South Wasco moves onto six-man semifinals

The Special District 3 champion Dufur High Rangers and the Sherman/Condon High Huskies both came up short in eight-man playoff games. The No. 6-ranked Rangers (9-2) lost 42-36 to the No. 3-ranked North Douglas High Warriors (10-0) at Sutherlin High School in Southern Oregon. The No. 10-ranked Huskies (6-5) lost 58-40 to the No. 2-ranked Crosspoint Christian High Warriors (9-1) in Klamath Falls.

South Wasco built a 20-point second half margin to seemingly take a comfortable advantage. The Redsides, guided by Coach Mike Waine, also led 52-39 late in the fourth quarter, but had to hold off a Cowboy rally with a late scoring drive to pull within a touchdown with 21 seconds remaining. The Cowboys’ ensuing onside kick went out of bounds, giving the Redsides possession and they were able to hold on for the win.

“We knew we were up against an incredibly physical team, and they [Cowboys] never gave up and they fought until the absolute end,” said Waine. “Our defense was able to create turnovers and our offense was able to score enough points to help us come out on top.”

Waine said the offensive line, anchored by Marcos Chavez, Coy Shirley and Lincoln Delco, played great and “we were able to average 6.6 yards per carry in rushing.”

The Redsides were led offensively by senior quarterback Storm McCoy (18-for-25, 316 yards passing, seven touchdowns). Senior receiver/running back Gavin Hagan (nine carries, 54 yards rushing; seven catches, 146 yards receiving) scored five touchdowns). Junior receiver George Barnett added seven catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns, and Chavez had three catches for 49 yards.

The Redsides’ defense was led by Hagan (10 tackles), McCoy (nine tackles), Marcel Sandoval (seven tackles), Chavez (six tackles) and Barnett (four tackles, sack).

The Redsides, who have reached the semifinals for the second time in three years, meet the No. 1-ranked Powers High Cruisers (10-0) in a 1 p.m. contest Nov. 23 at Cottage Grove High School. The game is a rematch of an Aug. 30 season opening nonleague contest between the two squads, which Powers won, 66-29, at Powers High School.

Dufur, guided by longtime (38 years) Coach Jack Henderson, reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 2019. The Rangers had their eight-game win streak snapped in the loss to the Special District 1 champion Warriors. It marked Dufur’s first defeat since an Aug. 30 season-opening 42-30 home loss to the No. 2-ranked Crosspoint Christian High Warriors (9-1).

“We played tough, and we had a chance to win the game, so I couldn’t be more proud of our kids and they all worked hard to help give us a chance to win in the fourth quarter,” said Henderson. “We have a young team and there were times during the game when we had three freshmen playing along with some sophomores. So, we’re going to have another strong team again next year for sure.”

Sherman was in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2016. The loss snapped the Huskies’ four-game win streak, which included a 20-18 road win Nov. 8 over the No. 7-ranked Mohawk High Mustangs (6-4) at Mohawk High School in Marcola. The Huskies outscored Crosspoint 34-28 in the second, but couldn’t overcome a 30-6 halftime deficit.

“It was a tough loss, but that happens to every team eventually in the playoffs except for one,” said Blagg. “I am proud of the kids. We kind of dug ourselves into a hole in the first half. We came out and played much better in the second half and we were back in the game, which was good to see.”

Huskies’ sophomore backup quarterback Gage Simpson threw two touchdown passes and ran for another after replacing injured starter Gabe Fritts in the first half. Fritts was one of seven seniors playing their final high school football game; along with Isaiah Riggs, Michael Blagg, Blake Carnine, Jayden Havins, Josh Ward and Brodie Bass.

“The seniors will certainly be missed next year,” Coach Blagg said. “It’s going to be really difficult to replace the kind of outstanding leadership that those guys provided for our team.”