The Stayton High boys basketball team will take the No. 2 state ranking in Class 4A into Oregon West Conference play.
The Eagles, who are 7-1, open the league season at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 4 at No. 8 Philomath. Stayton’s lone loss was at No. 1 Banks on Dec. 7.
Cascade, meanwhile, drew the bye on opening night and starts league play Jan. 8 at Sisters. The Cougars are 7-2 overall and ranked 20th.
Regis is 3-5 in the nonleague campaign and opens Class 2A Central Valley Conference play Jan. 2 at home at 6 p.m. vs. East Linn Christian.
Santiam, meanwhile, already has opened Tri-River Conference play. The 7th-ranked Wolverines are 7-2 overall, with the two losses to Tri-River foes Kennedy and Western Christian.
Santiam’s girls also are 7-2 overall and have a 2-1 mark in the Tri-River, tied with Gervais for second place behind 4-0 and top-ranked Kennedy. Santiam fell to Kennedy 55-32 on Dec. 13 but gets a second shot at the Trojans on Jan. 22.
Stayton’s girls are 5-3 overall and ranked No. 12 in Class 4A. The Eagles play at 7 p.m. Jan. 4 in the second half of the doubleheader at Philomath.
Cascade is 4-5 overall and opens league play Jan. 8 at Sisters. Regis is 5-4 and opens Tri-River play Jan. 2 against East Linn Christian.
All-state football: Santiam High standouts Dustin Keys, Garrett Wallen, Trevor Tinney and Jesse Sendlinger were honored with places on the Class 2A all-state football team after leading the Wolverines to their second consecutive runner-up finish.
Keys was named first team on the offensive line and at linebacker while also being named defensive player of the year. Wallen was a first-teamer on both the offensive and defensive lines, while Tinney was first team at running back and second team on the D-line. Sendlinger was named to the first team as a defensive back.
Here is a look at how athletes with Stayton-Santiam Canyon ties fared during the fall season in college and the NFL:
Jose Gomez, Stayton: The freshman defender for Chemeketa Community College started 15 games for the Storm, who finished 11-4-1 and advanced to the round of 16 in the Northwest Athletic Conference playoffs. Gomez took three shots during the season but did not score.
Maliah Russell, Cascade: The Eastern Oregon University freshman cross country runner showed steady improvement in her rookie campaign. She ran 23:01.20 for 5,000 meters at an invitational hosted by EOU, then followed with a 22:49.7 at the Charles Bowles meet in Salem, ran 21:54, a 55-second personal record, at a meet in Lewiston, Idaho, and closed her season with another PR, a 21:34.6 at a competition in Rocklin, California.
Casey Pugh, Stayton: The Lane Community College freshman cross country runner helped lead the Titans to a convincing team victory in the Northwest Athletic Conference championships. Lane took seven of the top 15 places, with Pugh 14th in 27:00.0 for the 8,000 meters. Earlier, Pugh took 33rd in the Oregon Preview meet, running 24:20.1 for 7K, ran 26:27.7 for 8K as Lane won its division of the Bowles meet and turned in a 26:21.50 for 8K to help lift Lane to third place in a meet hosted by Warner Pacific College.
Tyrell Williams, Cascade: The former Western Oregon standout wide receiver has caught 39 passes for 630 yards and five touchdowns for the Los Angeles Chargers. Heading into their regular-season finale the Chargers, 11-4, already have clinched a playoff spot. Williams, who has also rushed for 15 yards, caught 45- and 39-yard TD passes from QB Philip Rivers on Oct. 14 in a 38-14 win vs. the Browns and hauled in a 75-yard scoring pass from Rivers the following week in a 20-19 win vs. the Titans. Williams is tied for third on the team in catches, is second in TD receptions and leads the receiving corps with a 16.2 average per catch.
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