Sports Blog
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Game of the week
Canby's 36-35 overtime victory on Friday night was featured on KATU's High School Blitz. Check out their coverage of the game.
~ posted by Alex Tam at 6:16 PM
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
A link here and there
Interesting stuff out there concerning Canby and its sports teams.
We might as well get right into it.
OregonLive.com held its weekly "Week 3 meaningless pick 'em" for 10 meaningful games on Friday.
The Canby vs. South Salem game makes the list. On the panel again are O-Live sports producer Sean Meagher, associate producer and videographer Tim Brown and Mike Richman.
Canby @ South Salem: Likely the best 0-2 team in the state, Canby is ripe for a win while South Salem looked very impressive in a Week 2 win (40-26) over Thurston.
SM: Canby
TB: Canby
MR: Canby
The Cougars are again picked to win, although the same thing happened last week and we all know how that turned out.
Here are the rest of their
picks
In football, another quote from a football coach within the Three Rivers League about the introduction of Canby into the league. The consensus, however, is still Lake Oswego being the favorite to win the league title.
John Denny, Clackamas Review,
LO still favored
The state’s coaches like the Lakers. They were ranked second in the state in last week’s Class 6A poll.
“Obviously, until someone beats them, Lake Oswego’s the favorite,” said West Linn coach Ron Chappell. “I think Canby has to be considered a contender, based on the school’s football program. But I think we’ll challenge both those teams.”
This week, the rankings are out from the OSAA for football, boys/girls soccer and volleyball.
These rankings will eventually determine state-playoff seeding, so every game, every match and every victory -- or loss -- matters this season.
They are determined by the RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) system.
What is the formula?
Factors included are wins, losses, ties and location of the contest (home, neutral, away). Score differential, coaches/media polls and rewards/penalties for playing teams outside one’s classification are not a part of the OSAA’s RPI system.
The basic formula factors a team’s Weighted Winning Percentage (WWP) (25%), a team’s Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OWP) (50%), and a team’s Opponents’ Opponents’ Winning Percentage (OOWP) (25%) to create a team’s RPI ranking.
Football:
Canby sits 32nd with an RPI of 375 with a record of 0-2. You have to figure, though, the Cougars' RPI will rise from here on out.
Boys soccer:
Canby sits in 24th with an RPI of 521 with a record of 1-1.
Girls soccer:
Canby sits in 32nd with an RPI of 354 with a 2-0 record. The score reflects what the RPI is all about as the Cougars' opponents are North Salem -- 37th in the RPI -- and Franklin -- 36th and last in Class 5A.
Volleyball:
Canby is 17th with an RPI of 595 with a 4-1 record.
~ posted by Alex Tam at 9:52 PM
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
An inspiring story
It was probably the biggest story to come out of last Friday's game for Canby against Central Catholic.
By now, the story has been on national television and could have resulted in a tragedy.
Central Catholic junior running back Hayward Demison scored the game-winning touchdown over Canby with 7:45 left in the game. Demison scampered up the sideline 45 yards in the fourth quarter to put the Rams ahead 28-24.
From there, things turned to an unfortunate twist. It was later revealed that Demison suffered a heart attack just after the play. And our well wishes go out to him and his family that he is doing great and looks like he'll make a full recovery to play football next season.
Now, people have asked me what I saw and what happened.
From my perspective on the sidelines, it didn't seem there was indication of anything serious that happened following the play.
An ambulance eventually arrived at the endzone of the West Linn High School football field a few minutes later, but there was no stoppage in the game play. The contest proceeded just as usual.
I figured something had happened to a fan that required assistance.
All of a sudden, reading The Oregonian the next day, I realized the player who scored the game-winning touchdown suffered through a night he might remember for a long time.
The story has made national headlines, picked up by every local news outlet as well as nationally by Fox News, MSNBC and Yahoo news.
Here's the original story put out the Saturday following the game by The Oregonian.
Jerry Ullmer, The Oregonian,
Central Catholic's Hayward Demison 'just happy to be alive'
“It was the scariest thing I've ever been a part of,” Central Catholic football coach Steve Pyne said.
Demison, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound high school junior, was diagnosed with athletic asthma two years ago. So after his touchdown run, when his heart raced and he struggled to catch his breath, he sent for his inhaler. After using it, though, his heart only accelerated. Nauseated and dizzy, he lost his balance and leaned on assistant coach Woody Green.
“He was gasping for air like it was his last breath,” Green said.
He was having a heart attack.
“I just fell on the ground,” Demison said. “I don't remember anything else except waking up a few minutes later, and people are standing over me, and I'm in shock. I'm trying to get up, and everybody's saying, 'Stay there. Calm down.' I looked to my left and saw everybody, and they were crying.”
It was a scary situation, and hopefully one we don't have to see again.
Lisa Lyver, a cardiac nurse who was in the stands, came down to the field and performed CPR on Demison and simply saved his life.
A true hero. And we are certainly happy to hear that Demison is doing well.
