Tag Archives: VHS Sports

Logger Boys Advance to State with Win; Play Knappa Saturday for District Title

The Vernonia Loggers earned a spot in the state playoffs with a 51-43 win over the Nestucca Bobcats on Thursday, February 19 in the Northwest District Tournament. The #2 seeded Loggers will face #1 Kappa on Saturday, February 21 for the District Championship at Forest Grove High School. Game time is scheduled for 6:00 PM.

The win over Nestucca guarantees the Loggers a spot in the state playoffs.

Brett Elliott

Tristan Adams

In a tight, defensive game the Loggers struggled early against Nestucca, falling behind 9-0 and trailing thoughout the first quarter. The Loggers battled back in the second quarter and only trailed 25-21 at the half.

In the third quarter the teams exchanged leads and ended tied 35-35. The game remained tight until, with just over 2 minutes left, Logger senior, and defensive specialist, ZiXian Chen stole a pass in the Nestucca offensive end, raced the length of the court and put in the layup to give the Loggers the lead. Tristan Adams followed with a huge 3-point shot; when Brett Elliot was fouled on a 3-point attempt and cooly knocked down all 3 foul shots, the game was pretty much over. Elliot made some key defensive rebounds on Nestucca misses to close out the game.

Nikita Moskalev

ZiXian Chen

The Loggers offense was once again directed by freshman Clay Sullivan who had a solid game, making some big shots, including a followup tip-in in the fourth quarter that was important. Senior Will Botelho had a good game in the post for the Loggers and junior Nikita Moskalev also made several important baskets and was strong going to the hoop for the Loggers. Sophomore Luke McCallum played a lot of substitute minutes and looked more than capable, especially teaming up with Botelho defensively to shut down Nestucca’s big man Brett Elder.

Will Botelho

Clay Sullivan

Loggers Grab Second Place; Lady Loggers Finish Undefeated in League

It was a good night to be a Logger on Friday February 13, as both the boys and girls squads earned important wins in their final league games of the season.

The Vernonia Loggers boys wrapped up Northwest League play in stunning fashion, moving past Nestucca and into second place. The Loggers dominated the Bobcats while winning 58-26. Vernonia led from the start and never looked back, taking a commanding 31-6 half time lead and cruising to the win in the second half.

The Loggers win gave them a 10-4 league record and moved them into a tie with Nestucca for second place. The Loggers needed to win by seven points to earn the tie breaker, and did so handily. Read More

VHS Hall of Fame Nominations Now Being Taken

The Vernonia High School Hall of Fame Selection Committee is now taking nominations for the Athletic Hall of Fame for the upcoming year. The VHS Athletic Department will be accepting nominations, supported by information that fits the criteria for qualification, through the month of February. The Selection Committee will then make the selections from those nominated for induction to the Hall of Fame and hold the induction ceremony in April of this year.

The Vernonia High School’s Hall of Fame was established in 2014 for the purpose of recognizing former Vernonia High School student athletes or coaches for their outstanding achievement in athletics while attending Vernonia High School. Outstanding community members that have contributed above and beyond what is generally accepted as normal volunteerism to the Vernonia High School athletic programs and students that have graduated from Vernonia High School and have gone on to achieve outstanding recognition in athletics after they have graduated from Vernonia High School are also eligible.

Last year was the initial Athletic Hall of Fame class induction and included:

• Gilbert Bergerson, 1928

• John (Gordy) Crowston, 1952

• Leonard Schmidlin, 1962

• Marvin Crowston, 1962

• Steven Hanso, 1970

• Patrick Curl, 1975

• Dean Bernardi, 1978

• Travis Gwin, 2005

• Joreigh Landers, 2007

• The 1976-77 Cross Country Team Read More

VHS Fall Sports Report

Cross Country-The boys and girls teams are just getting into the main part of their season after getting some baseline times at the Tualatin Invitational. They have two upcoming meets that head coach Byron Brown says should really help define his teams. On September 16 the teams will compete at Oregon Episcopal School and then head to the Kiwanda Challenge on Friday, September 19 at Pacific City.

Vernonia is competing this season in a new district, special district 2 in 1/2/3A cross country, with 15 other schools they don’t usually compete with.

