Sports – Page 66 – The Western Howl

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

The MLB playoffs kicked off last week and since spring training this season has been sold as the year the Cubs break their curse. But it’s not only the supposed year of Chicago.

Boston Red Sox's Mookie Betts runs to first after hitting a single in the third inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park, Thursday, July 21, 2016, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola) — Boston Red Sox’s Mookie Betts runs to first after hitting a single in the third inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park, Thursday, July 21, 2016, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

This is also a year where young players have come to the front.

The Boston Red Sox have found an MVP frontrunner in Mookie Betts, who is only in his third professional season. He’s joined in the outfield by Jackie Bradley Jr. and Andrew Benintendi. All are products of the Boston farm system.

Rookie Tyler Naquin has been outstanding since being called up by the Cleveland Indians, joining the team’s leading batters, 22-year-old Francisco Lindor and 24-year-old Jose Ramirez, in a high powered lineup. Naquin has a .296 batting average, just shy of the .300 mark his millennial teammates have notched.

The Dodgers have seven rookies on their playoff roster after an injury plagued season.

But the NL deals the Dodgers a more defensive path to the World Series than the power hitting AL. Count ‘em up: Lester, Scherzer, Bumgarner on down. Between all the aces, eight of the NL’s ten best ERA pitchers made it to the postseason.

Analysts predicted a Cubs-Red Sox World Series from a long ways out. My own prediction is Indians-Nationals. No matter what, we know that a lot of fresh faces are currently going through the ringer to come out October veterans.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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One for the record books

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Western’s football team put on a show in Monmouth as the Wolves hosted Simon Fraser on Oct. 8. The Wolves won 33-7, improving to 3-3 on the season. Nick Duckworth connected with wideout Paul Revis to set new school records for single-game passing yards and receptions.
The opening three possessions kept the game scoreless as the Wolves looked to get their feet under them. A 27-yard touchdown pass to Revis from starting quarterback Philip Fenumiai opened the scoring at the end of the first quarter.
But the day under center would belong to junior Nick Duckworth, who took over in the second quarter and went on to complete 26 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns. In addition to Revis, Duckworth found reliable targets in junior wideout Zack Suarez, who put up 42 yards and a touchdown, and senior tight end Andy Avgi who proved a particular threat in the red zone. The Woodburn native caught two touchdowns.
“It felt good being back after being out two weeks. I thought it was a great home win for us to get back on track with Central coming up next week,” Duckworth said.
Duckworth also threw a pair of interceptions, but didn’t let them shake his focus, “I just tried to come back on the next drive and get an early completion to get my mind off the last throw.”
He finished the day with a 91.5 passer rating.
The new records belonging to Revis are 17 receptions in a game and 250 receiving yards.
“I was just trying to get open and create opportunity,” Revis said after the game. He’s less focused on the records, being more concerned with the season to come. “I was fortunate to get the ball thrown my way and make things happen. Hoping to build off the momentum to continue for the rest of our season. Getting a record is a huge honor and couldn’t happen without the play of the rest of my teammates. This is something I’ll enjoy more down the road.”
On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Tyler Johnson had two sacks and an interception as part of the effort that kept SFU to one score.
Revis and Johnson were named the GNAC offensive and defensive players of the week for their impressive performances.
The Wolves are on the road this week, taking on Central Washington. Next week they host Humboldt State for homecoming on Oct. 22. They beat Humboldt in their first meeting earlier this year.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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Raiding Oakland

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

In the eyes of St. Louis, Stan Kroenke is a worm of the lowliest caliber, who swept their Rams away following the allure of Los Angeles. Mark Davis and Alex Spanos look toward relocation as well, and fans of the Raiders and Chargers may need to prepare to join St. Louis in grieving. raiders-crest-raiders-com

Kroenke, owner of the Rams, moved his team out of St. Louis this year. Spanos wants his Chargers to leave San Diego and Davis has been courting the Raiders to a variety of cities. Most deals fell through but a recent proposal from Las Vegas is gaining significant traction.

The perpetually 7-9 Rams could have been playoff contenders in St. Louis. Regular demolition jobs of top opponents like Seattle, Arizona and Denver showcased their talent. The problem was that Los Angeles became a wide-open football market with the fall of USC. All Kroenke had to figure out was how to get there. The surest way to get out of town was to put out a paltry product and alienate local fans.

It worked for Clay Bennett, Robert Irsay and now Kroenke. It may work for Spanos, who spent this offseason refusing to give the third-overall pick the terms and payment top-draft-picks expect.

Unfortunately the tragedy in Oakland is not Mark Davis’ fault.

Oakland’s decrepit O.co Coliseum has the lowest capacity in the NFL. The Raiders need new ground but Davis is not one of the league’s billionaire owners. Packing a thin wallet, he can almost justify the notion of stadium subsidies. After all, a sports team is a massive part of a city’s identity and economy. The argument of owners is that teams are essentially public goods.

The taxpayers of Alameda County aren’t having it.

Various outsiders are open to helping Davis with the expensive art of stadium construction. Though the most recent is Las Vegas, other contenders were nominated in recent years.

