"M's in under $20...Frugal fans can find ways to stretch their budgets" -- Sept. 12, 2006

BY CALEB BREAKEY
THE OLYMPIAN

The thrill of attending a professional sporting event can sometimes be dulled by the hit one's pocketbook can take.

Seattle Mariners fans Brian Washburn and Gary Carter found that out in early August when they dished out more than $50 apiece to cover food and parking, even though they got free tickets.

Four bottled beers, a meal, ice cream and peanuts can add up fast at concession stand prices.

But there is a way to attend a Mariners game without feeling that twinge in your stomach that comes with spending more money than you had wished.

I attended a recent Mariners game and spent less than $20, and this covered the ticket and the commute from South Sound. It's a bit more of a hassle; it involves finding free parking and bringing your own food. But sitting in Safeco Field and watching the Mariners and Angels play on a warm August night for $19.38 without a ping of guilt made it all worth the extra effort.

Although this season is winding down with the final home game set for Oct. 1, these are cost-saving tips that can be used for seasons to come.

Here's how to do it:

Getting from here to there

Gas cost $12.38 for the journey to Safeco Field, which is about 106 miles roundtrip from the Martin Way Shell gas station in Lacey -- this assuming that the vehicle gets 25 miles per gallon on the freeway.

After taking the northbound Qwest Field/Safeco Field exit, I went straight and turned right at Fourth Avenue, drove a few blocks and then turned left onto South Lander Street. The next left was 3rd Avenue South, just behind Subway, where I parked my car for free along the street.

I made my way to the ballpark carrying just my cooler, wallet and cell phone.

"Come early; (you can) find free parking on the street," said Rebecca Hale, the Mariners' director of public information. "It will certainly save $15 to $20."

Outside the stadium, programs sold for $3 or two for $5. Avoid these -- the Web has most of the information fans want, and it's free.

Taking the bus is another option.

Fans can get from Olympia to Seattle, with one bus change in Tacoma, for $7 roundtrip. But buses don't run late from Seattle to Olympia, so this option only works when the game is played in the afternoon.

The Mariners have two day games left on their schedule: Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays, and Oct. 1 vs. the Texas Rangers.

Get 'em quick

Center field bleachers at Safeco Field sell for $7, and for that reason, they often sell quickly.

These seats, which offer a great glimpse of Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki, have been up for grabs online and at various ticket sellers since the beginning of the season.

Because of this, series such as the Mariners vs. the Yankees and Red Sox sold out the inexpensive seats in advance. But fans can purchase the center field bleacher seats just before the gates open for some home games.

For peace-of-mind's sake, fans should buy their tickets weeks in advance.

Head to the Seattle Mariners Team Store at Capital Mall in Olympia to avoid a $3 online purchase charge. At the team store, Mariners' employees look for what each fan desires for seating and, if it's not available, help find the next best option.

And don't think inexpensive seating means a bad view.

If fans want to get closer to the action, there's a yellow line that runs across the top of the 100-level stairs, where fans crowd behind to see home plate, the pitcher and batter.

"You can go just about anywhere in the ballpark with just about any ticket," Hale said. "As long as you stand behind that yellow line, you're OK."

Bleacher creatures

The center field bleachers are located just under the big screen and scoreboard, but every inning fans can check the score or count without turning around.

Along the first and third base lines, around the 200-level seating, are two easily seen electronic scoreboards.

Still, the big screen is directly behind the bleachers, which can be a downer, said Shane Berry, a Mariners fan from Cranbrook, Canada.

"You're neck gets a little sore," he said, "but you still have a great chance of catching a ball."

Pack a lunch

The real trick to seeing the Mariners for less than $20 is disciplining that stomach.

A jumbo dog, chili nachos, large soda and a bottle of water from Safeco Field's Rolling Roof Refreshments rings up a $20 total -- enough money for another trip to the ballpark.

Instead, browse through those cupboards and the freezer.

"You can bring anything that won't get all over the people in front of you," Hale said.

Hale has seen fans carrying picnic baskets, grocery bags and pizza, not to mention a line of four people hauling a 6-foot long sub sandwich over their shoulders into the ballpark. Foods such as apples or pears should be sliced so that they won't be thrown onto the field, Hale said.

The Mariners also don't allow water, soda or bottled beverages into Safeco, "because we don't know what's in that container," she said.

