Odds and Ends-September
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Odds and Ends-September
Small recent sports features of note
Here are some brief items of interest involving local sports competitors and events. Enjoy.
MMA Fighter Update—Becca Spivey
Becca Spivey’s debut MMA bout on September third was cancelled at the outdoor venue in Ohio due to a severe thunderstorm warning that evening. It was obviously a big disappointment, but the former Keizer resident says plans are being made to reschedule the event against Alaina Haffey in Western Pennsylvania in December.
Becca says she will stay busy with other events between now and December.
Stay tuned. You can re-read Becca’s story here.
South Salem Hall of Fame inductees
South Salem High School held its first Hall of Fame Induction event since before the pandemic this past Friday. A number of individual athletes and coaches, and a team were honored in the ceremonies at the school.
Cliff Cotton of South Salem’s class of 1977 was honored. He received a total of eight letters in three sports—football (2), basketball (3) and baseball (3)—during his three years at South. He exceled in baseball in particular, earning first team, All-Valley League honors for two years, while being honored with first team, all-state honors in 1977. He went on to Willamette University, where he lettered four years with the baseball team while also serving as team captain.
Others honored by the Hall of Fame Committee were Mike McShane and Thalo Green—class of 1996. The two were the recognized stars of the 1996 state championship basketball team. The two had solid college careers and later played professionally in Asia and Australia. Both are now teachers—McShane at McNary High in Keizer, and Green in Australia.
Morgan Bostwick (Steele) was a 2001 grad of South—and a two-sport athlete, lettering four years in softball and three years in basketball. Morgan was an all-league, all region and all state honoree in softball, and second team all-league in basketball. Bostwick currently works as a city planner for the city of Portland.
Coach Ron Cross was honored for his decades of excellence coaching both cross country and track. Cross’s teams won 21 district conference championships during his tenure and included a long list of college athletes and some nationally recognized competitors.
Coach Eric Johansen is in his 42nd year as the head boys soccer coach at South. He has he the second most wins of any coach in Oregon prep soccer history. His teams have qualified for the state playoffs 42 times, and in 2009, his team was unbeaten in route to the 2009 Oregon 6A soccer title.
The just mentioned 2009 Saxon boys soccer team was also honored. The team finished the regular season 10-0-2. They then made their way through a treacherous playoff bracket, winning four matches to reach the title game. Of those four wins, two were decided on penalty kicks.
The Saxons prevailed over South Medford 2-1 to garner the state championship. The squad was led by team captains and all-state players Cameron French and Ivan Gonzalez, and fellow all-staters Josh Noonkester and Kyle Foster. 13 of the 19 team members were on the OSAA All-Academic team.
You can read more about all of the honorees at the link provided here.
Ken Slack Remembered at North Salem High
North Salem High and its football team honored one of their long time coaches. Kenny Slack, who passed away at age 67 on September seventh, was coaching right up until his death—limited by various physical ailments from attending practice—but always involved by reviewing game video and scouting opponents.
Players donned a sticker on their helmets Friday in honor of their coach, and a flier was handed out to the crowd with a QR code that provided a link to the story written by this author about Kenny. You can read that tribute by clicking here.
The honors also included the placing of flowers on the North emblem at midfield, and a moment of silence prior to the national anthem.
North shutout Roseburg 26-0 in the game that followed. The Vikings are 3-0 on the season.
Anthony Gould shines vs. Montana State
Former West Salem football standout Anthony Gould had a career game Saturday in Oregon State’s rout of FCS opponent Montana State. Gould—a sophomore wide receiver—recorded five catches for 77 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the 68-28 Oregon State victory over the Bobcats.
Gould also had an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown early in the third quarter. It was the first punt return for a TD by OSU since 2014. In total, Gould had 104 return yards on three punts. He recorded 181 all-purpose yards for the Beavers, who begin Pac-12 play next week at home against top-10 ranked USC.
Dufault Wedding
The wedding of South Salem football coach Scott Dufault’s only daughter went off without a hitch last Friday on the steps of the Multnomah County Courthouse in Portland.
Daughter Jordan looked stunning in her mid-calf wedding gown. Her father was dapper in his (navy) blue suit.
Jordan and her husband Joe are making plans for a honeymoon—likely to the nation of Turkey. Jordan’s mother reported both parents shed a few tears during the ceremony.
Coach Dufault’s Saxons hosted Grants Pass Saturday in the start of Special District One football play. South dominated in a 48-7 victory. The Saxons are now 3-0 on the young season and face South Medford (3-0) this coming Friday.