By James DayThe Stayton High School boys soccer team has won its fourth consecutive league title. The Eagles are 8-0-1 in the Oregon West Conference and 10-2-1 overall heading into their Oct. 29 regular-season finale at Taft, which took place after Our Town’s press time.
“We are having a very solid year,” Eagles coach Chris Shields said.
Key players for Stayton have been attacking midfielder David Esparza and junior forward John Enriquez, both of whom are strong player-of-the-year candidates in the Oregon West. Junior goalkeeper Christian Gonzales anchors a strong defensive back line, which includes junior Christian Baltazar, senior Brandon Kerr, and senior Carlos Camacho.
Stayton has been a major player at the state level in recent years, winning a state title in 2010 and advancing to the semifinals in 2011. But Shields urged caution for this year. “As for the playoffs, it comes down to the team that shows up and plays well that given day,” Shields said. “So it’s hard to say where we should end up, I just want us to play well and gain momentum as we work our way through these last few season games and into the playoffs.”
The Cascade girls have had a strong season, with a 7-4 overall mark and a 6-2 record in the Oregon West. The Cougars’ only league losses were to undefeated Oregon West champion Philomath.
Coach Justyne Freud said “the team is coming together at the perfect time” and that she feels “confident that we can make a run deep into (the playoffs).”
Key contributors have been senior captain Jessie Wilson, and Kayla Loukovarji, who has 14 goals and six assists this season.
The Cougars will open state playoff action with a home game at 4 p.m. on Nov. 2 against a team that had not been determined by the Our Town press time.
Cross country: Cascade will be sending its girls team plus boys runner John Roth to the Nov. 2 OSAA state championships at Lane Community College in Eugene. Senior Kristen LaChapelle took fourth for the Cougar girls in a time of 19:39.45 at the Oregon West district meet Oct. 26 in Newport. Cascade scored 43 points in the team race, trailing only champion Philomath’s 18. Roth, a senior, finished runner-up in the boys race in 16:02.2. LaChapelle and the Cascade girls race at 11:15 a.m. Roth runs at 11:50 a.m.
Football: Resurgent Regis (8-1 overall, 6-0 in league) has claimed the Tri-River Conference title, and the Rams hold the top spot from the league for the playoffs, which start the weekend of Nov. 8-9. Regis closes out the regular season Nov. 1 with a nonleague game at Illinois Valley.
Cascade, meanwhile, visited defending state champion Baker on Friday in a Class 4A play-in game. The game was a rematch of last year’s semifinal in which Baker ousted the Cougars in triple overtime. Cascade finished the regular season 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the Oregon West. Scio, meanwhile, is battling with Pleasant Hill for the fourth playoff spot in the Class 3A PacWest. The Loggers (4-4 overall, 3-3 in league) visited Jefferson on Friday. Pleasant Hill, also 4-4 in the PacWest, goes to Creswell.
Volleyball: Cascade blazed its way to the Oregon West title with a perfect 10-0 league record and a 21-1 overall mark. The Cougars will host a match Nov. 1 against an opponent not yet determined. A win would put the Cougars in the Class 4A state tournament, which runs Nov. 8-9 at Lane Community College. Regis finished third in the Tri-River with an 11-5 league mark and will play Nov. 2 against a team to be determined. A win would put the Rams in the Class 2A state tournament Nov. 8-9 at Ridgeview High in Redmond.
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