your best was a good sign, right-back Rhyan Grant said.Its early do

PHILOMATH, Ore. -- The scoreboard at the edge of Philomath High Schools football field is dark. The stands are empty. This year, there are no varsity games that brought together many of the towns 4,500 people.Hazing inflicted by upperclassmen on 11 freshman players at a conditioning camp has led to the seasons cancellation, investigations by authorities and the school district, and calls for healing and for the tradition to stop.Studies show more than half of college students in sports teams, clubs and organizations have experienced hazing. Many were hazed in high school. Just last week in California, three varsity high school football players were charged in a separate incident.Breaking the cycle is difficult, but Philomath is tackling the issue head on.The school district is paying attention to both what happened and what could prevent this from happening again, Superintendent Melissa Goff told The Associated Press. Were paying very close attention to the mental health needs of our students and how we, as a community, can pull together.Philomath is a small, sleepy town. Traffic barrels past shuttered businesses on Main Street, a highway heading into the Coastal Range to the west. Corvallis, home to Oregon State University, lies 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) to the east.The town formed around Philomath College, which existed from 1865 to 1929. Its name is Greek for lover of learning.Philomath has little in the way of entertainment, and several people said the loss of the football season will be a blow.Its a little bitty town, and theres not much else to do, so there was usually a pretty big turnout there, said Rhonda Lewis, a waitress at the C D & J Cafe, on Main Street. I dont know whats going to happen now.Pastors representing seven churches have made themselves available to listen, pray for and offer counseling to local students, parents and school district personnel, said Jim Hall, senior pastor of Living Faith Community Church. Theyve had conversations with a broad spectrum of townspeople, Hall said.The school district contracted an independent investigator, Goff said. That probe is ongoing. The Oregon State Police also investigated, because the incident happened at a state-owned camp.Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson said 11 freshman players had intimate parts of their bodies targeted during an initiation.In court Thursday, one of six upperclassmen charged with misdemeanors pleaded guilty to harassment. As part of his sentence, he will speak out against hazing and stand up for the victims.Haroldson, who advocated for the term, said victims are being blamed for the football seasons cancellation and some students expulsions, and instead should be recognized for their courage.The hazing existed for years, instilled as part of the institution, and had gotten worse, Haroldson said.The coaches didnt stop it, he told Circuit Court Judge Locke A. Williams. They chose not to stop it or couldnt stop it.The judge noted hazing isnt isolated to Philomath and said there must be an understanding that this is a practice that cannot continue.A 22-year-old volunteer assistant coach stands charged in the county where the hazing occurred. All the coaches are on leave, Goff said.The decision was made to cancel the varsity season after other athletes and coaches evaluated the readiness of eligible players. The junior varsity season remains on track.Brittany Dryden, manager of Wilsons NAPA Auto Parts store, feels the cancellation is a little harsh.I understand people make mistakes ... but I dont see why we have to punish the whole football team, and punish other people that werent involved, had nothing to do with it, Dryden said. Its just not fair to those kids.Goff has a rebuttal: High school football in Philomath is important, but it is not as important as our kids.Hazing might be part of human nature, and it definitely goes back to ancient Greece and Rome, said Susan Lipkins, a psychologist and an expert on hazing.Victims take the experience to college and the military, primed to be hazed again and again, Lipkins said in a telephone interview from Port Washington, New York.Over time, they often become perpetrators, feeling they have the right to do unto others what was done to them, Lipkins said.Ending the cycle requires breaking the silence.Philomath seems to be handling its case right so far, Lipkins said. To prevent hazing, schools must encourage victims to come forward, using clearly established methods like the internet and even reporting abuse anonymously so they arent labeled wimps.But few high schools and colleges follow through on promises to eliminate hazing, Lipkins noted.They react, she said. 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The A-League has its early title favourites, now the long wait is on for a blockbuster round 10 clash when Melbourne City and Sydney FC meet to decide whose case is stronger.No other side has neared the class and utter ruthlessness displayed by the two glamour clubs in the opening two rounds.Sydneys back-to-back 4-0 floggings of Western Sydney and Central Coast have them at the top of the table on goal difference from second-placed City, whose 4-1 Melbourne derby whitewash has to be seen to be believed in much the same fashion as Tim Cahills preposterous goal.There was only a slim possibility that Cahill, the figurehead of Football Federation Australias marketing campaign, could match the enormous expectations surrounding his long-awaited debut in the league.That the Socceroos all-time leading scorer exceeded them has already gone along way toward paying for the mega-money investment, the 36-year-old describing his audacious 35m half-volley as being up there with the best goals of his career.It sets up the seasons first clash between Sydney FC and Melbourne City, at ANZ Stadium on Friday, December 9, as a mouth-watering encounter, though both sides have been keen to keep a lid on expectations.City midfielder and man of the match Luke Brattan agreed with coach John van `t Schips assessment that championships are not won in the first two games.Yet he was not surprised at the way his team ripped crosstown rivals Melbourne Victory to shred in a performance coach Kevin Muscat labelled an embarrassment.If you look at our squad and the pre-season weve had, were very confident in ourselvess, said Brattan, who scored Citys third goal.dddddddddddd.Weve got lots of talented players, were extremely fit and I think that showed.The Sky Blues were up against lesser opposition in the battling Mariners, yet the ease with which Graham Arnolds men disposed of them suggested they could comfortably lift several more notches when required.I dont think it was our best performance, but to still win pretty comfortably when youre not playing your best was a good sign, right-back Rhyan Grant said.Its early doors but we can be pretty happy with our start to the season.Paul Okons reinvented Mariners dominated possession but spent most of it dallying inside their own half, a smattering of schoolboys errors soon leading to self-destruction.Last seasons wooden-spooners have just a point to show for their first two games, but there is promise that more improvement will come as the team familiarise themselves with Okons fluid game philosophy.The Wanderers, humiliated by their record Sydney derby drubbing, picked themselves off the floor to beat reigning champions Adelaide United in Friday nights grand-final rematch.Brendon Santalab came off the bench to bag a brace, including an injury-time winner minutes after laying a crunching challenge on Reds midfielder James Holland for which the super-sub was lucky not to be sent off.Newcastle stunned perennial powerhouse Brisbane 4-0 on Sunday to climb to third on the table, before Perth dismantled Wellington at home 2-0. 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