Weekend Sports Capsules

FOOTBALL

Libby (0-0) at Timberlake (0-0)

Saturday, Aug. 29, 7 p.m. (PST) at Spirit Lake, Idaho

Libby Notes: The Loggers head into the season with a few question marks but have more experience than last year. Libby appears to be deep in every phase of the game except offensive backfield and special teams. QB Kelly May will start along with T.J. Benson at tailback. A young yet experienced group of linemen should provide decent holes for Libby to re-establish its running game this season.

Timberlake Notes: The Tigers are a Division 3A team in Idaho. Last year, Timberlake lost its first three games while scoring just 14 points. The team finished strong by winning four of five to end the regular season and then defeated Priest River in the first round of the playoffs. Fruitland ended the Tigers’ postseason in the quarterfinals with a 44-22 victory. Timberlake has traditionally run a wing-T offense.

Last Year: The Loggers controlled the first three quarters with shutout football and led 27-0 by halftime en route to a 27-12 win. Timberlake had its chances in the red zone but the Libby defense kept turning them away. QB Joel Fuller threw for 208 yards with two TDs to T.J. Benson. Fuller also scored on an 11-yard run and 65-yard punt return.

Last Week: Did not play.

Next Week: Sept. 4, Libby at Frenchtown, 7 p.m.

Troy (0-0) is idle

Troy Notes: The Trojans have another week to get ready for their opener on Sept. 4 against Darby. Veteran coach Rich McElmurry believes he has a fairly good offense that should put points on the board but there is work to be done on defense – primarily in the secondary. On a note to fans who plan to catch Troy’s season opener, it will be played a couple hours earlier than usual at 5 p.m.

Next Week: Sept. 4, Darby at Troy, 5 p.m.

VOLLEYBALL

Libby (0-0) at Whitefish Starter Tournament

Saturday, Aug. 29, 9 a.m., at Whitefish

Libby Notes: The Lady Loggers return a good group of athletes for another run at the Northwestern A, including 6-foot-1 Jackie Mee, who is now a senior. Evi Cernick, Katie Emery and Alex Kulbeck are other key returnees for Cindy Ostrem-Johnston.

Tournament Notes: Ten schools will participate in the tournament with Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Bigfork, Eureka and Ronan in Pool A and Libby, Stillwater Christian, Browning, Belgrade and Polson in Pool B. Libby will play Polson at 9 a.m., Browning at 10:30 a.m., Belgrade at 1:30 p.m., and Stillwater Christian at 3:45 p.m. Matches will feature two games to 25 points with rally scoring (teams must win by two points with a cap at 30).

Last Year: Libby went 3-1-1 in matches and won seven of the 10 games at Whitefish. Ostrem-Johnston said that her team got off to a slow start with a lot of new players on the team but settled down after a team meeting.

Last Week: Did not play.

Next Week: Sept. 1, Libby at Polson, 4:15 p.m.

Troy (0-0) at Mission Tournament

Saturday, Aug. 29 at St. Ignatius

Troy Notes: The Lady Trojans enter the season with the loss of just two starters from a year ago. Kristin Parks, Ashley Paasch, Ashley Suber and Alyssa Olds are all returning starters and others like Jessica Lyons and Kimmy Klin will be in the mix.

Tournament Notes: Joining Troy and host Mission will be Plains, Seeley Swan and Superior. The Lady Trojans will open with a 9 a.m. match against Superior and follow at 10 a.m. against Seeley Swan. Troy will complete round-robin play with matches against Mission and Plains. Following pool play, teams will be seeded and compete for placings in a bracketed format. Matches feature two games to 20 with a cap at 22.

Last Year: Troy finished strong at last year’s Mission Tournament with the Lady Trojans winning six of 10 games and finishing third out of the six-school field. Mission won its own tournament but one of its losses did come to Troy.

Last Week: Did not play.

Next Week: Sept. 3, Mission at Troy, 4:15 p.m.; Sept. 4, Troy at Eureka, 4:15 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER

Libby (0-0) at Stevensville (0-0)

Friday, Aug. 28, 3 p.m., at Stevensville

Libby Notes: The defending Class A state champions hit the field with a capable collection of athletes who would like to experience more success in 2009. Coach Charlie Webster returns for his second year with his .750 winning percentage. Among the returnees are Cree Maloney – last season’s second-leading scorer – and Lewis Brossman, an all-conference pick at goalkeeper.

