OSAA fb, Feb. 16

Special leagues and districts for the prep football teams within the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) are being finalized for the next four years.  The OSAA Football Ad Hoc Committee has been studying the current leagues and came up with a formula to allow some teams that have struggled at their present classification, to play down to the next level.  Secondly they came up with Special Districts for the remaining teams.  Marshfield is the easiest to explain.  The Pirates are basically in the Sky-Em Special District that is comprised of defending state 4A champion Cottage Grove, former 5A (and now moving back to 4A where it was a powerhouse) Marist Catholic of Eugene, Elmira and Junction City.  That is basically Marshfield’s new league beginning next fall minus Siuslaw, for all other sports.  Siuslaw will play down into the 3A classification for football only.  That puts them in against Sutherlin, Douglas, South Umpqua and Brookings-Harbor.  Familiar foes; however, the Special District also includes St. Mary’s Medford, Cascade Christian (Medford),Hidden Valley (Grants Pass), La Pine, Pleasant Hill, Santiam Christian (Corvallis area), and Harrisburg.  North Bend is in the 5A-SD2 Special District 2 with 11 other teams.  The Bulldogs will have Ashland, Eagle Pt., and Crater in Southern Oregon.  Churchill, North Eugene, South Eugene and Springfield in the Willamette Valley, and Redmond and Ridgeview in Central Oregon.  Coquille drops down to 2A to join Bandon, Gold Beach, Reedsport, and Toledo.  Myrtle Pt. drops down to 1A.