A new look next year in the OSAA
Commentary by Mark Gilman, Full Access Sports
October 27, 2009

There will be no more long bus rides to Redmond as a regular part of athletic competition in the Central Valley Conference.  The Oregon Schools Activities Association Monday approved the final proposal discussed in my last commentary.  The plan—which will begin next fall and run through 2014—will put the six 6A Salem Keizer Schools all alone in one conference.  That will mean scheduling of even more non-league contests.  And that will undoubtedly mean plenty of meetings for the CVC athletic directors in the coming weeks and months.

Still very much up in the air is how the OSAA will conduct post season playoffs.  With the formation of several hybrid leagues featuring teams of varying classifications and sizes, it will take some creative thinking to determine which teams qualify for championship play.  Stay tuned.

No CVC football playoff drama this year

The ball games have been high scoring and frequently nail-biting during the 2009 Central Valley Conference football season, but there will be little suspense in playoff seeding.

The order has been all but determined.  West Salem—by virtue of wins over South Salem and Sprague—holds the tiebreakers with the other two teams.  South’s exciting victory last week over Sprague gives them the number two seed, and drops the Olys into third.  The only slot unfilled is the fourth and final.  McKay can end the questions Friday with a win over McNary.  That game will be broadcast on Full Access Sports with Craig Spivey and Rick Lacey calling all the action, beginning at 6:45 pm.

State playoff football action begins November 13. 

For the record, the number one seed (West) receives a first round bye before hosting the winner of Mt Hood #5-Southwest #2 from week one.  The CVC second seed (South) faces the Mt Hood Conference’s #4 team; CVC #3 (Sprague) would play at PIL #2, and the fourth seed would travel to the #2 team out of the Mt. Hood Conference.  The repeated match-ups with the Mt. Hood Conference is a stroke of luck as that league is traditionally among the state’s weakest. Still, the CVC entrants have to do better than show up.

For a complete look at the 6A bracket, check out the OSAA website at this link.

Enjoy the end of the CVC football season!

Mark Gilman can be contacted at mark@fullaccesssports.com