September 19, 2013

By Cliff Richardson

Ayshia Seiler/Hiddleston Inc. Trip Triangle Lake

McKenzie’s Ayshia Seiler provided her teammates the well-placed sets and the Eagles dynamic-duo Hiddleston hitting machine capitalized as the Visitors defeated the Triangle Lake Lakers on the road, 25-16, 21-25, 25-11, and 25-13. With the win, McKenzie’s Mt. West League record improved to 3-1 with a crucial road test the following evening, Thursday, Sept. 12 at Mapleton. The Sailors at the time were tied for first with Lowell at 4-0. Seiler recorded 37 assists in the Laker match along with 6 serving aces, 5 kills and 4 digs. Buggy Hiddleston, coming off a big performance versus Crow, enjoyed another fine outing as she had 15 kills, 15 digs, and 2 aces. Sister Makaila Hiddleston also found Seiler’s sets favorable as she attacked for another 15 kills while adding 4 digs, 1 ace, and 1 block defensively. Other Eagles contributing to the decisive victory were Katey Totten with 5 kills, 5 digs, and an ace, Shyla Harlan who had 4 kills, 2 digs, and 1 ace, Tamara Satchell who added 5 kills and 3 digs, Delphine Clark with a dig and Clea Coach who had 1 dig.

McKenzie Defeats Mapleton in Three Straight

The Eagles (4-1) won again on the seemingly endless road, this time at Mapleton, handing the Sailors their first Mt. West League defeat of the 2013 Volleyball season and lifting McKenzie into a tie for second place with Mapleton (4-1). Both the Eagles and the Sailors trail the Lowell Red Devils (4-0) by one-half game. McKenzie won with a total team effort on Thursday, Sept. 12, in three straight sets 25-21, 25-23, and 25-19. The Eagle’s offensive attack was hitting on all cylinders, with several players contributing. Tamara Satchell lead the team with 9 kills followed by Shyla Harlan, Katey Totten, Makaila Hiddleston, and Buggy Hiddleston, all with 7 kills. Ayshia Seiler had 1 kill on the evening. Seiler continued her impressive setting prowess with 22 assists. Harlan and Buggy Hiddleston each served 5 aces with Seiler serving up 3 additional aces. Defensively, the Eagles spread the wealth as well as Seiler and Makaila Hiddleston each had 7 digs, with Harlan and Delphine Clark recording 3 apiece. Totten and Makaila Hiddleston each had 2 defensive blocks in the match while Totten added 1 more.

Blue Jays Foul Eagles in Three Straight

Portland Lutheran traveled to Finn Rock last Friday, Sept. 13, for a rematch with McKenzie of last season’s contest in the OSAA State 2nd Round Playoffs, which the Blue Jays won and which ended the Eagles season. This time, Portland Lutheran won three straight sets 20-25, 18-25, and 23-25 and handed McKenzie its second defeat of the young 2013 season. The Eagle offense again spread the attack around as Shyla Harlan and Makaila Hiddleston each recorded 7 kills to lead the team while Katey Totten had 5 kills, Buggy Hiddleston nailed 4, Ayshia Seiler added 3, and Tamara Satchell earned 2. Totten’s overall game was a bright spot for the Eagles as she also served 5 aces and 4 blocks in the match. Makaila Hiddleston added 1 ace and a block to her game line as well. Seiler, as usual, led her team with 21 assists.

