How I voted in final 5A poll

Before I go over my final vote, how close was it for Marshfield?

Marshfield had to sit back and wait for Dallas to play Woodburn. Dallas was 1-5 in league versus Woodburn's 2-4.  So it was a winnable home game for Dallas. Everything RPI fell Dallas's way as far as their opponents winning percentage and their opponents opponents percentage winning.  All Dallas had to do is win and their RPI would have been about 446, ahead of Marshfield's 439.  Final score - Woodburn 36 Dallas 16.  That was close.

My final 5A poll


My rank - OregonLive Rank - RPI

1     - 1 -    1.  Sherwood
2     - 2 -    2.  Marist
3     - 3 -    3.  Mt. View
4     - 8 -    5.  Bend
5     - 5 -  10.  Wilsonville
6     - 4 -    4.  West Albany
7     - 6 -    9.  Silverton
8     - 7 -    7.  Corvallis
9     - 9 -    6.  Lebanon
10 - 10 -    8.  Ashland


OregonLive 5A Poll       6A Poll

The big question is:  Are Sherwood and Marist as dominant as they were last year? Last year, Marist's closest playoff game before losing in OT to Sherwood was a 35 point win over Lebanon.  Sherwood had a close 20 point win over Mt. View during the playoffs.  Well, it was close at  halftime with Sherwood up 14-10.  Sherwood scored the next four touchdowns for a 42-10  lead.

This year, Marist had a close 2 point win over Corvallis in the opening week, and was up just 7-6 at halftime to Eagle Point before exploding for 40 second half points. Sherwood had a close 5 point win over Wilsonville this year.  That shows me Sherwood is vulnerable, but Sherwood also blew out Mt. View 41-18. [thanks for the  correction on the EP score]

The only thing we know right now is that Marist and Sherwood will be on opposite sides of the bracket.  Let's hope that Ashland makes the playoffs and that Ashland and Marist aren't on the same side of the bracket.  Don't want MWL teams knocking each other out of a title run.

Possible MWL upsets

Five of our teams travel this weekend, so they are underdogs.  I think a couple of our teams have a very good shot at an upset.  If Eagle Point can ram the ball down Silverton's throat and control the clock, the Eagles have a good shot.  However, Silverton will be well conditioned to take Eagle Point's pounding running game as the Silver Foxes have been playing in the most physical league in the state - the MWC.  This game should be played in a cage like pro wrestling.

Churchill is my other best shot at an upset. I've seen Corvallis, albeit in week one.  And I've seen Churchill twice.  These two teams can both run and pass.  In a way they are mirror images on offense.  The question is "Are the Lancers as physically tough as a top MWC team?"

Willamette and Springfield have shots at upsets.  It looks like the Wolverines will be without wide out Mitch Crownover.  That hurts Willamette on D and makes the Wolverines one dimensional on offense.   But that one dimension is Visarraga, and that's a good dimension.  Another Wolverine issue is execution.  They have to eliminate the penalties.  Another thought I have about Willamette is that they have four or five guys who are always near the ball, if they can fire up up the other guys to go to the whistle, they can play smash ball with Lebanon.

Springfield's nemesis can be themselves.  Like the Wolverines, too many unnecessary penalties in key situations.  But eliminate them and get a hot hand in the passing game and they should be a match for West Albany.

Ashland better be more than leery of Crescent Valley.  CV has an incredible running back and is yet another one of those hard nosed MWC teams.  Let's hope the Grizzlie O is in gear, as I think the CV offense will be primed and put points on the board.

Marshfield goes in as the last seed in the 'Southern Region.' I'm not even going to look at the weather report.  But I'd take some snowshoes and special football shoes if I were the Pirates.