ONE LITTLE VICTORY; THE GREATEST THAT CAN BE (apologies to the rock band Rush)

Led by Sydney Greene's 3 three pointers in the first half and an angry, tenacious defense, the Lady Falcons managed to hold off a plucky but over matched Siuslaw squad 36-34 at Elmira High School, Tuesday January 22.  The win broke an 11 game losing streak and raised the Falcons' record to a humble 3-13.

Lady Falcons senior Sydney Greene fires a three point shot from above the key in Elmira's 36-34 victory over Siuslaw, Tuesday January 22.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

However, Elmira almost let the Lady Vikings off the hook.  At one time holding a comfortable 8 point lead in the third quarter, the Lady Falcons found Siuslaw cutting into the lead with the help of a back court press and tenacious play by Brea Blankenship and 5-9 Gracie Freudenthal.  Both teams suffered from poor shooting and sloppy ball handling.

Elmira's Eden Blunt slashes to the basket in the Lady Falcons 36-34 victory over Siuslaw, Tuesday, January 22 at Elmira High School.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

The key to victory however was clear.  When Maranda Hanson was on the floor, the Lady Vikings simply didn't have easy lanes to the rack, with sophomore center collecting 4 blocked shots on the evening and redirecting the several more.

Falcons front line players Maranda Hanson and Alexis White battle Siuslaw's Mia Corrine for a rebound in Elmira's 36-34 victory over the Lady Vikings, Tuesday, January 22.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

The win over lowly Siuslaw doesn't reconcile a difficult, injury plagued season, but it does get them in the win column and end that treacherous 11 game string of futility.  The Lady Falcons need to covet the feeling because their next endeavor will be daunting as they travel to Coos Bay to play the #1 ranked team in the state, Marshfield on Friday night.

TRIBULATION TUESDAY: Three Elmira Teams go into Battle with Mixed Rusults.

All aspects of emotion and success were on display Tuesday September 25 as three Elmira squads  felt the joy and agonies of three different results.

Elmira and Cottage Grove Fight to a Draw

At Swartz Field, the boys' soccer team rebounded from a horrid 10-0 drubbing at the hands of Henley to wage a scoreless draw with Cottage Grove in the Falcons' first league contest of the year.

"I was actually very pleased with the game," head coach Ryan Chambers said in an email.  "Clearly, a win would have been nice but I felt the score was indicative of the game as a whole. It was very evenly matched and both teams played pretty well."

In one of the best defensive performances of they year, Chambers kept midfielder Riley Chambers back to patrol the middle, a strategy that flummoxed any sense of rhythm that the Lions' offense was trying to muster.  When Cottage Grove was able to pressure the goal, Jaden Palmer was laying in wait, rejecting 9 shots on goal, unofficially, and registering his third shut out of the season.

Elmira Volleyball Team Returns to Winning Ways

After absorbing a first set loss to upstart Suislaw, the Lady Falcons flexed their combined talents and won the final three games as Elmira rolled past the Lady Vikings 3-1 at Elmira High School, Tuesday September 25.  

Putting the first game behind, the Lady Falcons began to methodically carry out their game plan with Sydney Green leading the team in assists.  The beneficiaries of Green's generosity were Maranda Hanson who led the team with 11 kills and Carly Grossmiller who added 8 kills.

"It was a rough first set," commented Elmira volleyball head coach Sarah Wartenbee in an email.  "They finally started palying together and completing the plays that they are capable of.  It was nice to see."

The improvement is easy to see in the record.  After suffering a dismal rut, losing 9 consecutive sets the week before last to league opponents Marist, Junction City and Cottage Grove, The Lady Falcons have rallied to go 6-5 in sets in the last week.  This is just in time as Elmira has a road tilt with 10th ranked Marshfield, who despite being in second place in the league sport a sparkling 12-3 record going into the match.  

Lady Falcons fall at Cottage Grove

Elmira's girls' soccer team was equally scrappy as they stayed within two goals of the 11th ranked Lady Lions until the 10:00 minute mark of the second half before a third goal and a penalty kick late spelled a 4-0 loss.  

