Sorry, I am going to be a homer for a little bit, as I really enjoyed Jerry Ulmer’s article in today’s Oregonian about the state of my beloved Pacers Football program. And as you read it, is there any doubt left that Tom Smythe is going to come home again and resurrect the program he built into a power twenty years ago. Just a thought for the administration and parents on the South side of the lake; if you convince him to do it, just leave him alone. I know of no one who played for him that didn’t enjoy the experience while they were there. Sure, you are going to have kids who were frustrated he may not have played as much as he thought he should have, but that’s just sports. My only concern is if Coach Smythe is ready to enjoy golf and naps, there may be a sense of panic up there.

You would think the playoff positions would be fairly set by the final week of the regular season, but not so fast my friends, only a handful of teams know exactly where there name appears in the brackets.

PIL- Grant and Lincoln will play for the PIL Title, winner is the #1 seed and the loser is the #2 seed. Wilson has clinched the #3 seed.

Metro- Jesuit is the #1 seed, Beaverton is the #2 seed, the winner of the Westview v. Southridge is the #3 seed and the loser gets the #4 seed

Mt. Hood- Central Cathlolic is the #1 seed, winner of David Douglas v. Barlow is #2 seed loser #3 seed, Gresham is the #4 seed and Centennial has the tiebreaker over Hood River for the #5 seed

Three Rivers- If Lake Oswego Beats Oregon City: Lake Oswego is the #1 seed, West Linn is the #2 seed and Oregon City is the #3 seed.

If Oregon City beats Lake Oswego and West Linn beats Putnam, there is a three way tie for the TRL title and coin flips for the first three seeds.

If Oregon City beats Lake Oswego and West Linn loses to Putnam: Oregon City is #1 seed, Lake Oswego is #2 seed and West Linn is #3 seed.

Clackamas is the #4 seed

Pacific- If Tigard beats Tualatin: Tigard is the #1 seed, Canby is the #2 seed and Tualatin is the #3 seed

If Tualatin beats Tigard and Canby beats Forest Grove, there is a three way tie and coin flips determine the top three seeds.

If Tualatin beats Tigard and Canby loses to Forest Grove, Tualatin is the #1 seed, Tigard the #2 seed and Canby the #3 seed.

The winner of the McMinnville v. Newberg game will be the #4 seed

CVL- South Salem is the #1 seed. McNary and Sprague have clinched playoff spots. McNary, Sprague and West Salem are all 3-2 in league, and none of them play each other this week. If West Salem loses to McKay, McKay gets the #4 seed. If McNary, Sprague and West Salem all win there will be coin flips to determine the #2, #3 and #4 seeds. If they all lose McNary is the #2 seed, Sprague is the #3 seed and McKay is the #4 seed.

Southwest- If South Medford beats Sheldon, South Medford is the #1 seed, Grants Pass is the #2 seed and Sheldon is the #3 seed.

If Sheldon beats South Medford and Grants Pass beats South Eugene, there is a three way tie and coin flips determine the top three seeds

If Sheldon beats South Medford and Grants Pass loses to South Eugene, Sheldon is the #1 seed, South Medford is the #2 seed and Grants Pass is the #3 seed.

The winner of Roseburg and North Medford is the #4 seed.

If your head hurts now, you’re not alone. The bottom line is you’ll need to join the Les Schwab High School Football show Friday night immediately following our coverage of the Tigard @ Tualatin game and we’ll help you fill out your brackets.

The process has begun within the OSAA for the next round of reclassification and redistricting that will take effect in 2010. While it seems likely the six classifications will remain, the talk now is to try and consolidate some of the leagues so that there are more games that count during the season, and alleviate long trips. Jerry Ulmer’s article in today’s Oregonian explains further.

Up north there would be an easy solution to the issues: Divvy up the Pacific Leauge. Send Tigard and Forest Grove to the Metro where they resided years ago. Send Canby and Tualatin to the Three Rivers League, and put McMinnville and Newberg in the Central Valley League and discuss Redmond either going back to 5A or playing in the Mt. Hood league.

