fare so well on the road. After some strong performances at their tournament over the weekend, the Seagulls were upset in five games at Scappoose Monday night, 25-15, 15-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-10. "We just played timid," said head coach Mitch Ward, whose Gulls are in a tight battle for the Cowapa League's third playoff seed as the teams head into the final third of the season.



GIRLS SOCCER
Seaside 3, Scappoose 0...Senior forward Marla Olstedt scored a hat trick with all three Seaside goals as the Gulls won at Scappoose Monday.

MONDAY SCOREBOARD

GIRLS SOCCER
Astoria 4, Rainier 0
Seaside 3, Scappoose 0
TILLAMOOK vs. Oregon Episcopal, 4:00 p.m.
Valley Catholic 4, Yamhill-Carlton 0

VOLLEYBALL
ASTORIA def. Banks 25-22, 25-20, 26-24
Seaside at Scappoose def. Seaside 25-15, 15-25-, 25-23, 21-25, 15-10
TILLAMOOK vs. Yamhill-Carlton, 7:00 p.m.

ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW?

The top 4A (formerly 3A) volleyball teams from Northern Oregon annually trek to the North Coast in early October to compete in the Seaside Varsity Invitational.


Last year, North Bend defeated Estacada in the championship game of the tournament, then duplicated the feat at Lane Community College in November to bring home the school's first volleyball title.


This year, top-ranked and undefeated Estacada exacted swift revenge by pummelling the Bulldogs 25-12, 25-8 on the way to another finals appearance. But, the number two-ranked team in the state, the La Grande Tigers, sent Estacada packing with a 25-20, 27-25 win in the final game of the day, setting off a wild celebration. After all, the winner of this tournament is pretty well assured of making a deep run in the state playoffs.


La Grande swept through pool play and the championship bracket without dropping a game. However, Astoria was only team other than Estacada to make the Tigers work. After taking the Fishermen 25-16 in the first game of their pool play matchup, Astoria stretched the Tigers to extra points before falling 26-24, as La Grande took the top spot and Astoria the number two position from the pool. The wins were sweet for the Tigers, who dropped a 5-game match to Astoria at last year's state tournament to end their season.


Astoria faced Marist in the championship quarterfinals. The Spartans feature a pair of 6-1 players in the middle and right side, an outstanding senior setter named Whitney Hoff and a young phenom on the outside in freshman Zoe Martin. The Spartans never trailed in game one of their best two out of three match, winning 25-19. Down 17-9, Astoria made a run with sophomore setter Kayce Lilley on serve. Lilley, who handled all of the setting duties on Saturday with senior setter Sara Cullen taking her SAT test, normally does not serve for Astoria. Lilley served five straight points with an ace and set for a pair of kills to Sophie DeWitt and one to Hilary O'Bryan before a service error gave Marist a side out with the lead trimmed to 18-15.


Marist's twin towers carried them down the stretch, as right side hitter Molly Stephenson had three kills and sophomore middle blocker Allie Rogers had a stuff block and assisted on a double block of Meredith Barnes tip attempt to cinch game point.


In the second game, Marist again stormed to an early advantage against a frustratingly passive Astoria attack. Three service errors stalled their early momentum and Astoria began chipping into the Spartans' 9-4 lead. The Fishermen used a strong block with DeWitt and Kristen Saulsbury recording two solo blocks each. A Hilary O'Bryan crosscourt set to Emily Bunnell for a kill knotted the game at 18 and Astoria took its first lead on a Martin hitting error.


While the Fishermen were cautious to a fault, it played in their favor in game two as the Spartans committed seven attack errors to just two for Astoria as the Fishermen pulled out a 25-21 win, forcing a deciding game three.


This time Astoria got in front first on a DeWitt kill and a Spartan attack error. Marist scored back-to-back points on a Martin kill and a shot into the net by Saulsbury, who was limited to a single kill in the match. The teams traded short rallies with Marist taking an 8-6 lead on an ace serve by Martin. The Spartans reached game point on a DeWitt shot wide of the mark, but Astoria caught a break when a bump over by Lilley found a soft spot in the middle and dropped in for a point. Sophie DeWitt fired an ace serve and Saulbury, who appeared to have little spring left in her legs, got up to put away an overpass for her only kill of the night. Lilley followed with a well-executed dump set off a Dani Bergeson pass to tie the game at 14, but a netted shot by Saulsbury ended the rally and Martin thumped her ninth kill of the match to end Astoria's day with a 16-14 game three result.

Junior middle blocker also finished with nine kills for the Spartans, while opposite hitter Molly Stephenson contributed eight kills and four assists. Senior setter Whitney Hoff played an outstanding match with 29 assists and two dump kills. Astoria's DeWitt had a match-high 10 kills with two solo blocks and Lilley set 20 assists with three kills.