Elmira's Paige Reichenberger delivers a header in front of a Cottage Grove defender in the Falcon's 4-0 loss to the Lady Lions, Tuesday September 25 at Cottage Grove High School.  Photo Kimberly Lillie

"Cottage Grove has some very talented and fast players," noted Elmira girls' soccer head coach Rob Lee in an email.  "(they) were very aggressive getting after loose balls."  

The Lady Falcons fell behind on an inexplicable deflection off a corner kick snuck past the goal line.  However, Lee saw continued progress from his young team. 

"We defended very well most of the time," Lee said.  "(Goalkeeper) Andrah Cobb made some incredible saves to help keep the score where it was."

Goalkeeper Andrah Cobb fires the ball out of the Falcons zone during their game with Cottage Grove.  Elmira fell to the Lady Lions 4-0, Tuesday September 25 at Cottage Grove High School.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

Elmira Opens 2018 with a Bang, Demolishing Suislaw

When asked about the difficult road ahead with three teams in the top five rankings in the 4A-Sky Em Conference, Head Coach Justin Peeler felt like his young, inexperienced Elmira Falcons would be ready for the opening game of the 2018 season against Suislaw.  Peeler may have underestimated his team.

With the Falcons scoring in every conceivable ways on both sides of the ball and the Elmira's defensive line bullying the hapless Suislaw offensive line, Peeler's team raced out to a 28-0 first quarter lead and never looked back, punishing the Vikings 74-6 at Suislaw High School in Florence, Friday August 31.

Viking's quarterback Elijah Blankenship was like a lamb led to slaughter.  The diminutive Suislaw QB was constantly running for his life from a relentless pass rush led by Cobyn Herbert, who led the team in tackles with 4 and registered the only sack of the night.  The pursuit of Blankenship was so vexing that there never seemed a play when Viking passes weren't under extreme duress, rolling out of the pocket and throwing desperately out of bounds. Blankenship was only 6-18 passing for 43 yards and one touchdown.  Blankenship was intercepted three times including a pick six by the Falcons' Rowdy Ramirez that made the score 49-0.

Suislaw quarterback scrambles away from a heavy rush by Elmira defenders Cobyn Herbert (17) and Ryan Imel (33) during the Falcon's 74-6 rout of the Vikings.  Photo by Stan Pusieski/ExplodingWhaleSports.com

In contrast to Blankenship's nightmare, it was the first start for Herbert at quarterback.  Throwing sparingly but efficiently, he was 3 for 4 for 43 yards and two touchdown passes.  Herbert also blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown as well.  Herbert, the 6-4, 195 pound sophomore,  has the confidence of his coach.

"He is a gamer," Peeler said in an email.  "He steps it up a whole level when he steps onto the field for games."

Abundantly clear, early in the game, was that Elmira's defensive line had so thoroughly demoralized the Vikings, that the game lost all sense of competitiveness by midway through the second quarter.  Elmira's huge halftime lead led officials to run the clock on the "mercy rules", without stopping the clock for out of bounds and first downs for the entire second half. 

"Overall, the defense stepped up and dominated the game for us," Peeler commented in an email.

In the wreckage of the aftermath, Elmira could count 5 turnovers forced, holding the opponent to 161 yards and just over 3 yards a play, while accumulating 480 yards and 8 offensive touchdowns.  If there was a flaw in the performance it would point to the 12 penalties for 119 yards.  However, Gavin Laing came off the JV bench to bolt 70 yards for the final score of the night to salve any tarnish from the officials.

"He is special," Peeler said of Laing, "but we want to give him one year of JV.  He will see minutes, hopefully, every week on Varsity.  He has the potential to be a great running back."

The next game is another road game own south at North Valley on Friday at 7pm. Victory in the out of league contest promises to be a more daunting accomplishment for the Falcons.

"This will be a better test as to who we are as a team," noted Peeler.  "They are big and physical.  We need to dominate their line to win this game."

The game will be replayed at 4pm Sunday afternoon by KOCF, 92.5 FM.