5A 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 5A entering the last week of the regular season

By René Ferrán | Photo by Leon Neuschwander  

Here’s a league-by-league look at the playoff possibilities in Class 5A entering the last week of the regular season.

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

NWOC - 4; Midwestern - 4; Mid-Willamette - 4; Intermountain - 3

1 additional team qualifies based on OSAA rankings

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NWOC

League title

Putnam (8-0, 3-0, No. 3) travels to Wilsonville (6-2, 3-0, No. 2) on Friday for the conference championship game.

Automatic qualifiers (4)

Putnam and Wilsonville have qualified for the OSAA playoffs. The winners of Friday’s crossover playoff games — Hood River Valley (3-5, 1-2, No. 22) at Forest Grove (3-5, 2-1, No. 21) and Hillsboro (4-4, 1-2, No. 16) at Canby (5-3, 2-1, No. 11) — claim the other two spots in the bracket.

At-large berth

Class 5A has only one at-large berth available, and Southridge (5-3, 1-3, No. 12) is still in contention despite its elimination from the crossover playoffs. Its fate depends on its final OSAA ranking, which could hinge on the result of the Hillsboro-Canby game.

Eliminated

Centennial (0-7, 0-5, No. 29)

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Midwestern

League title

Thurston (6-2, 6-0, No. 4) has wrapped up at least a share of the title and the Midwestern’s No. 1 seed. A win over Churchill (3-5, 3-3, No. 19) on Friday clinches the outright championship.

Automatic qualifiers (4)

Eagle Point (6-2, 5-1, No. 10) is in the playoffs for the first time since 2016, while Springfield (5-3, 4-2, No. 15) has ended its seven-year drought. North Eugene (4-4, 3-3, No. 20) clinches the final berth by beating Willamette or with a Churchill loss. The Lancers must win and have the Highlanders lose to qualify.

At-large berth

No team will likely have an OSAA ranking high enough to qualify as an at-large team.

Eliminated

Willamette (3-5, 2-4, No. 25), Crater (2-6, 1-5, No. 22), South Eugene (1-7, 0-6, No. 31)

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Mid-Willamette

League title

Silverton (6-2, 6-1, No. 5) had a chance to clinch the outright title last week but fell to West Albany (5-2, 5-2, No. 8). The Foxes can still finish solo first by beating Lebanon this week; otherwise, it could be a four-way championship with Silverton, West Albany, Central (6-2, 6-2, No. 9) and South Albany (5-2, 5-2, No. 6).

Automatic qualifiers (4)

Silverton and Central have clinched playoff spots. West Albany secures a spot by beating McKay, while South Albany needs only to beat Corvallis. Dallas (4-3, 4-3, No. 14) finishes with Crescent Valley and needs a win plus some help to grab an automatic berth.

At-large berth

While the RedHawks and Bulldogs would grab the OSAA’s lone at-large berth if they don’t qualify automatically, the Dragons would need to vault over Canby and Southridge in the final OSAA rankings if they don’t get one of the MWC’s guaranteed berths.

Eliminated

Lebanon (3-4, 3-4, No. 18), McKay (2-6, 2-5, No. 27), Crescent Valley (1-7, 1-6, No. 28), Corvallis (0-8, 0-7, No. 30)

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Intermountain

League title

Summit (7-1, 4-0, No. 1) secured at least a share of the IMC title with its victory last week over Mountain View (5-3, 3-1, No. 14). The Storm claim the title outright by beating Caldera (3-5, 2-2, No. 17) on Friday. Otherwise, the winner between Mountain View and Bend (7-1, 3-1, No. 7) would share the title — although the Storm would still be the conference’s No. 1 seed.

Automatic qualifiers (3)

Summit, Bend and Mountain View have secured the conference’s three berths.

At-large berth

Realistically, Caldera probably doesn’t jump the teams ahead of it in the OSAA rankings, even with a win over No. 1 Summit. Stranger things have happened, however, so we’ll leave the Wolfpack with that sliver of hope for now.

Eliminated

Redmond (2-6, 0-4, No. 21), Ridgeview (1-7, 0-4, No. 26)