Labor Day Weekend saw the first games of the season for many Basin high school teams. Here’s a full rundown of results by sport.
Football
Crosspoint Christian 42, Dufur 30
For the second year in a row, Crosspoint Christian (1-0) got a season-opening win over the host Rangers (0-1) at the Dufur Classic Friday.
The Warriors, who carry just two seniors this season, took an 8-0 lead after the first quarter thanks to a 20-yard touchdown run (followed by a 2-point conversion run) by Junior Gonzalez on the game’s opening drive. Dufur tied the game early in the second quarter with a 59-yard touchdown pass from Gavin Anderson to Nolan Cates (followed by a Scott Graham 2-point conversion run), but Crosspoint Christian answered with a 72-yard by Gonzalez on the third play of the ensuing drive. The 2-point conversion failed, allowing the Rangers to take a 16-14 lead into halftime after Jacob Kent scored on a 6-yard run and ran in the 2-point conversion.
On the first drive of the third quarter, Kody Sparks gave the Warriors the lead back with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Trey Johnston before Gonzalez ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 22-16. A 16-yard touchdown run by Kent on Dufur’s next possession tied the game, but the Rangers were unable to retake the lead as Crosspoint Christian stopped the 2-point conversion.
Early in the fourth quarter, Sparks found Johnston again for a 24-yard touchdown pass. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty forced the Warriors to attempt the 2-point conversion from the 18-yard line, but Sparks went right back to Johnston to make it 30-22.
Dufur only needed five plays to tie the game for a third time, scoring on a 14-yard run by Cates before Kent ran in the 2-point conversion. Once again, Crosspoint Christian had a response, with Sparks throwing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Clayton Turnage on fourth-and-25. The 2-point conversion failed, opening the door for the Rangers to take the lead, but the Warriors defense forced a turnover on downs at their own 33-yard line.
With Crosspoint Christian up 36-30, Sparks broke off a 69-yard touchdown run to effectively seal the game. A last-gasp throw by Chase Peterson was intercepted by Johnston.
“Out of all the years I’ve coached, this was probably the best overall team victory that we had,” Warriors head coach Jim Johnston said. “if you were to give a game ball out, you’d have to give several.”
Sparks, one of just two seniors on the Crosspoint Christian roster this season, completed 8-of-14 passes for 160 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 101 yards and one touchdown on seven attempts. Trey Johnston, a sophomore, led the Warriors with three receptions for 60 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, Gonzalez, another sophomore, finished with 182 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries.
“We answered a lot of questions that we had,” Jim Johnston said. “Our kids that we hoped would play well played really well. Kody just played absolutely like an all-state quarterback, Trey was uncoverable, and Junior just ran the ball so hard.”
Johnston also highlighted juniors Chris Kelly, who had a third-down sack on Dufur’s penultimate drive, and Brock Throne, one of the anchors of the Crosspoint Christian offensive line, as having “played great.”
The Warriors outgained the Rangers 514-281, holding them to 97 passing yards. Dufur had five different players attempt a pass and was 3-of-10 through the air. Cates, a senior, led the Rangers with 66 rushing yards and one touchdown on 10 carries, while Kent, another senior, ran for 46 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.
Crosspoint Christian has a bye next week before opening Special District 1 play at Camas Valley (0-1) at 6 p.m. Sept. 13. Dufur travels to Washington to face Touchet in the Redhawks’ season opener at 2 p.m. Sept. 6.
Lost River 34, Stanfield 8
Lost River (1-0) had no trouble getting going in its return to 2A, taking a 22-0 lead after the first quarter in the final game of the Dufur Classic Saturday.
Raiders quarterback Kayden Hartman, who was a starter at running back last season, put his team up 6-0 with a 2-yard touchdown run, then threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Drew McDonald. Kyle Diaz ran in the 2-point conversion, then ran for a 7-yard touchdown (Hartman threw to Kellen Dunlea for the 2-point conversion).
After a scoreless second quarter, Diaz put Lost River up 28-0 in the third with a 27-yard touchdown run. Stanfield got on the board in the fourth with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Alex Angel to Alex Ibarra (Pablo Galindo ran in the 2-point conversion), but Hartman answered with a 1-yard rushing touchdown to conclude the scoring.
