Boys Soccer Team Gets Ranked and Then Gets Rolled

"We didn't play our best soccer tonight," boys varsity soccer coach Ryan Chambers said to the opposing Banks coaches after the tangle with Elvira on Thursday September 6 at Swartz Field.
Employing a rough and tumble attack, Banks recovered from an early goal by Mason Oilar to holding the Falcons scoreless in the first half, out-shooting Elmira and general spending the rest of the first half in the their opponents end of the field.

The Falcons scored again on a broken play in front of the Banks goal when Brian Estrada notched a goal over the sprawled Banks goalkeeper for a 2-0 lead.  Then Elmira had to withstand the roughneck style of Banks to hold on for a 2-0.  The victory left the Falcons 8th ranked by the OSAA with an undefeated record, out scoring their opponents 13-2 in the process.

The accomplishment was short-lived.

If Chambers didn't like the play on Thursday, he definitely was unhappy on Saturday September 8 when the Henley Hornets came in and whipped Elmira by a 4-0 count that wasn't as close as the score indicated.  The previously ranked Falcons emerged Saturday morning like they hadn't had their first cup of coffee before the 11 am start.  Elmira struggled against a disciplined Hornets attack, surrendering an early goal at the 30:15 mark of the first half.  Plagued by a rash of midfield ball losses and uncharacteristic poor passing, Jaden Palmer was forced to defend a barrage of Henley shots.  Palmer may have played his finest half of soccer in his short career, collecting 11 first half saves, many of them athletic masterpieces.  Henley out shot the Falcons 13-5 in the first half.  Most frustrating for Coach Chambers was the goal given up with only 21 seconds remaining in the game, where it seemed that Elmira might have let up in the waning moments of the game.

Guillermo Farje (6) defends against a Henley mid-fielder in the Falcons' 4-0 loss on Saturday September 8 at Swartz Field.  Photo: Kimberly Lillie

Complicating the matter was the loss of two starters because they were running cross country.  Additionally, Riley Chambers suffered a high ankle sprain at the 5:47 point of the first half and was lost for the remainder of the game as well.  The prognosis is good that Chambers will return for the next start.

Lady Falcons Volleyball Moves to 4-1 to Start Season

The Lady Falcons Volleyball team traveled north and came off a second set loss to rally to a 3-1 victory over Gladstone.  The victory pushed Elmira's record to 3-1 on the young season.

"We were trying a new rotation and had people in different spots, then kept it close the last two sets to come back for the win," commented head coach Sarah Wartenbee.  "Consistent serving is our biggest challenge right now.  We have given up too many points for it not to be something to work on."

Brianna Mills rises to challenge a Madras hitter's shot in a 3-2 loss earlier this season.  Photo:  Kimberly Lillie

The Lady Falcons were back on the court for the second half of a home and home series with visiting Gladstone on Thursday September 6 at Elmira High School.  Despite a close call in the third game, Elmira finished off Gladstone in an hour and 15 minutes, sweeping the Lady Glads 3-0 and allowing the Lady Falcons' record to swell to 4-1 on the young season. 

Elmira Boys Soccer Vaults to #8 in OSAA Rankings

Fresh off a second straight shut out win, the OSAA has taken notice of the Elmira boys soccer team 3-0 record, as well as their gaudy defensive accomplishments so far this season, rewarding them with a #8 ranking in 4A.  In three matches, the Falcons have outscored their opponents a combined 11-1.

"I really do not put a lot of stock in early season rankings or predictions," said Head Coach Ryan Chambers in an email.  "My goals week to week and game to game are really to just see improvement with ball movement, communication, passing accuracy, and defensive structure.  So far, we are improving with those elements every game."

Riley Chambers moves the ball upfield in the Falcons' 4-1 home victory over North Bend.  Photo: Kimberly Lillie

Riley Chambers is leading a strong offensive charge early this season with 4 goals and 5 assists.  Keegan Cook, Ethan Yost, and senior Mason Oilar have all contributed to the scoring.  On the defensive side, coach Chambers sees potential as well.

"Paul Ossowski, Willito Farje, Jacob Admire and new goalie Captain Jaden Palmer are playing well together right now and I expect things to just keep getting stronger on the back line."

Changes in alignment means that the Falcons will have plenty of stern competition on their schedule as former 5A school Marist Catholic and Marshfield both move into the 4A Sky Em for soccer.

