HSSZ: All things playoffs (updated daily)

Editor’s note: Below are recaps, previews, results, and schedules for the fall sports postseason. This article is updated after each day of postseason results. More recent news is at the top.

Friday, Nov. 3 updates

Football

• No. 4 Springfield fell to No. 13 Lebanon 14-13 in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs. The Millers took a 13-0 lead into halftime thanks to a late touchdown pass from Zack Sherman to Connor Dye, but a disastrous start to the third quarter put Springfield behind. After Lebanon drove down and scored on its opening second-half possession, Springfield fumbled away the kickoff and Lebanon immediately scored again on a 44-yard pass from Brison Edwards to Owen Cline, giving Lebanon a 14-13 lead just over 3 minutes into the second half. While Springfield had multiple second-half possessions start in Lebanon territory, the Millers couldn’t convert on any of them and fell in opening round upset.
• No. 8 Thurston handled No. 9 Dallas in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs, winning 37-24 behind 326 yards passing and 5 total touchdowns from quarterback Noah Blair. Walker Bonar finished with 155 yards receiving and two touchdowns – including a 95-yarder in the 1st quarter. Thurston travels to face No. 1 Wilsonville next week, who beat No. 16 Crater 42-7 in the first round. Wilsonville beat Thurston 44-15 in Week One of this season.

Volleyball

• No. 7 Creswell fell to rival No. 2 Pleasant Hill 25-17, 25-16, 25-21 in the Class 3A quarterfinals. The sweep was the third time this season Creswell’s fallen to Pleasant Hill. The Bulldogs fall to the consolation bracket, with a match against No. 3 Cascade Christian on Saturday at 8 a.m. The losers season is over, while the winner advances to the consolation finals at noon.
• No. 2 Pleasant Hill full Friday story: chronicle1909.com/2023/11/03/billies-sweep-day-advance-to-state-finals/
• No. 4 Thurston rallied from two sets down to beat No. 5 South Albany in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A bracket in Forest Grove before falling 3-0 to No. 1 Crescent Valley. After losing the first two sets 25-27 and 10-25 to South Albany, Thurston took the next three sets 25-20, 25-22, 15-10. Emily Buller led the way with 47 assists, Julia Cook had 25 kills, and Scout Martin added 17 kills.

Thursday, Nov. 2 updates

• No. 6 Cottage Grove boys soccer took down No. 11 Ontario, the defending state champions, 5-3 in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs. The game was tied 3-3 late, but a Hayes Valley goal with 7:30 left gave the Lions the lead. Cottage Grove was one of only three higher seeds to win its first-round game in the 4A bracket – along with No. 1 Henley and No. 4 Newport – and the only higher seed on its side of the bracket. The Lions host No. 14 Estacada, who upset No. 3 Stayton 3-2, this Saturday at 6 p.m. at CGHS.
• No. 9 Creswell boys soccer fell 5-3 in overtime at No. 8 Blanchet Catholic in the first round of the Class 3A/2A/1A bracket. The Bulldogs led 2-0 heading into the final 10 minutes thanks to two goals from Brady Pratt, but three Blanchet goals in six minutes put Creswell down with four minutes left. Thirty seconds after Blanchet’s leading goal though, Creswell tied it up at 3-3, sending the game into OT. Blanchet scored twice in OT though, and Creswell fell in its first postseason appearance since 2018.
• No. 12 Thurston boys soccer made its first postseason appearance since 2007 and put up a valiant effort before falling 2-1 in heartbreaking fashion at No. 5 Corvallis. Carlos Vega converted a penalty kick early in the second half for Thurston, and the teams were tied heading into the final minutes. Corvallis broke through late though, scoring the game-winning goal with1:49 left on the clock. “My guys battled and came up a minute and a half short to a very talented Corvallis team,” Thurston coach Jake Bonnett said in an email. “We showed that we can hang with anyone in the state today. I couldn’t be more proud of my guys.”

Wednesday, Nov. 1 updates

• No. 10 Creswell girls soccer upset No. 7 Sutherlin 3-1 on the road Tuesday night. Sutherlin’s Paige Edmonson, the 10th-highest scoring athlete in Oregon history, was held scoreless by Lauren Bailey and the Bulldogs defense. Dakota Carson scored 2 goals and twin sisters Tailey added the third. Elliette Kinney, Chloe McBee, and Mila Nguyen all had assists for Creswell, while goalie Kylie Leonard finished with 17 saves. The Bulldogs now travel to No. 2 Catlin Gabel on Saturday at 1 p.m in the quarterfinals.
• No. 16 Pleasant Hill girls soccer fell at undefeated No. 1 Valley Catholic 4-0. Pleasant Hill held Valley Catholic, the fifth-highest scoring team in Class 3A, to its lowest scoring output in over a month.
• No. 6 Thurston girls soccer was upset by No. 11 Silverton 3-1 at Hamlin Middle School late Tuesday night. The two teams drew 0-0 in early September, but Silverton’s Karissa Stemper-Bolf scored in the 27th minute this time around to give the Foxes an early lead. Kailea Buckley then scored on a free kick from 45 yards out, giving Silverton a 2-0 halftime lead. Kielyn Ruhl was able to score in the 59th minute for Thurston, but desperation offense late allowed Silverton to score on a counter in the 79th minute and secure the upset win.

Tuesday, Oct. 31 Capsules

FOOTBALL PREVIEWS

(13) Lebanon (5-4) at (4) Springfield Millers (8-1)

• Game facts: Friday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m., Tickets: Adults ($10), students ($6)

• What2Know: Springfield hosts its first playoff game in 2,912 days – the first since the quarterfinals in 2015 when the Millers fell to Ashland. Springfield hosts Lebanon, which came in 5th in the Mid-Willamette Conference. 