McKenzie Aces Crane in Volleyball Double-Header

The Eagles defeated the Crane Mustangs in their second match of a double-header, Friday, following the loss to Portland Lutheran, by scores of 25-14, 23-25, 25-23, and 25-17. Crane had defeated Portland Lutheran in 5 sets just previous to this match. Following a brutal week on the road against the top competition in the Mt. West League and then hosting two perennially top teams from other Leagues, the Eagles ended the week with an overall record of 5-2 and ranked 6th in the first OSAA State Volleyball rankings of the 2013 season. McKenzie again exhibited its offensive balance as Makaila Hiddleston led her team with 10 kills and 5 serving aces. Buggy Hiddleston was close behind with 9 kills and 5 aces. Katey Totten had 7 kills and 4 aces while Shyla Harlan recorded 4 kills and 4 aces, Tamara Satchell earned 5 kills, Ayshia Seiler hit for 2 kills, 4 aces, and 24 assists, and Alyda Mathews served 3 additional aces. Overall, the Eagles served 25 aces in the match. Head Coach Dan Brenner stated the he thought “the first set against Crane may have been the best he has ever seen at McKenzie, Defensively, the Eagles were also led by the Hiddleston ladies, who each had 10 digs (Makaila also blocked twice and Buggy once). Seiler and Harlan each added 9 digs, Totten had 8, Delphine Clark recorded 6 digs and Mathews contributed 2. The Eagles schedule doesn’t slack off much as McKenzie will travel to Mohawk on Tuesday, Sept. 17, for a Mt. West League match and then return home for a League match with Alsea on Thursday, Sept. 19. Those two matches tipoff at 6:00 pm. Friday the Varsity will repack their saddlebags for a trip to Crane, southeast of Burns, to participate in the annual Mustang Volleyball Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 21. McKenzie will have the opportunity to compete with Crane, Prairie City, and Dayville/Monument at the Tournament.

Mustangs Ride Herd on Eagles 58-20

Crane traveled their Varsity football team (2-0) along with their Varsity volleyball team to tackle McKenzie on Friday, Sept. 13 and the Mustangs stampeded to a non-League victory over the winless Eagles (0-2). McKenzie will not see the fire cool off as the red-hot and OSAA State 5th ranked Lowell Red Devils (2-0) come to town next Friday, Sept. 20 following impressive victories over St. Paul (76-40) and Triad (74-24). Kick off with Lowell is set for 7:00 pm. at Wade Thomas Field. Against Crane, senior Quarterback Bailey Adams was 7-19 in passing completions for 146 total yds. in the air, throwing for 3 TDs , 2 Interceptions and 2 fumbles (both for losses). Tight End Alex Nastasiuk was a favorite Adam’s receiver as he collected 3 passes for 66 yds. and 1 TD. Running back Eric Huffman hauled in 3 passes from out of the backfield for an additional 51 yds. and 1 TD. The Eagles other Tight End Drew Hamlow caught 1 pass for 20 yds. and 1 TD while Running Back Jason McCarick caught 1 pass for 9 yds. McCarick also rushed for 15 yds. on 6 carries and Adams ran 9 times for 21 yds. Defensively, the Eagles were led by senior Linebacker Casey Mitchell with 13 total tackles (8 solo), Adams with 13 tackles (7 solo) at the Safety position, and Linebacker Huffman with 6 total tackles (4 solo). Nastasiuk, playing Defensive End had one fumble recovery for McKenzie as well.

McKenzie Cross Country Starts Season

The McKenzie Varsity and Middle School Cross Country Teams kick off the 2013 season with the Prefontaine Memorial Run held in Coos Bay. The race is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 21 with start time of 9:45 am. for both the Boys and Girls 5000 m. races. The Varsity Eagles will be represented by Junior Dylan Garr, Sophomore Ethan Satchell,

Freshman Levi Sturgill and Freshman Brittany Bayer. Neither the Boys nor the Girls will field a complete team thus competing as individuals for McKenzie. The Eagles will also have the following eighth grade student/athletes competing in the Middle School 2 mile race: Naomi Satchell, Bailey Sugg, and Paige Lowry. McKenzie Cross Country Head Coach Devin VansCoy commented that he is pleased with the “early fitness in practice” of freshman Levi Sturgill and expects him “to lead the High School team for the Boys”. Coach VansCoy also expects “Naomi Satchell to lead the Girls Team, even though she is only an eighth grader”. The Prefontaine Memorial Run will feature at least 25 schools representing several school classifications from Oregon and California.

Photos By Corey Culp.

Shyla Harlan (17), Makaila Hiddleston (19), and Katey Totten (7) all communicate on a serve receive at the McKenzie Jamboree.

Bailey Adams (12) throws a pass early in the 1st quarter against Crane.

Alex Nastasiuk (44), Dylan Garr (64) and Casey Mitchell (55) all line up on defense early in the game vs. Crane.

McKenzie River Reflections