McKenzie Sports Report – December 4

McKenzie Varsity Sports Schedule This Week

The McKenzie Varsity Girls and Boys Basketball teams travel to Oakridge on Wednesday, December 3. The Varsity Girls tip off at 6:00 pm and the Varsity Boys start at 7:00 pm. A Boys Junior Varsity game precedes at 4:30 pm.

Both McKenzie Varsity teams travel to Dayville on Friday and Saturday, December 5, 6 to participate in the Tiger Tournament, hosted by Dayville/Monument/Long Creek. The Eagle Varsity Boys play Culver on Friday, with tip off scheduled for 4:00 pm. The McKenzie Varsity Girls follow against Dayville/Monument/Long Creek at 5:30 pm. Saturday, the Eagle Varsity Girls play Grant Union at 11:00 am and the McKenzie Varsity Boys follow against Dayville/Monument/Long Creek starting at 3:30 pm.

The McKenzie Varsity Girls and Boys host Rogue Valley Adventist Academy on Monday, December 8, with tip off scheduled for 5:30 pm for the Girls and the Boys follow at 7:00 pm. The next evening, Tuesday, December 9, the Eagles host New Hope Christian. The McKenzie Varsity Girls start at 6:00 pm and the Varsity Boys game is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

Hornets Swarm And Sting Cougars

81-0 In Title Tilt

This 2025 OSAA Six-man Football State Championship game was historic and memorable for the last two teams remaining. Indeed, prior to this season, neither team, Crow nor Harper Charter, had won a State Football Championship in their respective school histories, although Crow finished second to Vale in the 1993 2A, eleven man Championship game. So, with those histories in perspective, even money says the Harper and Crow neighborhoods back home last Saturday, resembled modern day ghost towns. The way folks pack their dogs around these days, most likely even the hounds were at Redmond affording the local cats the day off.

Redmond High was the site of the Class 1A six-man Title Game and on a perfect day for football, the Harper Charter Hornets were a match, perfect! The Hornets ran the table this Fall, dominating every team impressively and on this historic day, they matched their largest margin of the season, 81-0, with a thorough thrashing of their west-side opponent.

Harper Charter defeated Huntington, 81-0, on September 12. The Hornets produced 623 net total yards offensively and held Crow to 9 net total yards. The game was that lopsided. Crow finished with minus 18 yards rushing compared to 350 rushing yards produced by the Hornet running game. Harper Charter rushed 18 times for an average of 19.4 yards per rush and scored 7 rushing touchdowns. The Hornets earned 17 first downs while the Cougars finished with 2 for the game. And defensively, Harper Charter finished with 41 tackles as a team and Crow earned 19 total.

It goes without saying that it was a long day for the Cougar faithful and for certain, a tough pill to swallow. But on the flip side, hopefully, when all the Eastern Oregon dust settled and the dogs returned home to resume shaking up the cats, the Cougars of Crow can hang their hat on a very, very fine season, the highest finish ever in School History! And, well, that’s most definitely something to be proud of! Without a doubt, over in Harper, those Hornets will be buzzing about the day the Swarm hit Redmond High and laid a historic Sting Attack on a Cougar the likes that had never been seen! Well earned and well deserved!

And ample memories and stats to foster conversation starters and expert analysis to entertain those folks sitting around their favorite waterholes, east and west. For the next many seasons.

Adrian Antelopes Clobber Crosspoint Christian

44-8 In Class 1A Eight-man Championship

The Antelopes of Adrian laid out a firm argument and then went about proving they were the best eight-man football in the State of Oregon this Fall. Show the evidence?

Adrian convincingly defeated Crosspoint Christian, 44-8, last Saturday, November 29, at Redmond High. May haps, the Lopes were inspired by the game-play of their Eastern Oregon Class 1A six-man neighbors, the Harper Charter Hornets, in the preceding game. But, more than not, Adrian, rolled into Redmond brandishing their own recipe of swagger and unblemished record.

Crosspoint Christian took some notes of their own and at the end of the first quarter, both teams were still getting it figured out, Adrian slightly up 8-0. But the Antelopes hadn’t suffered any losses this season for a reason and their offense got it rolling in the right direction, scoring 22 additional points in the second quarter, while the Adrian defense continued to block the Warriors out of the end-zone. When things have been going your way all season and it “ain’t broke, so don’t try to fix it” still applies as the word(s) of the day, then just let the good times roll.

So Adrian’s defense working like a well-oiled machine, refused to alter or tinker with its game plan and wouldn’t you know, the Antelopes led 38-0 at the end of three. Crosspoint Christian finally lit the scoreboard in the fourth quarter but it was for all practical debate, in the books at that point. Adrian (12-0) made it two for two for the Unbeaten at Redmond High this Championship day.

Number 1 Heppner Drops One At The Wrong Time

2nd Ranked Lost River Upsets Mustangs, 24-22

Now this is how a Championship Title game should play out! Two evenly matched, Class 2A eleven man teams, one undefeated at 12-0 and the other one coming in at 11-1, the latter holding a grudge from an early season loss (8-43) to the other team. Talk about some small school/community pride floating around the stadium at Summit High last Saturday. Rumor had it that many of the fans spent time looking for some throat lozenges right up to the final horn, because this tilt went down to the wire.

