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The coronation ceremonies haven’t begun yet, but the West Salem Titans are the heir apparent to succeed Sprague as the football champions of the Central Valley Conference. The only thing that could stop West is the team itself. The Titans are the conference’s only top-ten team for a reason: they are number one in scoring offense (33.4 ppg) and defense (10.4 ppg). Coach Shawn Stanley’s emphasis on team and balance is reflected in individual stats as well. The team has 950 passing yards… second in the league, while Jordan Jenkins has rolled up 766 rushing. The team’s collective scoring load also shows how difficult it is to defend West on a given night. Jenkins leads the way with 9 TDs… Jordan Bishop has 8… and the 13 TD passes thrown between Hire and Jenkins include no less than five different receivers. This has given rise to some comparisons to Sprague’s 2004 state title team. A note about Jordan Bishop: on the surface, his numbers are a bit unspectacular, but only because he is a marked man among his CVC comrades. Bishop’s 387 yards in receiving is just third among all conference wide outs, and while he has a punt return and kickoff return for touchdowns this season, most teams have purposefully kicked away from him. There is little doubt that there is great respect for Bishop’s abilities. Said one head coach “he’s the best athlete I’ve seen in all my years of coaching.” West’s remaining schedule is a positive for them. After this week’s big game with McKay, the Titans have a bye on October 26—an adjustment made by Coach Stanley when he got Lake Oswego to move their game to late August. This is a move I think all CVC teams might want to think about. For the Titans it will allow them some time to scout, heal from some injuries, and get focused for the season finale’ at McNary. Game notes from week four The 21 points scored by Redmond against West Salem Thursday is the most given up in a CVC game this year by the Titans. But considering the Panthers were averaging 31 a contest coming in, the complaining will be minimal. There were as many turnovers as completed passes in the Sprague-McNary game. Sprague managed just four completions, and McNary just two—both coming on the last drive of the contest. In the meantime, the Olys coughed up three fumbles, and the Celts an interception and two fumbles. Both teams returned a fumble for a touchdown. Coach Robin Hill is understating it when he said his team “won ugly.” Jonathan Sigado is still a work in progress, but South Salem football Scott Dufault gets kudos for quickly developing his junior into a solid quarterback. Sigado threw for 167 yards and four TDs in the Saxon win at McKay. If the maturing process continues on schedule, Sigado could be a real force in 2008, especially with most of his receivers returning next fall. One additional item
Mark Gilman can be contacted at mark@fullaccesssports.com
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CVC title is West's to lose 
South Salem head softball coach Scott McCormick received a big honor late last week, as the National Federation of High Schools named him as the National Softball Coach of the Year. McCormick has recorded 446 wins in 26 years as a coach, winning the state championship in 1991. Congratulations, Scott.