The Raiders tried to join the Rams and the Chargers in Los Angeles. They lived in L.A. once before, but like any Hell’s Angel, they came roaring back to Oakland. San Diego has been considered if Spanos succeeds in relocating the Chargers, or the west coast could be abandoned altogether for San Antonio.
Nothing beats Texas football.

What makes this all a bummer is that for the first time, since the Jon Gruden days, the Raiders are on the come-up. With Jack Del Rio as head coach and Derek Carr under center, they’re likely to make the playoffs this year. The people of Oakland, who have watched the Raiders gurgle with mediocrity for a decade and a half, now face the prospect of seeing the rebuilding era pay dividends to another community.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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Extra time thriller

By: Paul Davis

Freelancer

The Western soccer team lost their seventh game, against Saint Martin’s University on Thursday Oct. 10, 3-4.

The first half was a slugfest. Neither team dominated the other. In the 12th minute, star player Taylor Higa, scored the only goal of the half with an unassisted shot to the lower left corner of the goal, a shot that the goalie had no chance of reaching.

The second half of the game, however, was a stunner. In the fourth minute of the second half SMU forward, Hannah Frakes, scored a header off of a corner kick to equalize the game.
Then a high scoring back-and-forth began. In the 67th minute, the Wolves scored another goal thanks again to Taylor Higa. Six minutes later SMU struck back and equalized the game again.

Both teams scored another goal in the last 10 minutes of the game; Western in the 81st minute and SMU in the 88th. But sadly, 49 seconds into extra-time SMU forward, Kelli Bannerman, ended the game by scoring a goal by kicking the ball over Western’s goalkeeper’s head to end the game with a loss for our ladies.

Contact the author at paul.davis1255@gmail.com

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Wolves go north

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

A long road trip saw Wolves volleyball take on Universities of Alaska at Anchorage and Fairbanks. Top ten-ranked Anchorage beat the Wolves, but they returned to Monmouth with a win after besting Fairbanks 3-1.

The Wolves put up some solid plays against Anchorage, out digging them 44-41. Senior Christie Colasurdo led on defense, racking up 19 of the digs. But these 44 digs were the result of a game played on the defense. Anchorage was all around too tough and with the win they advanced to a 17-1 record on the season.

The match against Fairbanks opened with a loss in the close first set, 22-25. The Wolves then rattled off a dominant performance the rest of the match and took three sets in a row.

“Our mentality really changed,” Colasurdo said after the game. “We decided we wanted to dictate the game and control what happened to our side and we did just that. We came out much more aggressive and started playing to win, and it worked.”

Alisha Bettinson posted yet another double-double on the season in the game against Fairbanks, racking up 15 kills and 12 digs. Colasurdo had 21 digs, and Sydney Blankinship put up 12 kills and a block. The team hit .267 on the day.

Wolves volleyball came back from Alaska with a 6-9 record, 3-5 in-conference. Your next chance to see them at home is Oct. 20 against St. Martin’s, who the Wolves beat earlier this year. The night will be a pink out, so wear pink for breast cancer awareness.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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Strong showing at Charles Bowles

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Western cross country ran well at the Charles Bowles Invitational hosted by Willamette University in Salem. The men’s team finished fifth in scoring and the women’s team finished ninth.

Sophomore Dustin Nading finished in eighth place out of the 168 runners in the men’s race to help lead the team to its top five finish. Junior Kennedy Rufener came in sixteenth among the women, out of 189 runners.

The invitational hosted schools across NCAA Divisions I, II and III. The men’s team finished top among Division II schools.

Western Oregon hosts the next cross country meet on Oct. 7, in the second of the year’s two Ash Creek Invitationals. Wolves runner David Ribich won the first go-round, and both men’s and women’s team finished second overall.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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Welcome to October

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Time’s relentless march now blows us into the cold days of autumn. Days that grow short as the nights grow cold. The leaves turn and the harvest comes in and frost thickens on fields laid bare. The fun of summer becomes as distant as the spring that preceded it.

We are now in the best month of the year for sports.

The story of the football season has begun to be told but every team still has a say in its destiny. Quarterbacks scramble like the black cats that dance along cemetery fences. Anything is still possible.

Baseball now gets very serious. The playoffs are upon us, and the end of the month will crown the World Series champion. For one month, America watches its national pastime. For one month, everyone cares about baseball.

Basketball and hockey enter the time of fresh beginnings. Fans recite contradicting prophecies in every town and city across the country, saying “This is our year.” Ultimately, the year only belongs to one team. But for the NHL and the NBA, this month belongs to all.

For rodeo fans, the PBR World Finals comes in November. Bull riders on the cusp fight to qualify for Vegas. The million-dollar, gold buckle payday is just beyond the wicked grin of the jack o’lantern.

Wolves howl and bats screech. Witches cackle and farmers buck hay. Students study and the ghosts rattle chains.

Welcome to October. Let’s play ball.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Western Oregon University’s Land Acknowledgement
Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR is located within the traditional homelands of the Luckiamute Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 (Kalapuya etc. Treaty), Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.

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Young bucks lead the way

One for the record books

Raiding Oakland

Extra time thriller

Wolves go north

Strong showing at Charles Bowles

Welcome to October

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