2020 would’ve produced one of the best title chases in recent memory, but we’ll have to take what we can get. What do we get? We have a criss-crossing of the state by the apparent powers that *could* end up giving us a de facto champion. Here’s what we see: Sky-Em League/SD4 Why start with […]
This preview is going to be different than the others for one simple reason: 2A football is an abject mess. The predictability of 2A is nearly zero outside a handful of teams. We’re going to talk about our top-ten exclusively simply because they’re the brightest stars in a sky of confusion and uncertainty. Honorable Mention […]
A returning king, a rising prince, and a couple redemption stories: 3A has all the antagonists, conflicts, and storylines to fill a best-selling novel, but in just one month we’ll have to settle for a short story. Here’s what we see: SD1 North There are two questions in this league: What does Rainier look like […]
Groundhog Day came for Oregon high school sports, and the verdict was nine more days of waiting. No, football isn’t dead, but it’s very much on life-support. The OSAA executive board today made it incredibly clear they’re waiting for the clock to officially hit triple zeros before calling the game over. This is admirable and […]
Cowapa League For the first time in the better part of a decade, the road to the 4A title no longer runs through the Cowapa. No longer is the preeminent team, or ‘teams’ as has been the case for the better part of the last decade, part of the Cowapa. The center of the 4A […]
Tri-Valley Conference One senior-heavy team exits, one senior-heavy team enters. There’s some certainty of who will end up at the top of the TVC, but below that it could get tricky. Here’s what we have: Gladstone is going to be a trendy pick to win it all and for good reason. Jeremy DeVoe, Jude Ashpole, […]
Oregon West Conference – Those that have been with us since the start would know last season we sort of got addicted to covering the OWC. This was not necessarily because of the talent or the coaching, though both are abundant in this conference, but because every single game held the weight of a play-in […]
Oregon West Conference Philomath Warriors 2019-2020 Record: 24-1 2019-2020 League Finish: 1st 2019-2020 Final Rank: #1 Only a global pandemic kept the Philomath Warriors from winning the state title last season. Player of the Year Sage Kramer and Coach of the Year Ben Silva were 23-0 against 4A opponents last season and will return to […]
Sky Em League Cottage Grove Lions 2019-2020 Record: 19-6 2019-2020 League Finish: 1st 2019-2020 Playoff Seed: #8 Prior to the COVID-19 shutdown, Cottage Grove was getting ready to face off with likely champion Philomath in the state quarterfinals. Sporting a 17-5 record against 4A opponents, Cottage Grove had their best season since they won the […]
Sky Em League – It’s no contest: the Sky Em is by far the most talented in all of 4A and is likely the deepest from top to bottom in all of 2A-4A. The depth of coaching, talent, and historical trend lines point to possibly four of the six teams finding themselves in the playoffs,. […]
Skyline Conference Hidden Valley Mustangs 2019-2020 Record: 23-2 2019-2020 League Finish: 1st 2019-2020 Final Rank: #3 Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, Hidden Valley was destined to make some noise in Forest Grove. Going 23-2 with their only in-state loss to #1 Philomath, this Mustang side was hoping to get revenge against Philomath in the State […]
Skyline Conference The Skyline has potential to be the most competitive conference top to bottom in all of 4A. After Klamath Union, who is widely seen as the frontrunner for the league crown and a potential state championship contender, it gets very messy. There are arguments to be had for multiple candidates for that second […]
Blue Mountain Conference – Union Bobcats 2019-2020 Record: 25-5 2019-2020 League Finish: 1st 2019-2020 Playoff Seed: #2 Coming off of their first 25 win season since 2013-2014, Union will again contend for a state title. Returning for the Bobcats is their catalyst and First Team All-State guard, Callie Glenn. In 2019-2020, the sophomore averaged 16.3 […]
Greater Oregon League – To make projections for the upcoming season in any league, the history of that league has to be looked at. No GOL team has made the state tournament since 2017-18 (Baker), and before that it had been 2013-14 (La Grande). The GOL has a complicated, often erratic history in boys basketball. […]
For months the ‘Let Them Play’ Facebook group has been advocating for a return to athletics for Oregon’s youth. It worked on organizing rallies, publicizing different information about reopening plans out of separate school districts as they come available, and keeping as much political pressure as possible from a Facebook group directed towards those who […]
Thursday the OSAA published a memo that “instructed schools to prioritize local and regional play, even if it means competing outside of a school’s classification” (quote pulled from OSAAtoday). Giving more weight to the guidance, the OSAA has also opted out of using its traditional ranking system. This got us thinking: since leagues essentially don’t […]
Dayton took a 25 minute drive westward tonight to play an old West Valley League rival, Sheridan, in a 7-on-7 flag football game. Any other year, that sentence would’ve peaked nobody’s interest. But in any other year, a Wednesday in October would’ve had both these teams in mid-season fully padded practices, not wearing masks that […]
History was at Western’s doorstep. A win over Toledo and they’d be solidified as one the greatest dynasties in the history of Oregon high school basketball. Thirty-two minutes was all that separated this version of the Pioneers from immortality. But this go around they were the hunted, not the hunter. “Before the state championship in […]
Part Two. As we’ve said before in previous pieces, circumstances are everything. Expectations for one team or another are greatly dependent first on what happened the previous season, not what they have coming back in terms of talent, coaching, etc. Fairness can be argued, but it’s how preseason judgements are seen more often than not: […]
Let’s talk about some generalizing philosophies in sports, and what makes Western, Western. Some schools/programs have tradition. Philomath basketball has tradition, Oregon football has tradition, and the Trailblazers have tradition. They have a healthy rooting in their past and understanding of it that helps guide themselves into the future. These kinds of programs, ones that […]