Marist went on to lose to Estacada 25-22, 25-16 in the semifinals while La Grande took care of Sisters 25-20, 25-18. La Grande's Josi Lyman, a 6-0 senior setter and hitter and a leading state player of the year candidate who is being recruited at the Division I level, recorded a double-double in the championship match with 14 assists and 10 kills, while serving a perfect 12-for-12. The Tigers also got some big plays at the net by junior middle blocker Maggie Yeates, who recorded two stuff blocks and two kills down the stretch in game two as La Grande came from 14-11 and 23-21 down to defeat Estacada 27-25 in game two of the sweep.

Seaside finished third in a 3-team pool with La Salle and North Bend, but the Gulls took a game from each team, before defeating Philomath in the consolation quarterfinals. Stayton knocked off Seaside in the consolation semis before beating rival Cascade in the finals.

FISHERMEN WIN AT SEASIDE, LOSE POYER

Astoria head football coach Howard Rub said the only things that concerned him going into Friday night's matchup against Seaside were the usual "equalizers" that lead to upsets: turnovers and big special teams plays.

The fear of everybody else in the community is an irrational one, but one that became shockingly real midway through the 2nd quarter when Jordan Poyer was carried off the football field.

Astoria defeated Seaside 37-18 Friday night in the Cowapa League opener for both teams, but not without a fight. However, all of the talk after the game centered on the health of Astoria's star quarterback, who was in the hospital getting x-rays while his team celebrated a victory over their county rivals.

The Seagulls got the breaks they needed to turn what appeared to be a mismatch into a competitive and entertaining football game. The Fishermen feared the biggest break of all might have happened in the left leg of their signalcaller, who was tackled awkwardly on the sideline by Gulls' free safety Ian Dueber at the end of a ten yard run.

"Jordan's always looking for the extra yards and won't go out of bounds," said Rub. "He'd rather take somebody on than go out of bounds. As he got to the sidelines, the weight of the last tackler, basically all of his weight went into his shin. His shin absorbed everything. It could have been really bad, like a Joe Theismann type thing. Fortunately, nothing like that happened. It's just a matter of seeing if it's there is a fracture there or not."

The initial news was positive as x-rays late Friday night were negative. After getting checked out again on Saturday, Poyer's injury was diagnosed as a high ankle sprain, which should keep him on the sidelines for Astoria's next game at Banks on Thursday and puts in to question whether or not he will be able to play in a key game against Scappoose the following Friday.

A high ankle sprain generally carries a longer recuperative period and it is not unrealistic to think that Poyer could possibly be sidelined for the remainder of the regular season. A text message sent by Poyer to a network of friends and associates Saturday stated that he would be out one to two weeks and hoped to be able to play against Scappoose.

While Poyer was being carried to the sideline, sophomore backup quarterback Ian Erickson frantically took practice snaps from center Brad Hilferty and was suddenly thrust into a league game with his team trailing 12-6. Erickson had appeared late in two previous games, a blowout loss to La Salle in the second week of the season and a blowout victory over Philomath two weeks ago. Nothing could quite prepare the youngster for the rush of entering a key rivalry game in the middle of the game with his team looking at a deficit.

Nervous? Erickson was hyperventilating in the huddle and couldn't catch his breath to get the play call out to his teammates.

"When Coach Steinback said warm up, I admit it, I was scared as heck," said Erickson. "But, the team, Jaworski, Hans, Grady, they were all behind me. Told me to keep my head up. Team spirit was good."

After a timeout for Erickson to calm his nerves, the bobbled first snap was comically predictable. However, Erickson fell on the loose ball and on the next play handed the ball to running back Tom Jaworksi, who knifed through the middle of Seaside's defense six yards into the end zone. It certainly helped the young quarterback get settled having the ball at the Seaside six rather than on the other end of the field.

Max Johnson's PAT gave Astoria its first lead of the game at 13-12 with 5:10 remaining in the first half. Three Seaside plays later, Jaworski would add to that lead, intercepting a Seaside pass and returning it 55 yards for a TD to make it 20-12 Fishermen.

But the winless Gulls, despite producing little in the way of consistent offense, would remain resilient. After leading much of the first half, they did not fold. On the following drive, sophomore running back Zeke Smith caught a bubble screen, made an inside move, then darted to the right sideline, outrunning the entire Astoria defense for a 73-yard touchdown. These Gulls were not going down easy.

Earlier in the quarter, Smith answered Astoria's first touchdown with an 85-yard kick return giving Seaside a 12-6 lead. The Gulls put their first score on the board on a Dom Walker interception return, as the senior defensive back, playing end in Seaside's specially designed 3-5 defense, jumped a pass in the flat and returned it untouched 29 yards to the end zone.

