Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/267007
Tehama Tracker 1B Wednesday February 26, 2014 Sports HIGH SCHOOL BOYS SOCCER PLAYOFFS Daily News photo by Andre Byik Corning High School's Mario Campos, second from right, attempts a header in a Northern Section CIF Division II semifinal soccer game against the visiting Gridley Bulldogs on Tuesday Gridley stuns No. 1 Corning By ANDRE BYIK DN Staff Writer CORNING — The Corning High boys soccer team's season came to an unceremonious end Tuesday, when the visiting Gridley Bulldogs stunned the top-seeded Cardinals, 1-0, in the Northern Sec- tion CIF Division II semifinals. Corning (18-1-2) hadn't lost a game leading up to the playoffs, and looked poised to reach its sixth straight section-title game. The Cards earned a bye into the semis and drew No. 4 Gridley, which fell to the Cards, 2-0, on Dec. 11. But after a scoreless first half the Bulldogs (15-6-1) broke the tie on a broken play in Corning's box that sent the ball ricocheting to the foot of Guillermo Mendoza, who drilled a relatively easy shot into the left corner of the net in the 47th minute. "To (Corning) it's an upset," Gridley coach Jesse Barajas said. "To me, it's not. The first time we played them we didn't play the same starting team. We never do. They saw a whole different setup the first time out. We've done this dance before." Corning goalkeeper Luis Lue- vano suffered a right-leg injury in the flurried scuffle, and had to be helped off the pitch. Injuries, Corning coach Ascen- sion Llamas said, plagued the Cards throughout season. Corn- ing's Mario Campos, who scored 15 goals this season, also left the game late after hurting his ankle. "It's kind of how the season went," Llamas said. "Every game was, I don't know. I don't know how they won sometimes. It's been a fun season though." Gridley, which has outscored its opponents 14-0 in its last three games, couldn't be peaking at a better time. The Bulldogs will face No. 2 Orland at noon Saturday for a shot at a section title. "Sky's the limit. At this point in time they can do it," Barajas said. He added, "For us to see where we started and where they're at right now, it is definitely unreal." Division III The No. 4 Los Molinos Bull- dogs fell on the road to No. 1 Wil- lows, 7-3, in the Northern Section CIF D-III semifinals Tuesday. LosMo High's Chantal Narez earns prestigious scholarship Special to the DN Los Molinos High School senior Chantal Narez has received the 2014 Coca-Cola Scholars Scholarship. The scholarship is in the amount of $20,000, and Narez is one of only 250 high school students from across the United States to earn this rare honor. Actually, she is one in 24 students from California and the only student north of Roseville to be recog- nized. In December, Chantal was notified that she was a regional recipient for the Coca-Cola Scholars Scholar- ship. On Feb. 7, Chantal was interviewed, via Skype, to become a national recipient. She was then notified on Feb. 13 that she was in fact a National recipient and would have a chance to participate in the Scholars Weekend. Scholars Weekend is April 3-6 in Atlanta, Ga., where she will be honored at the Coca-Cola Scholars Banquet the evening of April 3rd at the Geor- gia World Congress Center. In addition to the banquet, the weekend will be filled with Coca-Cola Scholars Leadership Institute seminars, tours of local landmarks in Atlanta, seminars by alumni and staff, and a community service project. The objective of the community service project is to leave a mark on Atlanta as a member of the Coca-Cola family, as thousands of other Coca-Cola Scholars have done before her. This service activity is voluntary and Narez is excited to be a part of it. In addition to this, she will have the opportunity to receive an additional $10,000 scholarship. The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation was announced in 1986, according to its website. "As we celebrate the Foundation's 25th Class this year, we acknowledge that is has been our good for- tune to have invested more than $50 million in 5,250 students who represent the most promising qualities of American youth throughout this country: academic excellence, positive leadership and a dedication to ser- vice," the website states. Narez is one of those students. Just this year alone, she has been actively involved in her school and com- munity. She is the captain of the golf team and she played on the 2013 volleyball team, which captured both a Five Star League championship and a Northern Section CIF Division V title. Narez is the FFA Region- al Vice President, President of the Block LM Athletic Club, Vice President of her senior class, FFA Chapter Secretary, CSF Vice President, Secretary of Purple & Gold Spirit Club, a ballroom dancer and is a member of the Kiwanis Key Club, AVID and ASB. Chas Konopka, Narez's AVID teacher and volley- ball coach, said, "Chantal is a very articulate, positive, detail-oriented and charismatic leader. She is the first in Los Molinos school history to receive this award and is very deserving of this scholarship." Today's schedule NBA Golden State at Chicago, 5 p.m. Sports on TV GOLF 7:30 p.m. TGC — LPGA, HSBC Women's Champions, first round, at Singapore MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 4 p.m. ESPN2 — Georgia Tech at Notre Dame