High school football: 13 Lane County teams earn shot at the playoffs 

Thirteen Lane County football programs are moving onto this week’s state playoffs after the regular season wrapped up last week.

Four will enter the postseason as partial or full league champions: Sheldon and Willamette split the 6A-Special District 2 title after the Irish won a thriller last Friday night, while Thurston won the 5A-Special District 5 championship and Triangle Lake bagged the 1A six-man Special District 2 crown. 

Six-man Crow qualified for the 1A field, but won’t play until Nov. 13.

First-round games begin at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, unless otherwise noted. Rankings reflect seeds in the Oregon School Activities Association playoff brackets.

Murray’s pick: No. 12 Lakeridge (5-4, 2-3, No. 11 OSAA) at No. 5 Sheldon (7-2, 3-1 league, No. 5 OSAA)

The Irish are riding high after an emotional win over No. 9 Willamette in the league title-deciding classic last Friday. Now, head coach Tyler Martell said, they’re prepared for the home playoff game that they earned in that game last week.

Lakeridge arrives Friday night battle-tested from a conference with three top-five teams in the state, and Martell’s team must continue to shine to move on in November.

Sheldon got two touchdowns from second-string players in that Willamette win, which emphasized how deep and diverse this team is.

Backup quarterback Keaton Welch, who was a potential starter in the game after Ryker Rohaley dealt with an injury over the week of practice, stepped in with the Irish in goal-to-go in the first quarter and punched in a rushing touchdown. Welch (6-1, 190 pounds) has stacked scores and crucial conversions in those situations all season.

“Obviously Ryker does a fantastic job, and Ryker played really well on Friday night, but from a physicality standpoint, he and Keaton are just two different players,” Martell said. “So to be able to bring in a guy like Welch, who’s not afraid of contact and actually embraces that contact just forces teams to have to prepare for a different look at quarterback.”

The winning touchdown came from junior running back Owen Ashton. He’s the Irish’s starting middle linebacker and had already made an impact with an interception before he got the call on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line, but when he caught a quick pass from Rohaley on a play Martell said Ashton hadn’t run all week in practice, his time watching game film paid off.

“Owen is a kid who is just a football nut,” Martell said. “(Wide receiver) Cam Thomas said it about him, that what Owen likes to do in his free time is go watch film, and that’s not an exaggeration. Owen Ashton watches more film than I do. He’ll come to me and say, ‘Hey, coach, did you notice this and this and this, and we watch film together as a team and he’s pointing out tendencies to our guys. It’s really neat, so it’s not surprising that a kid like that has a whole bunch of success on Friday night.”

Rohaley is expected to start Friday against Lakeridge, and Ashton will have junior running back and regular starter Cody Hall returning to the Irish backfield after Hall missed the Willamette game. But against a physical, athletic Pacers team — which will test the Irish defense and can turn the game into an offensive shootout — Sheldon’s depth could be key.

Lakeridge emerges from a supremely talented Three Rivers League. It is a strong contender, despite following up a four-game winning streak in September and early October with just one victory in its last four games.

The Three Rivers League finished with No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 in the final OSAA rankings, and while Lakeridge didn’t get close to any of them in their matchups, it’s been well-tested.

“It was cool talking to our guys on Monday about how the Willamette game was fun and that it was a great win and all that kind of stuff, but it’s over with, and if we’re going to continue to sit here and talk about how good of a game that was, then we’re going to turn (in) our gear in a week,” Martell said. “The stakes are just different when you get to playoff time because it’s win or go home. Our guys have done a good job of putting that behind us and going to prepare because Lakeridge is a really, really good football team, and they’re more than deserving of all of our attention.”

Kick off is at 7 p.m. Friday at Sheldon.

Other games

No. 9 Willamette (6-3, 3-1, No. 6 OSAA) at No. 8 Sprague (5-4, 4-0, No. 12 OSAA)

There’s a little bit of transitive data on this Sprague team, but it’s to be taken with a grain of salt: Sheldon won its matchup 55-14 with the Olympians on Sept. 25. Since that game, Sprague won four of five, only losing a nonleague matchup to Nelson. Sprague averaged 32.6 points a game. Willamette nearly beat Sheldon last week, but struggled to establish an air attack in that game. 

No. 15 St. Helens (6-3, 3-1, No. 20 OSAA) at No. 2 Thurston (7-1, 6-0, No. 2 OSAA)

Thurston looked absolutely dominant in the regular season outside of a September loss to West Albany — from its opening-night win over Sheldon to last Friday’s 35-6 demolition of Roseburg. St. Helens finished second in a 5A-Special District 2 league with the lowest-ranked winner of any 5A league in Milwaukie, and lost 56-14 to that team. Thurston quarterback Emmit Distefano and tight end Leofatu Filipe lead the Colts into this playoff home game with eyes on a deep run.

