Valco, GOL Titles On The Line In Games of the Week

Sweet Home and Central both rolled on the coast, setting up a neutral site showdown in Corvallis for the Valco championship, while Ontario has the home field advantage in the defacto GOL championship game.

No one is in yet in the SkyEm, but Marist can lock up the title with a win over Pleasant Hill, and the same is true in the Far West, where no one is in yet, but a Douglas win in Sutherlin clinches the title for the Trojans.

#7 Sweet Home Huskies (7-1, 3-0) vs. #2 Central Panthers (7-1, 2-0) at Corvallis High School. Central is the designated home team, but look for an about equally split crowd, the Valco equivalent of the Red River Rivalry.

The Huskies hammered Taft 55-20 with their best offensive output of the night in the first of three road games to wind up the regular season. The Panthers answered an early 7-0 Newport lead with five straight touchdowns, and added two more in the first half of the third quarter to build a 49-13 lead, and coast to a 56-35 win on the coast. Grant Hedrick threw for 186 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 218 yards and three more scores, as the Panthers slashed the normally tough Cub defense for 620 yards.

Especially being on the fast turf at Spartan Stadium, this one won’t be a 9-6 game, though it could be three or four minutes into the contest. The two best offenses in 4A after Marist will lockup in a shootout, and the first one to 50 may not even win. But the Panthers have slightly more firepower, and will claim the Valco, relegating the Huskies to second.

Not that that is all that bad; instead of Marist in the second playoff game, a home game against a GOL team with a way sub-.500 record, before a date with Douglas, isn’t the worst of consolation prizes.

Philomath Warriors (3-5, 1-1) at Newport Cubs (5-2, 0-2). The Warriors hung 42 second quarter points on La Pine, including five touchdowns in less than four and a half minutes, on their way to a 63-33 blowout. After switching back to the system they used last year, and installing freshman quarterback Derek Nash, Philomath rolled up more points than they had in the last month of games combined. Namer Fahkoury rushed 15 times for 254 yards and five touchdowns, while Joseph Harmon added 126 yards, and two more scores, on 18 carries.

Newport got a 77 yard touchdown run and a 25 yard scoring catch from Oshay Dunmore, and a pair of touchdowns by Trystan Metcalf, and the Cubs had over 400 yards of offense against Central, but their defense couldn’t give them a chance to keep up. Now, here comes the suddenly explosive Philomath offense, in a game probably for the third playoff slot from the Valco.

The Cubs will have to tighten up the defense a lot, or it will lead to an epic collapse from a season that looked so good when it started 5-0. The Warriors are hungry, and a two game winning streak has them thinking postseason, instead of just trying to survive the season.

However, despite being torched by Sweet Home and Central, Newport still has more athletes on defense than Taft and La Pine, Philomath’s two recent victims, combined. Cubs recover to win, and avert a community march off the end of the jetty.

Taft Tigers (3-5, 0-3) at Stayton Eagles (6-2, 4-1). The Tigers have now dropped four straight by double digit margins, and are back to being the Tigers everyone loves to beat. The Eagles bounced back from their upset loss at La Salle with a 20-12 win in Gladstone. With a shot at the Capital Conference championship, against the same North Marion squad that knocked the Eagles out of the post season last year, and then a difficult playoff game, regardless of which slot they get, this is a week when Stayton will tune some things up, then should try to get their key players out of harms’ way. Eagles ease their way thru this one.

North Marion maintained first place in the Capital conference, but hasn’t yet clinched a playoff berth, while Stayton stayed in second, and the Eagles have locked up a postseason spot, in the competitive Capital, where byes and tie-breakers keep things interesting.

Cascsade Cougars (5-3, 3-2) at #8T North Marion Huskies (7-1, 4-0). Cascade reintroduced the passing game to go with a still solid rushing attack, getting a 50 yard touchdown pass and another 60 yard completion from Nick Lamonica, who threw for 142 yards, and the Cougars crushed La Salle 31-6.

H1N1 benched ‘Sporty”, but nothing bothered the Husky defense. North Marion had to fill in for the loss of Jordan MaCain, but the best defense in 4A is still just fine, and the Huskies throttled Estacada 28-14, running their winning streak to five games.

A win for the Huskies claims a playoff berth, probably eliminates Cascade, and sets up a showdown in Stayton with the Eagles for the last Capital Conference championship before redistricting reorganizes the northern five members into the reborn Tri-Valley, and sends Cascade and Stayton to the ValCap, or Valco, or whatever the new name turns out to be. Even with a loss, the Huskies can still claim the Capital Conference with a win in Stayton next week, but a second loss could leave them on the outside looking in.

