And then there was ONE... week, that is.
This week marks the end of Oregon prep football season for 2023; playoffs are next
Labor Day weekend marked the start of the 2023 Oregon high school football season. This week marks the end of the regular season for many teams across the state, with the rest poised for the playoffs which last as late as the first weekend in December.
In 6A Oregon Special District One—which this blog focuses its attention on during the football season—the bi-geographic collection of teams from Salem and Southern Oregon—faces the same issue as rest of the 6A schools. Power rankings determine which teams advance to the championship bracket (#1-16), while teams rated 17th to 32nd play in the so called “Columbia Cup”—essentially a consolation bracket. Last year was the first time the Columbia Cup was utilized by the Oregon School Activities Association. North Salem advanced to the Cup’s championship game before falling to Westview of Beaverton. In the championship bracket, Sheldon of Eugene made it to the title game, where they fell to West Linn.
This final week of regular season games can mean the difference between teams moving on to post season play and turning in the helmets and shoulder pads the following week instead.
After setting up the scene for the final week, here comes results from week number eight last Friday.