However, fans can bring empty water bottles and fill them up inside. Along with an empty water bottle, I brought four Capri Suns, pretzels and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich -- whatever caught my eyes in the kitchen.

Putting it all together

Be creative -- thrifty doesn't have to be boring. Instead of salivating over every grease-saturated meal, try walking around the ballpark between innings. I visited the fountain in center field and tried to get a closeup of the batter's backdrop: what is that wall made of anyway?

At the end of the day, sit back, recline and reminisce -- one ticket, one meal, one Mariners game: under $20. Not even the Mariners Moose could say that.

The breakdown

Gas for the trip: $12.38

Ticket: $7

Parking: $0

Food at park: $0

Total: $19.38

Prerequisites:

A vehicle that gets 25 miles per gallon.

Bring your own food -- it's cheaper and healthier.

"Rams stop River Ridge's 2-point attempt to tie" -- Sept. 9, 2006

BY CALEB BREAKEY
THE OLYMPIAN

North Thurston's game against River Ridge on Friday night turned to a chess match with high stakes, each coach guessing the others' next move. Rams quarterback Kaleb Wilson said he couldn't watch. Running back Alex Ward said he just prayed.

With 2:29 left in the fourth quarter and the Rams up by two, the coaches made their moves as the Hawks lined up for a two-point conversion.

"They had the same situation on three yards out and they scored," Rams coach Rocky Patchin said. "We had to do something different."

The Hawks had run a bootleg play, so the Rams prepared with an "all-out team stunt."

"We ran that same set earlier in the game, and all three times we got clear," Hawks coach Steve Schultz said. "On a goal line in a key situation, I like to have the option to throw or run, but there was wall of white that came through there. I don't know that it would have mattered what we ran. They were all over our guys."

Checkmate.

The Rams outsmarted the Hawks to claim a 14-12 victory at South Sound Stadium. Wilson completed 12 of 21 passes for 124 yards, and Ward rushed 24 times for 65 yards and two touchdowns. The duo combined for most of the Rams offense and complemented each other throughout the game.

"When you've got a threat like that up the middle, it's just tremendous, because then they have to bring the defense in," Wilson said of Ward's rushing attacks. "When we want to go outside, we can. We have the options all the time."

The Rams got on the scoreboard with 9:32 left in the first half. From his own 40, Wilson connected with Ward on a 10-yard pass. Seven plays and 19 yards later, Ward bolted up the middle for his first TD.

"It was key blocking and they made the hole for me," Ward said. "I just put my head down and went all out."

The Hawks came back late in the third quarter when Ross Creamer hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Joey DeLuca. But Hawks kicker Alyssia Mottern's boot fell short, pitting the score at 7-6. Ward struck again in the fourth quarter, and then the Hawks started their decisive drive after linebacker John Skorna recovered a Rams fumble.

The Hawks used a 10-play, five-minute drive to set up running back Charles Richardson's touchdown just before the two-point conversion play.

DeLuca finished the game with 85 passing yards on 17 attempts. Richardson ran the ball six times for 25 yards and the touchdown.

Patchin wasn't thrilled with the Rams offense, expecting 25 more points, but his defense overshadowed that with strong tackles and tight coverage.

Afterward the Rams sang their school chant, raving about the game and last minute execution.

In chess, it was a move. In football, it was a win.

"I tell our kids all the time that there's going to be one or two plays that make a difference in a game," Patchin said. "That was one of them."

"Bailey has passion for running" -- Sept. 9, 2006

BY CALEB BREAKEY
THE OLYMPIAN

Being the only girl in a quadruplet of siblings is just the start for Bailey Campbell.

Her brother Sean kicks up dirt off-road. Her brothers Colby and Jared peck away at computer keyboards, one for hobby and the other for games. But Campbell laces up spikes when it's wet, wears Under Armor when it's cold and chugs water when it's hot.

She's the athlete of the family, and she's fine with that.

"It seems normal because I've been doing sports for a long time," she said.

Bailey is a soft-spoken runner for Capital High School's cross country team -- friendly and quiet on the outside, "but really a fiery person" on the inside, said cross country coach Kevin Wright.

"She just doesn't show it the way other kids do," he said. "You're not going to see her jumping up and down and screaming, that's not Bailey."

"Pacer," a game Bailey played in sixth grade, sparked her passion for running. She and a bunch of elementary kids were lined up alongside the width of a basketball court, waiting for a recorded beep that signaled them to run to the other side.