Cascade’s best bet for a playoff spot is a win and help from Gladstone this week or La Salle next against Estacada, but all four could wind up tied for one playoff spot, and a five way tie, with North Marion thrown if, for two berths could also arise. The tiebreakers in such a situation could well have to take non-conference games into account, which the Capital Conference does. What happens with Junction City, Cottage Grove, and Scappoose could figure directly in the outcome.

The Huskies had the decidedly better defense, but the Cougars have played decidedly better without the ball in the last two weeks, greatly reducing what was at one point a clear North Marion advantage. The injury to McCain also has diminished the offensive advantage that existed a month ago.

The defining factor could be that the punishing Cascade running game lacks real edge speed, and a wet week on the traditionally soft when wet North Marion field will further slow the offenses. As a result, the home standing Huskies’ defense can keep the Cougars bottled up just enough to pull out an old-fashioned fist fight of a game.

Estacada Rangers (3-4, 2-2) at Gladstone Gladiators (2-5, 1-3). Both the Rangers and Gladiators offenses are banged up, and lack a major passing threat. Estacada essentially lacks any passing threat. But the Rangers still have the hard nosed attitude that got them to the playoffs the last two years, and a sweep of Gladstone and La Salle will get them back to the playoffs again, regardless of what else happens.

The Gladiators need help from North Marion against Cascade, or even a sweep of Estacada and Molalla won’t be enough. If Cascade loses, then the Gladiators can get into a three way tie, but would need to beat Estacada and have the Rangers and Molalla both lose to La Salle to have any chance to advance. Depending on what happens to Estacada, Cascade could be better off with a loss than a win.

It will be too much for the Gladiators lack of defense, though, and the gritty Rangers will live to fight another day.

Molalla Indians (1-6, 0-4) at La Salle Falcons (2-5, 1-3). Only Molalla is completely out of the picture, and coming off a bye, can only look to play spoiler to some long shots. La Salle looked like they had rounded the bend with their 49-22 win over Stayton, but couldn’t get anything going against Cascade. The Falcons have been one of the most inconsistent teams around, and as a result, are a long shot to overcome the tiebreakers even if they can sweep the last two games. But first things first, and the Falcons will be back on the turf, against the Indians’ lack of defense. Molalla, 35^th,. in 4A in total points allowed, but 39^th. of 40 in average points allowed, has been able to almost totally squander a spread offense that Jacob Moore has ranked 15^th. in points scored.

Falcons fly by the Indian defense, and on to a difficult trip to Estacada.

Astoria can lock up the title with a win, but Tillamook could really snarl things up with an upset.

Tillamook Cheesemakers (6-2, 2-1) at #4 Astoria Fishermen (7-1, 3-0). Tilly took care of business with a 21-12 win over Seaside, while the Fish breezed thru Yamhill-Carlton 30-7. But now the going gets tough for the Cheesemakers. A trip to Astoria, where the Fish look to not just claim a playoff berth, but lock up their second consecutive Cowapa championship, and then a visit from ‘Poose, with a playoff berth at stake, will prove to be more than Tilly can chew. Fish claim the title, swimming away to an attractive playoff berth that will allow a lot of the other heavyweights to take each other out.

Yamhill-Carlton Tigers (1-7, 0-3) at #10 Scappoose Indians (5-3, 1-2). The Tigers are about to be reminded what it means to encounter a desperate ‘Poose program. Injuries and illness contributed to a surprising 32-13 loss, but Banks had a lot to do with it as well. Now, ‘Poose has to put YC away to be able to claim the third playoff spot with a win in Tillamook. That will be the tougher test of the two; ‘Poose will do whatever it takes to dispatch the Tigers, and probably quickly.

#6 Banks Braves (6-1, 2-1) at Seaside Seagulls (1-7, 1-2). Nick Turner rushed for 206 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries, raising his season total to 1,252 yards, as the Braves won the Indian War, and effectively claimed the second seed from the Cowapa conference for the second year in a row. This figures on at least a split of their road trips to Seaside and YC, who are a combined 2-14 (where 1-15 was the minimum possible).

Turns out Ben Buchanan can coach! No one thought of the Braves as the second best team in the state much of last season, even with Gabe Linehan, and they were right. Similarly, with a lot of turnover, only a soft schedule carried a Brave’s team with a lot of inexperience, especially on defense. But just like last year, by the time the games that really matter start rolling around, the Braves have learned how to play solid defense, and are on a completely different level than they were.

Seaside is a better team than they have been in the last couple of seasons as well, and were in the game at the end in Tillamook, after their only win since 2006. But they are scrimmage material for the Braves, who take care of that win required to lay claim to a playoff slot.

