{T} hot, hot, hot happy birthday

Ty's birthday came and went amidst the flurry of "end of school" events...8th grade graduations, piano recitals, delayed basketball seasons and youth conference.  It's all a blur!  

I never expected Ty to still be in school on his birthday (June 22nd!!!) but this year his birthday WAS the last day of school.  

We didn't do a very good job celebrating (sorry Ty) but I did take a few photos of him with his birthday gifts.

 

We bumped Ty's birthday party out by a week, trying to avoid the heat wave that has overtaken Portland (over 110 degrees) but the heat didn't go away so we ultimately had to cancel the bike park and celebrate with a pool party instead.

{J} the music man

Jake continues to work hard at the piano and has become very good!

Just last month he was sustained as one of our ward organists so now he is adding the organ to his piano abilities.

It is nice to have grandma and grandpa Dougall living nearby and able to attend Jake's recital tonight.

{C} Wilsonville Wildcats in Culminating Week Tournament

So, the Wildcats have made it through this strange journey playing the full maximum number of games (14) allowed this regular season and winning every game in the NWOC they played (9-0). If there was a league champion this year, WHS would be the outright, undefeated champions... but, more importantly, the laughs, smiles and memories made have been real and plentiful, a shortened season to be sure but one rich in team camaraderie and shared experiences. This bunch is a special group; they are humble, kind, and they work hard to improve and be the best they can be.

This all is more than we dared hope would unfold back in October... then November... then February... Yet, ultimately thanks to the efforts of so many (the OSAA, the OACA, the State of Oregon, Wilsonville High School, our WLWV School District and more) it's all happened, thankfully.

And as if that was not enough, we now have a "Culminating Week" featuring a 5A-6A Oregon Basketball Finale extravaganza. There are four, 8-team brackets, and Wilsonville has been placed in the Green bracket, along with 6A schools David Douglas, Southridge, Westview, Forest Grove, Canby and Wells and fellow NWOC member Milwaukie. There is no official state tournament this year and there will be no crowing of state champs, but there are dragons to slay and we do have the opportunity to compete and try to win this Green Bracket... We're excited about this!

Game #1 vs David Douglas: WHS loses 44-49

Game #2 vs Forrest Grove: WHS wins 48-25

Game #3 vs Canby: WHS loses 51-48

{J} class of 2025

Today Jake put middle school officially behind him.  

Off to high school come fall and we all know how fast those four years go!

{C} ice cream by Jake

Jake has turned his ice cream skills, from two years of participating in Junior Scoops, into a successful little side hustle.  Six months ago I took some ice cream to work as part of a potluck and it was a hit!  He had a request for an ice cream order which resulted in additional requests and now he makes a "flavor of the month" each month and posts a sign up sheet at my work, as well as at another local business in Beaverton, selling about 25 containers a month.

  

It's the perfect job for this busy student/athlete/pianist....the commute is reasonable and he gets along well with his boss :)

{C} Basketball Senior Night

Before tonight's basketball game they honored the five seniors (four players and one broadcaster) on the team. 

(Rowan Bush, Riley Scanlan, Cason Dougall, Hayden Nichols, Bryan Rector)

I was grateful that the restrictions had lifted so that Cason could have additional friends and family there to watch him play his final game of his high school basketball.

It was very bittersweet and Cason cried a few tears when it was over - but that just tells me how much heart he put into the sport and into the team. It hurts to say goodbye because he cared.

WE LOVE YOU CARL!!!!

{C} Wilsonville Wildcats (14-0) vs Stayton

Tonight the Wildcats take on the Stayton Eagles in what will be their 4th game in 6 days... Stayton has a dynamic play-making point guard in 6'0 junior Jacob Axmaker... Axmaker has deep range, is shifty with the basketball, and scores on all levels of the floor... Their leading scorer, Axmaker gets plenty of help inside from versatile Gabriel Wiggington, a 6'5 junior who can shoot 3's or drive the ball to the bucket with authority, and 6'6 sophomore post Garrett Callien...