She had to reach the other side before the recording beeped again. And she did -- many times.

"I realized that other people were dropping out," Bailey said. "I didn't really have anything, like, 'I'm good at this,' until then."

Bailey and teammate Katie Blue, both seniors, are co-captains for the Cougars. Blue said Bailey leads without words.

"She'll be in a race and be in so much pain, but she'll just keep going and get faster," she said.

And now Saint Martin's University, along with some Division II tech schools, has noticed the red-haired quadruplet and her dependable legs, just as the Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association noticed Capital's entire girls squad, ranking them 4th among 3A high schools in a preseason poll.

No Capital girls cross country team has placed higher than fifth at state, and with the Capital invite kicking off the season today, the Cougars' hunt for a higher placement begins in earnest. Last year the Cougars girls finished eighth at state.

"Our big thing this year is trying to get a team on the podium because no girls team at Capital has ever done that," Wright said. "A top-four finish is a high likelihood if we stay healthy and compete the way we have in the past."

Several girls competing for seven varsity spots are pushing the team to better themselves, said sophomore Emily Wallen, who bumped from JV to one of the team's top four runners.

Last season she started training two weeks before the season. This year she started three months before the season, running up and down the hilly terrain around her neighborhood for 40 minutes each day.

Sometimes her mom would ride beside her on a bike.

"It's encouraging and she distracts me from how hard I'm working," Wallen said. "I'll ask her to tell me a story."

Wallen's grueling workouts seemed to catch on with other Cougars this season. Blue said she's never seen a team this physically fit in her four years.

"We're seeing workouts I couldn't have completed as a sophomore or junior," she said. "We're seeing nine girls finish these workouts that, in earlier years, maybe two girls could have done."

Black Hills Wolves

COACH: George Zelenak
2005: Boys: 4-4 in league. Girls: 2-6 in league.
KEY RETURNERS: Boys: Tyler Alsin, sr. Girls: Rachel Miller, sr.
TOP NEWCOMERS: Boys: Eric Walsh, fr.
NOTABLE: Juniors Megan Zelenak and Dorothy Huynh return after missing their sophomore years to injuries.

Capital Cougars

COACH: Kevin Wright (girls coach)

2005: Third in league, fourth at district and eighth at state.

KEY RETURNERS: Amanda Wright, jr.; Johannah Verhulst, so.; Katie Blue, sr.; Laura Wolfe, jr.; Bailey Campbell, sr.; Maria McSharry, sr.

TOP NEWCOMERS: Emily Wallen, so.; Brianna Morkert-Burling, so.; Rebekah Calder, jr.; Kailyn Swarthout, fr.; Jenica Noviello, so.

NOTABLE: The six key returners were a part of the state team. The Cougars lost only senior Ariel Taylor from last season's state team. She is now running for Eastern Washington University.

Centralia Tigers

COACH: Andrea McLaughlin

2005: Both boys and girls teams finished in middle of the league.

KEY RETURNERS: Boys: Jacob Ehlers, sr.; Gabe Tippery, jr. Girls: Torin Shriver, so.

TOP NEWCOMERS: Boys: Mula Dafala, so.

NOTABLE: This is Dafala's first season running cross country, but "running is in his blood, and he has been right on Jacob's and Gabe's heels in practice," McLaughlin said. Also, Shriver ran 50 miles per week to get ready for the season.

Olympia Bears

COACH: Cris Violette

2005: Boys: Second in league, third at districts and seventh at state. Girls: Fifth in league, sixth at districts, 14th at state.

KEY RETURNERS: Boys: Jacob Goodin, sr. Girls: Annie Dear, so.; Carter Schick, sr.

NOTABLE: Dear placed 27th at state.

Tenino Beavers

COACH: Bryan Hoddle

2005: Boys: Second in league and fifth at district. Girls: Second in league and fifth at district.

KEY RETURNERS: Boys: Trevor Lewis, sr.; James Milnes, sr.; Kyle Kollman, jr.; Lance Adams, sr.; Cody Sharber, sr., Jarran Harris, fr. Girls: Megan Batten, jr.; Heather Wells, fr.; Krista Schaeffer, sr.

NOTABLE: Lewis, "The Wind," placed in two events at state last season.

Timberline Blazers

COACH: Linda Huyck

2005: Boys: 3-5 in league. Girls: Incomplete team.

