Stayton / Cascade football is always a great rivalry game. This season, more will be at stake when the Cougars visit Stayton at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 3 than has been the case in quite some time.
Both teams were undefeated as Our Town went to press. The Eagles are 4-0 and had a bye Sept. 27. Cascade, 3-0, hosted Baker, 1-2, on the 27th.
The game will have statewide implications as well. Cascade was ranked No. 1 in 4A by the OSAA, with the Eagles fourth. League rivals Philomath and Marist Catholic are ranked second and third, respectively, opening up the possibility of more big matchups later in the season.
Stayton was 4-5 a year ago and did not make the playoffs. Cascade went 7-4, advancing to the quarterfinals before falling to Scappoose. The Cougars have dominated the rivalry in recent years, winning six of the past seven, including a 40-7 decision a year ago.
Stayton’s lone win in the stretch came by a 21-18 count in 2022.
Oct. 3 will be a big day at Stayton as the school and its booster club hold opening ceremonies for the new Ty Hart Fitness Center, which is nearing completion just steps away from the entrance to the football stadium. The new weight training facility cost $1.5 million and was paid for entirely by contributions and donations of labor and materials from local companies. The building honors Ty Hart, a 2012 Stayton grad who died in a helicopter crash off of Hawaii in 2016 while serving with the U.S. Marines.
Alumni Watch: Tyler Voltin, the Regis High grad who had worked himself up from a walk-on to starting right guard at Oregon State, is out for the season. Voltin, a 6-4, 368-pound redshirt junior, started in the season opener Aug. 31 against Idaho State and also started against San Diego State on Sept. 7. In the second quarter of the San Diego State game Voltin was injured when he got sandwiched between a pair of Aztecs players while blocking on a running play. Voltin has two ligament injuries in his right knee and has had surgery.
Voltin, who is majoring in kinesiology with a minor in psychology, is scheduled to graduate in the spring of 2025, although he has another year of football eligibility left.
Cross Country: The Regis boys finished 12th in the varsity competition at the Silver Falls Oktoberfest Invitational on Sept. 11 at Silver Falls State Park. Nearly 500 runners from 35 schools participated in the meet. The competition, run under cloudy skies and temperatures in the 60s, used forest roads, the South Falls day-use area and the Maple Ridge Trail at Silver Falls State Park for the 3.4K junior varsity and 5K varsity courses.
Harper Stoops was the top Regis boys finisher, taking 51st in 19:25.1. Regis took 13th in the boys JV race, led by Ian Pace, who took 107th in 16:05.1. Mary Lynn McSorley of the Rams was 48th in the girls JV race in 18:57.0.
Volleyball: Cascade came out on top in the volleyball rivalry match, downing host Stayton 25-20, 25-15 and 25-19 on Sept. 24, in the Oregon West Conference opener for both schools. The Cougars are ranked seventh in 4A and the Eagles are 11th. The two sides battle again on Thursday, Oct. 10 in Turner.
Soccer: The Stayton boys entered the Oregon West Conference season at 3-0 and ranked No. 2 in Class 4A behind conference rival North Marion. The Eagles are on the young side this fall, with just four seniors, goalie Roman Gould, midfielders Norberto Navarro and Johnny Garcia and forward Addison Samuell. The Cascade girls are 2-1 overall and ranked seventh heading into league play.
Girls Basketball: Stayton High girls coach Tal Wold is putting together a tournament team program for fourth to eighth grade girls in the Stayton and Santiam Canyon areas. Tryouts will be at the Stayton High gym at
2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27 and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30.
The program is designed, Wold said, “for the girl who aspires to play in high school and who has a real passion and interest in basketball and a desire to get better.”
Teams will practice two to three times per week and will play in four to six weekend tournaments in the Salem area. The season starts around Thanksgiving and ends in Late February or early March.
There is no fee to try out. Costs for individual players will be determined by the number of players on the team and how many tournaments are played. The estimated cost for uniforms, practices and tournaments is $200 per player. For more info contact Coach Wold at wold_tal@silverfalls.k12.or.us.
