Eight games in the 2nd round of the 6A playoffs, all tomorrow night. While 1080 The FAN will be at Lincoln vs. Southridge, there is plenty of other action all over the state. Here’s a brief look at the key factors in each game.

Canby @ South Salem, 7pm- South Salem H.S.

The Saxons are probably the biggest mystery in the state tournament this year with senior quarterback Connor Lynch and running back Corey Bickler they have a balanced offensive attack that can put points on the board in a hurry, just ask Clackamas who was tied at 17 last week and ended up losing 45-17. Canby just continues to do what it’s always done. Line up in the Wing-T use all their players, try and hit the tight end for big plays and hit the snot out of their opponent on defense. Biggest question is can they outscore the Saxsons if they need to?

Grants Pass @ Jesuit, 7pm- Cronin Field

The Cavemen had to grind out a 7-3 win over a fiesty but undermanned Gresham team. Now, the Crusaders coming off a bye, Yikes! Biggest question will be can GP deal with the speed of Keanon Lowe, Anthony Blake and Dylan Jackson. Not sure they have seen anything like they are about to Friday in Beaverton.

Westview @ Sheldon, 7pm- Sheldon H.S.

Two teams that are mirror images of each other. Both use a form of the spread option with dynamic dual threat quarterbacks leading the offensive attack. The Wildcats do not have a player like Curtis White though. This game will come down to which team makes the fewest mistakes (turnovers, penalties, missed tackles, etc.)

Grant @ Lake Oswego, 7pm- Lake Oswego District Field

It seems like these two teams meet every year in the playoffs, but it’s only happened once. Grant has a couple of premiere athletes in the Aker Brothers. The Lakers have ten. As long as Jack Lomax has time to throw, the Generals can’t cover everybody for five to seven seconds. Grant has to play perfect and get at least three turnovers.

Southridge @ Lincoln, 7pm- Lincoln H.S.

We will be calling this one for you on 1080 The FAN, and it could be a track meet. The trick will be if the Cardinals can give Henry Furman enough time in the pocket to let his talented wide recievers De’Andre Taylor and Ryan Lacey get open. The Skyhawks are huge up front and hit hard in the secondary. RB Kirk Werhane will be key for Southridge who can control the game if they dominate time of possession. Should be a fun one.

David Douglas @ South Medford, 7pm- Spiegelberg Stadium

Not sure if the Scots know what they are in for. 15,000 people expected to jam Spiegelberg Stadium and watch the high flying offense of the Panthers with the catching Singler Cousins. Patrick Thiebeau gives them a productive ground game as well. The Scots have managed to win close games all season with a suffocating defense, but if it gets away from them early, not sure they can generate enough offense to keep up.

West Linn @ Beaverton, 7:30pm- Beaverton H.S.

This could be the most entertaining game of the second round. Two teams who will try anything on offense. Beavers QB Michael DeHaan did it with his legs last week. Josh Oltman did everything for the Lions in their opening round win over Barlow. That means whichever defense can create some turnovers and get some stops will decide it. This is a rematch of a first round game last year where DeHaan was hurt. This year Bryce Baker is still injured for the Lions, and you know what they say about paybacks.

McNary @ Tualatin, 7pm- Tualatin H.S.

If the Tualatin team we saw beat Tigard in the regular season finale shows up, then the Celtics are going to have their hands full. Taylor Hart leads a big and tough defensive line, and John Grill was a bulldozer of running back getting 5 to 7 yards every carry. The Celtics were fortunate to survive Roseburg in the first round, but won’t be able to get away with making so many mistakes against the Timberwolves. McNary has their own pounding running back in Darian Kauffman. It may come down to which Quarterback, Tualatin’s Levi Lavasa or McNary’s Grant Kessel, can make big plays through the air.

With the playoffs beginning tonight, click the links below to check out predictions from Jason Swygard, Travis Demers, and Dusty Harrah.  Don’t forget, this weeks Les Schwab Game of the Week features Sheldon @ Tigard, with 6:45 pregame on ESPN Sports Radio 1080 The FAN, followed by the Les Schwab High School Football Show.

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The season flew by, and the playoffs are finally here.  For the official brackets click below.

6A - 5A - 4A - 3A - 2A - 1A

Check back in later this week for the predictions from Jason Swygard, Travis Demers, and Dusty Harrah, and feel free to post your own predictions below. 

6A Observations:

Region 1 - Wilson @ Canby, Clackamas @ South Salem, Gresham @ Grants Pass,    Jesuit-BYE

Jesuit is clearly the team to beat in this region, with Grants pass the most likely team to upset the Crusaders, but even that is a longshot.  It looks like Jesuit will once again be playing at PGE Park in the semi-finals.  Most interesting first round matchup: Clackamas @ South Salem.  Most interesting potential matchup: Grants Pass @ Jesuit.

Region 2 - Sheldon @ Tigard, Westview @ Central Catholic, McKay @ Grant,               Lake Oswego - BYE

Lake Oswego has the toughest road of any of the bye week teams with the defending state champs, as well as 3 other very good teams, and two others that on a good day can beat anyone.  Most interesting first round matchup: Sheldon @ Tigard. Most interesting potential matchup: Sheldon vs Lake Oswego.

Region 3 - Oregon City @ Southridge, Centennial @ Lincoln, Newberg @ David Douglas,    South Medford - BYE

South Medford has struggled against the pass this year, but their offense can score at will, so they are a tough team to gauge.  Their toughest competition in this region appears to be a big, strong Southridge team, that is coming on strong with the return of Mitch Matthews.  They beat Lincoln once in a shootout, but can they do it again? Most interesting first round matchup: Oregon City @ Southridge. Most interesting potential matchup: Southridge vs South Medford.

Region 4 - Barlow @ West Linn, Sprague @ Beaverton, Roseberg @ McNary,         Tualatin - BYE

Tualatin is gaining momentum, and doing it quickly.  Beaverton might have the best pass offense in the state, but struggles agains the pass.  This region matches up very well for the Beavers, more than any other team.  Most interesting first round matchup: Barlow @ West Linn. Most interesting potential Matchup: Beaverton @ Tualatin.

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.