McKenzie Sports Report – Week of November 8

McKenzie Varsity Sports Schedule This Week

The McKenzie Varsity Sports season has concluded. There are no scheduled contests this week.

Triangle Lake and Eddyville Charter Ousted From State 6-Man Football Playoffs

Triangle Lake and Eddyville Charter, the Special District 2 Regular Season Champion and the second-place team, respectively, were both sent packing in OSAA Round 1 playoff games. The 8th ranked Lakers were trounced, 51-26, at home in Triangle Lake by the 9th ranked Dayville/Monument/Long Creek Tigers. The Special District 1, fourth place, Tigers, 4-3,6-2 overall, had earned an at large bid due to their final season ranking and the East-side visitors made the most of their opportunity. 

It will remain to be seen how much the Tigers continue to enjoy their visits to Western Oregon as they now travel to Elkton (Special District 3), the State’s top-ranked team, for a Quarterfinal game on Saturday, November 14. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 pm.

Eddyville Charter, on the other hand, took the road South to Days Creek for their Round 1 playoff game. The 10th ranked Eagles found themselves on the downside of a 40-13-point rout, which the 7th ranked Wolves will claim, was the plan all along.

Days Creek, the regular season third place team out of the Special District 3 (McKenzie finished 6th in the SD 3) moves on to challenge Griswold, the State’s 2nd ranked team, representing the Special District 1.

Three Special District 3 teams will see action in Quarterfinal games on November 14. The above-mentioned game at Elkton, 5th ranked Crow traveling to 4th ranked Ione/Arlington and 6th ranked North Lake landing down South and East at 3rd ranked Jordan Valley. The Jordan Valley Mustangs tied for the Special District 1 Regular Season League Championship with Grizzlies of Griswold, both finishing with identical a 6-1, 7-1 overall records. The Cardinals of Ione/Arlington also posted a 6-1 SD 1 League record and an 8-1 overall mark, and are the third seeded team out of, arguably the State’s toughest 6-man football League. Tigers tangling with Elk, Cougars cat-fighting with Cardinals, Cowboys and Mustang rodeo, and Wolves tooth and claw with Grizzlies. Can’t wait to see how the dust settles!

North Lake Cowboys Rope A State Title

4th ranked Cowboys Beat #2 and #1 To Earn State Championship

Well, it’s been said everyone loves an underdog in a game. Or in this case a volleyball match. But it stands to reason that the fine folks from Central Christian in Redmond and those from up North in Dufur would not be on the same plane with that statement, understandably. The 4th ranked Cowboys from North Lake, representing the Mt. Valley League as its second place team, dispatched their OSAA State Class 1A Quarterfinal opponent, Damascus Christian, 3-1, winning the first set 25-20, dropping set 2, 21-25, and winning the next two sets, 25-15 and 25-22.

That match victory set the Cowboys on a collision course with the number one ranked team in the State, the Central Christian Tigers, the one and same team that won the Mt. Valley League ahead of the Cowboys and who had also beat North Lake on their previous two meetings, 3-1 and 3-0. But in the world of competition, it has also been stated many times, that it is hard to beat the same opponent three times in a row.

Evidence presented, the two MVL rivals squared up in the OSAA State Semifinals and North Lake blanked Central Christian, 3-0, and did so decisively. Set one 25-4, two 25-15, and the final set 25-19. That dropped Central Christian into the Championship Consolation game versus Joseph, who suffered a 3-2 Semifinal loss to Dufur.

So what happens when you upset the top-ranked team and earn a berth in the Championship game? Well, you ride the wave, even if you are still wearing your spurs.

The Cowboys of North Lake rode the wave alright, figuring correctly that since nothing seemed broken, don’t engage in fixing. The second ranked Dufur Rangers were added to the pile of Cowboy upset victims, this time, by a 3-1 score (25-22, 20-25, 25-20, and 25-23). The Championship match was a hard-fought battle, worthy of the moment, by two very well-coached teams. 

But in the end, the underdog won the day and the hearts of many, except in Redmond and Dufur.

On the other side of the Class 1A bracket, Echo defeated Damascus Christian, 3-0, to claim the Consolation Championship and the fourth-place trophy. Both Open Door Christian Academy and Sherman were eliminated in Consolation action. Joseph defeated Central Christian, 3-0, for third place in the Championship bracket.

In Class 2A Championship play, Imbler defeated Crane, 3-2 to win the Blue Trophy for the Wapati League Panthers. Heppner earned the third-place trophy by defeating Myrtle Point, 3-1 and St. Paul finished the season with a fourth-place trophy, beating Regis, 3-1. Top-ranked Burns finished the season at the top by defeating second-ranked Dayton, 3-1, in Class 3A action. Sisters won the third-place trophy with a tough 3-2 win over Catlin Gabel and Creswell came home with the fourth place trophy win over Westside Christian, 3-1.