The biggest problem again is what to do with the PIL schools and in the Southwest Conference. The OSAA needs to figure out how to put two more schools in the Southwest Conference, but to take them out of the Midwestern League or the Southwest Sky league just makes those 5A leagues smaller, unless you would combine the remaining leagues into one 9 team league. Say Ashland and Thurston move up to 6A. The PIL is a different creature altogether. Some of the schools are playing up two classifications if you look at their actual enrollment. You wonder if splitting them all up would help individual schools create an athletic identity, or just send everything crashing down.

Just two weeks to go until the playoffs, and only league has officially determined its champion so far. Here is a brief synopsis of the title contenders league by league for the final two games of the regular season:

PIL- It will come down to the winner of the Grant v. Lincoln game on Halloween. Even if one of them trips up this week, highly unlikely, they would still have a shot at the title on October 31st

Metro- Jesuit clinches the title with a win this week over Southridge. If the Skyhawks win, then they would have to win the following week against Westview to clinch the title. If they lose that one then it’s all kind of fun.

Mt. Hood- Central Catholic needs a win over Reynolds to clinch the league title after beating Barlow last Friday night.

Three Rivers- Lake Oswego can clinch with an Oregon City loss this week. Otherwise they will need to beat Oregon City next Friday to officially win the Three Rivers League, but we already have them penciled in.

Pacific- Canby clinches the title with a win this Friday over Tigard. If the Tigers get the win, they would need to beat Tualatin next week to clinch the title. If Tigard wins this week and loses next week then it’s a three way tie and coin flips, just like last year.

Central Valley- South Salem has clinched the CVL title by virtue of last week’s win over Sprague.

Southwest- South Medford needs to win out to claim the title outright. This Friday against Roseburg and next Friday against Sheldon.

Just 2 weeks left in the regular season, here is how things are shaping up.  The bracket is predetermined based on league standings.  There will be 3 teams from the PIL, 5 from the Mt. Hood, 4 from the Three Rivers, 4 from the Pacific, 4 from the Central Valley, 4 from the Southwest, and 4 from the Metro.  The first round matchups are based on the current standings.  We will update this after the next two weeks of play, until the final bracket is officially set.

First Round Predictions: Bye - Jesuit, Lake Oswego, South Medford, Canby

Tualatin (Pac #3) over Wilson (PIL #3)

South Salem (C. Valley #1) over Clackamas (3 Rivers #4)

Grants Pass (SW #2) over Gresham (Mt. Hood #4)

Tigard (Pac #2) over Sheldon (SW #3)

Central Catholic (Mt. Hood #1) over Westview (Metro #4)

McKay (C. Valley #4) over Grant (PIL #2)

Southridge (Metro #3) over Oregon City (3 Rivers #3)

Lincoln (PIL #1) over Hood River Valley (Mt. Hood #5)

Barlow (Mt. Hood #2) over Newberg (Pacific #4)

David Douglas (Mt. Hood #3) over West Linn (3 Rivers #2)

Beaverton (Metro #2) over McNary (C. Valley #3)

Sprague (C. Valley #2) over North Medford (SW #4)

Second Round:

South Salem over Tualatin

Jesuit over Grants Pass

Tigard over Central Catholic

Lake Oswego over McKay

Southridge over Lincoln

South Meford over Barlow

Beaverton over David Douglas

Canby over North Medford

Quarterfinals:

Jesuit over South Salem

Lake Oswego over Tigard

South Medford over Southridge

Beaverton over Canby

Semifinals:

Lake Oswego over Jesuit

Beaverton over South Medford

6A State Championship:

Lake Oswego over Beaverton

This is the week where things really start to shape the postseason.  Below are the key playoff forming matchups in league play tonight.  Be sure to check back tomorrow for the first installment of bracketology.  Tonight 6:45 pm tune in to the pregame for our game of the week as Lincoln visits Franklin, followed by the Les Schwab High School Football Show.  Jason Swygard, Brett Elliot, and Dusty Harrah will have the call, and Travis Demers will have the postgame. 

Metro League:

Beaverton (2-0) @ Jesuit (2-0)

Surprising Beaverton comes into this one with a legitimate chance to win the Metro.  In order to do that, they need to win tonight and beat Sunset in Aloha.  The latter should happen, but beating perennial power Jesuit is easier said than done.  The loser of this game is actually in a better chance of reaching the state championship, as the Metro winner will have the draw of matching up with the Three Rivers champion, which will likely be Lake Oswego. 