For WHS, tonight is challenging in terms of a number of things... First and foremost, handling Stayton's attack and talented personnel with very little prep time is something that should get the Cats's attention. Second, throughout the course of any season, teams have to be careful not to let distractions set in... For example, talking about streaks or doing this, that or the other thing that requires many steps over the course of several upcoming days or weeks is not exactly a good formula for staying in the moment. To be great today, any team needs to be focused on the task at hand, not the nonsense the media or others randomly choose to highlight. That stuff means nothing, and accepting or buying into such talk is a recipe for sub-optimal efforts.

Or, to put more simply, "Don't drink the Kool-Aid."

So, in that respect, tonight might be a bigger challenge than any recent game the Wildcats have encountered... It's a night the team will celebrate four outstanding seniors -- Rowan "Rowan the Boat" Bush, Cason "Carl the Porcupine" Dougall, Hayden "The Worm" Nichols, and Riley "Agent 31" Scanlan... These are four outstanding young men, and this is a great time to embrace everything they have meant to our program and WHS... but we still have a game to play today... We are coming off one of our most sustained competitive efforts of the season last night... but we still have at least 32 minutes in front of us today and Stayton doesn't care about our competitive effort last night... There is noise about things other than the things we need to zero in on tonight... yet we need to own those key things required tonight and play with maximum effort and focus tonight against Stayton to succeed...

So it leaves one wondering... The most relevant question tonight might be whether this team has the competitive maturity yet to zero in on what matters and give a great effort despite some growing distractions around them... Are they tough and determined and mature enough to stay in the moment and meet the competitive challenge right in front of them, and not get distracted by the noise? Will they actively reject the nonsense around them with disdain, understanding that anything less than that and a total focus on competing today is counterproductive? The jury's out on all of that. We shall see very soon, though.

Tonight was the last game of the 14-game 2020-2021 basketball season for Cason.

It has not been an easy season for Cason with his back injury. He has pushed through with remarkable strength and determination but as the season has gone on he is hurting more and more. He feels like he is currently playing at about 50% and that weighs on him - the "what if". But the season has been successful so I hope he feels good about what the team was able to accomplish.

Wilsonville wins 57-42

{C} Wilsonville Wildcats (13-0) @ La Salle Prep

This is a season the LaSalle Falcons have been pointing towards for some time as one in which they could make some noise. Led by a strong senior class which features playmaking guard Nic Boyd, wing Ian Simmons and post Jake Owens, many believed the Falcons would be a factor in the NWOC and possibly at the state level. And the season has gone well under new head coach Sean Kelly, with the Falcons sporting an 8-2 record and selected to play in one of the top brackets at the culminating week tournaments organized by the PIL next week. LaSalle is adept at pushing the ball and scores a variety of ways in the open court, whether it be by Boyd or Simmons slashing to the hoop, Owens rim running, or a guy like Nick Robertson finding space for 3's, they are dangerous when they get out in transition.

Wilsonville, who if there was an NWOC league championship this year would have already locked it up in an outright sense being at least 2 games up on all others with one league game to go, won the first game against LaSalle, 47-46 on a last second 3-point shot by senior Riley Scanlan, assisted by senior Cason Dougall. To have success in this game tonight, the Cats will need to be able to impose their will on the road, keep the Falcons out of transition, control the tempo of the game, and play with poise and purpose against LaSalle's trapping and gambling defenses.

After tonight, the Cats have a game on Saturday against Stayton on a night during which the team's four seniors will be celebrated - Rowan Bush, Cason Dougall, Hayden Nichols, and Riley Scanlan... All four of the program's teams play Saturday and for the sub-varsity teams Saturday will be their final game day of this most unusual season... The varsity team then will play in the culminating week tournament organized by the PIL, opening with David Douglas at Tigard on Tuesday... That tourney is an 8-team, 3-game affair on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday... At that point the Cats may be done or might have one additional game next Saturday. Stay tuned.