Knappa Loggers Boys/ Union Bobcats Win OSAA State 2A/1A XC Championships

The Knappa Boys and the Union Girls Cross Country teams finished first in the OSAA State XC Championships held at Lane Community College on Saturday, November 7. Knappa scored a low of 32 points in the 5,000 meters race and the Union Boys team followed in second with 70 points. Bandon was third with 113 points. 

On the girls’ side, Union finished with 40 points and Lakeview finished second with 46 points. Bandon girls, just like their male teammates, finished third with 54 points.

Individually, Bandon’s Beckett Pahls won the boys Championship, finishing with a time of 15:52.6 minutes. Following close behind in second was Rowdy Justis of Knappa in a time of 15:59.4 minutes. Kyler Rodriguez of Knappa took third in 16:22.4 minutes. The girls individual Champion was Jael Legutki of Bandon who finished her race in 18:57.9 min. Evelyn Hodgson of Weston-McEwen followed in second in a time of 19:08.5 minutes and Trout Lake’s Melody Stock was third in 19:19.1 min. Austyn Hardwig of Triangle Lake finished sixteenth with a time of 21:12.4 min.

Long Fall Drought Continues Locally

Eagles Missing Championship Rounds

It’s been kind of a long dry spell for Eagle Fall athletics, that is, in qualifying for State Championship post season play. McKenzie football’s last appearance in a championship contest was in 2018, when the Eagles, coached by Fred Heins, lost to Joseph, 64-13, at Madras High in an unofficial 6-man playoff format. That season OSAA was experimenting with 6-man football and had not officially sanctioned it.

Prior to that season, however, one has to go clear back to the 2011 season when McKenzie, coached by Neil Barrett, lost to visiting Sherman, 76-36, in a State 8-man First Round game. That’s 15 years past.

The last time McKenzie brought home a State trophy (2nd place 8-man) goes all the way back to the 2004 season, under Head Coach Rick Gardner, when the Eagles lost to Perrydale, 48-32, in the State Championship game held at Autzen Stadium. The prior season, 2003, McKenzie won the State 8-man third place trophy.

Other State football appearances were Quarterfinals in 1972, 1974, 1975, First round in 1980, 1981, 1983, and 1990, all coached by Wade Thomas. 

Volleyball hasn’t been quite as long missing. The Eagles made it to the First-Round playoffs in 2019 under Head Coach Lorinda Marcy, when their season came to halt due to a 3-0 defeat by North Douglas.

The Eagles last earned a State trophy, sixth place, in the 2010 season held in Forest Grove. For the record, Eagle volleyball won the State’s fourth place Class 1A trophy in 1976, led by Coach Carol Baker, and fourth place again in 2009, under Head Coach Dan Brenner. Baker’s teams made state appearances in 1977, 1978 and 1979. The Eagles made it back in 1980 under Head Coach Mary Lou Armstrong. Coach Brenner had a great run going, his teams qualifying in seasons 2008, 2011-2018 (eight consecutive seasons)

Two seasons ago, 2024, Eagle junior (at the time) Will Meister broke through the long Cross Country dry spell by qualifying as an individual for the OSAA State XC Championships, where he finished 52nd. Meister didn’t make the cut his senior season. Prior to Meister’s 2024 bid, no Eagle boy earned that distinction going all the way back to 2009, when Michael Sherman, as a senior, placed 16th in the State Championships.

The last McKenzie girl cross country qualifiers was in 2011 and those two athletes were Sarah Sherman and Taya Harbick. Sherman finished her 5,000 meters State Championship race in 11th place and Harbick followed in 20th place.

For the record, McKenzie has won one State Football Championship, in 1969, when the Eagles, under Head Coach Wade Thomas, finished the Class B-11 man football season, 11-0, defeating Pine Eagle in Halfway, 31-25. 

McKenzie Cross Country Boys teams won the State Championship Class A team title in 1973 and 1975 and the 2004 Class 2A-1A title. The 1973 team was coached by Vic Casteel, the 1975 team by Jack Stoops and the 2004 team by Jeff Sherman.

Eagle Boys XC teams earned second place trophies in 1959, 1972, and 1976, third place in 1989, 2006, and fourth place in 1960, 1962, 1963, 1990, and 1991. The Eagles also finished ninth in 1961, fifth in 1980, tenth in 1986, 1987, and 1988, eighth in 1992, fourteenth in 2005 and twelfth in 2007.

As for individual cross country State Champions, Dave Rees was the Eagles first, winning back-to-back in 1959 and 1960. Scott Spruill accomplished the same outcome, winning and repeating in 1975 and 1976. David Sherman was McKenzie’s last to date State Champion, winning the title in 2006.

McKenzie cross country has seen 43 boy’s athletes in the past score in the top twenty at the State Championships.

As for the girl’s cross-country past, McKenzie teams placed tenth in 2005 and eleventh in 1998. Eleven Eagle girls have placed in the top twenty at past State Championships.

That’s a rich history of McKenzie Fall Athletics. (Note: Great thanks and appreciation to Scott Spruill for his work and dedication to McKenzie Sports History which helped provide the above statistics).