Thursday scoreboard: Rams shutout Wolves; Saints get first win; Evergreen Invite results
High school football
North Thurston 24, Black Hills 0 – More from The Olympian
Brandon Belisario rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown and Mo Manning scored on a one yard run to lead North Thurston to a 24-0 win over Black Hills at South Sound Stadium.
Girls soccer
Capital 4, Tumwater 2
River Ridge 6, Centralia 1
Black Hills 5, Aberdeen 0
High school volleyball
Olympia 3, Central Kitsap 1 (24-26, 25-12, 25-17, 25-8)
North Thurston 3, Shelton 0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-18)
Timberline 3, Foss 0 (25-4, 25-9, 25-7)
Tumwater 3, Curtis 0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-17)
Toutle Lake 3, Northwest Christian (25-13, 25-13, 25-16)
Men’s soccer
Saint Martin’s 3, Colorado Christian 0 – More from SMUSaints.com
Blake Moreland’s goal in the 44th minute proved to be the game-winner as the Saint Martin’s men’s soccer team became the first Olympia area college fall sports team to earn a win with their 3-0 defeat of Colorado Christian. Dylan Gaydosh scored twice, 30 seconds apart, early in the second half to cement the victory.
College volleyball
Red Lion Evergreen Invitational
Simon Fraser 3, Evergreen 1 (25-13, 20-25, 25-23, 25-22)
Northwest 3, Columbia Bible 0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-17)
Lewis & Clark 3, Camosun 1 (25-17, 25-9, 20-25, 25-18)
More on all three games from Evergreen athletics.
Brodin hits “waddle-off” homer, gets Clemens next
It is a big couple of days for North Thurston graduate Joash Brodin. On Wednesday, Brodin hit a three run “waddle-off” home run for the Long Island Ducks in their 6-5 win over the Somerset Patriots. Brodin also had a two run single in the seventh inning driving in five runs total for the Ducks in game one of a doubleheader. And in the nightcap, Brodin went 1-for-2 and drove in the Ducks only run in a 5-1 loss. You can see all of Brodin’s highlights in the video above from the team.
You can also see Brodin play on SportsCenter, ESPNEWS and ESPN3 Friday night when the Ducks travel to Texas to take on the Sugar Land Skeeters and seven time Cy Young Award winner. Clemens will be making his second start for the independent Skeeters as he explores the possibility of a comeback at 50 years-old. The game starts at 5:05 PM local time and SportsCenter and ESPNEWS will be cutting into their programming to show every inning that Clemens pitches.
It has been a wild ride of a season for Brodin who is with his second independent club this season after the London Rippers of the Frontier League folded on July 24th in the middle of their inaugural season. Brodin was hitting .370 and leading the Frontier League in batting when he became a free agent following the team’s dissolution.
He quickly had offers from other independent clubs and was on his way to Wichita of the American Association when he received a call from the Atlantic League’s Ducks, arguably the most successful team in the best league in the independent ladder. Brodin went from a league where no player is older than 28 years-old to a team that features former Major Leaguers Armando Benitez and Timo Perez. Adjusting to a higher level of play, Brodin started off slowly but quickly adjusted and is now hitting .283 with three home runs and 20 RBI in 35 games with the Ducks.
The level of play is not the only thing Brodin has had to adjust to. He went from playing in all red pajamas in front of just a handful of fans in a horrible situation in London to a beautiful ballpark on Long Island where they pack in over 5,000 fans a game. And no more road trips to Normal to face the Cornbelters. Instead, he hits the road for an opportunity to take his hacks against Roger Clemens in a game televised worldwide on ESPN.
Today (9/6): Rams vs. Wolves; Evergreen volleyball tourney; Much more
Big crosstown football game on tap tonight when Black Hills travels to Lacey’s South Sound Stadium to take on North Thurston at 7:00 PM. In 2011, as members of the 2A EvCo, the Rams knocked off the Wolves 35-14 but both teams are coming off of big opening week victories that they hope will set the tone for this game and the rest of their season.
North Thurston traveled to Steilacoom and rushed their way to a 36-21 win that wasn’t as close as the final score. Maurice Manning scored three short touchdowns and Brandon Belisario scored on an 18 yard run and Ryan Mets, who has the unenviable task of replacing Ben Broeker at quarterback, threw his first touchdown, a 24 yarder to Josh Cahill.
Meanwhile, in Tumwater, Black Hills was busy putting a hurting on Clover Park. A relatively close game got out of control in the third quarter when the Wolves put 21 points on the board behind two touchdown passes from Miles Smiley and a 40 yard run by Jesse Perkinson. Smiley finished with 174 yards and three touchdowns while Perkinson had 95 yards rushing and a touchdown and 49 yards receiving and a TD.
So two teams with some question marks coming into the season that performed well in the opener. I expect North Thurston’s running game to dominate again but Black Hills will also put some points on the board.
