McKenzie Sports Report - November 28

McKenzie Varsity Sports Schedule This Week

The fall athletic season has concluded and there are no scheduled contests this week. The opening contests for the Winter Basketball season are scheduled for Wednesday, December 4, at McKenzie with Oakridge. The Eagle Varsity Girls will tip-off at 6:00 pm and the Varsity Boys will follow with a 7:30 pm start.

Championship Weekend On The Gridiron

With the 2024 Cross Country and Volleyball Championships settled and safely etched in the record books, Football action wraps up this weekend around the State. Fourteen teams are ramped up and ready to rumble, and when the dust settles, seven will have earned the coveted Blue Championship Trophy. The other seven teams will earn the second place Red Championship Trophy.

The 6A and 5A Classifications kick off the festivities with Friday night (November 29) games. Top ranked and undefeated, 11-0, Lake Oswego will lineup against second ranked, 10-1, West Linn. The two teams are very familiar with each other as they both hail from the Three Rivers League and West Linn's lone loss this season came on October 18 courtesy of Lake Oswego, a 21-17 thriller. The game will be played at Hillsboro Stadium and kick off at 12:30 pm.

The Class 5A Championship game will follow at 4:30 pm, also at Hillsboro Stadium. Second ranked Mountain View out of Bend has fashioned an unblemished 12-0 record this Fall and will toe up against fifth ranked Wilsonville, 10-2, the latter having upset the top ranked Silverton Silver Foxes last weekend in a nail biter, 32-29, slugfest.

Saturday, November 30, will have the rest of the State's attention. Number one ranked, 11-1, Marist Catholic will meet 11-1 and second ranked Henley in a rematch of last season's Class 4A Championship game. Henley, the reigning Championship team, defeated Marist Catholic in last fall's Title Game, 42-28, and earlier this season, 19-16 at Marist. The game will be played at Spiegelberg Stadium in Medford with kickoff at 1:00 pm.

You might watch the Southern skies for the fireworks created in this game. But then again, you might want to keep an eye on the eastern skyscape as well. Over at Summit High School in Bend, the number one ranked Class 3A, 12-0, Vale Vikings storm into town and will lock horns with Eastern Oregon League co-member Burns. The Highlanders have forged a 10-2 record this fall and earlier (October 4) dropped a heartbreaker 12-18 contest up in Vale. Burn's other loss, 14-27, was a non-league game versus Class 4A La Grande in La Grande. Look for these old foes to also light it up! This game will kickoff off at 1:00 pm. The Class 2A Title game pits two undefeated, 12-0, teams.

Top ranked Oakland will face off against fifth ranked St. Paul at 1:00 pm at Cottage Grove High School. St. Paul took the trail to Heppner last weekend and upset the State's top ranked team, 18-12. You can bet the upset-minded Buckaroos will have the full attention of the Oakland Oakers on Saturday. Fireworks anyone?

Back over at Summit HS in Bend, the Class 1A eight man football Championship takes center stage directly after the Class 3A game, with kickoff scheduled for 4:30 pm. This game too will be worth the price of a ticket, so plan on getting your hot dog and popcorn early, because you won't want to miss the action between these two undefeated, 11-0, teams. The North Douglas Warriors versus the Adrian Antelopes game may not require stadium lights. These two offenses can light it up. The Antelopes averaged 55.7 points per game this season while holding their opponents to 11.0 points per game. Over on the other side of the field, the Warriors averaged 68.5 points offensively and held their opponents to 15.7 points per game. Anyone who follows eight-man football is aware that these games can keep a scoreboard wound up.

And then there is the smallest of all, the Class 1A six-man football Championship. But don't for a minute entertain a notion that this game means any less to the communities and teams involved. This is wide-open football at its purest and the two undefeated teams, top-ranked Powers, 11-0, and second ranked Harper Charter, 10-0, will be more than ready to settle the issue. And it's a safe bet there won't be many folks back in Powers and Harper minding the home fires. The game is set for a 2:00 pm kickoff at Caldera HS in Bend.

The Powers Cruisers averaged 56.8 points per game this fall and held their opponents to 15 points per game. But over on the Eastside, and this is a East versus West Title game, the local buzz is that the Hornets are swarming with a menacing offense of their own, 58.1 points per game. But just as impressive, the stingy Hornet defense, or should we say, stinging defense, has given up just 7.5 points per game.

How do you read this game? One where you have your head on a swivel and an offensive eruption both ways or an in the trenches defensive slug-out? Anybodies guess qualifies at this point. It's a fact, however, better hustle over to Caldera HS. There may be a Class 1A volcanic eruption occurring soon!