State Preps Report

Indians have experience behind them
SOUTH BEND - Last year, a young South Bend football squad survived a tough Pacific League schedule and laid down a solid foundation for this year's campaign.

Football preview

Wolves hunt playoff spot
Black Hills boasts stout defense, experienced threat at quarterback

Tenino focuses on new beginning
The Tenino Beavers are well aware of their 2004 football record.

Kendrick making strides
Mount Vernon grad named an all-star
After a slow start, Kyle Kendrick has turned around his first full season of minor league baseball. He has been named to the New York-Penn League All-Star team.

Pierce does all he can to land NFL job
While enrolled at Stanford, Brett Pierce earned degrees in civil and industrial engineering.

Pierce, a Columbia River High School graduate, had his eye on a career using those college disciplines. That is, until the NFL called and wondered if he would like to take a vocational detour.

Pierce currently is trying to make the Dallas Cowboys' regular season roster at tight end. In his second year, Pierce spent a month on Baltimore's practice squad last year when the Cowboys signed him for the rest of his rookie season.

Big on the Radio
Jason "Big Suke" Scukanec seems tailor-made for sports-talk radio, and vice-versa.

Still, the Mountain View High School graduate and former Brigham Young University football star claims he didn't see his career as a co-host of "Primetime" coming. In fact, he professes a lack of foresight about all that a "charmed life" has brought him.

"It never dawned on me that I could make a living doing this," said Scukanec, 26, who lives in La Center and rides shotgun alongside Vancouver resident Ian Furness for Sports Radio 1080 The Fan's marquee local show.

Juarez takes helm at Davis
Welcome back to the Big Nine Conference, Eli Juarez.

After two years of heading the boys basketball program at Wapato, the former longtime Wenatchee coach has been hired to take over for Shag Williams at Davis.

Teams sometimes get creative to pay camp costs
Like any good salesman, a coach knows how to ease the sticker shock when kids approach their parents about attending an athletic camp.

Depending on the sport, the duration of the camp and its location, costs can sometimes reach as high as $300 if not more. So with coaches expecting most — if not all — of their players in attendance, they have to find a way to lower the cost.

Most school's athletic boosters help share the burden a little, but some coaches have found more creative ways to lessen the pinch on the pocketbook. Their simple solution to bring down the costs — let the athletes work to pay their way.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that this blog will be on break until at least Sept. 1. But please check back then as the High School season kicks into high gear.

Omak wrestlers hit the mats early
The 2005 Omak Pioneer wrestling camp, held at Camp Disautel July 29-31. was a huge success with 32 wrestlers participating, said Omak High School wrestling coach Duane Ives.
According to Ives, highlights of camp were daily team runs at 6:30 a.m., four two and one-half hour sessions of wrestling with instructor Lee Morrison and a snipe hunt Saturday evening.
Morrison was a two-time state wrestling champion for Okanogan High School and now wrestles at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene. NIC is known for its wrestling program, said Ives.

Tonasket football ranked No. 2 in pre-season poll
Tonasket High School's football team enters the year ranked No. 2 in the state by WashingtonPreps.com for class 1A teams, while Brewster is an honorable mention.
In 2A football, Omak is an honorable mention while coming off last year's 7-4 season.

Boosters set to meet
MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon High School Football Boosters Club has scheduled its first fall meeting.

Physicals set for Mount Vernon
MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon High School will hold its last-chance athletics physicals next Monday.

Registration required

Spirit Gold seeks ASA 18 title in California
When you're facing 63 of the nation's top softball teams in a tournament, you have your mind on basically one thing: to stay in the winners bracket for as long as possible.

The Washington Spirit Gold 18U softball team will see if it can do just that when it opens play today at the ASA 18 Gold National Championships in Salinas, Calif.

Coaches hear steroid stories
The WIAA — for the fifth straight year — provided the 400 some high school coaches attending the ninth annual WIAA Coaches School in Yakima this week a chance to get more information on steroids and performance enhancers.

Football officials meeting scheduled
The Yakima Valley Football Officials Association will hold a general meeting at 7 p.m. today and Thursday in the cafeteria of Eisenhower High School.

The group is looking for more people interested in helping officiate all levels of local football — from Grid Kids to high school — for this upcoming season. The meeting is open to the public and the organization will help any interested party learn the rules and mechanics of officiating.

For more information contact Brad Cramer at 945-5555.

Sports briefs: Bobcat Fun Run scheduled for Aug. 13

The second annual Bobcat Fun Run is scheduled for Aug. 13 at Makarenko Park in Cosmopolis.

The event is sponsored by the Aberdeen High School cross country team, with proceeds from the event benefiting the AHS cross country program. The event includes 5-kilometer and 1-mile runs.

Board reprimands teacher for licking students' wounds
BEND, Ore. - A state board voted to publicly reprimand a Central Linn High School teacher and football coach for licking the bleeding wounds of several student athletes.

Dorr left legacy as motivator
Track coach led Bellingham to three state titles
The long line of accomplishments made for a colorful resume, but they rarely got long play in Bob Dorr's world. It just wasn't his way.
Dorr, who died Thursday night at age 87 in his Bellingham home, played sports at Ferndale High School and the University of Washington, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and taught and coached at Bellingham High for 31 years.

MacIntosh pleads guilty to fourth degree assault
Bob MacIntosh, a former Mount Baker girls basketball coach, pleaded guilty on Friday at Spokane County Superior Court to one charge of fourth degree assault.

Ferndale in top-50 ranking
Student Sports placed Ferndale in its preseason FAB 50 national rankings.

OSU bound
A slight power outage cut Oregon State's first trip to the College Baseball World Series since 1952 short of the ultimate glory.

Perhaps Kelso's Cort Carpenter can push the Beavers to the top.

"We need some power," said OSU assistant coach Dan Spencer. "Cort is gonna hit some home runs."

Carpenter will join the OSU baseball team this fall as a recruited walk-on, jumping from a stellar high school season with the Hilanders and summer campaign with the RSG LumberKings Senior Babe Ruth squad to the roster of a national college powerhouse.

Community Notebook: Two locals win USA Wrestling national titles
Ridgefield's Melissa Simmons and Carson's Andrew Buck won championships at the USA Wrestling Cadet and Junior Nationals. The tournament ended Sunday in Fargo, N.D.

Simmons won her second consecutive title in the 160-pound weight class of the women's Juniors freestyle tournament.

Simmons has been accepted to the Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University and scored well enough on academic tests to skip her senior year at Ridgefield High to join the special women's wrestling program.