Regis football is playing a new game, 9-man, has two co-coaches and a new football field. Oh, and the Rams are off to a 3-1 start and are ranked No. 13 in Class 2A by the OSAA.
Class 2A shifted to 9-man football for this fall because the OSAA was concerned about small rosters and safety. The scheme seems to fit perfectly at Regis because an offense still has the same number of eligible receivers but removing two defenders gives the Rams’ offensive weapons,
including QB Kollin Schumacher and wide receivers Tim Crowell and Charlie Miller, more room to maneuver.
Alex King is handling the offense for Regis and Joe Manibusan is coaching the defense. Hard to argue with the results so far.
The new field is a revelation. Regis went against the trend toward artificial turf and put in a new grass field. It took a village to do it, with parents, community members, local companies and even the football players pitching in. Go see for yourself. It looks fabulous.
Regis is 1-1 in Tri-River Conference play, tied for third with Culver and Santiam behind No. 6 Willamina (2-0) and No. 5 Colton (1-0).
As of Our Town’s presstime the Rams had defeated Gaston (29-28), Grant Union (39-0) and Gervais (66-0) before falling Sept. 23 to Colton 50-48 in 4 overtimes.
Volleyball: Defending Class 4A state champion Cascade is off to a strong start with a 7-2 overall record, a 2-0 Oregon West Conference mark and the No. 2 ranking in the coaches poll. The Cougars have just three seniors but two of them, outside hitter Lucretia Benolken and setter Meah Carley were all-state performers a year ago when Cascade won its first state crown.
Cascade’s lone losses so far this season were to Sisters and Valley Catholic. The Cougars defeated both squads in
last year’s Class 4A final four at Corvallis High.
Boys Soccer: Stayton is off to a 5-0 start and is ranked No. 3 in Class 4A by the OSAA. The Eagles opened Oregon West play with a 9-1 win at Sweet Home and are tied at 1-0 with defending 4A state champion Philomath (ranked No. 2) and No. 12 North Marion, which lost to Philomath in last year’s semifinals. North Marion moved to the Oregon West this season from the Tri-Valley Conference, giving the OWC even more state clout. Stayton tied with Philomath for the Oregon West title a year ago but was stunned 1-0 by Ontario in the first round of the playoffs.
Stayton travels to Philomath on Oct. 6 and hosts the Warriors to end the regular season on Oct. 25. The Eagles hosted North Marion after Our Town’s presstime on Sept. 27 and will visit the Huskies on Oct. 13.
OSAA Update: The Oregon School Activities Association has returned the state wrestling tournament to the Memorial Coliseum in Portland. Last season the tournaments were staged at multiple sites because of COVID. The all-classes wrestling championships will be Feb. 23-25, 2023.
The OSAA also has instituted a major change for boys and girls basketball. Starting with the 2023-24 season, all varsity games will be conducted with a 35-second shot clock.
Stayton, meanwhile, was forced to pay a $1,000 fine and suspend an assistant football coach for three games because of his offseason work on a 7-vs.-7 team that included Stayton players. The case was one of 24 adjudicated at the OSAA’s Sept. 12 executive board meeting. Only three cases involved amounts of $1,000 or more.
Eagles athletic director Darren Shryock noted that the school self-reported the violation and that new procedures have been put in place to require all coaches to attend a fall rules meeting. The $1,000 came out of athletic department funds.
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