ESPNU — Rutgers at UCF 5 p.m. FS1 — Butler at Villanova 6 p.m. ESPN2 — California at Arizona ESPNU — Baylor at Texas 8 p.m. ESPNU — Stanford at Arizona St. NBA BASKETBALL 5 p.m. ESPN — New Orleans at Dallas 7:30 p.m. ESPN — Houston at L.A. Clip- pers NHL HOCKEY 4:30 p.m. NBCSN — Boston at Buffalo 7 p.m. NBCSN — Los Angeles at Col- orado SOCCER 11:30 a.m. FS1 — UEFA Champions League, Chelsea at Galatasaray Courtesy photo Los Molinos High's Chantal Narez earned the prestigious $20,000 Coca-Cola Scholars Scholar- ship. Kings working to buy out Fredette SACRAMENTO (AP) — Jimmermania began in Sacramento with hundreds of fans gathered at the airport to cheer the arrival of a player most had only watched on television or read about during the NCAA tournament. It's headed for a much quieter conclusion. As the Kings and guard Jimmer Fredette worked toward reaching a buyout of his contract, the former BYU sensation was not in attendance for Tuesday night's game against the Houston Rockets. Kings coach Michael Malone said the team advised Fredette to stay home until a resolution has been reached. Malone said he wished Fredette well and believes the third-year guard can carve out an NBA career some- where — just not in Sacramento. ''For whatever reason, Jimmer was never able to find success, whether they were unrealistic expectations from his college career or whatever it was,'' Malone said. ''But he just wasn't able to play to the level that every- body wanted him to play, which is somewhat maybe unrealistic. Maybe we have to temper our expectations for Jimmer and let him just become a solid NBA player and there's nothing wrong with that.'' Fredette, who turned 25 years old Tuesday, is making about $2.4 million this season. He will be a free agent if — and, most likely when — he clears waivers. Kings general manager Pete D'Alessandro told reporters at the team's morning shootaround that he was approached by Fredette's representatives about a buyout. He said Fredette no longer fits into the team's plans but that Kings owner Vivek Ranadive ''loves Jimmer and wants to do the right thing by Jimmer. We're just talking about things at this point. There's nothing done at this point.'' A person with knowledge of the discussions, who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because negotiations were ongoing, said the sides hoped to finalize an agreement by the end of the week. Yahoo Sports first reported the Kings and Fredette were working on a buyout. Fredette was drafted 10th overall in 2011 after daz- zling at BYU, where he won The Associated Press' play- er of the year award his senior season. Fredette never lived up to the fanfare in Sacramento, though the fran- chise's instability — playing for three different coaches, two different ownership groups and constant relocation chatter — didn't help his cause. Fredette is averaging 5.9 points and 11.3 minutes this season, shooting 47.5 percent from the floor and 49.3 percent from 3-point range. For his career, he's averag- ing seven points, 1.5 assists and 1.1 rebounds while shooting 41.6 percent overall, including 40 percent from beyond the arc. But the same concerns some scouts had about Fre- dette when he entered the league — his defense, ball- handling skills and ability to score off the ball against bigger and more athletic defenders — persist. ''Every time he shot it, I thought the ball was going in. I will say that,'' Malone said. Fredette's time in California's capital city has been nearing an end since the Kings decided not to pick up a team option before this season on his contract for the 2014-15 season. Sacramento also tried to move Fredette before last week's trade deadline but couldn't get any suitable takers. Since Sacramento traded Marcus Thornton to Brook- lyn for Jason Terry and Reggie Evans last week, Malone promised to use the remainder of the season to give rook- ie guards Ben McLemore and Ray McCallum more playing time. That move buried Fredette even further on the bench. Jimmermania never took shape in Sacramento like the Kings had hoped. Fredette led the nation in scoring at 28.5 points per game and guided BYU to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament as a senior. Big performances in big games had NBA stars tweeting his name, President Barack Obama mentioning him while filling out his bracket and college basketball fans in a frenzy. The Kings acquired him in a draft-day trade with Mil- waukee as the 10th overall pick. Fans have remained incredibly vocal about Fredette, often screaming at games for him to play more — and cheering louder for him than other reserves when he finally enters. Paul Westphal was the only one of Fredette's three coaches committed to giving him extended minutes. Even that didn't last long. Westphal was fired after a 2-5 start in Fredette's rook- ie season. Keith Smart and Malone both opted to go away from Fredette in favor of other guards, most notably Isaiah Thomas, who has outplayed Fredette since their rookie season. ''Jimmer knows how to play, he's a worker, he's a great kid,'' Malone said. ''And I just hope that he goes to a team that allows him to play and put him in a position to have success and maybe he can catch on with some- body.'' AP photo The Sacramento Kings' Jimmer Fredette, right, takes a shot during a basketball game Feb. 12 in New York.