When Astoria's second drive also ended on a turnover and two Astoria penalties led to Seaside first downs on the ensuing drive, one began to wonder if Edward Woodward were in the house. However, the Gulls drive stalled on downs after four straight incomplete passes, two broken up by Poyer, at the Astoria 30-yard line. "The Pup" led his team on a 10-play march that culminated in an 11-yard keeper. Johnson's PAT was just outside the right upright, knotting the score at 6-6.

After Smith's return TD, the third allowed by the Astoria special teams in the last two weeks, Poyer again piloted a drive down the field, completing a key 4th and 7 pass to sophomore receiver Marcus Brown, who made a sliding catch on the left sideline at the Seaside 15-yard line. The next play was a designed quarterback run, with Poyer barrelling over the first tackler at the right hash mark and eluding two more Gull defenders as he worked his way toward the right sideline. Dueber made a clean tackle on the Astoria QB at the boundary, forcing him out of bounds at the line to gain. As the chain gang made its way across the field for a measurement. Poyer was limping around trying to walk off an apparent injury. However, with each additional step, the pain increased and the realization set in that he would not be taking the next snap. Poyer went down on his back and was overcome by pain, writhing around with his hands on his head as Astoria coaches and medical personnel rushed to his aid. He was eventually helped to the sideline and put no weight on the left leg. After watching the rest of the half from the bench with his leg elevated and under a blanket, Poyer was lifted into a waiting SUV at halftime and ferried back home to Columbia Memorial Hospital.

Meanwhile, a change of plan was in order for Astoria, which not only had a new QB on the field, but had to contend with Seaside's pesky defensive plan, designed to get its 11 fastest players on the field to counter Astoria's explosive spread option attack. The Fishermen decided to counter speed with power.

"Certainly we feel like we can do some things out of the I-", said Rub. "I think we showed that in spurts last year when we had [Andy] Murray and Joey [Dursse] hurt. We would get in the I- once in awhile and pound it between the tackles with a lot of these same kids.

"It might be the kind of thing where we end up hanging our hat on it more often."

Astoria, which had racked up 200-plus rush yards the previous three weeks, although with Poyer getting the lion's share of that on outside runs, transitioned into a power running attack for the duration of the game, continuing to make its myriad personnel changes while vacillating between a double-tight end I-formation and an elephant formation with two extra tackles, 330-pounders Jon Smith and Chris Edwards, and a full house T backfield.

The Fishermen showed they don't necessarily need a bruising fullback to run the traditional iso lead play out of the I- as their final drive of the first half featured 5-9, 165-pound Tom Jaworski leading the way for Hans Lund on consecutive runs of 13, 10 and 20 yards to get Astoria into field goal range for Max Johnson's 27-yarder as time expired.

Lund got things rolling for Astoria in the second half with a 40-yard return of the opening kickoff. Five plays later, Jaworski danced 23 yards to paydirt giving Astoria a 30-18 lead.

The Astoria defense, bolstered by the return of lineback Dylan Jensen, out since spraining his knee on the opening kickoff of the season, began to wear out Seaside in the second half. The Gulls, who had just six rushing yards in the contest, were held to minus-10 yards on the ground over the final two quarters. With Jensen back healthy and senior Matt Crowley emerging as a defensive fixture, the Fishermen moved All-Cowapa League defensive end Grady Parker to strongside linebacker. Although Parker may not be ultra-enthusiastic about the move, his play on Friday night said otherwise as the 6-2, 211-pound senior collected a sack, three tackles for loss and also blocked a punt.

"It's alright," said Parker. "There's nothing better than being on the line, though, nose-to-nose just taking them on."

While Seaside struggled to move the chains, Astoria couldn't deliver the death blow until Will Bush intercepted a Kauffunger screen pass and returned it to the Seagull 31-yard line with 5:43 left in the game, setting up Jaworski's final touchdown, a 28-yard run to the end zone three plays later.

Jaworski finished with 100 yards on the ground and three TD's to go with his interception return for a touchdown. Lund added 89 yards on a team-high 16 totes as the Fishermen rushed for a season-high 291 yards. Smith accounted for half of Seaside's 160 total yards with two pass receptions for 78 yards, but carried the ball only twice for minus-1 yard.

The Fishermen evened their season record at 3-3 and now will head into the short week of preparation without their most dynamic offensive and defensive player. However, with the continued strong play of their offensive line, and the addition of two more bruising backfield options in Jensen and Crowley, the Fishermen feel confident they can compete with or without their superstar QB for as long as they need to.

"We're going to figure out, depending on where we're at with Jordan, what's going to be our best combination and our best chance to have some success," said Rub. "We think with that big offensive line, similar to my first year here in 2000 when you could get in a T-formation with those big bodies and play three yards and a cloud of dust, that can be good, solid football, too. Obviously, it's not necessarily for everybody as entertaining as being able to spread it and do those things, but you've got to have a pretty special kid to do that. We've been blessed the last year and a half with that. And, hopefully we will again.

