South’s fall sports teams have started off all sports, but are hoping to improve as the season progresses, and playoffs draw closer. Now most teams are heading into league play.
The Saxon football team has a record of 2-2 and have struggled battling against tougher teams. Although the Saxons have had a rough start, they have showed promise with many big plays and drives the past couple weeks. The Saxons got their second win of the season in a close comeback game versus Sprague on Friday, Sept. 21, beating the Olympians 21-20. The Saxons came back from an Olympian 20 point lead, scoring all three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and securing their first win versus Sprague since the 2015 season. The team showed tremendous heart in the fourth quarter and are hoping to continue with that same momentum throughout the coming weeks. The Saxons face off against the Bend Bears for their first official league game at home on Friday, Sept. 28 at 7:15 p.m. where they look to build on their win as they press on toward the second half of the season.
The volleyball team has also struggled this season, with a record of 3-7 while ranked sixth in league. The loss of 12 out of the 14 players on last year’s varsity team has hit hard for the young and inexperienced girls on this year’s squad. Although struggling there have been a few emerging bright spots such as outside hitter Gabriella Baker ‘20 that has been South’s main source of offense along with returning varsity player and middle blocker for the Saxons, Victoria Stafford ‘20. In addition, freshman Laila Leaks ‘22 has shown great potential and has contributed tremendously on both offense and defense.
“I think our team needs to improve our passing and just communicating while on the floor in order to improve, but I mean we’re young, and for me personally, playing against juniors and seniors has been a big change from middle school volleyball” said Leaks ‘21.
The Saxon volleyball team travels down to Bend again to face off against Summit in their next matchup on Tues, Sept. 25 at 6:30 p.m.
The boys soccer team has a record of 2-4-1 and are ranked fourth in league. However, they have only competed in non-league matchups so far this season. The Saxons first league matchup is on Tuesday, Sept. 25 versus Sprague at 7 p.m. They are looking to bounce back and perform well versus the other schools in the Mountain Valley Conference to finish the season off.
The girls soccer team also has a record of 2-4-1 and are ranked seventh in league so far. They are looking to improve during the second half of the season against league teams with their young roster with only four seniors on the team. The Saxons have suffered several injuries to the girls on the team, making it difficult to succeed on the field. Even with these injuries the team has fought hard against very talented teams and are hoping to pick up more wins during league matches coming up.
The Saxon boys water polo team has a record of 1-2-1 and are 1-2 in league matchups. The boys will face off versus Sprague on Tues, Oct. 2 at the Kroc Center at 7 p.m.The Saxon girls water polo team has a record of 1-3 and are 0-2 in league matchups so far this season. Despite struggling, the girls have battled and are hoping for a victory also versus Sprague on Oct. 2 at the Kroc Center at 6 p.m.
The falls sports teams are looking to improve going into the in the second half of the season, hopefully with tremendous improvement that will take them to the playoffs and continue on into next year’s season.