No. 12 Churchill (6-3, 5-1, No. 11 OSAA) at No. 5 Wilsonville (7-2, 5-0, No. 6 OSAA)

After its 34-16 loss in the league opener to Thurston, Churchill ran the table. The Lancers won their final six games by a total 246-103 and an average victory margin of 20 points a game. They’re at best a thumping, roll-you-over ground game. At worst, they’re still a punishing out which can stifle a good team like Thurston or Wilsonville. Wilsonville didn’t win by fewer than 19 points in its final six games and lost to a pair of 6A teams in North Medford and West Linn in nonleague.

No. 14 Springfield (6-3, 3-3, No. 12 OSAA) at No. 3 West Albany (7-2, 5-1, No. 3 OSAA)

The Millers may have landed fourth in Special District 5, but they’re still a contender with postseason potential. They’re on the road for the third time in as many weeks this Friday at a West Albany team which emerged from an even more stacked league in Special District 4. The Bulldogs took a 38-14 loss against 5A No. 1 Silverton, but lost just one other game (at Mountain View in the season opener) and will be a major challenge for Springfield, whose best win is over OSAA No. 17 Roseburg.

No. 16 Marist Catholic (5-4, 4-2, No. 15 OSAA) at No. 1 Cascade Christian (9-0, 6-0, No. 1 OSAA)

Marist emerged from midseason turmoil to turn on the jets and surge into the playoff field with a win Friday night over Junction City. Interim head coach Jake Lowther manned the Spartans to a pair of wins and a close loss to North Bend, with star wideout Gabe Dietmeyer keying the charge. Cascade Christian is a tall task — 4A’s top-ranked team is unbeaten and a scoring machine, but the Spartans are hot and must stay so to stay alive.

No. 9 Junction City (6-3, 4-2, No. 9 OSAA) at No. 8 La Grande (6-3, 4-0, No. 9 OSAA)

(Game starts at 6:30 p.m., Friday)

Junction City lost to Marist on the last day of the regular season, but the Tigers are still a strong team which rode a five-game winning streak into that final week of the regular season — including their best win, 24-15 over OSAA No. 11 North Bend. La Grande won Special District 5 and beat No. 14 Baker by two scores.

No. 9 Siuslaw-Mapleton (7-2, 3-1, No. 8 OSAA) at No. 8 Warrenton (6-3, 5-1, No. 10 OSAA)

The Vikings’ crucial win came two weeks ago, 31-28 over Brookings-Harbor. Both made it into the final bracket, but Siuslaw-Mapleton relieved some pressure with that victory and landed in this spot. They’ve lost to two good teams in Sutherlin and Vale — both top-five teams — and can battle with Warrenton, which lost close to Horizon Christian Oct. 23 after ripping off five consecutive wins in the middle of the season.

No. 12 Pleasant Hill (6-3, 4-1, No. 12 OSAA) at No. 5 Scio (7-1, 4-1, No. 5 OSAA)

The Billies didn’t make one fairy tale come true after they lost 56-21 to Klamath Union in their league-deciding matchup last Friday, but they’re still in the bracket and a strong challenge. Scio comes out of a tough league and lost only to winners Harrisburg. The Loggers haven’t allowed a point since Oct. 9.

No. 12 Oakland (5-5, 3-2, No. 12 OSAA) at No. 5 Lowell (8-1, 4-1, No. 5 OSAA)

Lowell was undefeated and cruising until a surprise loss to Waldport Oct. 23 pegged the Devils back. They bounced back with a 44-22 win over Oakridge on the last day to move into the postseason on the right foot, and face an Oakland team which lost three of its last four to finish third in Special District 4.

No. 9 Mohawk (6-3, 3-2, No. 9 OSAA) at No. 8 Crane (5-4, 5-2, No. 8 OSAA)

(Game starts at 6 p.m., Friday)

Mohawk’s league included three other top-12 teams by OSAA ranking, which left the Indians third-best and on the road despite a strong year. League losses to North Douglas and Perrydale by multiple scores mean Mohawk’s ceiling against the best is still yet to be seen, while Crane finished second in a similarly stacked league. Mohawk hasn’t played since Oct. 23 after Reedsport forfeited its final day matchup.

No. 9 Dayville-Monument-Long Creek (5-4, 4-3, No. 8 OSAA) at No. 8 Triangle Lake (4-3, 4-0, No. 9 OSAA)

The Lakers stayed undefeated down the stretch after three nonleague losses left them searching for a solution. They dominated league competition and enter this first-round matchup with momentum. Dayville-Monument-Long Creek was fourth in a more talented Special District 1 and despite dropping its first three — like the Lakers — it heated up to win five of its final six games.