"We'll just play it by ear."

ASTORIA 0-23-7-7--37
SEASIDE 6-12-0-0--18
1st Q-SEA: Walker 29 INT return (pass failed)
2ndQ-AST: Poyer 11 run (kick failed)
2ndQ-SEA: Smith 85 kick return (run failed)
2ndQ-AST: Jaworski 6 run (Johnson kick)
2ndQ-AST: Jaworski 55 INT return (Johnson kick)
2ndQ-SEA: Smith 73 pass from Kauffunger (run failed)
2ndQ-AST: Johnson 27-FG
3rdQ-AST: Jaworski 23 run (Johnson kick)
4thQ-AST: Jaworski 28 run (Johnson kick)
RUSHING-AST: 52-291 (Jaworski 14-100-3td), SEA: 19-6 (Walker 9-11)
PASSING-AST: 5-10-1-73 (Poyer 5-9-1-73), SEA: Kauffunger 11-21-2-155-td
RECEIVING-AST: Eterno 2-7, S. Johnson 1-34, SEA: Tinaco 3-22, Carow 3-21, Smith 2-78-td
1ST DOWNS-AST: 19, SEA: 8
TURNOVERS-AST: 3, SEA: 3
PENALTIES-AST: 6-50, SEA: 2-15

THURSDAY PREP ROUNDUP

GIRLS SOCCER

Yamhill-Carlton 2, Astoria 1...Tera Prosser two goals. Jordan Crownover goal. Prosser 15 minutes. Crownover 25 min. 1-1 at half. 15 mins into second half, Y-C scored on Prosser direct kick. "It was a close game, very closely contested. Time of possession and shots were very similar. Next game vs. Rainier Monday.



VOLLEYBALL

Astoria 3, Yamhill-Carlton 0...Sophie DeWitt had 10 kills, a solo block, two block assists and four aces as the Lady Fishermen head into Saturday's Seaside Invitational on a winning not. Emily Bunnell added six kills and Meredith Barnes and Kristen Saulsbury had five kills each. All were part of a strong front wall that produced seven points on blocks. Hilary O'Bryan and Dani Bergeson combined with DeWitt and Saulsbury on a strong passing performace from the back row. Astoria carries an 8-1 league and 9-2 overall match play record into Saturday's tournament. The Lady Fishermen will open with Cascade at 8:30 a.m., later facing Sweet Home and #2-ranked La Grande. Bracket play is scheduled to begin by 2:30 p.m. The tournament also features top-ranked Estacada and defending 4A state champion North Bend. Astoria and Seaside will play their pool games at Seaside High School with half the teams playing at Broadway Middle School.

Warrenton 3, Portland Adventist 0...The Warriors had no trouble with the visiting Cougars, improving to 5-1 in league and 8-2 overall. Brandi Jasmin was 21-for-23 hitting wiht five kills, Ashley Poole added five kills and did a great job of passing (92%). The team served 94%, led by setter Jordane Marxer's 20-for-21 performance, which included a 9-point scoring run in the first game. Warrenton's next game is at Riverdale Tuesday.

Raymond 3, Naselle 2...Sylvia Herrold led the Comets with 19 kills, but the visiting Seagulls were able to duplicate an earlier win over Naselle in the Pacific 2B League opener for both teams. Emily Green nine blocks for Naselle, which played without Ashley Ahlstrom (oral surgery). "Overall the girls played well with Ashley missing," said Naselle head coach Kim Eaton. "Oriane [Condon] and Emma Fauver had to step up and pick up the slack and they did a great job." Naselle returns to action Tuesday at Tacoma Baptist.

Stevenson 3, Ilwaco 0...A winless Ilwaco squad missing three starters was no match for the Trico Division-leading Bulldogs at Stevenson.

Faith Bible 3, Knappa 0...The Lady Loggers couldn't get it going in Hillsboro, falling to Faith Bible in a three game sweep. The Loggers return home to face Corbett on Tuesday.

Jewell 3, Willamette Valley Christian 0...Jalina Johnston was a digging machine as the Lady Jays earned the sweep at home.



CROSS COUNTRY

S.W. WA 1A Meet at Ilwaco...Ilwaco's girls placed second and boys fourth at a six-team meet on Thursday. Katie Freese (22:37) and Stephen Berglund (19:29) each took individual third places for the Fishermen, who compete in the Hoquiam Grizzly Invitational tomorrow. Onalaska took first place (girls 29 pts, boys 24 pts) in both meets. Ilwaco's girls scored 44 points with Castle Rock third with 53. In the boys meet, Naselle took third with 84 points, just behind second place Forks (79) and ahead of Ilwaco (87).

