The Special District 2 West Division Champion Dufur High Rangers concluded the Class 1A eight-man football regular season with a 62-6 loss in a league crossover matchup versus Adrian.
The Antelopes are the Special District 2 East Division Champion and No. 1 ranked.
The game was a rematch of an April 3 spring contest (a 40-38 Ranger win) at Dufur High School, but the recent outcome of the Oct. 29 game Eastern Oregon University in La Grande was much different.
The Rangers (5-1 SD1, 5-4 overall) guided by Coach Jack Henderson, will now focus on preparing for a first-round state playoff home game versus the Gold Beach High Panthers Saturday at 1 p.m. in Dufur.
“Adrian is the No. 1 ranked team in the state and we’re really young and inexperienced so that’s what happens,” said Henderson, who has led Dufur to the state playoffs 11 straight years. “It was no surprise about what happened versus Adrian. They’re that much better and they’re physically the best team in the state and they showed that. They (Adrian) were really nice, because they had all their backup players in the game near the end of the first half.”
The Antelopes had no seniors who graduated in the spring. However, the Rangers had a group of eight talented seniors who were graduated last spring, leaving this fall’s squad much younger and less experienced. The Rangers also have a 14-player roster, which is the fewest number of team members that Dufur has had in many years.
“Gold Beach had a pretty good breakout season this year and they won four games in a row, so they’re excited to be in the playoffs because they haven’t been in it for a while, so they’ll show up and try to get a win,” said Henderson. “It’s nice that we’re having a home playoff game, so that’s good and hopefully we’ll get a win on Saturday.”
A positive outcome for Dufur in its game against Adrian was that the Rangers didn’t sustain any injuries. That has been an issue this season for the Rangers, who have had five players sidelined by season-ending injuries. The Rangers might have workhorse sophomore running back/linebacker Cody Phillips back in the lineup Saturday. Phillips has missed the past two games with a foot injury and hasn’t played since an Oct. 15 46-6 loss to the Ione/Arlington Cardinals (5-4).
Gold Beach, the second-place team from the Special District 1 Central Division, is ranked ninth with a 6-2 record and the Panthers average over 42 points per game. It’s the Panthers’ first state playoff since 2017 when they were in Class 2A.
Lyle loses season finale
The Lyle/Wishram/Klickitat High Cougars had a promising start to the Special District 2 Class 1A eight-man football season after winning their first four games. However, things started going downhill following a, 56-28, win Oct. 1 over the Pilot Rock Rockets (1-5 SD2, 2-5 overall).
The Cougars (3-3 SD2, 4-5 overall) dropped their fourth straight in a season-ending 80-6 loss to the No. 11 ranked Elgin High Huskies (3-3 SD2, 4-4 overall) in a league crossover game Oct. 29 at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande.
The Cougars got on the scoreboard first on a touchdown run by standout senior running back Aaron Smith (two carries, 34 yards rushing). However, Smith later suffered a sprained ankle, and he was sidelined for the remainder of the contest. Elgin built a 30-6 lead after one quarter and led 60-6 at halftime.
Smith’s younger brother, sophomore running back/linebacker Riley Smith, had 18 carries for 53 yards rushing. Junior defensive end Chance Bernier led the Cougars defensively with 11 tackles, followed by Riley Smith with 10. The contest marked the final game of the Cougar football career for seniors Aaron Smith, David Bernier and Konnor Kessinger.
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