Pleasant Hill Billies (5-3, 2-2) at #1 Marist Spartans (8-0, 4-0). The only two teams in the conference that even have a chance at finishing the regular season above .500 meet, but it will be the upset of the year if the game is still in doubt in the fourth quarter. Marist padded both their offensive and defensive stats with a 48-0 win over Sisters, holding the Outlaws to only 29 total yards in the process.

Meanwhile Pleasant Hill had to overcome an 18-0 first half deficit to defeat Junction City 27-24, the Billies’ first win in a month. The difference in the final score can be attributed to soph. kicker McKynzie Ritchie, who made three extra point kicks in her second game as the PHill kicker, after the football team borrowed her from the boys’ soccer team.

Marist combines the runaway best scoring offense in the state with 4A’s second best defense to turn every game into a runaway, while PHill is in negative figures for overall scoring margin. The Spartans get it done on special teams as well, getting a blocked punt for a touchdown from Matt Beattie, who also returned an interception for a score.

Spartans clinch the SkyEm by halftime.

Junction City Tigers (3-5, 3-2) at La Pine Hawks (3-5, 1-3). Chad Simmons threw a pair of touchdowns in the Tigers’ second straight loss. La Pine had their third best night of the year offensively, yet still lost by 30 points. The Hawks have allowed 144 points in the course of their three game losing streak. No reason to believe Simmons won’t light up the La Pine defense as well, and if Marist wins as well (there is an if in that scenario?), claim a playoff spot for the Tigers in the process.

Elmira Falcons (2-6, 1-3) at Sisters Outlaws (3-5, 1-3). Dustin Hurd completed 12 of 22 passes for 284 yards, and five touchdowns, as the Cottage Grove Lions (3-5, 3-2) destroyed the Falcons 44-8. Alex Toureen caught nine passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns, and added another touchdown on a 51 yard kickoff return.  The Lions have the only bye in 4A this week, and can claim a playoff berth next week with a win against Sisters.

Meanwhile, the Falcons and Outlaws play out the string. Only a one point upset of PHill has interrupted a run of six other solid losses for the Falcons. The Outlaws had a couple of impressive wins before running into the Spartans, and playing at home, will have enough left to rebuild some momentum as these teams’ seasons wind down.

#3 Douglas Trojans (8-0, 3-0) at Sutherlin Bulldogs (3-4, 2-1). The Trojans wrapped up their home schedule with a 40-28 win over Brookings-Harbor, while the Blue Bulldogs stubbed their toe in Myrtle Creek, dropping a 20-7 decision to South Umpqua. Ironically, the Bulldogs still control their own fate as far as the FarWest title goes. Sutherlin can claim the title with wins over the Trojans and Siuslaw, regardless of what anyone else does. Even if the Blue Bulldogs lose this one, they can still claim a playoff spot with a win over Siuslaw if the Trojans or North Bend beat SU.

Paul Polamalu threw for three touchdowns and 243 yards, and Sky Woods added a 51 yard scoring pass to David Froude for Douglas, as the Trojans simply out-distanced the Bruins.

With another road trip to the rival Lancers to go, Douglas won’t take any chances though. Joe Polamalu will toss his hat into the Coach of the Year pool with a win, and a FarWest title, putting the wildly inconsistent Blue Bulldogs back on their own porch.

South Umpqua Lancers (4-4, 1-2) at North Bend Bulldogs (2-6, 0-3). The Lancers kept themselves in the playoff race, but need to finish with a pair of wins, and also get help. The Brown Bulldogs appear to have run out of gas for the bus, dropping their second game by double digits, this time a 27-12 loss in Florence to Siuslaw, in their sixth road trip of the season. In the process, not only are they the first team eliminated from the conference post season chase, they are also assured of a losing season. That might be the first time that has happened since NB dropped into the Far West from the Midwestern League.

It’s tough to pick the Lancers, who have only last week’s surprising win to suggest they have turned the corner, but it’s also tough to pick the Brown Bulldogs, who have fallen off the map after back to back mid-season wins against Phoenix and Sweet Home. But the Lancer defense has been very porous until the sudden shutdown of Sutherlin. Harder to believe they have made that big a defensive improvement than it is to believe that all the ratings are so wrong in having North Bend significantly higher. Brown Bulldogs win one for the home crowd.

Siuslaw Vikings (3-4, 2-1) at Brookings-Harbor Bruins (3-4, 1-2). The Vikings control their own playoff destiny, and can claim second with wins in Brookings and at home against Sutherlin, and potentially even win the league if they get help from the Blue Bulldogs and the Lancers. Siuslaw can even clinch a playoff berth with a win this week if Douglas and North Bend also win.

