Cougars join new league with great expectations
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
After losing their starting quarterback, the mainstay of their offensive and defensive lines, a 1,500 yard rusher and the two fastest players on the team, one might think Lyle-Wishram is due for a tough year. Instead, Coach Don Smith is extremely optimistic about his Cougars’ chances of winning the league title and going on to play in the Tacoma Dome. Make no mistake about it, playing in the Tacoma Dome is the driving force for Smith and he is taking every opportunity to impress the importance of it on his team.
Smith has good reasons to be optimistic. He, his coaching staff and the team are hungry to get there. This is their fourth year of eight man football and their first with eligibility for post-season play. They start the 2010 season as the newest member of the Pacific South conference for football and they have gone from being a small 2B school to a big 1B school.
Most of all, Smith has reason to be optimistic because he still has his big gun, Henry Matai, and his team is filling the holes and picking up the game plan quickly. In fact the team looked better during practice last Monday than last year’s team at a similar point in their development, and that team went 7-2 against an arguably more difficult league schedule.
Matai is in his fourth and final year of high school football. He has rushed for more than 3,700 yards and could easily break the 4,000 yard mark before league play begins on Sept. 25, at Wishkah Valley. If he has the kind of year he did last year, when he shared the rushing load with his brother, Allen, Matai will go beyond 5,000 yards rushing for his career. If there was ever a player who must be seen in the Tacoma Dome, it is Matai. He is the kind of player who can go the distance every time he touches the ball and he has the combination of speed and power that is made for a fast track like the Tacoma Dome.
There will be subtle changes in the Cougar offense this year. Smith says he has added 12 plays, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be seeing the flea-flicker or fumblerooskie this year. It will still be smash mouth football Henry Matai right, Henry Matai left, Henry Matai up the middle. Those 12 new plays are mainly just different blocking schemes. One thing Smith dropped is the Wildcat offense. They will be running out of the “I” and “T” formations, although double wing hasn’t been abandoned.
With no indication that the team is planning on developing a passing game, someone will need to step forward and help account for the 149 carries and 1,528 yards that Allen Matai gained last year. Smith has several options including good looking freshman Jaryd Quintero or even Trey Kitchens, although Kitchens’ talent for hitting is valuable on the line. Quarterback is unsettled, with Ricky Wolff spending some time there this summer and Jonathan VonAhn running the offense on Monday in Wolff’s absence. Dustin Mutch also played some quarterback during spring ball.
The loss of Dillion Huffman on the line is being addressed with the move of Nolan Smith from end to center. Kyle Radke, new to the team, although he is a junior, has the size to be a key player on the defensive line.
Besides the lack of a passing game, the only weakness appears to be experience. Six of the 19 players are freshmen and they have also brought up at least one eighth grader. On the other hand, their freshmen are not new to football (as was sometimes the case in the past) and the eighth grader, Gabe Montoya, has the size and talent to contribute this year.
The big unknown is the competition. Just as the league has little knowledge about Lyle-Wishram, the Cougars know little about the league. Last year Wishkah Valley and Lake Quinault represented the Pacific league in the playoffs. Smith expects Wishkah Valley to be tough again and he thinks Taholah may also be a contender. But Smith believes three years of playing the tough teams in district nine and some of the premier teams from Oregon, position his Cougars to be among the best in the Pacific conference. If the Cougars finish first or second, they will be in the playoffs and it takes just one win to advance to the semifinals which are played in the Tacoma Dome.
The season starts Sept. 4, with the Dufur Classic against Prairie City. The scheduled game against South Wasco on Sept. 10 has been cancelled, so it will be a long lay-off before the only other non-conference game against Dufur at Lyle on Sept. 17. Dufur and Lyle-Wisrham have developed a bit of a rivalry, promising for an exciting home opener.
Labor Day last day of pool season
Andrew Chistiansen
Reporter
The Goldendale swimming pool will close for the season following Labor Day, according to pool manager, Lori Anderson, due to limited operating and maintenance funds. The season was approximately two months longer than the typical season prior to installation of the inflatable dome. The pool opened for spring break on Mar. 27 this year, much earlier than the usual Memorial Day opening date. It is anticipated that the pool will open similarly in 2011.
The pool has been operating on a levy for the Central Klickitat County Parks and Recreation District (CKCPRD) that was set in 2005. “I am very stingy with the budget,” said Anderson, explaining how the pool managed to stay open two months longer with no increase in budget. However, it isn’t sustainable and the board will ask the voters for a new levy next summer as the five-year funding expires. “Pool user fees account for about one-third of the cost of maintenance and operations,” said Anderson. Pools in general are an added value enterprise and not usually profitable, according to Anderson.
Past problems with pool leaks have been resolved and attendance is up this year. Anderson plans on opening the pool from April through September in 2011. The top will be put in place later this year while the weather is dry. Water is kept in the pool year-round to prevent surfaces from drying and cracking, but the dome will not be heated during winter.
Bigbie shines in final swim meet
Andrew Chistiansen
Reporter
Hailey Bigbie saved some of her best swimming for the final summer meet in Hood River last weekend, logging four wins and four second place finishes for The Dalles swim team. Bigbie, a 10 year old swimmer from Goldendale, knocked more than a minute off her previous best in winning the 500 meter freestyle event. Bigbie had personal records in seven of her eight races. She won the 50 meter breaststroke, and a pair of intermediate medleys. Her second place finishes were in the 50 and 100 meter freestyle, 50 meter butterfly and 50 meter backstroke.
Also winding up the summer season for Goldendale swimmers were Nadia, Jade and Thea Smith and Alyssa Merry. Nadia Smith’s best finish was second place in the 50 meter butterfly and 500 meter freestyle, but she continued to improve with six personal records in eight events. She was in the top five in all eight events.
Jade Smith won the 50 meter freestyle in the eight year old division and had a second, two thirds, a fourth and a fifth place finish. Thea Smith had two top 10 finishes and Merry was a top 10 finisher in all three of her events. |
