The Stayton High boys soccer team turned the tables Oct. 26 on Philomath and will take the top ranking into the Class 4A playoffs.
The Eagles outlasted host Philomath 3-2 to conclude the regular season 9-1 in the Oregon West Conference and 13-1 overall. The lone loss was a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Philomath on Sept. 30 in Stayton.
Philomath, now ranked No. 2, also finished 9-1 and 13-1, with the goal differential eerily similar: Stayton outscored opponents 67 goals to 7, with Philomath at 63-9.
The Eagles led 1-0 at halftime on a goal in the 30th minute by Jayden Esparza. Stayton then boosted the lead to 3-1 on goals by Jesse Wright and Santos Navarro sandwiched around a Mateo Candanoza goal for the Warriors. Philomath pulled within 3-2 on a 74th minute goal by Mark Grimmer, but the Eagles held on.
The two goals that the Warriors scored Tuesday were the first the Eagles have allowed since Grimmer scored the lone goal on a header in that September game vs. Philomath.
Stayton will skip the play-in round and start in the round of 16 on Nov. 3 against an opponent to be determined. The final is Nov. 13 at Liberty High School in Hillsboro.
Football: Cascade locked up the Special District 3 (Oregon West Conference) title with a 48-0 rivalry win Oct. 22 against Stayton at Federico Field in Turner.
“We are right where we should be,” Cougars coach Brandon Bennett told Our Town. “Our offense is making adjustments at the line to the defensive fronts we see. Seems like every week we see something funky. The ability to adjust on the fly allows us to have success with whatever a defense shows us.
“Defensively we are playing disciplined football. Could not ask for more from that group. The best part about this team is they work their butts off everyday in practice to get better. They are never satisfied with the week before’s performance.”
Bennett also noted a series of individual performances, including lineman Teagen Allen, who moved to nose guard for the Stayton game.
“We needed to match their size with size,” Bennett said. “He dominated the middle of their offensive line all night and recorded four tackles, one for a loss.”
Trenton Wymore had 12 tackles and Blake Lewis ten tackles, and Jacob Hage recorded his fourth interception of the season. The defense limited Stayton to 67 total yards and pitched its fourth shutout.
Lewis and Hage both rushed for more than 100 yards, with Hage scoring three touchdowns and Lewis one.
Paving the way for the running game was the offensive line group of Allen, Braxton Tucker, Caymus Roache, Gavin Bond, Mike Miller, Cole Records and Isaac Schnepp.
Cascade is ranked No. 1 in Class 4A. Stayton, 2-1 in league and 3-5 overall, also has clinched a playoff berth.
Also in the playoffs will be Regis, which came into the week 5-3 overall and 3-2 in Class 2A’s Special District 2. The Rams downed Pleasant Hill 34-14 on Oct. 22 despite having just 15 players available because of injuries.
“We were very happy with how the team responded to the adversity,” said assistant coach Scott Showers, “and we are hoping to continue to get healthy. At this point we are still working to reach the goals the team set for the season by focusing on what we do and continuing to improve in how we execute on both sides of the ball.”
Volleyball: Cascade, which tied with Sisters with a 10-2 mark in the Oregon West, took the No. 2 seed into the playoffs. Sisters is the top-ranked squad in Class 4A.
Stayton was hoping to join the playoff party but fell in the play-in round on a 3-0 score on Oct. 26. The No. 16. Eagles, the fifth-seed from the league, finished 8-13.
The quarterfinals are Nov. 2, with the final four hosted by Corvallis High on Nov. 5-6.
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