This game caused me so much stress. I knew that LaSalle wanted the win that they felt we'd "stolen" at our first match up of the season. The energy was big, the kids played hard but WHS didn't disappoint, specifically Riley kept us in the game over and over, and it was WHS for the win (again)!

Wilsonville wins 48-35

Newspaper coverage here 

"don't go chasing waterfalls"

The Plan was simple.

Do a short hike to a waterfall and be back in time for Cason's basketball game.

The drive was longer than expected. 

The google map directions were more vague.

There were signs that may or may not have indicated we were on private property.

There was definitely a gate - but it was open :)

Then there was a second gate - and it was not open!!!

The hike was so close, but not close enough to hike the extra distance with our limited time frame.  

We let the boys stretch their legs a bit and walk around but we had no choice but to turn around.

The plan then became anything but simple.

We drove back the way we came but when we got to that first (open) gate it was no longer open.  

We were on the wrong side of the now-closed (and locked) gate, miles from anything or anyone, with no cell service.

The first plan was to try to "off-road" the car around the gate....and despite the car being a "jeep", it is not that kind of a jeep! 

We made a feeble attempt to drive around the gate but very quickly realized that that was not going to be how our story ended today.

So we left the car and we walked....and walked...and walked.

And finally we said a prayer.

Within minutes of our prayer we saw the first car that we'd seen all afternoon.  

They took our phone number and promised to call for help when they landed in cell range.

So we kept walking.

Then we saw a second car and he offered us a ride in the back of his pickup truck to drive us to a camp that was 6-8 miles down the road.

Yes, thank you!

The camp didn't have a key to the gate but they had cell service and they had water.

We called the sheriff's department but since our situation was non-emergent, it was non-urgent.

An hour passed.

Another hour passed. 

Nothing.

Rich called a family friend that worked in the area and, remarkably, he was at his shop. 

He agreed to come pick me and the boys up and get us home while Rich remained waiting for help.

Finally, right as our friend arrived to pick us up, the sheriff showed up.

The kids and I still went home with Dan and Rich stayed to deal with the car.

And by "deal with the car" I mean pay the $400ish fine to open the gate so he could drive the car out and come home.

{C} Wilsonville Wildcats (12-0) vs Scappoose

 

Scappoose is vastly improved this season. And they are young. They look to be a team that will contend for the post-season next year.

This year they have been snake-bitten a bit. They have played only four games -- as they missed 14 days and four additional games when they were shut-down for two weeks earlier this season -- so they have an 0-4 record but it is deceptive. Their four games have come against the teams with the three best records in the NWOC - WHS, LaSalle and Milwaukie. In their last two games they led Milwaukie at the half, and led LaSalle -- who is 8-1 on the season -- 54-49 with under three minutes to play before faltering in the final stretch and losing 61-56.

The Indians formula is simple. They are big and they are athletic. Junior point guard Colin Stodner provides the zip, pushing the pace and attacking the paint... But Scappoose is rugged, with 6'3 junior mega-athlete Luke McNabb, 6'6 sophomore scorer Skyler Schmidt, and bruising 6'7 junior post Darren Kessi providing additional muscle in the paint... Throw into the equation several more good athletes, and you have the makings of a tough team, to be sure.

For the Cats, coming off a win in which they did not play as well as they hoped, zeroing in on putting forth a great effort is front and center... It's easy to get lost in the forest sometimes, and this team is trying to learn how to focus on successfully chopping down the tree right in front of them... Against Scappoose, the team will need to show up inspired and focused on this challenge, showing both the opponent and (more importantly) themselves proper respect, and put forth a tough and purposeful effort that pushes toward 32 minutes... With three games left in the "regular season," now would be the time for some of these goal concepts to sink in, if they are going to this year...

Wilsonville wins 55-44