Coach Brown says VHS is fortunate to have two real leaders on the boys team in Drew Cheney and Dan Rice. “I am so impressed with how hard they are working in practice, always doing more than asked and providing the example for the rest of the team that we will need to reach our potential,” says Brown. Brown says he feels really good about how the boys team is progressing. “I’m really happy with the rapid development of Luke Boutwell and Clay Sullivan, and Jared Medearis has joined the team, which will make us stronger,” says Brown. “All of our runners are working hard and improving.”

The girls team is still something of a question mark for Brown, with several of the girls also on the cheerleading team. Cecilie Birkelund, Ma’ca Vesselkova and Maria Alvarez show potential. “I believe they can be successful if they continue to work hard,” says Brown.

Brown also said he wanted to mention middle-schoolers Josh Rice and Kale Sullivan. “They work so hard and have so much talent they could almost be on our varsity team,” says Brown. The middle schoolers first race was scheduled for September 16 at OES. “I can’t wait to see them run in competition,” said Brown.

Volleyball-The Lady Loggers are off to a solid start this season and have had good showings at two tournaments in Neah-Kah-Nie and Gervais. After solid wins over Gervais and Colton and two losses to 3A Rainier, the Lady Loggers were ready to start league play on Tuesday, September 16 at home against rival Faith Bible.

Head Coach Teresa Williams seems pleased so far with her team’s progress. Williams has a deep, talented and experienced team with some tight competition developing for playing time in a few positions.

Team serving has been a strength, with all players showing consistency and accuracy. “We practice serving every day, because at the high school level it’s very important,” says Williams. Williams has also emphasized defense and blocking this year and feels like that has been a strength as well.

The Lady Loggers host the Vernonia Tournament on Saturday, September 20 and play at home again on Tuesday, September 30 versus Neah-Kah-Nie and Thursday, October 2 against Gaston.

Football-The Loggers and head coach Gordon Jarman are off to a bit of a rough start this season after losing their first two games. The Loggers have yet to score a point in either of those first two games, losing 53-0 to 3A Warrenton and 50-0 to 2A powerhouse Gold Beach. The Loggers return to action on Friday, September 19 at home against Chemawa. Vernonia begins Northwest League play on Friday, October 3 at home against Knappa.

VHS 2014 Fall Sports Preview

Volleyball- The Lady Loggers will bring a very experienced and athletic varsity team onto the courts this season. With nine returning seniors, Head Coach Teresa Williams’ squad is loaded with talent, experience and leadership.

Last year, Williams’ team had a 13-6 record, finishing in third place in the 2A Northwest League. The team qualified for the State Playoffs for the third year in a row. The Lady Loggers were eliminated in the first round by eventual State Champion Days Creek.

Williams says she expects senior setter Taylor Titus and senior outside hitter Julia Fletcher to lead the team both on and off the court this year. Fletcher was last year’s team MVP and was named First Team All League.

The front court looks strong for the Lady Loggers with seniors Meagan Sullivan and Lily Lindsley providing size in the middle. Coach Williams says she has seen hard work and improvement in the off season pay off for juniors McKenzie Titus and Paige Smith; both should see a lot of playing time in the front court. This group of players has seen a lot of previous varsity playing time. Exchange student Nathalie Sholz from Germany is an experienced player as well, giving coach Williams a lot of options at the net.

Williams says she is pleased with the way the team is passing the ball. “Right now I can’t say there is anyone on this team I couldn’t put out there and rely on,” says Williams.

The back line will be manned by senior Brittany Young and juniors Sara Smith and Kassidy Fetch. Williams says she feels comfortable playing all her players just about anywhere on the court. Read More

VHS Spring Sports Report

Jerrian Pond

Softball-The Lady Loggers are a very young team but are currently in first place in their District with a 5-1 record; they are 9-1 overall this season and are ranked 5^th in the state after winning two of three games against Gaston. Vernonia beat Gaston 6-0 in their first meeting and then split a double header on April 11, losing the opener 6-2 but coming back to win the second game 3-0.

Head Coach Mike Fetch and assistant Ernie Smith have six freshman and three sophomores on the squad along with a few seniors and juniors. “We’re young but we have a lot of talent,” says Fetch.

