The Stayton and Cascade boys and girls basketball teams are battling for supremacy in the Oregon West Conference – and the state – with league rival Philomath.
As we approach the end of the month Philomath is undefeated in both boys and girls, but Stayton and Cascade have just one league loss each. Statewide, Cascade is ranked third in Class 4A boys, followed by Stayton and Philomath.
In the girls ranking the situation is similar. Philomath (No. 1 in the state) is unbeaten, with Cascade (No. 2) and Stayton (No. 9) still in the hunt.
Both Philomath teams have defeated Cascade, while the Cougars took wins against Stayton in an entertaining doubleheader in Turner on Jan. 14.
The Cascade girls opened the twinbill with a 46-30 win, using a 24-3 closing run to pull away after trailing 27-22 early in the third period.
“It was a good win against a good team and our rivals,” Cascade coach Mark Stevens told Our Town. “This team has been playing up to its 10-senior maturity level. In the second half things just started going our way. We do have a way of wearing teams down.”
Stevens started four seniors – Ariel Tobiasson, Kenna Coleman, Natalee Federico and Abby Jepsen – along with junior Meah Carley. Coleman led the winners with 16 points, while Carley added 10. Tobiasson scored 7 points and dished 5 assists. Federico chipped in with 6 points and 3 assists. Coleman knocked down three 3-pointers.
Karlee Tyler and Missy Mitchell scored 8 points apiece for Stayton, with Mitchell hitting two 3-pointers. Cascade made hay at the line, hitting 11 of 19, with the Eagles connected on just 1 of 8.
In the boys game, Cascade also used a second-half run to take control. Stayton led 27-21 in the third period, but Cascade took on an 18-2 run to take control. Kellen Sande scored 6 of his 16 points during the streak, with 6-7 Ty Best adding 11, 5 during the key stretch.
Sande scored on a wide range of runners, floaters and drives to the basket, while Best, one of four starters from the two sides at 6-6 or taller, added three rim-rattling, two-handed dunks.
Garrett Callsen, the Eagles’ 6-7 junior post, more than held his own against the Cascade bigs, scoring 13 points and blocking 4 shots. Senior point guard Jacob Axmaker added 10 for Stayton, including a pair of 3-pointers.
The Regis boys, meanwhile, are making some noise in the Class 2A Central Valley Conference. As the end of the month approached the Rams were battling with Jefferson for first place in the league. Regis was 12-4 overall and 5-1 in league play while boasting a No. 7 ranking. Jefferson was 13-2 and 5-0 and ranked second.
The two top league finishers claim the automatic berths in the 16-team state playoffs. The Regis boys have not been to Pendleton since coach Tony Miller led the Rams to a runner-up finish in 2016. Current coach Jason Koehnke, however, also has a bit of experience at state, teaming up with father Jason for boys titles in 2004 and 2005. Jason also won as a solo coach in 2003 and a four-peat of girls titles from 2010-13. The Rams also won the 2014 girls title under Kyle Tower and Dustin Lulay.
Officials needed: The Oregon School Activities Association and the Oregon Athletic Officials Association are seeking baseball and softball umpires for the upcoming spring season. The first date for games is March 14, with the registration period for officials ending on April 22. To register or for more information go to https://www.osaa.org/officials.
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