KEY RETURNERS: John Perrine, sr. Girls: Sarah Bowen, sr., Rachel Estep, so.

NOTABLE: The Blazers haven't had a complete girls team for about five years, Huyck said.

Tumwater Thunderbirds

COACH: Rich Brown

2005: Boys: League champions, fourth at districts. Girls: One state qualifier.

KEY RETURNERS: Boys: Micah Pong, sr.; Nathan Duray, so.; Steven Acosta, so.; Rand Montermini, so. Girls: Christina Alexander, jr.

NOTABLE: Alexander was an individual league champion and state qualifier.

"Bears on fast track...Fleet of foot, Olympia will bank on speed" -- Sept. 5, 2006

BY CALEB BREAKEY
THE OLYMPIAN

The Olympia Bears girls soccer team dressed up in suspenders, wigs, vests and colorful stockings under plaid shirts as they ventured around the South Sound, checking off a list of items -- "take a picture by the fountain, get a picture with the bagboy at a grocery store, get a bag of oyster crackers at the oyster house" -- during a scavenger hunt in groups of five or seven last week.

"It was like a big race," said Bears senior defender Cheri Watson. "We ended up probably running a few miles."

Racking up mileage isn't unusual for the team, especially for the five girls who ran on last year's state-champion Olympia track team.

Ciairra Austin, Joanne Hauplin, Tina Schicchi, Jill Lahmann and Cheri Watson all participated in running events and now turn their legs to soccer.

"There's not many teams that have five girls who went to state in track. That's going to help, having a lot of fast players," said Schicchi, a junior midfielder. "There won't be as many teams that can keep up with us."

The explosive sprints practiced in track and field carry over for the grueling minutes spent on the soccer field, Watson said.

Aside from team speed, head coach Tessa Effland knows what will get the Bears back to state.

"Tomorrow," she said. "State is a word that we have to practice Monday, Wednesday, Friday. It's a five-letter word that we realize is there."

The team lost its top two scorers from last year's 16-3 team, but returns 12 players this season -- six of whom are first team all-league players. The Bears say their communication and unity sets them apart from other teams.

Knowing that players are trying their hardest gives the Bears an upbeat practice because there's no room to harbor anger against slacking, Schicchi said.

Instead, practice is a time to "come and be intense with people on the field," Lahmann said, "but still when you come off you're still going to be friends with them."

This leads to a Bears' program that has its players -- through friendships -- mentally intertwined on the field.

"We know how the other girls play, so we know exactly where they're going to be, we know exactly where we should put the ball for that certain player. It's just knowing each other."

The Bears have 22 players on their roster this season -- five more than usual -- and are in a new league of 11 teams. Unlike last season, the Bears will play each team once, with the top five advancing to the playoffs.

The new league poses new challenges from new opponents, none of which Effland said is too daunting for the Bears.

"We all have to communicate; they all need to lead," she said. "We've found success that way."

"Defending 2A champ Pullman routs Steilacoom" -- Sept. 3, 2006

BY CALEB BREAKEY
THE OLYMPIAN

Dodging two tackles and stiff-arming another, Steilacoom sophomore quarterback Greg Herd broke through the left side of Pullman's defense for a 35-yard run alongside his weary teammates in heat approaching 90 degrees.

A Pullman defender was injured on the play, so both teams huddled. Herd trotted toward the group of Sentinels, dropped to his right knee and took off his helmet, uncovering a shiny, shaved head.

Drops of sweat zigzagged from his head to chin as he inhaled two breaths, looked toward the Greyhounds' huddle, then lowered a pair of squinted eyes to the ground.

"This heat," Herd said after the game. "Everyone gets tired in the heat."

The Steilacoom Sentinels' exhaustion from playing both ways Saturday afternoon against the 2A reigning champs showed early in the second half, when the Sentinels put their hands to their waists in-between the Greyhounds' rushing attacks in a 36-7 loss.

Steilacoom players said a lack of depth hurt them. Fatigue crippled the team's tackling throughout the game as Greyhound running backs routinely evaded a defender or two before being dropped.

"If we would have wrapped up, and tucked our heads and drove our legs, there would have been a change in the game," said Herd, who finished with 57 passing yards and 90 yards total. "I'm not saying we would have won, but the intensity on the field would have been much higher."