THURSDAY PREP SCOREBOARD

GIRLS SOCCER
Yamhill-Carlton 2, Astoria 1
TILLAMOOK vs. Scappoose, 4:00 p.m.
RAINIER vs. Catlin Gabel, 4:15 p.m.

VOLLEYBALL
Astoria def. Yamhill-Carlton 25-18, 25-17, 25-21
Ilwaco at Stevenson def. Ilwaco 25-11, 25-12, 25-14
WARRENTON def. Portland Adventist 25-9, 25-13, 25-15
Faith Bible def. Knappa 25-11, 25-19, 25-22
Raymond def. Naselle 25-15, 25-19, 17-25, 18-25, 15-13
Seaside at Banks, 7:00 p.m.
JEWELL def. Willamette Valley Christian 25-14, 25-23, 25-15
TILLAMOOK vs. Scappoose, 7:00 p.m.

LADY FISHERMEN OFF TO HISTORIC START

You can count the number of girls soccer playoff games Astoria has played on one hand. Actually, on one finger.


Extend one more digit and you will have the highest number of league victories Astoria has had in any season, with the exception of that 2001 playoff team, which won a grand total of three.


So, while a 2-0 start to league play may not sound like much to those outside Clatsop County, it is certainly cause to celebrate in Astoria. Especially when the second win is against rival Seaside.


The Lady Fishermen defeated the Seagulls 1-0 Wednesday night between chilly showers at the Warrenton Soccer Complex to accomplish something they have never done in the history of the program, start a winning streak in league play.


With their third win of the season, Astoria is just one win away from matching the 2005 team's four victories. But, these are far from the goals this team has in mind this year.


"It's hard to say, but it looks like it's as competitive a District 1 as we've had in years," said head coach Jim Flint, "considering Catlin Gabel and O.E.S. are not the teams they've been in past years. Having said that, each game is tough."


After an evenly played first half, the Lady Fishermen dominated most of the second half, outshooting Seaside 7-1 over the final 40 minutes with the Gulls only shot coming from distance late in the match. The Fishermen had an overwhelming edge in corner kicks with a 9-0 advantage, yet they were unable to extend a 1-0 halftime lead as the Seagulls threatened with a potential counterattack until the final whistle.


If not for a couple of strong saves by Seaside goalkeeper Becca Lent, Astoria might have been able to rest a little easier. Lent went up high into the left corner of goal to tip away a strong 30-yard free kick off the foot of Brooke Schauermann in the 15th minute.


"Nine out of ten keepers I think would have missed that," said Seaside head coach Dave Rouse. "I'm not sure 'Bugs' [sic] could have gotten that one. But, she got it.


"Astoria's a good set play team, I expected that. I figured that to start with, then you look at their Gladstone game I knew they got free kicks and they are going to be tough. They've got big, tall girls and they're strong in the box and that's not one of our strong points."


It would be another set play a minute later that netted Astoria's only goal of the match, as their tallest girl, 6-1 senior defender Kristina Wilson, served a perfect bender into the goal box. Junior midfielder Sarah Pope got a leg up in a crowd to poke the ball into the back of the net.


"It's good to keep the momentum going," said Wilson. "You think you have a goal and the keeper makes a really nice save. But, you get the corner off it. We've struggled a lot with getting our feet and heads on corners in the past, so it's nice to finally finish one up."


Meanwhile, Astoria's athletic defensive backline all but nullified Seaside's speed up front. Still without leading goal-scorer Stephanie Hanthorn, the Gulls looked for counterattack opportunities throughout the contest with speedy forwards Marla Olstedt, Linda Villasenor and April Cockroft, but every breakaway opportunity was tracked down and thwarted by Astoria's speedy fullbacks.


Lynnae Huber had perhaps the defensive play of the night with a strong shoulder charge to knock the dangerous Olstedt off the ball on a run into Astoria's defensive third early in the first half.


"Me and Marla had a few clashes," said Huber, a returning all-Cowapa defender. "It felt nice, but Marla played really well."


Astoria's best second half threat came midway through off a Jordan Cronover corner kick, but Wilson's shot to the near post was flicked away on another nice save by Lent, who finished with five. Astoria got most of its shots during a 5-10 minute stretch later in the half.


The junior goalminder Lent once again displayed her physical strength, enduring her second full speed collision in as many games. In the 61st minute, Lent just beat Astoria forward Charlene Harber to a ball at the edge of the 18-yard box as the strong, 5-11 sprinter slammed into the sliding keeper full force. After a minute or two to walk it off, Lent returned to the goal to finish the game. Last week, the Gull keeper collided with Yamhill-Carlton's high-scoring forward Tera Prosser, knocking her out with a knee injury.


Prosser's status is unknown entering today's matchup with Astoria.