Mt. Hood Conference:

Barlow (2-0) @ Central Catholic (2-0)

The winner of this game will more than likely win the Mt. Hood, as the rest of the league is not nearly as good as these two teams.  The winner of the Mt. Hood has an extremely tough draw with the #4 Metro team in the first round, and a potentially difficult matchup with a Pacific team…. and then probably Lake Oswego… then Jesuit!

Pacific League:

Canby (2-0) @ Tualatin (2-0); Tigard (2-0) @ McMinnville (0-2)

This is where it gets interesting.  Tigard, Canby, and Tualatin all play each other over the next three weeks, and the team that comes out in first will get a much needed bye in the first round.  There is always the possibility of a tiebreaker, but we will cross that bridge in a few weeks when we get there.  The #2 team could potentially get in the playoffs (in order) defending champ Sheldon, then Central Catholic, then Lake Oswego, the Jesuit.  The #3 team would get the #3 team from a weak PIL league in the opening round, so there is clearly a lot to play for in the next three weeks.

This from Jed Tai at oregonpreps.com: reporting that Oregon State has offered scholarships to QB Jack Lomax and WR Micah Hatfield from Lake Oswego.

The ranks of the unbeaten continue to shrink at the 6A level, as we are down to just two. Everyone can name Lake Oswego, but do you know who the other undefeated team is?…..It took me a while too, but South Salem, is 7-0 behind QB Connor Lynch and RB Corey Bickler. They held off defending league champion West Salem last week and can all but clinch their first league title since 2001 with a win over Sprague this Friday night.

Top Performers from week 6:

Sherwood Defensive Line- This was the game we called for you Friday night at Hare Field, and after looking confused in the first half the front three for the Bowmen came out and absolutely stuffed Hillsboro the entire second half. Tanner Balderee, Blair Goldstein and Corey Smith completely contained the run game, and did not allow Spartans QB Dominique Mims time to set up and step into his passes. That allowed the Bowmen offense to take command in the second half with 34 unanswered points.

Grants Pass Cavemen- What a way to end one of the greatest streaks in recent memory. A three overtime effort with a two point conversion to stop Sheldon’s 57 league game winning streak. This after a tough loss the week before to South Medford. Who would have thought Sheldon would be the three seed out of the Southwest League.

It’s official, our Les Schwab Game of the Week for Sept. 24th will be at Sprague when they host #1 Lake Oswego.

Swag’s Top 5

1.) Lake Oswego (6-0)- Pac-10 Schools starting to take interest in Jack Lomax and Micah Hatfield

2.) South Medford (6-1)- Maybe the most complete offense in the State

3.) Jesuit (5-1)- Anthony Blake may be my vote for 6A player of the year

4.) Grants Pass (5-1)- Does any team really want to travel there for a first round game?

5.) South Salem (7-0)- Can’t wait for their season finale against Clackamas

Wow, a double dose of high school football this weekend, beginning tonight for many schools due to the vacation day tomorrow. Playoff positioning on the line in several key league matchups:

PIL- Wilson @ Lincoln-7pm Lincoln, HS & Grant @ Franklin- 7pm Franklin HS

Only three playoff spots in the PIL and one of these teams will be left out. The Generals have the high profile athletes in the Acker brothers, while the Cardinals have the wide open attack of Chad Carlson’s spread attack. The Quakers are flying under the radar with maybe the best passing combination in the PIL with QB Maclan Epely and WR DeShawn Bradley. And the Trojans ride the leadership of dual threat QB Nate Osborne. Can the Trojans score enough to keep up with Lincoln, and can the Quakers get some turnovers to slow down the Generals.

Mt. Hood- Gresham (5-1,2-1) @ Barlow (4-2, 3-0), 7pm Mt. Hood CC

Malcolm Johnson registered the third highest single game rushing total in state history last week. Gresham had trouble stopping Central Catholic’s Luke Onderko in their only loss. The Gophers need to sustain long drives and win time of possession to stay in the game. The Bruins can run away with this one if they dominate the line of scrimmage.