"There is potential for every team in our league to be pretty good," noted Chambers.  "Every league game this year will be a battle for sure.  I have confidence in our players to compete with every team in our league."

Falcon's Goalkeeper Jaden Palmer deflects a North Bend shot on goal during Elmira's 4-1 victory on August 28.
 Photo:  Kimberly Lillie

The Falcon's look to go 4-0 Thursday September 6 as they host Banks with a 4:15 start time.

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.

JV Gridders Roll in Opener

The future of Elmira Falcons looks brighter after the JV Gridders won a wild 58-27 contest over Dallas that was called at the 3:37 mark of the fourth quarter due to a serious arm injury to Dragon tail back Jared Gunn, requiring a lengthy ambulance response. Gunn was reported to be in good condition and would not need surgery.

Defense was at a premium in the first half as the Falcons and Dragons exchanged touchdowns in the first quarter. However, the Falcons’ defense stiffened in the second quarter withstanding two long Dallas drives and keeping the Dragons out of the endzone. This while the Falcons’ quick striking offense scored twice to give Elmira a 28-13 halftime lead.

Nat Brown runs for a 25 yard touchdown in the Falcons' JV victory over Dallas. Photo: Kimberly Lillie 

Elmira took the opening kickoff and extended its lead to 36-13 on Gavin Laing’s 50 yard burst. After an interception by Landen Parker, the Falcon’s scored again on a Nat Brown 6 yard touchdown pass from Ian Drago to give Elmira an insurmountable 42-13 lead, despite the fact that Dallas dominated in time of possesion.

Lainge led the Falcons with 140 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns on only 5 carries.

Lady Falcons Soccer Rebound; Blank Sweet Home

When Head Coach Rob Lee’s Lady Falcons soccer team stumbled out of the gate with a forgettable 7-0 loss, he was optimistic that the growing process for the team was still assured, despite no senior leadership

“This is my 10th season as head coach and this is definitely the most inexperienced team,” Lee responded in an email. “However, “inexperienced” doesn’t mean “untalented”... we definitely have some great talent and there are multiple diamonds in the rough that I look forward to developing into future shining stars.”

Lee was proven right.

Kennady Laing scored twice and Megan Porter scored late to provide the frosting on the cake as Elmira blanked the Sweet Home 3-0 Thursday, August 31 at Elmira High School. The victory evened the Lady Falcons record to 1-1.

Shaking off a sluggish, scoreless first half, where goalkeeper Andrah Cobb fended off numerous first half shots on goal, the Lady Falcons wound up spending the bulk of the second half on the Lady Huskies’ end of the field as Porter led strong mid-field play that diffused the Sweet Home offense. It contributed to all three goals including Lainge’s two breakaway goals.

“Kennady Laing is a returning first-team all-league player, who is arguably the fastest girl in the league, let alone our team. Finding her with a ball in open space is deadly for any opponent,” Lee noted.
 
Elmira got their final score when, Porter, who dominated mid-field play in the second half, lobbed a 30 yard goal over the outstretched reach of Lady Husky goalkeeper Moira Curtis. It was Porter’s first goal as a varsity player. Lee was quick to praise his junior team co-captain.

Megan Porter battles a Sweet Home midfielder in the Lady Falcons' 3-0 victory

“Megan Porter has been a solid rock player the past two seasons as well. This is definitely her breakout year as all the other senior defenders graduated last season. She is fully capable of playing any position on the field and can strike from distance if given an opportunity.”

When asked about the 10 goal swing from the North Bend game to yesterday’s victory, Coach Lee was frank.

“North Bend was just a much better team and they overwhelmed us. I think the biggest progress from Tuesday to Thursday was just getting the first game under our belt. The girls finally saw and felt what it was like to play full field 11v11 on Tuesday and so by Thursday they were more prepared for it.”

Disclaimer

Most of you do not know me.  I just moved into the community and I love local sports.  So, much like I did once before as a reporter in Northwest Washington, I am looking forward to covering all of Elmira Falcon sports that I can on this blog.  I will also be serving as the play by play announcer for Falcon Varsity football this season.

I am required to make a disclaimer about this blog.  The Falcons' Talon and any of the comments therein are solely the reports and opinions of this writer.  The blog categorically states that it is not affiliated with the Fern Ridge Public Schools or Chartwell's K-12 Food Services at the Fern Ridge School District.

Now, that the business is done, we can get on with our regularly scheduled sports season!