The road is more cluttered for the Bruins, but it isn’t blocked yet, if they can prevail at home this week. Their performance on the road against the Trojans was encouraging, as they just missed getting a pair of 100 yard rushing nights. Dustin Paradis rushed for 144 yards on nine carries, scoring three times in the process, while Tyler Lueckfeld just missed the century mark, with 99 yards on nine carries. All totaled, the Bruins piled up 299 rushing yards against the Trojans.

The difference, however, is the Vikings are oh so close to being 5-2, with two one point losses, and three wins in the last four weeks. The Bruins’ losses are all by double digits, and they have dropped two of their last three. Siuslaw also showed resiliency against North Bend, running off three straight touchdowns after spotting the Bulldogs an early score.

Being home will help the Bruins, but not enough; Vikings prevail.

Henley handled North Valley 42-26 in one of the strong statements of the week, while Hidden Valley hammered Illinois Valley 41-0.

Phoenix Pirates (4-2, 2-0) at North Valley Knights (3-4, 1-1). The Pirates had the week off to prepare, and can claim a playoff berth with a win. Realistically, the Knights are eliminated with a loss, since the Skyline only has two slots. If both Phoenix and Henley win, it will be the first time since 2000 neither North Valley nor Hidden Valley will have made the playoffs. Ironically, Illinois Valley went that year. The playoffs without any Valley boys are a rare thing indeed.

Other than against Gold Beach, the Knights’ usually strong defense hasn’t shown up against good teams this year. Except for the visit by North Bend, the Pirates offense has consistently shown up. The opportunity to clinch a playoff berth, and set up a shot at the title at home, will complete the transformation by first year coach Toby Walker that should inject him into the state wide Coach of the Year conversation. Pirates sail off with the plunder.

Henley Hornets (4-4, 2-0) at Illinois Valley Cougars (0-8, 0-3). With a non-conference road game next week and a move to the 3A Sunset conference next year, it’s the last Skyline Conference game for the Cougars. The Hornets don’t want to count on North Valley to get to the post season, with a tough task in next week’s trip to Phoenix. They won’t need to either, as the Cougars can’t get out of 4A fast enough. Hornets swarm IV.

Hidden Valley Mustangs (3-4, 1-2) at 5A Eagle Point Eagles (2-6, 1-2). The Mustangs aren’t out of the post-season chase, but they can be eliminated, and can’t do anything about it. And if Phoenix wins, not only will there be no Valley teams in the post season, there won’t even be one with a winning record unless HV can win out. That’s probably all they have left to play for, which is more than Eagle Point has.

The Eagles lost 34-24 at Klamath Union, a team the Mustangs defeated 21-14. All six Eagle losses have been by double digits. Pride will be a factor against a 4A neighbor, but a disappointed Mustang squad could salvage something from their disappointing season with road wins over the Eagles and next week against North Valley. Look for the Mustangs to have that strong finish, claiming bragging rights on their end of the valley at least.

No surprises in the GOL warm-up round, as Baker buried McLoughlin 48-7 and Ontario consumed La Grande 41-0 in a very one-sided cage match, one where the LG Tigers couldn’t get away.

#5 Baker Bulldogs (7-0, 1-0) at #8T Ontario Tigers (6-1, 1-0). The ‘Sporty’ game of the week via streaming radio if the powers that be on the east side get their technical act together for the game of the year on the I-84 corridor.

The O-Tigers have had this one circled on the calendar since last year’s 35-14 Bulldog win in Baker. The home team has won the last three meetings, and this one looks close enough for any advantage like that to be the difference maker.

There are a couple of common opponents, and Ontario had the better win in both cases. Baker beat Weiser on the road 20-14, while Ontario handled the Wolverines 31-19 on their own field. Possibly more telling, The O-Tigers took it to Vale 41-13, in a rivalry game typically more important to the Vikings than the Baker contest, and they did it in Vale. A week later, Vale took the Bulldogs to the limit in Baker, before coming up a point short, 35-34. That looks like a meaningful indicator, and so the O-Tigers get the nod at home, in a classic.

McLoughlin Poineers (2-5, 0-1) at La Grande Tigers (1-6, 0-1). This is actually the biggest game in the GOL, because realistically, both Baker and Ontario should have first round byes and a winnable first game. This game is a playoff game, though a trip to the loser of the Sweet Home – Central game is a long weekend, and probably a short post-season.

The Tigers have the only win over a team from above 3A, albeit an independent, while the Pioneers count a win over a JV team in their total. With little reason to suspect either team should win, yet knowing the rules require that someone does, the combination of the home field and the revenge factor for last year’s 28-6 McLoughlin win, by a better Pioneers’ team than this season’s, leans to the Blue Tigers. LG gets the bus ride to the valley in two weeks.

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