Three Rivers- #1 Lake Oswego (5-0, 3-0) @ West Linn (3-3, 2-0), 7pm West Linn HS

Maybe the last opportunity for the Lakers to get a game. The Lions will be without top quarterback Bryce Baker due to his broken arm. West Linn held OC to just 2 points last week, they will need a similar effort to keep them in the game. If L.O. dominates this one the toughest job for Lakers head coach Steve Coury will be keeping his kids interested the rest of the regular season.

Metro- Westview (3-2, 0-1) @ #10 Beaverton (2-3, 1-0), Friday 7:30pm Beaverton HS

Can the Wildcats shake off a bad loss to Jesuit last week and not let the 7 turnovers start playing with their confidence. Beaverton’s defense taking center stage in their upset of Southridge is a welcome surprise to an offense that can be overwhelming at times. Westview as close to a must win game as there is at this point in the season.

Pacific- Tualatin (2-3, 1-0) @ Forest Grove (3-3, 0-1), 7pm Forest Grove HS

No one was happier to get to league play than last year’s runner up Timberwolves. After a brutal and frustrating non-league schedule Tualatin has found some consistency in the offense with QB Levi Lavasa and RB John Grill. The Vikings looked like they might threaten the big three this year with veteran QB Aaron Huson, but opening up the passing game has not produced the results they were hoping for. Forest Grove could turn things around with a big upset at home tonight.

Central Valley- #7 South Salem (6-0, 3-0) @ West Salem (3-3, 2-1), 7pm West Salem HS

The Saxson’s can just about wrap up the CVL title with a win tonight behind QB Conor Lynch. An opportunistic defense has been stingly of late and look to make things difficult for the talented but young QB of the Titans Brett Smith. West Salem cannot turn the ball over in this one, to have a chance at the end.

Southwest- #4 Sheldon (3-2, 1-0) @ #9 Grants Pass (4-1, 0-1), 7pm Friday, Grants Pass HS

Will the Irish’s 57 game league winning streak finally come to an end. Possible but not likely. The Cavemen have a nice record, but haven’t faced nearly the level of competition the defending state champs have. If Sheldon quits making mistakes that have cost them dearly in their two losses, they have as much firepower on offense as any team in the state.

Sherwood vs. Hillsboro

This week we have a matchup of two, top 10 teams in class 5A football with the No. 3 ranked Sherwood Bowmen (5-1) traveling to Hare Field in Hillsboro to take on the No. 6 Spartans of Hillsboro (5-1) on ESPN Sports Radio 1080 The Fan.

Here are some things to look at in this matchup…

-Both teams’ only set back has come at the hands of defending 5A State Champs West Albany… Sherwood lost 14-7 in the opening week… HilHi suffered a 42-21 setback in week three…

-After the West Albany loss, Sherwood went 13 quarters of scoreless defense before giving up a 2^nd quarter touchdown to Century en route 19-7 Bowmen win…

-A high powered Spartan offense is averaging over 28 points per game and has scored over 40 points twice already in ’08… Sherwood has outscored their opponents 174-28 this season…

-Both teams are battled tested and no strangers to big games… Sherwood has faced off with three ranked teams in; West Albany (1) 14-7 L, Jefferson (8 at the time) 34-0 W, and Century (4) 19-7 W… Hillsboro has met up with West Albany (1) 42-21 L, Glencoe (7 at the time) 24-7 W, and Wilsonville (9) 20-17 2OT W…

-Hillsboro’s young quarterback, Dominique Mims might be the key to this football game… A physical Sherwood defense that likes to bring pressure early and often could fluster the junior signal caller enough to tuck the ball and run earlier than first year head coach, Zak Hill, would like… And if you don’t have to respect the air attack, big-play running back Mikkel Smythe will have a problem getting much done…

If you ask me, the advantage is with Sherwood in this one. A rock-solid defense and an offense that can put points up in bunches is a dangerous combo. If HillHi wins this game, they will have to win the ball control game and sustain long drives to wear Sherwood out. Defenses’ as good as Sherwood has don’t get into shootouts, and this will be no different. Sherwood is a program with a winning tradition, they have been here before. HilHi is a program on the rise and relatively new to this expecting to win every week thing. I will take the team that has been there before more often than not. Then again, there is reason they play it on the field….

-Dusty Harrah-