Sophomore Kassidy Fetch is the starting pitcher with freshman Payton Wolf also seeing some time there. Fetch went the distance for the Lady Loggers and earned a shut out win in the second game against Gaston. Sophomore Sarah Smith is the starting catcher with Wolf and freshman Pearl Cook as the back-ups. The infield has sophomore Paige Smith at first base, Wolf is starting at second, Cook is the shortstop and junior Taylor Titus plays third base. Senior Jerrian Pond anchors the outfield in center field.

Offensively Wolf has been hitting the ball hard as well as running the bases and setting the tone for the team. Cook, Fetch, Sarah Smith, Titus and Pond have all been consistent at the plate, getting on base, providing key hits, moving runners and driving in runs. Read More

VHS Fall Sports Wrap UP

Volleyball- Head Coach Teresa Williams and the Lady Loggers should be pleased with their season this year. The team finished with a 13-6 record and played some of the best volleyball Vernonia has seen in years. The team qualified for the state playoffs for the third year in a row after finishing third in the 2A Northwest League.

“I think the season went better than anticipated,” said Williams. “They all worked well together. Some of my returning players really showed a lot of maturity and more court sense as far as knowing the game.”

The Lady Loggers lost to an exceptionally talented Days Creek team in that first round playoff; Days Creek was the eventual 2A State Champion going undefeated in the state tournament without losing a single game.

Williams says her challenge moving forward is figuring out how to beat a strong team like Days Creek and advance further in the State tournament. “We will be put into this position again. During our season we didn’t see anyone like Days Creek with that caliber of play.” Read More

VHS Fall Sports Update

Volleyball-The Vernonia Lady Loggers have won their last four matches in a row and are playing some of their best volleyball right now. They are ranked 12th in the state and have their eyes on a state playoff berth as the regular season winds down.

Head coach Teresa Williams is pleased with the way her team is playing after a 3-0 defeat of Nestucca at home on October 12. But after soundly beating the Bobcats 25-15, 25-19 and 25-7, Williams said her team played even better in their 3-0 previous win over Knappa.

The Lady Loggers are communicating well on the court and executing their offense. They are serving the ball extremely well with Sara-Eve Mayer, Brittany Young, Julia Fletcher and Stephanie Castro leading the way and racking up points; Mayer and Young have been especially consistent. Williams is getting great front line play from Fletcher, Castro, Lilly Lindsey, Tori Dalebroux and Mayer. Taylor Titus is doing a good job running the offense as the setter. The back line of Young, Mayer, Fletcher, and Castro are digging and passing the ball well. Williams has even been able to find playing time for some of her younger players who have all performed well, including Makayla McCord, Meghan Sullivan, Mckenzie Titus, Kassidy Fetch and Sara Smith. Read More

VHS Fall Sports Update

Stephanie Castro making a back row attack against Catlin Gable.

Volleyball- After a great start the Lady Loggers have cooled down a bit. Facing some of their toughest competitors in the Northwest League, head coach Teresa Williams’s squad has played competitively but came out on the losing end in several matches.

Following a loss to division rival Portland Christian, the Lady Loggers struggled in pool play in their own Vernonia Tournament, but did qualify for the championship bracket. In the first elimination round Vernonia fell to Caitlin Gable 1-2 after a very exciting match that saw some great play on both sides of the net.

The Lady Loggers rebounded with a 3-1 victory at Faith Bible before falling to defending league champion Delphian 1-3 at home.

The Lady Loggers hit the road for their next three matches before returning home for four matches starting on Oct. 10against Knappa, Oct. 12 against Nestucca, Oct. 17 against Faith Bible and Oct. 21 against Riverdale.

Football- The Loggers bounced back from a couple of early season losses to crush the Chemawa Braves 58-0 on Sept. 20.

“We were a little worried and concerned when they came out on the field,” said Logger head coach Gordon Jarman. “They had over forty-five kids in uniform and they were really big – huge kids.” Jarman said his team basically just out played their opponents. “Our kids did an excellent job.”