Greyhounds' sophomore running back Cody Weber, playing in his first varsity game, found several holes in the Sentinels' line, cutting his way through defenders for 123 yards on nine carries.

After losing "two big horses" to graduation last year -- running backs Mike Thomas and JC Sherritt -- the Greyhounds will turn to Weber and another sophomore back, Mike Meines, to keep their spikes sharp and push for yards.

Meines jetted into the end zone for the Greyhounds first score with 7:42 left in the first quarter and crisscrossed with Weber throughout the game, gaining 79 yards on seven carries to go with his lone touchdown.

"Those two sort of came out of the woodwork as being the guys," said Pullman coach Bill Peterson. "It's coming together."

Weber credited the win to Greyhounds senior quarterback J.T. Levenseller, who ran for two touchdowns and threw for another in his 89 yard total performance.

"He was really on in the option game," Weber said. "That's what really did it for us. He would take it for 10 yards every single time or give it to me for seven yards."

Several times Levenseller couldn't find an open receiver, so he shot up the middle and demoralized the Sentinels' defense.

"We didn't take the quarterback on the option, and that just killed us," said Sentinels head coach Eric Miller. "They ran the option 25 times today, which has got to be a record."

The Sentinels only score came with 3:06 left in the fourth quarter, well after the Greyhounds ran out its second-stringers -- and it happened accidentally. Senior running back Ryan Tober broke through the middle for a 45-yard run on a Sentinels misaligned play.

One of the team's running backs ran a separate route from the play, but his path lured a Greyhounds linebacker from the middle, opening the field for Tober's touchdown.

The score didn't boost the Sentinels' spirits, but getting on the board was nice, Miller said. One look at Herd after the game encapsulated the team's post game demeanor.

He slowly trudged to the locker room beside a Sentinels lineman, speaking softly to the air in front of him but never turning to face the teammate. His thoughts were stolen. His concentration muddled.

"Greg was under pressure the whole time," Miller said. "For a sophomore against those guys, he did a nice job. He's going to be a good one."

"Blazers open up their offense...Timberline rolls past River Ridge, 55-6" -- Sept. 2, 2006

BY CALEB BREAKEY
THE OLYMPIAN

Timberline junior quarterback Dylan Maxwell's pass sailed toward the sideline of the green and gold Blazers, a perfect spiral falling quickly to the ground in front of wide receiver Bobby Barnes.

The 5-foot-8, 165-pound senior leaped diagonally to the ball as the backside of his No. 1 jersey faced the dusk that had settled upon South Sound Stadium.

Barnes' two hands, each snug in black, padded gloves, seized the spin of the ball and he rammed into the ground with a 26-yard catch.

"We were told to run a fly, and Maxwell just threw a great pass and I went down to get it," Barnes said.

His gritty play in the first half routinely carried the Blazers to River Ridge's goal line, where his teammates took over in a 55-6 blowout over the Hawks on Friday.

The Blazers turned to senior running back Rosario Parascondola after Barnes, who finished the game with 83 total yards, shouldered the team to the end zone.

Parascondola scored three touchdowns on six carries for a game-high 109 yards.

"Bobby may have opened up my game, with River Ridge maybe focusing on the pass," he said. "Tonight I had the hot hand. It was a long time coming."

Parascondola, who played JV last season, is just one part of the Blazers' stable of running backs, head coach Kevin Young said. The Blazers also ran seniors Undray Bailey for 54 yards and Darnell Hurd for 63 yards.

"It's not really a No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 thing," Young said. "It's fun that way, not having to rely on one guy."

The Hawks' lone scoring drive came late in the fourth quarter. Backup sophomore quarterback Josh Rood ran twice for 82 yards and a touchdown with 4:25 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Senior quarterback Joey DeLuca passed for 79 yards on 16 attempts and threw one interception before being replaced in the fourth quarter.

"We played tonight like we haven't had a whole lot of experience on Friday nights," Hawks head coach Steve Schultz said. "When you play a really good team like Timberline, a small mistake turns into a big mistake."

Maxwell started in place of junior quarterback Mike Jones for eligibility reasons. He rushed for a touchdown with 3:02 left in the first quarter and finished the game with 94 passing yards, completing eight of 10 passes.

"I'm really proud of Maxwell; I'm sure the whole team is proud of Maxwell," Barnes said. "He really impressed the team. He came out here and proved a point, showing that he could play."