Round one is in the books, with round two coming up in just a couple of weeks on Feb. 9.
The Stayton-Cascade hoops rivalry, for my money the best in the Willamette Valley, turned in a pair of excellent matchups on Jan. 23, with the Cougars claiming a 61-47 win in the boys game behind 24 points by Landon Knox. Cascade also triumphed 42-32 in the girls contest. Olivia Bennett scored 19 points to lead the Cougs, who closed on a 16-2 run.
Some new/old coaching matchups add to the spice of the doubleheader in Turner. Former Eagles boys coach Tal Wold, who won a state title and took home a ton of trophies at Silverton, is back in Stayton, this time with the girls. And Stayton AD Darren Shryock, who previously coached the girls squad to the state tournament, now is coaching the Eagles boys.
And, as always, the matchups are a barometer for state bragging rights. No. 3 Philomath and No. 7 Cascade, both 2-0, are tied for first in the early going in Oregon West girls, with Stayton (1-1) ranked 5th. Cascade, the two-time defending boys Class 4A champs, are also tied with Philomath for the early league lead. The Cougars are ranked third, one slot behind the Warriors.
See you on Feb. 9!
Regis is on a similar tear in the Tri-River Conference. The Rams boys squad is 17-0 overall, 7-0 in the league and ranked first in Class 2A. The Regis girls are 14-4, 6-2 and ranked fifth. Both squads seem likely candidates for 2A tournament berths in Pendleton. The boys took sixth a year ago, with Tri-River squads Salem Academy, Western Christian and Kennedy taking the top three trophies.
Football: Yes, the Beavers were outmatched in their Dec. 29 Sun Bowl game against Notre Dame, but OSU showed its spunk on a fourth-quarter two-point conversion in which the ball was snapped directly to 6-4, 370-pound redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Tyler Voltin of Stayton.
Voltin, a 2020 Regis High graduate, had three blockers lined up to the right in front of him and he used them well, veering off the shoulder of the first blocker to slip into the end zone. Voltin played in ten games during the 2023 season for the 8-5 Beavers as a backup lineman after a sterling career with Regis, where he was a three-sport all-league player and league lineman of the year in football. Voltin also is no stranger to special teams. He was an all-league punter/placekicker with the Rams.
Wrestling: Former four-time state high school wrestling champion Mauro Michel is making his presence felt at the community college level. Michel, who is wrestling at 133 pounds for Southwestern Oregon in Coos Bay, has taken over first place for his weight class in the National Junior College Athletic Association rankings. Michel, who wrestled at both Cascade and Stayton in high school, took over the top spot as a result of a pin against previous No. 1 Cody Phelps of Western Wyoming.