For the Loggers, Bo Clark returned to the line-up at running back and scored four touchdowns. Also scoring for the Loggers were Tim Jennings, Bridger Steward, Jason Bouslaugh and Cole Harbour.

Jarman was especially pleased with the play of both his offensive and defensive lines.

Jennings was 3 for 5 passing and threw for 95 yards including two completions to Damian Young for a total of 60 yards. He also ran for 93 yards including a 30 yard run.

On defense Zane Green and Jerimaih Hammons led the way for the Loggers. Jennings intercepted a Chemawa pass and returned it for a touchdown. Ronnie Maldonado also intercepted a pass and Bouslaugh recovered a fumble for the Loggers.

Jake Harbour on his touchdown run against Culver. Photo courtesy of Tracy Easlon.

On Sept. 27 the Loggers hosted the Culver Bulldogs, losing 24-14 in their final non-league game of the season.

Vernonia will face Nestucca at home on Oct. 4 and then travel to Knappa on Oct. 11 before their Homecoming match-up with Neah-Kah-Nie on Oct. 18.

Cross Country- The boy’s team won their meet at Knappa handily, defeating Knappa, Astoria, Warrenton and

Paul Lemaron took first at the
Knappa cross country meet.
Photo courtesy of Tracy Easlon.

Clatskanie. Five of the first ten finishers were Vernonia Loggers. Paul Lemaron led the way winning the race won by over 200 meters. “Everywhere we’ve raced, coaches and athletes alike have been impressed by Paul’s long, graceful running stride,” said Logger head coach Byron Brown. Drew Cheney ran his best race of the season, finishing a strong 3rd. Dan Rice was 5th, Alex Rubiera was an impressive 7th, and Emil Hardenberg a surprising 10th. Brown noted that the Loggers were without their 2nd fastest runner, Jacob Medearis who is out with a strained calf.

The girl’s team ran well considering two of their best runners were out for the meet. The team is showing improvement with the league championship meet coming up next at Nehalem Bay State Park on Oct. 8.

“I don’t think many of our kids realize how far they’ve come in the past couple of weeks,” said Brown. “Many have never run competitively before. They will be stronger and faster by the state qualifying meet at Tualatin Hills Recreational Area on Oct. 24.”

The Loggers will host a home meet on Oct. 16, starting and finishing at the football stadium after running down the linear trail and around Vernonia Lake.

VHS Fall Sports Preview

Football – Head football coach Gordon Jarman is cautiously optimistic this season. After turning around the Logger’s football program the last two seasons, Jarman feels like he has a team that is ready to succeed in the Northwest League.

Jarman says he has a very good starting line-up; beyond his starters, Jarman says his squad is somewhat thin. About his starters Jarman says, “They may be the best I’ve had as far as skilled in position and running the offense we are trying to run.”

On offense, senior Tim Jennings will get most of the snaps. Jennings split the QB duties last year, so he brings some experience and leadership to the position this season. He is athletic, has a strong arm, good leg speed and has been working hard in the off season. Sophomore Devon Shay is the back-up and Jarman says to keep an eye on freshman Brett Elliot who has a lot of potential. Senior Ronnie Maldonado and junior Reed Jones, who Jarman says have really improved over the last few years, will be the starters at wide receiver. Maldonado has battled back from a broken arm after working out hard this summer. Jarman says he is fast with good hands. Freshman Bailey Morrison could also see some playing time at wideout. At running back, expect to see senior Bo Clark as the featured back. Jarman says that senior Bridger Steward, junior Jason Bouslaugh and junior Zane Green will also see the ball in his offense. Jarman also mentioned the speed of sophomore Jake Harbour and freshmen August Johnson, Daniel Fletcher and Jake Butcher. The starting tight end will be junior Damian Young. The offensive line will be anchored around senior Jared Whitton, who Jarman says spent a lot of time in the weight room this summer. “He has gotten stronger and he’s much faster than he was last year; he’s a hard worker and a leader on the team,” says Jarman. Senior Jerimiah Hammons will play center and is a good athlete and one of the fastest players on the team. Junior Justin Wolf is a returning player and will start as well. Jarman expects a couple of foreign exchange students, Alex Plaschevici and Alex Thuet to also start on the offensive line. Read More