Sports Memory Lane: Sept. 11, 2026

A look back at Yamhill County sports

10 Years Ago

• Pirates volleyball defended their home court last Thursday against Taft with a three-set victory, taking care of business quickly while winning 25-7, 25-16, 25-21.

Dayton’s strong serving game was the difference as they recorded 11 aces, with junior Beth Shirley leading the team with three. Kalina Rojas had a team-high eight kills, while Malina Ray had a solid overall performance with six kills and two aces.

• The Willamina Bulldogs aptly inaugurated their new football stadium with their first win of the season Friday night. Welcoming the visiting Nestucca Bobcats to the first regular season game played on the new grass, the Bulldogs overcame an early 14-7 deficit to explode offensively in a 51-20 victory. The win was head coach Dan Oswald’s first with Willamina and his team reflected their appreciation for him with a ceremonial Gatorade shower.

25 Years Ago

• North Eugene pressured McMinnville’s varsity girls’ net with several last-minute pushes, but the Grizzlies held on to the shutout for a 1-0 win in their home opener on Baker Field.

Mac controlled the field in the first half, beating the Highlanders to open balls and down the sidelines on fast pushes. But shots came only sporadically as the Grizzlies struggled to develop an attack in front of the goal.

Mac had made just three legitimate strikes when Molly Hart took control of a ball about 20 yards into North Eugene’s side of the field, turned, and sent a high floater over the head of Eugene keeper Mollie Williams, who came out several steps too far.

• The season started in near-perfect fashion Saturday for the No. 4-ranked Linfield Wildcats with a comfortable 36-13 nonconference win over Whittier.

Not because of how well they played, but because they were able to play poorly at times and still win easily, working out the early-season kinks. The Poets, from California, were never really in the game.

The Wildcats leaned heavily on their defense and running game to dominate Whittier. Linfield outgained the Poets 484 to 220 in total yards.

Marty Williams rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, earning Northwest Conference offensive player of the week. Linfield managed 226 yards rushing, averaging better than four yards a carry.

50 Years Ago

• Carlton Packing split its four games to take 24th place in the national women’s slow pitch softball tournament held Sept. 3-6 in York, Pennsylvania.

CP beat the West Virginia Indys 7-5 for the opener before being downed 4-0 by Rustic Bar, of Duluth, Minnesota, the team that eventually gained the championship. CP then walloped a Florida squad 22-5 before losing to the Lakers of Texas, 8-3, in the final game.

“We just didn’t hit the ball,” Coach Slim Rhodes said. “I don’t think there was a team back there we couldn’t beat, if we’d been able to hit the ball in that game.”

• Despite the efforts of John Lee, one of the two quarterbacks for the alumni team, the alums were shut out 14-0 by Linfield’s varsity in the annual Alumni Football Game at Maxwell Field.

The alums have yet to record a win in a battle with the varsity. Between Lee and the other playcaller, Keith Wentela, nine of 24 pass attempts were completed for a total of 85 yards.

The alums also gained 131 yards on the ground. Jim Massey got 54 of those yards, carrying the ball 13 times.