Sports

Vandal soccer wins sportsmanship award

The McCall-Donnelly boys soccer team brought home a fourth place trophy from the 4A State Tournament over the weekend.But the Vandals will need to make more room in the display case after being selected as a 2024 Sportsmanship Winner.The announcement was made by the Idaho High School Activities Association and is posted on the organization’s website, idhsaa.org.“When we started in August I told the team that winning the Academic Award and Sportsmanship Award were as important as trophies for playing excellence,” M-D coach Forrest Stanley said.The Vandals opened the state tournament with a 4-1 victory over Sun Valley Community School, but then lost to eventual state champion Wendell, 1-0, in the semifinal.M-D tackled Teton of Driggs in Saturday’s third place game, settling for fourth place following a 2-1 loss.Stanley said his players won gracefully and met adversity with dignity.

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Mountaineers pile on Park City

The McCall Mountaineers hockey team opened the 2024-25 season by peppering the opposing goal to secure a pair of victories over the Park City Silver Kings on Friday and Saturday at the Manchester Ice and Events Centre.Chase Cooney scored five goals and Ian Zaleski added four as the Mountaineers cruised past the visiting team, 19-1, during Friday’s season opener.Zaleski added another three-goal hat trick performance during a 15-4 victory over the Silver Kings on Saturday, bringing his early season total to a team-high seven scores.August Kuzara also netted a hat trick with a trio of goals on Saturday while three more McCall players scored twice: Bryan Watters, Macky Power and Bailey Conger.Cooney added another goal on Saturday, bringing the McCall captain’s season total to six, while Kyle Mitsunaga and Josh Kincaid also beat the Park City goalie.Friday’s action featured 11 Mountaineers finding paydirt, led by Cooney and Zaleski’s nine-goal outburst.Kuzara and Watters also both hit the net twice while Austin Miller, Justin Videen, Greg Chapman, Wilhelm Oppedyk, Mitsunaga and Nathan James also scored goals.The McCall crowd also got a special treat Friday when Mountaineer head coach and former Idaho Steelheads legend Marty Flichel got in on the action as a player, finding the net.Flichel retired in 2012 as the Steelhead’s all-time leader in games, goals, assists and points.

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Ramblers felled by Lumberjacks

The Cascade volleyball team wrapped up its season last week with a 25-13, 25-14, 25-10 loss to Garden Valley during the first round of the 1A District III Tournament, which took place at the McCall-Donnelly gym.Claire Pierce tallied two kills, a block and three digs, but the Ramblers were unable to overcome a strong game from the Wolverines, who entered the tournament the no.

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JV roundup: Vandal netters nab tournament title

McCall-Donnelly junior varsity volleyball teams wrapped up the fall campaign at end-of-season tournaments last week, with the “B” team snaring a district crown and the “A” team placing second.The Vandal “A” team (JVA) topped Weiser to reach the finals during its district tournament, but fell to Cole Valley in the championship match.Alexa Mutert led the JVA’s this fall with 100 kills while Marie Duncan chipped in 65 kills.Abi Nachman also led the Vandal JVA’s in both aces (46) and assists (186).Alexa Mutert came up with a team-high 117 digs on the season, with Bella Rubio (114) and Quincy Sorenson (108) not far behind.Kaitlyn Sands delivered the highest marks in hitting efficiency at .429 for the JVA’s.

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Mountaineers hockey back in McCall

Competitive, high-level hockey is back in McCall for another season, with the Mountaineers hosting the Park City Silver Kings on Friday and Saturday at the Manchester Ice and Events Centre.Puck drops at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.The Mountaineers, made up of former pros, college players and members of the Idaho Jr.

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Ramblers roughed up at home

The Cascade football team hosted first place Council on Friday aiming for an upset, but the Lumberjacks had other ideas and took home a 30-14 victory during a Long Pin Conference game played at the Cascade Sports Park.Cole Olson led the Ramblers with 143 yards from scrimmage and a pair of touchdowns.But slowing Owen Hatfield proved difficult as the Council running back racked up 265 yards on 32 totes.Cascade fell to 4-2 with the loss while the Lumberjacks moved to 6-1, including a perfect 4-0 in league.“I can see why they are undefeated in conference play,” Cascade coach Keala Hoe said.

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Sports Briefs

Claire Pierce celebrated Senior Night with five kills and five digs as the Cascade volleyball team lost to Garden Valley, 3-0, last week at Novotny Gym.Pierce was joined by fellow senior Kielee Mack, who notched seven assists and six digs, but the Wolverines pulled out a 27-25, 25-18, 25-20 victory during a Long Pin Conference match.Ceder Saxton also came up big on the defensive end, tallying 12 digs and submitting a .545 average on serve-receive.“She is an anchor on our serve receive line,” Cascade coach Alison Haupt said.

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Vandals roughed up during Trojans tilt

Gunnar Newman racked up 133 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries but the McCall-Donnelly football team got a stark reminder on Friday the Snake River Valley Conference is one of the state’s best at 4A, falling to Homedale, 33-14.Newman added another 33 yards through the air while playing on the Trojans’ home field, catching four balls to give the Vandal junior 166 scrimmage yards.

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