"It's going to be a tough game [today], said Flint. "We've got to come out and play [today]. They tied Seaside 1-1, so we expect this to be hard. We'll see what happens."


Astoria outshot Seaside 11-5 in a game in which very few fouls were called. The rain held off until minutes after the final whistle, however, a lightning flash and distant thunderclap had game administrators consulting with officials in the final ten minutes about a potential stoppage, before play resumed and the teams completed the contest.

SEAGULL BOYS STOMP SCAPPOOSE

The Seaside boys soccer team recorded its second straight shutout victory, defeating Scappoose in surprisingly easy fashion 4-0 at Warrenton Wednesday.


The Gulls moved into second place in the Cowapa League standings with a 2-0-1 record heading into Tuesday's matchup against league-leading Astoria.


For a team that had struggled mightily with a young backline early in the season, the consecutive shutouts shows marked improvement.


"We were bleeding goals earlier in the season," said head coach John Broderick, "just bleeding them! But, we looked at some tape of a couple of games that we should have won. That Sweet Home team is no better than we are. We gave up two or three goals that we never should have and we have them on film. So, we were able to look and say, 'See, here's where we broke down, you guys'. So, I think we were able to fix some things."


If Seaside gets the defensive effort, they have some proven producers up front, as Chris Senick continues to score at a prolific rate. The senior forward added two more goals Wednesday, while Leo Luna scored Seaside's other two.


"The boys knocked the ball around and finished tonight," said Broderick. "We were sorry not to score more than one goal against Yamhill earlier this week, but this time we finished our chances much, much better."


While the defense afforded him a little more protection, sophomore goalkeeper Bren Bletscher was still tested on a couple of occasions, including a penalty kick which caromed off the crossbar and back into play.


"He's just a sophomore and doesn't weigh more than 140 pounds I don't think," said Broderick of his 1st-year goalie. "He goes up high to get balls and leaves himself vulnerable a couple of times."


"It hit the crossbar and bounced straight up and Bren not only had to recover from the ground and get back up and go after that and he got knocked down pretty good there."


With a couple of wins under their belt, the Seagulls hope to halt Astoria's momentum when the two teams clash in the first of two meetings on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.

FISHERMEN BOYS WIN THIRD STRAIGHT

Injured goalkeeper Daniel Mathre found his way onto the field and assisted on Astoria's only goal in a shutout victory at Tillamook. Mathre sent a crossing pass to the far post where fellow junior Zack Norton finished to provide the only goal of the game. Junior Alex Reya recorded his first shutout in goal for Astoria, playing while Mathre recovers from a broken finger.


"We pretty much had the better part of play the whole game," said Astoria head coach Bill Patterson. "We outshot them probably a three to four-to-one ratio."


Despite numerous scoring opportunities and corner kicks, Astoria was not able to tally until the 60th minute of play after switching alignments from a 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2 and finally a 3-4-3 look to start the second half.


"Immediately, we had tons of shots," said Patterson. "We missed three from probably 25 to 30 yards out. We couldn't get it in the frame. Then we got in deep and got into the penalty area and Mathre put a nice cross across the face of the goal and Zack finished on the back of the play. It was a pretty goal."


Twenty to thirty loyal supporters braved the showery, cold conditions to travel south and watch the game. It didn't hurt that Tillamook is now playing on a brand new FieldTurf surface in front of the covered grandstands at Doc Adams Field.


Astoria moves to 3-0 in league play, alone in first place heading into Tuesday's matchup against Seaside.

WEDNESDAY PREP SCOREBOARD

GIRLS SOCCER
Astoria 1, Seaside 0

BOYS SOCCER
Astoria 1, Tillamook 0
SEASIDE 4, Scappoose 0

SALISBURY, FISHERMEN SPANK MOOKS

It was "Camo Night" at the Brick House Tuesday night and the Astoria volleyball team played with the precision and ferocity of an elite military fighting unit. What metaphor could be more apt for volleyball, a sport in which points are scored on kills?


Kristen Saulsbury had eight of her match-high 16 kills in game three as the Astoria Lady Fishermen pounded the first place Tillamook Cheesemakers 25-15, 25-21, 25-16 to jump into a first place tie in the Cowapa League.


"That's how it should have been down there," said Saulsbury, whose team dropped a four-game match at Tillamook last month in the first meeting of the two teams, "but we psyched ourselved out. I think this time we handled ourselved a little better and took care of it."


The earlier loss to the Cheesemakers meant Astoria needed a win to stay in the hunt for a second consecutive Cowapa League title. Now, the rubber match and likely league title showdown is slated for October 18 at Tillamook, when the Cowapa League co-leaders meet for a third time.