Stevensville Notes: All-state selection Eric Depee graduated. Depee was the top scorer in all of Class A last season and was a three-time all-state pick. Another all-state pick from last year, Ryan Kutter, is also gone. The Yellowjackets were one of the top teams out of the south but lost in the opening round of the state playoffs to Billings Central, 1-0. Of course, Billings Central went on to play Libby in the finals and lost, 2-1, in a match that came down to penalty shots.

Last Year: Libby defeated Stevensville during the regular season, 4-1. Kyle Berke scored two goals while Levi Edwards-Myslicki and Cree Maloney each added one. The Loggers led 3-0 by halftime.

Last Week: Did not play.

Next Week: Sept. 4, Belgrade at Libby, 4 p.m.; Sept. 5, Livingston vs. Libby at Troy, Noon.

GIRLS SOCCER

Libby (0-0) at Stevensville (0-0)

Friday, Aug. 28, 1 p.m., at Stevensville

Libby Notes: The Lady Loggers return Class A’s top scorer in Anna Valentine and as usual, she should attract a lot of attention on the field. Valentine’s abilities often rise to the surface no matter what opposing defenses attempt. Libby has plenty of other weapons such as Kaila Forster, Lindsay Kehn, Audra Poppen, Ashley VanHoose, LaRona Luscher and Mechelle Wilson. Second-year coach Matt Warner hopes to have his team in better shape this year although that may be difficult to gauge in a season opener.

Stevensville Notes: The Yellowjackets lost quite a bit to graduation, including Seeley Bloom, Sherry Walters and Sara Grimes. Among those returning should be junior Blaire Brookshire. Stevensville reached the postseason last year as the No. 2 seed out of the South and was eliminated in the opening round by eventual champion Billings Central, 5-0.

Last Year: Libby dominated a fair Stevensville squad last season with a 6-0 rout. Five different players scored the team’s six goals with two from Valentine. The Libby defense allowed just one shot on goal the entire game.

Last Week: Did not play.

Next Week: Sept. 4, Belgrade at Libby, 6 p.m.; Sept. 5, Livingston vs. Libby at Troy, 10 a.m.

CROSS COUNTRY

Libby at Bonners Ferry Invitational

Saturday, Aug. 29, 10 a.m. (PST) at Bonners Ferry, Idaho

Libby Notes: The Logger harriers

head into this season with low numbers. Out of the dozen full-time members of the team, 10 of them are boys. Top returnees include William Lott, Ben Graziano, Cody Elliott, Jacob Thomas, Trevor Hogan and Zeke Carlson – all of them competed at Bonners Ferry last year. Elizabeth Rodgers returns for the girls and newcomer Nikola Falk, a foreign-exchange student, could be a factor.

Last Year: Carlson turned in the top performance among the boys at last year’s Bonners Ferry Invite with a 37th-place finish in 21:55. Senior Nicole Rios was the only varsity girl competing and finished 21st. The 3.1-mile course was at Stampede Lake at Naples.

Last Week: Did not compete.

Next Week: Sept. 4, Libby Invitational, 1 p.m.

GOLF

Libby at Browning

Friday, Aug. 28, 9:30 a.m. at East Glacier Golf Course

Libby Notes: The Logger boys hit the links with returning state qualifier Zach Watson leading the way. Several other golfers could emerge on varsity, including returnees Eric Grotjohn, Louis Cielak, Chris Campbell and Seth Volkenand. The girls have five on the roster with four returnees – Taylor Barton, Candace Hendrickson, Chelsea Oedewaldt and Jona Pelitier.

Browning Notes: Lakota Warden is coming off a sixth-place finish at the Class A State Golf Tournament but he is not back after qualifying three straight years. He’s headed to Dawson Community College in Glendive as a golf recruit. The Browning girls qualified as a team and placed 10th. Shanae Gilham tied for 26th to finish as the top individual but she is no longer on the squad after transferring to Bozeman.

Last Week: Did not compete.

Next Week: Sept. 3, Libby at Ronan Invitational, 9 a.m.; Sept. 5, at Browning Invitational, 9:30 a.m.

— Compiled by Brad Fuqua, The Western News