Cascade blew by Stayton in the wind in the “brawl” 41-6. La Salle wrapped up their league season with a perfect conference record, and a 24-7 win against North Marion. Gladstone lost at Molalla 36-15, the third straight loss for the Gladiators. Despite that, Gladstone is still going to the playoffs. Estacada took the week off to prepare for a win at all costs contest for both teams at Cascade.

The Falcons had already won the Conference championship, but the battle for the other berths is a real battle. Gladstone could have claimed the #2 berth with a win against Molalla, and still can by beating beleaguered Stayton at home. The winner of the Estacada-Cascade game is in, and the loser is out.

However, if Stayton does upset Gladstone, the Ranger-Cougar winner gets second place, and a home game, instead of a trip to probably Baker. The reason the Gladiators could go to the playoffs with four straight losses, three in conference, are the earlier wins they accumulated.

Gladstone beat both Estacada and Cascade, so if North Marion beats Molalla, and Stayton beats Gladstone, the Gladiators win the head to head against either the Rangers or the Cougars. If, instead, Molalla defeats North Marion, a three way tie between Gladstone, Molalla, and the Estacada-Cascade loser results. That tiebreaker is determined by how these teams did against the next higher team, which would be the Cascade-Estacada winner. Gladstone beat both, while Molalla lost to both.

I was 2-1, and am now 34-9 for the season.

Estacada Rangers (6-2, 3-2) @ #7 Cascade Cougars (7-2, 3-2). Conference game of the week, because it is a playoff game. Estacada is the surprise team of the year in the conference, coming off a winless campaign in 2006. The Rangers lost to La Salle 21-16 in the mud so deep before their bye week that it took them the extra week to get their gear cleaned up. Cascade has the number 4 scoring defense at 11 points per game, while the Rangers are a touchdown behind at 18. On offense, Cascade averages 37.5 behind R.J. Williams, who had accounted for 1,716 yards of total offense, and the quarterback tandem of Bryce Petersen and Nic LaMonica.

Estacada is primarily a ground game group, and averages 23.125 points per game. However, they are a power rushing team, which over the last two seasons, is what has given Cascade’s smallish squad the most trouble. An 8 minute drive by the Rangers against LaSalle is an example of what the Cougars can’t afford.

Late season can mean mud, which would favor Estacada, despite the 490 yard effort Cascade had against North Marion. But the forecast is for “Indian Summer” weather, and the Cascade turf is in almost as good of shape as at the start of the season. That means the speedy Cougar offense, and their shifty defense, will have the footing they need to emphasize the aspects of the game they want to make the key. Coupled with a strong home field and crowd advantage, the circumstances favor the Cougars, who will claw out a playoff trip.

Stayton Eagles (1-8, 0-5) @ Gladstone Gladiators (5-4, 3-2). The Eagles will have a lot of support from Ranger and Cougar fans, and the Gladiators have a defense that has been very porous recently. Unfortunately, the Eagle defense has been very porous for a year and a half. Stayton is #39 (of 41 teams) in scoring defense in 4A. That’s too much of a deficiency to expect to pull off an upset with, especially considering the Eagles have the second weakest scoring offense in 4A as well.

Last year the Eagles were similarly in position to help others with an upset of the Gladiators, and didn’t come close. Don’t expect the Eagles to hold up their end of the bargain this time either; as while the Gladiator defense has had some weaknesses exposed, it’s strength is against the primary elements of the short game the Eagles’ fly tries to depend on. Gladstone gets the win they desperately need, and the home game in the first round of the playoffs.

North Marion Huskies (5-4, 1-4) @ Molalla Indians (3-6, 2-3). Neighborhood rivals meet in a game for local bragging rights, and nothing else. The Huskies have lost two in a row, and four of five, as well as several starters to internal differences of opinion. The situation has deteriorated from a 4-0 start, and a top 10 ranking, to conditions that may well cost Coach Bill Crumley his job.

The Indians know all about team adversity, having to recover from the off field legal troubles that cost them several players in the off season. The Indians also know about losing their head coach. But a strong finish against Valco Champion Central, a strong start against ranked Cascade, and consecutive wins by several touchdowns against Stayton and Gladstone, show that new Coach Travis Reeser has turned the corner. An Indian win won’t make any difference this year, but will be a HUGE boost heading to next year. Mo maintains their late season momentum, muzzling the Huskies.

#3 La Salle Falcons (8-0, 6-0) @ 5A Madras White Buffaloes (3-5). The White Buffaloes are an old Tri-Valley League rival of the Falcons from before redistricting took the TVL out of existence, and distributed its teams to 4 other conferences. Madras is playing an independent schedule this year, after having a hard time last year in their first season in the Intermountain League. The White Buffaloes lost in Klamath Falls, 35-20 against previously winless Mazama.

The Falcons weren’t overwhelming against the Huskies, but they were plenty solid, as well as opportunistic. The Falcons would also love an unbeaten regular season record to complete their best season in a decade.

One thing the Buffalos are is a scouting service on the top 3 teams in 4A, being the only team to face all of them. They were blown out of Sisters and Ontario, and while this game will be played where the Buffalo prefer to roam, expect another Madras loss, as the Falcons fly to the bye-week of the playoffs with an unblemished record.

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