The team may want to start lobbying for a rooter bus or ponying up gas money to ferry a group of the vocal 'Fishermen Fanatics' to Tillamook in two weeks. The rowdy student section turned out en masse, almost all clothed in camoflage gear, to help Astoria to a home court advantage, while Tillamook always gets strong support from students and parents for home games and their three league losses at home over three years shows it. The Lady Fishermen haven't won at Tillamook in more than three years.


Astoria used accurate hitting and an effective mixed bag of serves to dispatch the Cheesemakers, who lost their first league game after seven straight victories.


"Offense really clicked tonight," said Astoria head coach Angee Hunt. "We hit probably our best percentage of the season."


Tillamook, perhaps pushed off-target by a strong Astoria block, struggled to put the ball in play on offense in game one. The Cheesemakers had ten attack errors to Astoria's two as the Lady Fishermen led nearly wire-to-wire.


Emily Bunnell closed out game one with a 5-point service run and Meredith Barnes put away a game point kill off an assist by Kayce Lilley, her fourth kill of the game.


After smooth sailing, Astoria immediately hit choppy water in game two, as the Cheesemakers took advantage of wildly erratic passing to build a 7-1 lead, forcing an early time out.


"It was just sort of a mental letdown," said Hunt. "Just coming out a little relaxed. When you beat a team solidly in the first game you have a tendency to let up. Tillamook's a good team. You can't give them too much slack because they'll take it and run with it."


The severely skittish serve-receive eventually settled down mid-match, and Sophie DeWitt helped turn the tide with an 8-point service run that included some superb back row play. Danielle Bergeson, a junior, came off the bench to combine with DeWitt in the back row and both players contributed to the run with kills from behind the 10-foot line, as Astoria turned a 15-13 deficit into a 21-15 lead. As in game one, Barnes closed things out with a sharp downward hit for a game point kill.


"That's a testament to how hard they were able to work and pick things up and turn it around and stay mentally on track with the gameplan," said Hunt.


DeWitt, who had a quiet night hitting with just five kills in the match, had serving runs of three or more points in each game, finishing 23-for-23 with four aces to go with two solo blocks.


Meanwhile, Kristen Saulsbury more than picked up slack at the net. The senior outside hitter had five kills in game two, but was just getting warmed up. After Tilly took an early 3-0 lead in game two, DeWitt again stepped behind the line as Astoria ran off four straight points, helped by a Salisbury overkill, an ace serve by DeWitt and two more Tillamook hitting errors. The Fishermen would never trail again.


Saulsbury served up a variety of putaways, with power shots, a well-placed power tip, a beautiful line tip and her patented paintbrush off-speed shot. Even after a disputed over-net call, Saulsbury responded with a forceful smash from just inside the 10-foot line to win back the side-out late in the match. Saulsbury hit .433 for the match with just one error.


"Great hitters can make any set look awesome," said Hunt. "It's the good hitters that need the ones coming to them in the same place every time to get the kills. She's really adjusting nicely and making some smart shots and doing some nice things with the ball."


Another possible momentum killer in game three would not throw the Fishermen off course when Tillamook's Chelsea Schriber crossed the center line, causing senior middle blocker Meredith Barnes to come down on her foot. Barnes rolled her ankle and had to be helped off the floor. Astoria led 8-5 at the time, but Tillmook was never able to gain ground, with the Fishermen eventually pulling away for strong finish and a 3-game sweep.


"Meredith was playing great tonight," said Hunt. "She was owning the net and she was blocking big. We ended up with Kristen in the middle and she had a real nice block and a couple of kills in that rotation."


Ashlee Martens, a junior, jumped in to relieve Barnes and was able to make a positive contribution. Barnes, who has injured the same ankle previously, was able to return at the end of the match and was optimistic about being able to return to practice Wednesday.


The Lady Fishermen improved to 8-2 overall with the win, with both losses coming to teams they will see this Saturday at the Seaside Tournament, an annual congregation of the top volleyball teams in Northern Oregon. Astoria will be pooled with 2nd-ranked La Grande, a team they defeated at the state tournament last year. Sweet Home and Cascade from the Capital Conference will also be pooled against Astoria at the tourney, which starts bright and early at 8:00 a.m. Saturday at Seaside High School and Broadway Middle School. Number one-ranked Estacada, which handed Astoria its only other loss, and defending state champion North Bend will be among the teams competing at Seaside. Tillamook will also be at the tournament along with Banks from the Cowapa League.


Prior to the Seaside Tournament, the Lady Fishermen travel to Yamhill-Carlton for their next Cowapa League game on Thursday.

WARRENTON AT O.E.S.

Although the Oregon Episcopal School Aardvarks returned almost everybody from a team that finished third in the state tournament, OES was considered to be a 2-player team last year. One of those players, 6-4 middle blocker Alexandra Mason graduated.

If they are a one-player team now, that player is still good enough to carry the Aardvarks a long way.

