3A Oregon high school football playoff races: What’s at stake in Week 9

Here’s a league-by-league look at the playoff possibilities in Class 3A entering the last week of the regular season

By René Ferrán 

Here’s a league-by-league look at the playoff possibilities in Class 3A entering the last week of the regular season.

15 teams automatically qualify for the OSAA’s 16-team bracket: 

Coastal Range - 3; PacWest - 3; Far West - 4; Mountain Valley - 3; Eastern Oregon - 2

1 additional team qualifies based on OSAA rankings

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Coastal Range

League title

Banks (8-0, 5-0, No. 6) has clinched at least a share of the title and the league’s No. 1 seed in its first year since dropping from 4A and would win the title outright by beating North Marion on Friday.

Automatic qualifiers (3)

Yamhill-Carlton (6-3, 5-1, No. 12) and Warrenton (6-2, 4-2, No. 9) are the league’s other qualifiers.

At-large berth

No team will have an OSAA ranking high enough to secure the lone at-large berth available.

Eliminated

Rainier (4-5, 2-3, No. 24), North Marion (3-5, 2-3, No. 28), Valley Catholic (1-6, 1-4, No. 31), Corbett (0-9, 0-6, No. 37)

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PacWest

League title

Kennedy (8-0, 6-0, No. 1), last year’s 2A runner-up, travels to Adair Village on Friday to meet Santiam Christian (8-0, 6-0, No. 4) for the conference championship.

Automatic qualifiers (3)

The final automatic berth comes down to the annual rivalry game between Dayton (6-2, 4-2, No. 5) and Amity (4-4, 4-2, No. 17). The winner qualifies.

At-large berth

If Dayton loses at Amity, it likely is safe thanks to its OSAA ranking and gets the one at-large berth up for grabs. If Amity loses, its ranking probably keeps it out.

Eliminated

Newport (1-7, 1-5, No. 27), Salem Academy (2-6, 1-5, No. 29), Jefferson (0-8, 0-6, No. 35)

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Far West

League title

Another winner-take-all game — this one at Gray Wheeler Field in Medford, where last year’s 3A runner-up, South Umpqua (8-0, 8-0, No. 2), takes on Cascade Christian (8-0, 8-0, No. 2).

Automatic qualifiers (4)

St. Mary’s (6-2, 6-2, No. 10) also has secured a berth. The final berth is Coquille’s (5-3, 5-3, No. 14) if last year’s 2A champion beats the Crusaders at home. Otherwise, that opens the door for Lakeview (4-4, 4-4, No. 15), which beat the Red Devils 33-28 in Week 6 and finishes at Sutherlin.

At-large berths

Coquille and Lakeview are rooting for Dayton to take care of business against its Yamhill County rival. The Red Devils and Honkers have better OSAA rankings than Amity but not the Pirates.

Eliminated

North Valley (3-5, 3-5, No. 20), Douglas (3-5, 3-5, No. 21), Sutherlin (2-6, 2-6, No. 25), Brookings-Harbor (1-7, 1-7, No. 32), Phoenix (0-8, 0-8, No. 34)

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Mountain Valley

League title

La Pine (7-1, 5-0, No. 7) has clinched at least a share of the title and claims it solo with a home win Friday against Creswell (5-3, 3-2, No. 18).

Automatic qualifiers (3)

The Hawks are the league’s No. 1 seed regardless of what happens Friday, while defending state champion Siuslaw (6-2, 4-1, No. 8) also has clinched. Sisters (5-3, 3-2, No. 13) is in the driver’s seat for the final qualifying spot — the Outlaws qualify with a win at Harrisburg, a Siuslaw loss or a Creswell loss. The Bulldogs’ only hope is to beat La Pine and have Sisters lose at Harrisburg.

At-large berths

If Sisters were to drop out of the automatic qualifying spots, it would need to remain above Coquille, Lakeview or Amity. Creswell likely has too much ground to make up to qualify.

Eliminated

Elmira (3-5, 2-4, No. 22), Pleasant Hill (3-5, 1-4, No. 23), Harrisburg (2-6, 0-5, No. 33)

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Eastern Oregon

League title

Vale (5-2, 3-0, No. 11) has clinched at least a share of the title and would wrap up the league’s No. 1 seed by beating Burns (2-5, 2-1, No. 30) on Friday. Otherwise, it could be a two-way split or a three-way if Ontario (4-3, 2-1, No. 19) beats Nyssa (3-4, 1-2, No. 26).

Automatic qualifiers (2)

Two scenarios clarify the EOL’s playoff picture:

Vale and Ontario win: Vale is No. 1, Ontario is No. 2.

Burns and Nyssa win: Burns is No. 1, Vale is No. 2.

Two scenarios make things a bit murkier:

Burns and Ontario win: Vale, Burns and Ontario share the league title. The two playoff qualifiers come down to which teams have the better OSAA rankings.

Vale and Nyssa win: Vale is No. 1, and the final OSAA rankings determine the second qualifier.

At-large berths

No team would likely have an OSAA ranking high enough to grab the only at-large berth available.

Eliminated

McLoughlin (0-6, 0-4, No. 36)