My pick: North Thurston 35, Black Hills 24
If football doesn’t really float your boat, head on out to Evergreen where the Geoducks are hosting the Red Lion Evergreen Invitational volleyball tournament starting today at 3:00 PM when Columbia Bible faces Northwest University in the opening game. At 5:00 PM, the host Geoducks take on NCAA Division II Simon Fraser and in the nightcap, Camosun takes on Lewis & Clark at 7:00 PM.
The tournament continues tomorrow with a whole day of action starting at 9:00 AM and wraps up on Saturday. All games are at the CRC Gymnasium. Live stats can be found by clicking here.
And if that isn’t enough for you, North Thurston hosts Shelton and Olympia hosts Central Kitsap in girl’s volleyball. The North Thurston game starts at 6:30 PM while the game at Oly starts at 7:00.
And finally, in girl’s soccer action, Capital heads to Tumwater to take on the T-Birds at 7:00 PM.
Rest in peace Coach Stevens
Robert Stevens, long time teacher and coach in the Olympia area, passed away from a battle with cancer this week at the age of 62.
I had Coach Stevens as a gym teacher at Chinook Middle School for just one year and never had him as a coach but he left quite the impression anyway. He was probably the first “coach” that I ever encountered, before that I was always coached by parents that were just volunteering because they had to. He was a new type of personality in my life at the time and I fought that toughness and the gruffness that he had to bring to middle school gym class. I was never good with coaches or people in a position of authority and I often hated going to gym class but I always really liked Coach Stevens. He was tough but he was fair and cared about his students and did his job really well. He would get on you and give you this piercing, nasty, disappointed look if you were dogging it or acting stupid that would send chills down my spine whenever I got it. I honestly think that look stayed with me for the rest of my life, in the back of my mind, urging me to not to piss him off.
Anyway, thank you Coach Stevens. You were definitely one of the most memorable teachers that I ever had and I wish that my attitude and commitment would have been better in 7th grade. I think I probably could have learned a lot more from you. Rest in peace.
Coach Stevens is survived by his four kids: Jason, Janeal, Jameka and Jerramy. There will be a memorial service at Haven of Rest Funeral Home in Gig Harbor on Saturday, September 8th at 11:00 AM. You can read his obituary and sign a guestbook here.
Wednesday scoreboard: SPSCC falls; Cox scores hat trick; Rams, Wolves win
Men’s soccer
Peninsula College 5, SPSCC 0
Girl’s soccer
Capital 4, Lakes 0
Logan Cox scored a hat trick and Lena Moreno added a goal in Capital’s 4-1 non-league win over Lakes.
Girl’s volleyball
North Thurston 3, W.F. West 0 ( 25-12, 25-14, 25-22)
Black Hills 3, Shelton 0 (25-18 25-11, 25-19)
Brittany Rutherford had 11 kills in North Thurston’s 3-0 win over W.F. West. Megan Kramer had 21 assists for the Rams.
Hope Mortensen racked up 12 kills and seven digs and Moriah Kramer had 22 assists in Black Hills straight sets win over Shelton.
Tuesday scoreboard: Geoducks fall again; Blazers, Rams, T-Birds win openers
Women’s volleyball
Northwest University 3, Evergreen 1 (25-14, 25-22, 24-26, 25-16) – More from Evergreen athletics
Girl’s volleyball
Timberline 3, Black Hills 0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-23)
North Thurston 3, River Ridge 0 (25-12, 25-9, 25-11)
Girl’s soccer
Tumwater 1, Orting 0
W.F. West 6, North Thurston 0
River Ridge 4, Shelton 0
Today (9/4): Geoducks volleyball; Girls soccer and volleyball seasons start
College volleyball
Evergreen vs. Northwest University – CRC Gymnasium – 7:00 PM
High school volleyball
Timberline @ Black Hills – Black Hills HS – 7:00 PM
North Thurston @ River Ridge – River Ridge HS – 7:00 PM
Girl’s soccer
River Ridge @ Shelton – Highclimber Stadium – 4:00
Monday scoreboard: Senators season ends; Geoducks drop doubleheader
Baseball (Grand Forks Invitational)
Team Canada 6, Thurston County Senators 5
The Thurston County Senators season came to an end on Monday morning with a 6-5 loss to Team Canada in the Grand Forks Invitational semifinals.
Women’s soccer
Rocky Mountain College 3, Evergreen 0 – More from Evergreen athletics
Men’s soccer
Rocky Mountain College 6, Evergreen 3 – More from Evergreen athletics
Today (9/3): Labor Day soccer doubleheader
Get two games for the price of…well, none since soccer games are free at Evergreen…when the Geoducks host Rocky Mountain College in both men’s and women’s action at Evergreen Pitch.
At 11:00 AM, the 0-1 Geoduck women face off with the 4-0-1 Battlin’ Bears, who tied Northwest University 2-2 on Saturday and beat Trinity Lutheran on Friday to start their Puget Sound road trip.
And following the women’s game, the 0-2 Geoduck men face a 3-0 RMC team. First touch will be around 1:00 PM.
Oly Sports 
