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Philomath–Finally–Reaches the Mountaintop, Wins First State Title since 2000
Two years to the day that Philomath’s best shot at an official state title in girls basketball was stripped away by COVID-19 and the cancellation of the 2020 4A state tournament, they finally did it. Sage Kramer and Abigail Brown, then sophomores, led the way in a Philomath effort tonight that had the energy and […]
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Cascade Routs Junction City in Second Half, Wins First State Title Since 1974
Junction City came out as the stronger, more confident, more energized team. They scrapped their way into an early lead, and they even dominated in spurts. The Tigers were taking better shots, playing better defense, and were more organized in the first quarter. They were doing what they had to: being physical in the paint […]
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Coos Bay Cliff Notes: Day Two
#1 Junction City 43 #4 Seaside 35 This was quintessential Junction City basketball. Seaside did what they could to speed up the SkyEm champions, but without a significant turnover differential in their favor, and losing the rebound battle straight up, this effort was not going to be fruitful. Trying to beat Junction City at their […]
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Coos Bay Cliff Notes: Day One
Junction City 58 Baker 47 Baker started hot, even at one point being up 13-3 on the top-seeded Tigers, but once the Bulldogs jumped out of their 1-3-1 zone in favor of a man-to-man look, Junction City found a rhythm. Junction City smothered the boards and never gave into the Baker pressure. The efficiency of […]
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Nyssa Outlasts Burns in Final, Wins First State Title since 2007
What a way to wrap up this 3A Coos Bay weekend. Not to be outdone by Cascade Christian and De La Salle in the boys title game, the Nyssa and Burns girls put on a show for their fans tonight, and their fans returned the favor. While the Burns student section was filled with enthusiastic […]
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Third Time’s the Charm: Challengers Finally Get Over the Hump, Win First Title Since 2009
After all this time, after all this team–and the world–has gone through since March 2020, they finally did it. Cascade Christian finally found the mountaintop. There is so much to admire about this team and the story they bring with them. To know what this victory means is to truly understand their hardship. To hear […]
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Rapid Reaction: Montiel and Company Contain Corbett, Clinch Tournament Berth
We thought it would be close going into the 4th, then Marshfield would pull away; it only took until the middle of the 3rd. Here is what we saw: The margin does not represent how much of a lopsided affair this was. Marshfield dominated from the tip, even if the scoreboard did not show it […]
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Coos Bay Cliff Notes: Day Two
Cascade Christian 56 Westside 51 Game of the day, without a doubt. With all due respect to Nyssa-Sutherlin, this game had the on-court talent and an intriguing coaching matchup, with David Henry–Cascade Christian alumni and former player and assistant coach for the Challengers–matching up against his mentor, Brian Morse. Westside had their hot streaks, had […]
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Coos Bay Cliff Notes: Day One
Westside Christian 81 Pleasant Hill 51 Westside dominated in the first and second halves, on offense and on defense, with starters and with their bench, from the perimeter and the paint, on the boards and in the turnover battle. There was no phase where Pleasant Hill had an advantage–except for crowd turnout. The Billies brought […]
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Rapid Reaction: Umatilla Springs Trap on Santiam Christian, Advances to State Tournament for First Time Since 2008
Well, that was entertaining! Impressive outside shooting, fantastic defense in spurts, an up-and-down pace that could not be kept up with, and a band of elementary-aged cheerleaders behind them: 3A basketball fans, you are going to enjoy seeing this Umatilla team in Coos Bay. Here’s what we saw: Quickly–yes, an elementary-aged cheer squad. Intentional? Regular? […]
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Rapid Reaction: Montiel Shines as Pirates Silence Tiger Dome, Win SkyEm Title
This game had far and away the best atmosphere we have experienced since COVID hit. The energy in the crowd lived up to the hype, as did the game on the floor. Here’s what we saw: First and foremost, Junction City is the leader in the clubhouse for the “student section of the year” award. […]
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Rapid Reaction: Braves beat Warriors at their own game, win on the road 57-45
It’s been a while since we put an article out. Hopefully not too rusty. The biggest question coming into the night was: can Philomath contain Cooper Gobel? The answer turned out to be yes (generally), but that ended up being an afterthought. Here’s what we saw: There are two ways to attack Philomath: speed them […]
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Delayed Rapid Reaction: Dayton Beats Amity in OT, Will Host Playoff Game for First Time since 2017
For the first time since 2016, Dayton beat Amity. For the first time since 2013, they did so on the road. For the first time since 1998, this game went to overtime. We called our shot when Jacob Peterson was hired, and we should have stuck to our guns predicting this game tonight. Make no […]
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4A Football Preview
What did you miss most about a ‘normal’ football season? A full playoff? Non-sub-50-degree kickoffs in week two? For us, it was the crisp sunset of an early September evening giving way to the overhead lights of a freshly-prepared football field; it’s the scenery that goes into and the product that comes out of those […]
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3A Football Preview
What did you miss most about a ‘normal’ football season? A full playoff? Non-sub-50-degree kickoffs in week two? For us, it was the crisp sunset of an early September evening giving way to the overhead lights of a freshly-prepared football field. The scenery that goes into, and the product that ultimately comes out of those […]
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2A Football Preview
What did you miss most about a ‘normal’ football season? A full playoff? Non-sub-50-degree kickoffs in week two? For us, it was the crisp sunset of an early September evening giving way to the overhead lights of a freshly-prepared football field. The scenery that goes into, and the product that ultimately comes out of those […]
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Rapid Reaction: East Rolls West, Peiffer Puts On a Beatdown
The East rolled, and it was never in question. Here’s the breakdown: Sweet Jesus, Sebastian Peiffer. Way to go out, young man. A one-man wrecking ball in the middle, he breathed life into an East offense that was off to a sluggish start in the first half. The persona of the Gladstone community and football […]
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2021 East-West Shrine Game Preview
Finally, it’s Shrine time. It’s East vs. West, all for the Shriners Hospital. It’s Mazama vs. Marist, Heppner vs. Kennedy, Cascade Christian and Santiam Christian vs. Amity and Rainier. A conglomeration of all the most high profile matchups the last four years culminating in this one charity event. Each year, the Shrine game takes shape […]
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Hits and Misses: Looking Back on Our Boys Basketball Previews
Our process for projecting how things will shake out in various sports is complex and varies by season and year, and it is ultimately scrutinized internally and refined to produce better results next time around. This process churns out, on balance, more accurate predictions than faulty ones. Usually, we keep this hand wringing in-house, but […]
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Hits and Misses: Looking Back on Our Football Previews
Our process for projecting how things will shake out in various sports is complex and varies by season and year, and it is ultimately scrutinized internally and refined to produce better results next time around. This process churns out, on balance, more accurate predictions than faulty ones. Usually, we keep this hand wringing in-house, but […]