As October winds down, several Malheur County prep sports teams are gearing up for the playoff season.
Here is a look at where the county’s team stands.
Football
Harper Charter won its first district title in school history on Friday, Oct. 25, with its 53-20 win over South Wasco County.
Ranked first in their division, the Hornets secured a spot in the state playoffs. David Marker, Harper head coach, said the team will know who it will play by the end of the week as teams on the other side of the state play out their schedules.
The Hornets win on Friday caps off a dominant regular season that saw the squad go 8-0 overall and 6-0 in league play.
While past Harper Charter football teams have won league championships, this is the first year the school has won a district title, according to Ron Talbot, superintendent of Harper Charter and assistant coach of the football team.
Marker said the team’s defense has held opposing teams to a total of 45 points all season.
“When you only give up 45 points, you’re going to be in every game,” Marker said.
Talbot added the team is primarily made up of sophomores and juniors. He said there are no senior starters, just one on the team’s 14-man roster.
This is the third year the Hornets squad has played together and the chemistry is going well, Talbot said.
Marker said he likes the Hornets chances in the postseason.
“If we can stay healthy, we’re hard to get out,” he said.
Adrian rolled over Imbler 63-6 on Thursday, Oct. 24, in its final game of the regular season. The Antelopes finished the season 9-0 overall and 6-0 in league play.
Bill Wortman, head coach of the Antelopes, said the team has a bye week, but other teams in Adrian’s division have one more week of regular season games. Wortman said it would be about three weeks before Adrian sees postseason play. Wortman said the team would work on speed, strength, and fundamentals before developing offensive strategies for the postseason.
“We have a lot of work to do,” he said.
Jordan Valley, which had a bye this past week, will face Echo in a league playoff game on Saturday, Nov. 2, at Baker High School. Jordan Valley is ranked eleventh and is 5-2 overall and 3-2 in league action. The winner of that game will determine who moves on to the state championships.
Vale picked up its third league win on the road on Friday, Oct. 25, with a 69-7 win over McLoughlin. The Vikings, 8-0 overall and 3-0 in league action, face Nyssa on Friday, Nov. 1.
The Vikings are all but sure to move onto the postseason after Friday’s game against Nyssa. Last season ended on a sour note after Vale fell to Cascade Christian 27-26 in a quarterfinal contest. The Vikings had a rematch against them early in the season, besting them 29-6 at Summit High School in Bend.
Ontario, 2-6 overall, fell to Pendleton/Nixyaawii 46-20 in the Tigers’ final home game on Friday, Oct. 25. Ontario will play The Dalles on Friday, Nov. 1, to wrap up its season.
Soccer
The Four Rivers girls soccer team put a bow on its perfect season with a 9-1 win over Irrigon at home on Thursday, Oct. 24.
The Falcons are waiting for other teams to wrap up their regular season games before finding out who they will play in the postseason.
Leah Benson, a senior, leads the state in scoring 37 goals, according to Tyler Swanson, Four Rivers athletic director. He said Abby Nunez, a senior, leads the state with 30 assists.
Volleyball
Adrian took third overall at the High Desert League Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 26, with a 3-1 win over Jordan Valley.
Crane won the tourney, while Prairie City took second and Jordan Valley fourth.
Adrian will face North Clackamas Christian on Wednesday, Oct. 30, on the road in the first round of the playoffs.
Jordan Valley will face Powder Valley on Wednesday, Oct. 30, on the road in the Mustangs’ first game of the postseason.
Vale took second overall in the Vikings league after falling to Burns 3-1 on Saturday, Oct. 26. Burns took first in the league. The top two finishers in the league move on to the state playoffs. The Vikings will face Creswell on Wednesday, Oct. 30.
Nyssa finished third overall in the league behind Burns and Vale. The Bulldogs lost their match to the Vikings 3-0 on Saturday and ended their season.
Ontario fell to Baker 3-0 on Thursday, Oct. 24, ending the Tigers season. The squad went 2-13 overall and 0-6 in league play.
Cross country
The Ontario boys cross country team will send seven athletes to the 4A-6 Greater Oregon League Championship meet in Baker on Wednesday, Oct. 30. Vale’s boys cross country team will also have seven runners competing on the girls and boys side at its district championship meet on Friday, Nov. 1 in Pendleton. Four Rivers will have four athletes from the boys team heading to Pendleton and none on the girls side as of Monday, Oct. 28.
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