The winning team, the Lost River Pirates, stole a victory from the previously unbeaten Mustangs of Heppner, but they had to hang onto the gunwales to do it. For on the other side of the field, the Mustangs were intent on making a late run, attempting to preserve the unblemished. As we know now, all lozenges aside, it didn’t work out for Heppner. But what a game!

Lost River earned a 6-0 first quarter lead and couldn’t secure the extra point(s). Steady Eddy were the Pirates as they mimicked their 6-0 first quarter success the next three quarters, thus the 24-point total at the end of the game. Heppner, after failing to find pay dirt in the first quarter, did so with a touchdown in the second, but as with their opponent, couldn’t nail the extra point(s).

Halftime scoreboard lights read 12-6, Lost River. You might think the good folks from Heppner could have begun to rise on the nervous scale when in the third quarter the Mustangs managed just a 2-point safety and had to start the fourth quarter down 18-8, a rare dilemma to find themselves in this Fall. But true to form, with their backs against the wall, Mustang Pride reared up and kicked back hard, outscoring the “hold on for the wave” Pirate crew 16-6 to close the gap and temporarily put the bathroom breaks on hold.

In the end though it just wasn’t enough, unfortunately, for those Mustangs. The Pirates closed the gate at the right time and the sand ran out of the top of the bottle. Both teams finished the season at 12-1 and a loss to each other but those Pirates stole the show on the day that counted.

Cascade Christian Runs Record To 13-0

Defeats Burns In 3A Championship, 35-28

Summit High School must have had something in the water last Saturday, November 29, while hosting the Class 2A and Class 3A State Football Championship Title games. First the nail biter with Lost River outlasting Heppner 24-22. And then, just when the second round of hotdogs and pretzels were hitting the stands, the Cascade Christian Challengers found their hands full of Highlanders from Burns. That second outstanding game in a row on this day at Summit High would wrap up with the Challengers holding off a fierce Highlander challenge, 35-28.

Yes sir, could be those stands at Summit High have some new, permanent hand prints from all the anxious gripping. Each team traded a touchdown in the first quarter with the Highlanders scoring 2 on the extra point attempt and holding a slim 8-7 lead. The Challengers added an 8 point second quarter while denying Burns an end zone trip and Cascade Christian enjoyed, albeit a nervous 15-8 lead, at the Half.

After the Break, in the third quarter, each team would, again, score a single touchdown, most likely just to keep the pep bands working the crowds. Third quarter score: Challengers 22, Highlanders 14. Burns would outscore Cascade Christian 14-13 in the fourth quarter, but that second quarter egg would haunt the Highlanders and they ultimately fell to 11-2 on the season while the Challengers sighed a big relief and marked an outstanding 13-0 season, along with the coveted Class 3A Blue Trophy!

Cascade Routs Henley

In Class 4A Championship, 52-0

For the Record, all you fine folks who read the above account of the Class 3A Championship game, the Cascade Christian (3A Champ) and Cascade (4A Champ) schools and neighborhoods aren’t located anywhere close to each other. And this Class 4A game wasn’t anywhere similar to the Summit affairs. Cascade Christian hails from Turner up North and Cascade resides near Medford. But both Cascade schools earned bragging rights, last Saturday by winning their Championship games and hoisting the State’s Blue Trophy and similarly, landing at 13-0 for the 2025 Fall season.

Cascade (4A) managed to do it in a convincing and dominating fashion, thumping the Henley Hornets 52-0. For the record, the game was actually close at the end of the first quarter, with Cascade up just 8-0. The Cougar (Cascade) offense tuned up in the second however, scoring an additional 24 unanswered points and establishing a 30-0 halftime lead. Two more Cougar touchdowns in the third quarter ensured the rout was on and the Cascade bench painted the final touches in the fourth with a capper touchdown.

Henley finishes a fine season at 9-3 and you can bet your boots the Hornets will be looking to return next season. Maybe the Cougars of Cascade will earn a return as well and then we’ll entertain a manner of gridiron potential scenarios. In the meantime, until the Fall of 2026, Southern Oregon holds the Class 4A Football Crown.

Silverton Finds Gold

Upends Top Ranked Summit

For Class 5A Championship Title

The Silverton Foxes outwitted their Class 5A and previously undefeated Summit Storm in the State Championship game held at Hillsboro Stadium Friday night. Neither team could hit pay dirt in the First Quarter, and at the half, Silverton had managed to get into the end zone twice, leading Summit 14-7.

As in the first, the third quarter was scoreless for the two opponents. Both teams scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter and Silveron added a 26 yd field goal to win the State Title, 24-14.

Lakers Defense Stymies Rams

Central Catholic Held To Single Score

Lake Oswego dominated the Class 6A 2025 OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union Football State Championship game, defeating Central Catholic, 35-6, last Friday, November 28, at Hillsboro Stadium. The Lakers scored 13 points in the opening quarter while holding the Rams scoreless. Lake Oswego added two additional touchdowns in the second quarter to go up 27-0 at halftime, and continued to hold Central Catholic out of the end zone. The Lakers punched in one final touchdown during the third quarter and Central Catholic’s Killian Sombe finally found pay dirt in the fourth quarter for the frustrated Rams offense to finally light up a Central Catholic number on the scoreboard. Lake Oswego finished the season 12-1 and Central Catholic wrapped up their second place campaign at 10-3.