• Pierre’s take: Running back Connor Dye has thrived behind star offensive lineman Sam Keen and Nate Williams, wearing down opponents over the course of games. Defensively, Springfield attempts to slow down a potent Lebanon offense that’s averaging 33.5 points a game.

(9) Dallas (6-3) at (8) Thurston Colts (7-2)

• Game facts: Friday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. Game at Willamette HS, 1801 Echo Hollow Rd., Eugene. Tickets: Adults ($10), students ($6)

• What2Know: After last season’s first-round game where rain affected Thurston’s grass field, coach Justin Starck and the Colts played Dallas at Cottage Grove in the quarterfinals. This season, Thurston chose to host its first-round game at Willamette, which has a turf field that should hold up better in a forecast that calls for more rain.

• Pierre’s take: Thurston handled Dallas 27-14 last season in the quarterfinals. Now, the two teams match up in the first round as the Colts try to advance to their 5th-straight quarterfinals. Quarterback Noah Blair finished the year as one of the top QBs in Class 5A, leading an offense that averaged nearly 43 points a game – 3rd-most in 5A.

VOLLEYBALL

Thurston Colts: 19-5, ranked #4

The Colts beat No. 13 Ridgeview in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs, sweeping the Ravens 26-24, 25-11, and 25-18. Emily Buller led the way with 21 assists and 10 digs, Scout Martin had 9 kills and 18 digs, and Julia Cook finished with 6 kills, 10 digs and 6 aces.

“We started a little slow for me, didn’t really get into Thurston volleyball until the end of that first set,” said Thurston coach David Natt. “But they fought through, and we’ve been in these battles all season long, so that’s very familiar territory to them.”

The victory clinched Thurston’s spot in the quarterfinals, the first time since 2019 and the first in Natt’s career at Thurston.

“We get a banner in our gym, we won league, we’re going to the Elite Eight. We’re accomplishing our goals one match at a time,” Natt said. “We have goals in that tournament up there. We’ve already discussed what they are. And we’re going to take them one at a time and try to get to where we want to get to.”

The Colts travel to Forest Grove High School, 1401 Nichols Ln., Forest Grove, on Friday and Saturday for the state tournament. First up is No. 5 South Albany on Friday morning, with the winner likely facing defending champion No. 1 Crescent Valley (19-2).

“We’re gonna stay within ourselves. I mean, that’s it. We’re gonna focus on the things that have gotten us to where we are today,” Natt said.

BOYS SOCCER

Cottage Grove Lions: 11-2-1, ranked #6
Kicking off: Cottage Grove hosts No. 11 Ontario in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs on Wednesday, Nov. 1. If the Lions win, they’d likely travel to No. 3 Stayton on Saturday for the quarterfinals. Cottage Grove is unbeaten in its last 11 games – 10 wins and 1 draw – and will rely on Rogelio Soto-Cruz to continue facilitating in the midfield.

Creswell Bulldogs: 11-3, ranked #9
Kicking off: Sophomore Brady Pratt leads Creswell at No. 8 Blanchet Catholic on Wednesday in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs as both teams received first-round byes. If the Bulldogs upset Blanchet, it would most likely set up a game at No. 1 Westside Christian in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Thurston Colts: 7-4-3, ranked #12
Kicking off: Thurston makes its first postseason appearance since 2007 on Wednesday. The Colts earned the No. 12 seed and travel to No. 5 Corvallis. Corvallis was one of five teams in Class 5A to allow fewer than 14 goals on the season, so Thurston’s attacking duo of Carlos Vega and Yurem Martinez will be challenged.

GIRLS SOCCER

Creswell: 12-3, ranked #10

Kicking off: Senior twins Tailey and Dakota Carson lead Creswell into its first postseason since 2018. The Bulldogs travel to No. 7 Sutherlin on Tuesday night – after The Chronicle’s weekly deadline. An upset on Tuesday would send Creswell to No. 2 Catlin Gabel on Saturday for a quarterfinal matchup.

Pleasant Hill: 10-5-2, ranked #16

Kicking off: After exorcising their demons with a win over Riverdale in the first round, the Billies reward is to travel to face No. 1 Valley Catholic (13-0) in the second round. Valley Catholic has allowed only 4 goals all season; it will be up to Pleasant Hill’s top goal-scorer, Tressa Geyer, to keep the Billies close enough to pull off an upset.

Thurston: 8-4-3, ranked #6

Kicking off: Thurston went into its final regular-season game ranked No. 9, but jumped up to No. 6 when the playoff bracket was released. Thurston hosts No. 11 Silverton on Halloween as the Colts attempt to make back-to-back quarterfinals. A win on Tuesday sets up a potential quarterfinal at Midwestern League foe No. 3 North Eugene – a team Thurston lost 2-1 against this season – on Saturday.

CROSS COUNTRY

• Cottage Grove boys and girls race in the Class 4A state championships after both won the Sky-Em League championships last week. Added bonus for the Lions is that the state race is held at Lane Community College, where the Sky-Em League race was last week. Carter Bengtson is the state favorite on the boys side, while Maddison France leads the girls attempt to earn a state trophy for the first time in program history.

• Springfield made state as a team in both the girls and boys competitions. Owen Fuller leads the boys team with the 19th-best time in Class 5A this year, and Carrie Babcock has the 25th-best girls time.