Libby Morrison covers so much ground on the court that she seems to be playing every position. The Warrenton Warriors had no answer for Morrison and the Aardvarks, who swept the Warriors 25-12, 26-24, 25-17 Tuesday night, handing Warrenton its first Lewis & Clark League loss.

"She is not as good as the girl from Burns was," said Warrenton head coach Jim Hackwith, referring to 3A volleyball and basketball player of the year Jessica Clemens, now wearing a University of Portland uniform in both sports, "but she is one of the smartest players I've seen. She doesn't always hit it hard, but sees the floor well and makes good decisions. OES goes to her for everything they do, but she's still unstoppable because she does everything well.

Morrison, being recruited by a handful of top Division I schools, led the Aardvarks to a game one romp, but Warrenton was competitive over the final two games of the match.

"Game two we were in the lead at the end," said Hackwith. "Lauren Dove got called for a lift when it was 23-22." Instead of Warrenton serving for game point, the disputed call gave OES the ball with a 23-23 tie. A service ace cinched a 26-24 finish to the game for the Aardvarks.


The Warriors played tough all the way through game three before the Aardvarks closed out with five straight points to pull away for a 25-17 result.


Ashley Poole was limited to three kills, but put her passing skills to the test and came up with a perfect score on 27-fo-27 attempts.


"Because of how hard Libby hits, getting digs off the floor and being 100-percent passing shows how good of a player she really is," said Hackwith of his all-league senior outside hitter, who may not be Division I material, but with above average leaping ability, a strong left-handed stroke and a range of skills will certainly be an asset to any smaller college program. Not to mention, Poole has the kind of competitive spirit that relishes an opportunity to face one of the state's top individual talents and teams.


"Ashley was definitely wanting to go another game," said Hackwith. "She does like trying to find different ways of going after those types of people."


Dove led Warrenton with four kills and three blocks. Setter Jordane Marxer also had a perfect passing night and Claire Ogren contributed two blocks to the cause.


The Warriors, now 4-1 in league and 7-2 overall, play Portland Adventist Academy at home on Thursday.

TUESDAY VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP

Castle Rock 3, Ilwaco 0...The Lady Fishermen got a taste of winning over the weekend at a tournament in Raymond, but could not carry it back into Trico Division play, falling to the visiting Rockets 25-7, 25-11, 25-18. Erin McDonnell played strong at the net for Ilwaco, which travels to league-leading Stevenson on Thursday.

Naselle 3, Willapa Valley 1...Ahlstrom seven kills stepped up with some tremendous hits and played really well all around. Sylvia Herrold eight kills and seven blocks. Brandi Keightley led with nine kills. Emily Green five blocks. More consistent. Rotations were smoother. League opener vs. Raymond Thursday. Losing Ahlstrom to oral surgery Thursday morning.

De La Salle 3, Knappa 0...The Loggers faced another tough Northwest League customer at home, falling in three games to the visiting Knights. Knappa travels to Faith Bible on Thursday.

Seaside 3, Yamhill-Carlton 0...The Seagulls picked up their first 3-game sweep of the season, while maintaining hold of third place in the Cowapa League standings. Megan Potter led the Seagulls with 11 kills and two blocks while hitting .476 on the night. Mollie Schmidt had ten kills for Seaside.

TUESDAY PREP SCOREBOARD

VOLLEYBALL
ASTORIA def. Tillamook 25-15, 25-21, 25-16
Castle Rock def. Ilwaco 25-7, 25-11, 25-18
Oregon Episcopal def. Warrenton 25-12, 26-24, 25-17
De La Salle def. Knappa 25-13, 25-15, 25-12
NASELLE def. Willapa Valley 23-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-20
SEASIDE def. Yamhill-Carlton 25-18, 25-21, 27-25
Jewell at C.S. Lewis, 5:30 p.m.
Scappoose at Banks, 7:00 p.m.

SEAGULLS SECURE FIRST COWAPA WIN

Henry Broderick scored from the top of the penalty box off a cross by Jose Peon with ten minutes remaining in the first half and the Seaside Seagulls held on to defeat Yamhill-Carlton 1-0 in a Cowapa League boys soccer match Monday.


"We owned the ball, possessed the ball an awful lot in the first half," said Seaside head coach John Broderick. "We couldn't get very many powerful shots off. Their keeper [all-leaguer Greg Slater] made about six or eight saves."


Seagulls goalkeeper Bren Bletcher made a few saves of his own, including one that saw him upended by a Scappoose attacker, drawing a yellow card.


"We put out all the fires and made no defensive mistakes," said Broderick.


The Seagulls, now 1-0-1 in Cowapa League, return to action Wednesday against Scappoose with the game time up in the air following the rescheduling of the Astoria-Seaside girls game, which has been postponed one day to Wednesday.