Oregon high school football 1A 6-Man playoff preview: favorite, challengers, sleepers, predictions

Here’s a look at the 1A 6-Man playoff field

The Oregon high school football playoff brackets were released over the weekend. Here’s a look at the 1A 6-Man playoff field. 

1A 6-MAN FOOTBALL BRACKET

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Favorite

In the merry-go-round of Eastern Oregon contenders, Joseph lost in Week 2 to Prairie City/Burnt River but rebounded to win six in a row, capping its run by defeating South Wasco County — which had just knocked off Prairie City/Burnt River — 26-8 in the Special District 1 championship game behind a solid game from Jaxon Grover. That gives the Eagles the slightest of edges

Contenders 

Eddyville Charter: The Eagles sneaked in the playoffs last season as the No. 8 seed. This fall, they enter as a dangerous No. 5 seed but face a daunting quarterfinal trip to the Wallowas to meet Joseph.

Powers: The Cruisers were the No. 1 seed in last year’s inaugural six-man playoffs but lost in the semifinals. They’ve been on a revenge tour this season led by junior Patrick Mahmoud (18 touchdowns).

Prairie City/Burnt River: The Panthers will have two weeks off between their district seeding game win against Harper Charter and their quarterfinal matchup. Senior quarterback Wes Voigt and senior running back Tucker Wright will have them ready.

Sleeper

South Wasco County: The Redsides knocked off Prairie City/Burnt River to earn their way in the district championship game, making them a dangerous team in the bottom half of the bracket.

3 thoughts

Best first-round matchup

Echo (10) at Alsea (7). The Cougars ousted defending champion Spray/Mitchell/Wheeler with a gutty 38-34 win in the district play-in round to qualify for the state playoffs for the first time since 2018. Their reward is a long bus ride to the Coast Range to face a Wolverines team that has traveled a long road back to the playoffs.

Quarterfinal matchup I’d like to see

South Wasco County (6) at Elkton (3). The Elks haven’t been tested often during the season but rebounded from their first loss at Powers to defeat Alsea. Junior Jordyn Nederhood and senior quarterback Anthony Alimenti fuel Elkton’s attack.

A great fall in Falls City

Falls City/Kings Valley Charter already has exceeded its win total of the previous four seasons combined after seeing its 2022 season derailed by low numbers. The Mountaineers dropped to the six-man ranks this year and earned their first playoff berth since 2018. 

Predictions

First-round winners

Triangle Lake, Eddyville Charter, South Wasco County, Echo

Quarterfinals winners

Prairie City/Burnt River, Joseph, Elkton, Powers

Semifinals winners

Joseph, Powers

Champion

Joseph 

1A 6-MAN FOOTBALL BRACKET

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MORE FOOTBALL

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Oregon high school football playoffs: Automatic qualifiers, at-large teams in 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, 1A

Playoff brackets: OSAA first-round matchups, game times