Dufur’s Jacob Jones (No. 99) pressures the Sherman quarterback during a game last season. The Dufur Rangers kickoff their season on Sept. 1 at home against St. Paul.
Dufur’s Jacob Jones (No. 99) pressures the Sherman quarterback during a game last season. The Dufur Rangers kickoff their season on Sept. 1 at home against St. Paul.
The Dufur High Rangers have reached the OSAA Class 1A 8-man football state playoffs 12 consecutive years and have 11 players returning from their 2021 team to lead another postseason run.
Dufur reached the state quarterfinals last year, winning the Special District 2 West Division title with a 5-1 record and were 6-5 overall. Dufur won a Nov. 6 first-round playoff game at home, 58-40, over the Gold Beach High Panthers. The playoff run concluded a week later with an 88-6 loss to the undefeated state champion Adrian High Antelopes, who capped a perfect season at 13-0.
The Rangers did lose five talented seniors to graduation, but with so many players returning from a year ago, they’re hoping to have an improved and healthy squad that perhaps can go even further in the playoffs this year. Dufur had more injuries last year than they had in any previous season.
The Rangers, guided by longtime (37th year) Coach Jack Henderson, started practice Aug. 15 with 18 players, who are focused on enjoying another successful season and keeping the playoff streak going. “We had so many kids that were hurt last year, including some of the seniors, who were really unable to play a lot,” said Henderson. “It was by far the worst year for injuries in my career. A lot of kids got experience last year and losing seniors definitely has an impact, but we have lots of kids coming back who have lots of experience, as well.
“We’re just hoping to keep everybody healthy this season. If we stay healthy, then we’ll undoubtedly reach the playoffs, which is always our goal.”
The Rangers will not have their starting quarterback from a year ago, as senior Joshua Taylor transferred to The Dalles High School. Henderson said either junior Cody Phillips or senior Landon Ellis will play quarterback. “Landon and Cody are both great athletes and they’re doing a really good job in practice at the quarterback position and so we’ll be fine with whoever we have there,” said Henderson. “Our offensive and defensive line, like always, we have some young kids and first-year players, but I’m sure everyone will improve, and we’ll be pretty competitive by the end of the season.”
Dufur will have leadership from a quartet of seniors that also includes running back/defensive back Marshall McLaughlin, offensive lineman/defensive tackle Cameron Bostick, and defensive tackle/center August Harvey. The trio of juniors JJ Johnson, Olson Meanus and Donald Brewster will also help provide the Rangers with a solid and experienced squad.
“August is the anchor of our offensive and defensive line and Olson will provide us with stability on the offensive line, as well,” said Henderson. “We’ll be utilizing our ground game with Cody running the ball a lot whether he’s our quarterback or our running back. That’s the way we were planning on doing things no matter who our quarterback is. We have other kids who will factor in there, as well. We like where we’re headed and we’ll be in good shape and we’ll see steady improvement throughout the season, which will help us get ready for the playoffs.”
The schedule is a good one. Following a jamboree Friday at 5 p.m. at St. Paul High School, the Rangers kickoff their nine-game Special District 2 schedule Sept. 1 at home with a 7:30 p.m. contest against St. Paul. That contest is one of 10 matchups that make up the Eight-Man Classic, Sept 1-3 at Dufur High School.
“We’re excited to have it back and it’s been too long, given the chain of recent events, that made it impossible to have it, so this year it will really be something special,” said Henderson. “St. Paul is always tough and then we’ll play Crane (Sept. 8) in the second week, and they’ll be a top-four team in the state this year. It’s a tough way to start the season. Our goal is to always win in November though and not worry too much about September.”
St. Paul was ranked No. 3 last year and finished with a 10-2 record, while advancing to the semifinals. The Crane High Mustangs were ranked No. 6 last year and they had an 8-3 record and reached the quarterfinals.
1A football notes: Twenty teams will participate in the Eight-Man Classic, which takes place for the first time in Dufur since 2018. The Classic was cancelled the past two years because of COVID. The event includes the most teams ever, with 20 of the 27 Class 1A teams participating. The Classic was held in Hermiston in 2019 and Dufur was unable to have it at home because of construction of their new football field and athletic facility.
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