~ posted by Alex Tam at 11:15 PM
Thursday, September 09, 2010
"Meaningless" but interesting
OregonLive.com continued its weekly high school pick 'ems for week 2, which they dubbed the "Meaningless" Pick 'em contest. Of the 10 games, Canby-Central Catholic was among them.
The crew consisted of O-Live sports producer Sean Meagher, associate producer and videographer Tim Brown and Mike Richman.
Their picks?
Central Catholic @ Canby: Both the Rams and Cougars come into Week 2 reeling from losses to Class 6A's top two teams in Week 1. Canby holds the edge in healthy players and available starters.
SM: Canby
TB: Canby
MR: Canby
For the rest of their picks of Week 1
~ posted by Alex Tam at 2:48 PM
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Opening of the new season
It's finally here.
The start to the 2010 high school season, meaning football, volleyball, soccer and cross country all kick off their seasons.
Everyone seems to be interested in Canby football, of course, with a new coach, new quarterback and a new system. The big questions seem to be how the Cougars transition.
Things got off to a rough start, literally, when Canby fell behind 20-0 in the first quarter before it had a chance to get going.
Here are the recaps:
My recap,
Football - Jesuit 34, Canby 14: Cougars fall behind early, lose season opener
Canby lost its season opener, 34-14, to preseason favorite and top-ranked Jesuit on Friday night at Jesuit High School. It was the Cougars’ first season-opening loss since 2004.
“We came out slow,” senior wingback Brandon Harms said. “Jesuit’s a tough team to play first. A lot of our guys are playing their first time on varsity. We just didn’t adjust to their speed and our poor first quarter really killed us. They scored 20 and we ended up losing by 20.”
Jerry Ullmer, The Oregonian,
Crusaders put pedal to metal early, stop Canby 34-14
In the end, the first quarter was too much for Canby to overcome. It spoiled the coaching debut of Mike Vaught, who assisted for 18 seasons before replacing the retired Mike Doty.
"We came out just a little bit flat. I don't think we were mentally prepared," senior halfback Adam Bell said. "Jesuit is a great team. Later in the season, I definitely think we'll be ready to play with them."
Lake Oswego is the defending TRL champion, and the Lakers are no doubt ready for the challenge with Canby being their season opener on Oct. 1. They realize what Canby has accomplished over the years, and know they make the TRL that much tougher with the subtraction of Rex Putnam and Milwaukie.
Lake Oswego plays Canby just one week after it hosts Jesuit.
Matthew Sherman, Lake Oswego Review,
Road to TRL title still goes through LO
Game to Watch
Lake Oswego at Canby
Friday, Oct. 1, 7 p.m.
This could turn out to be the biggest league game Lake Oswego has faced in years. On paper, Canby comes back to the Three Rivers League and instantly becomes the Lakers’ biggest obstacle to winning another league title.
Lake Oswego will travel to Canby which has traditionally been one of the tougher venues to play in the state. Canby is 40-12 over its past four seasons, winning at least a share of the Pacific Conference all four of those years. The Cougars are led by first-year head coach Mike Vaught who previously served as Canby’s defensive coordinator for 14 years.
The Lakers will be coming off another brutal preseason schedule including back-to-back games against arguably the best team in the state of Washington and Oregon respectively.
Volleyball will be another sport ot keep an eye on. Canby completely dominated the Pacific Conference in recent years, winning three straight league championships en route to a 33-match winning streak in league play.
The Cougars now move into a much tougher Three Rivers League with powerhouse West Linn, and solid programs everywhere else, including Clackamas, Oregon City, Lakeridge and Lake Oswego.
The coaches in the TRL have taken notice with Canby's incoming.
John Denny, Clackamas Review,
TRL will be a dogfight
“It’s going to be a challenging league,” said West Linn coach Carl Neuburger. “All of the positions will be hard fought.
“The target on our backs is still the same [for the teams returning to the TRL]. And we’ve added Canby, which is used to winning….
“Canby’s been perpetual league champion in their league, and they’re huge. I think they only lost one significant player. They’re the real deal.”
“The league’s going to be real tough,” said Oregon City coach Syd Yamasaki. “With Canby in there, it’s going to be a dogfight every night.”
And finally, if you were looking for the fall sports preview section, it came in this week's edition inside the Canby Herald.
Here are the links to the following:
Canby football:
Preparing for new life, same expectations
Canby volleyball:
Canby looks to take one more big step
Canby boys soccer:
Attitude change biggest key for Cougars in ‘10
Canby girls soccer:
Canby enters with high aspirations in ‘10
Canby cross country:
Canby seeks new respect in new league
North Marion football:
Team effort to define Huskies' success
North Marion volleyball:
First-year coach in for long haul with North Marion
North Marion boys soccer:
North Marion seeks 3rd straight playoff berth behind experience
North Marion girls soccer:
Expectations high for up-and-coming Huskies
~ posted by Alex Tam at 5:20 PM
