cat 113-pirate of the week
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Cat 113-Youth Oriented content Pirate of the week features excellence in student sports and clubsTRANSCRIPT
Page 14 WWW.VASHONBEACHCOMBER.COM Wednesday, January 20, 2010 • Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber
SPORTSVashon-Maury HOME WRESTLING MATCH TOMORROW: Vashon wrestling hosts Cascade Christian in a league dual meet tomorrow
night at the Vashon High School gym, with JV star ting at 6 p.m. and varsity at 7 p.m. Currently, three Pirates are ranked in the top 10 in their respective weight classes out of all 1A wrestlers in Washington. Tomorrow night also is Senior Night, during which parents, coaches, teammates and fans will honor the graduating Pirate grapplers: Geran Webb, Graeme Britz, Sam Chapman and Tucker Lazare.
Serving Vashon Island Since 1929 463-9134
WILLIAMS HEATING Proudly Sponsors…
“Slammin” Sam Chapman 112 pounds, SeniorSam Chapman is a � ne young man. He has developed into a soft-spoken leader – younger wrestlers are privy to take note o f his work ethic and accountability. He’s the � rst one to practice (always there early!) – he warms up, wrestles hard, lifts weights and runs with a quiet intensity. Coaches from around the state love Sam with his pleasant attitude and workman-like approach to the sport. Sam was a State Champion wrestler in 2008 and has placed every year he has been in high school – he could become Vashon’s 3rd wrestler ever to be a four time state placer this year! But placing isn’t his goal – he placed 2nd last year and wants to get back to the top of the podium. Sam’s quick with a smile and o� ers kind and motivational advice to younger wrestlers. We have the utmost respect for Sam and will treasure the last couple months with him in our high school program.
PIRATEBook your space byJanuary 13th, 2010
Publishes: February 10thCall Daralyn or Matthew
today 463-9195or email at: [email protected]
BEACHCOMBERVASHON-MAURY ISLAND
SPORTS BRIEFSLacrosse registration now open
Online registration for the 2010 Vashon Island Lacrosse Club is now open. Programs are as follows: third and fourth grade non-competitive league for girls and boys, fifth/sixth competitive teams for girls and boys, seventh/eighth competitive teams for girls and boys and the high school boys program. Sign up at www.vashonlacrosse.com. Athletes should be registered when they attend the season opener at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1, in the Vashon High School commons.
Financial aid is available. For questions about programs for eighth-grade and under, e-mail [email protected] or call 463-6520. For questions about the high school program e-mail [email protected] or call 463-6835.
Pirate alumni wrestlers qualify for national tournament
Pirate alumni Evan Mattingly and Alex Stemer qualified for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics National Wrestling Tournament in March in Oklahoma City. Evan Mattingly is a senior 197-pounder at Northern Montana University, and Alex Stemer is a 149-pound sophomore at Simon Fraser University. They will spend the next month and a half competing and training for the big event.
Women’s soccer seeks playersA soccer team for women ages
30 and up is a few players short and seeking new members. Women’s drop-in soccer is 2 to 3 p.m. Sundays at McMurray Middle School. A soc-cer league starts in late March — half the games on-Island and half off. For more information, contact Marilyn Oswald at 463-1936.
By WENDY GAGEFor The Beachcomber
A school’s character is revealed in how it ushers in its basketball games.
On Tuesday, Life Christian’s announcer directed everyone to stand while a lone elec-tric guitar twanged the national anthem. Before fans could sit, their star player, Drew Curry, gave a short prayer. Chants bellowed by Eagle fans sporting red, white and blue clashed with cheers from Pirates wearing green and gold. Meanwhile, 16 Life Christian cheerleaders repeatedly executed a compli-cated throw-the-shortest-girl-into-the-air routine perfectly as fans streamed into the cramped Tacoma gym. Finally, the antici-pated moment arrived: tip-off.
Vashon starters John Gage, Quinn Holert, Matt Kerns, Alex Wegner and Elias Weston led the battle.
Gage’s tip went easily to Wegner, but a Pirate turnover allowed the Eagles to score first.
Vashon struggled to find its offensive rhythm while the Eagle’s defense triangulated Gage. When Vashon’s passes finally started hitting their mark, the Pirates’ flag began to rise. Weston dropped in two points before a referee called the Eagles into account. When Tyler Stoffer entered the fray, he immediately contributed by blocking a shot.
Fans roared with approval as Holert, Wegner and the Eagles’ Curry rained a quick succession of three-pointers.
Kern’s slice to the basket was matched by an Eagle two. Stoffer’s confident pass to Gage was repaid with a quick return, and Stoffer scored two. With one minute remaining, Hamzah Griffin joined the Pirate effort. At the end of the first quarter, Vashon had a nar-row lead, 17-14.
Life Christian’s Curry ignited the second quarter by sailing two three-point-ers through the hoop. An overshot Eagles pass landed in a garbage can near the bleachers. No points.
After carefully wiping the ball, the referee put it back into play. Weston and Gage scored and Kerns was fouled. His free throw tied the game at 24. The Eagles added a basket before Wegner’s three-pointer relit Vashon’s fuse. Christian Hasson was welcomed aboard with less than two minutes remaining. Vashon was ahead 36-31 at half-time.
In classic Pirate fashion, Vashon thundered into the third quarter. While Eagles defenders maypoled around Gage, Holert slipped to the basket for two.
Following another three-pointer by Wegner, Coach Andy Sears called a time-out with five and a half minutes remaining.
As more Pirates passes hit their mark, a cloudburst of Pirate points lit up the score-board. An injury timeout was called with a minute and a half left on the clock, and Life Christian’s Jordan King was helped off the court. Weston drained another two-pointer as the buzzer ended the third quarter. Vashon surged to a double-digit lead, 62-51.
The Pirates looked frustrated early in the fourth quarter.
Moves Vashon characteristically executes with ease were lumbering. Team members fought over and fumbled rebounds and easy lay-ups fell short.
The Eagles were hungry for a win and weren’t about to give an inch, especially to Gage. Life Christian’s first quick basket of the
quarter was followed by fouls called on Kerns and Weston. Sears sent in Dan Lofland.
With five minutes left in the game, the Eagles were scoring bonus points. Not to worry, the Pirates weren’t done. Before the Pirates started playing keep-away, Kerns and Holert each hit three-pointers. Vashon won 76-62.
Vashon headed into Monday’s 2010 King Holiday Hoopfest in Seattle having won eight straight games. The Pirates played King’s High School at 9:30 a.m. Monday at the University of Washington. Results from that game will be available in next week’s Beachcomber. For more news about the Pirate basketball team, visit www.vashonbasketball.com.
— Wendy Gage is the mother of Pirate John Gage.
Pirates subdue Life Christian Eagles, 76-62
Bill Gage Photo
Matt Kerns lays the ball up through the Life Christian defense.
Pirate points vs. Life ChristianWeston 17, Gage 16, Wegner 14, Holert 13, Amick 7, Kerns 6, Stoffer 3, Griffin, Hasson, Lofland