Reporter for The Canyon Weekly
The Santiam High football team is in the middle of the playoff fight in the Tri-River Conference as the season passes the halfway mark.
The Wolverines of coach Josh Ruby moved to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in Tri-River play via a 40-0 win at Blanchet Catholic last Friday night. It was the second shutout in a row for the squad, which blanked host Gervais the previous week. Santiam has given up just 77 points in its five games, tops in the conference and third overall in Class 2A statewide.
No. 1 Colton leads the Tri-River with a 2-0 record, while Santiam, Willamina and Culver are at 2-1 and Regis one-half game back at 1-1. Three teams from the league earn automatic Class 2A playoff spots, with one state-wide at-large berth also up for grabs.
Santiam, ranked 16th, hosts Willamina at 7 p.m. Friday in Mill City. The Wolverines then close the season with league games vs. Colton and Regis and a nonleague contest against Sheridan.
Scio, meanwhile, fell to 3-2 overall and 1-2 in class 3A’s Special District 2 with a 47-8 road loss at top-ranked Kennedy. The Loggers have lost two out of three while battling the injury bug. Running back Cody Roofener was a workhorse for Scio against Kennedy with 96 yards on 31 carries. He scored the Loggers’ lone TD on a 1-yard run with 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Scio returns to action at 7 p.m. Friday against visiting Dayton. The 4th-ranked Pirates are 4-1 overall and 2-1 in league play, with their lone loss against Kennedy.
Volleyball: Scio is ranked No. 9 in Class 3A and had a 10-5 overall record and a 4-3 PacWest mark at The Canyon Weekly’s presstime. The Loggers are in third place in the league, which receives three automatic slots in the state playoffs.
Santiam, meanwhile, is fighting for playoff positioning in Class 2A’s Tri-River Conference. The Wolverines, ranked 15th in Class 2A, are 7-7 overall and 6-4 in league play, tied for fourth with Delphian, with Culver just a half-game farther up at 6-3. Top-ranked Salem Academy (11-0) and 8-1 Blanchet lead the league. Three Tri-River squads automatically qualify for the 2A playoffs, with three teams chosen statewide on an at-large basis.