“It was a typical first game for a young team,” Raiders head coach Dennis Dunlea said. “Lots of good and plenty to work on. We definitely played hard and learned a lot.”
Hartman, a senior, completed 5-of-11 passes for 26 yards with one touchdown and one interception and rushed for 46 yards and two touchdowns on 14 attempts. Diaz, a junior, finished with 145 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries and had two interceptions on defense. Senior Christian Sanchez had 103 rushing yards on 17 carries.
Lost River outgained Stanfield 330-107. Angel, a sophomore, completed 5-of-11 passes for 59 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Junior Israel Monkus led the Tigers with 27 rushing yards on 10 carries, followed by Galindo, a senior, with 25 rushing yards on 8 carries. A total of eight players recorded at least one rush attempt for Stanfield, and four of them finished with negative yards.
The Tigers, who made the 2A playoffs last season, had six first downs (to the Raiders’ 21) and were 0-for-10 on third down conversions.
Lost River has a bye next week before traveling to Gold Beach (0-1) at 7 p.m. Sept. 13. Stanfield also has a bye next week and hosts Clatskanie at 1 p.m. Sept. 14.
Girls soccer
Klamath Union 4, Baker/Powder Valley 0
Freshman Allie Nelson and sophomore Zoe Bitzer set the tone for a dominant Klamath Union (1-0-0) performance with goals in the first and fourth minutes in a season-opening win over Baker/Powder Valley (0-2-0) Friday.
The Pelicans, who scored another quick double in the second half with goals from Bitzer (62’) and senior Marley Ogao (65’), finished the game with an 80-20% possession advantage and outshot the Bulldogs 21-0.
“We did amazing,” Klamath Union head coach Sean Ferns said. “The score should have been higher, but their goalie was able to stop several good shots.”
The Pelicans travel to Marshfield at 4 p.m. Sept. 6. Baker/Powder Valley travels to Idaho to face Parma (0-1-0) at 3 p.m. Sept. 12.
Henley 8, Ontario 0
Henley’s (1-0-0) season opener ended in the 57th minute when freshman Evelyn Meza scored on a free kick from 35 yards out to put the Hornets up 8-0 over Ontario (0-1-1) and trigger the mercy rule Saturday.
“I didn’t expect [a mercy rule],” Henley head coach Mike Hedlund said. “I figured we’d probably win, but for a first game, we played great today.”
The Hornets controlled possession early, getting on the board in the 15th minute when junior Brisi Flores-Zambrano scored from near the top of the penalty area on a pass from sophomore Macie Schultz. In the 23rd minute, sophomore Lailah Pena sent a through ball to classmate Prestyn Schade, who beat Tigers goalkeeper Alexandra Juarez one-on-one to give Henley a 2-0 lead.
Schade beat Juarez one-on-one again six minutes later, only to have her shot cleared off the goal line by a defender. She recovered the ball in the penalty area and fired it in to make it 3-0. Pena scored on a rebound in the 37th minute to give Henley a 4-0 halftime lead.
While it took the Hornets 37 minutes to score their first four goals, it took them 17 to score their next four. Sophomore Sarah Edwards scored three minutes into the second half on another assist from Schultz, Schade completed a hat trick with an assist from Pena in the 49th minute, and freshman Allie Janney scored a back-heel goal from a Schultz corner kick in the 53rd minute before Meza’s walk-off bomb.
In goal, freshman Saige White made eight saves for Henley to earn a shutout in her first high school game. Juarez made 11 saves for Ontario, which was on the second leg of a back-to-back following a 2-2 draw at Phoenix Thursday. The Hornets also had a 6-1 edge in corner kicks.
Henley travels to Summit High School to face The Dalles (1-0-0) at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 7. Ontario travels to Bend to face Crook County at 7 p.m. Sept. 6.
Boys soccer
Klamath Union 8, Baker/Powder Valley/Pine Eagle 0
Klamath Union (1-0-0) scored seven first-half goals en route to their largest win since at least 2013 and Baker/Powder Valley/Pine Eagle’s (0-2-0) largest loss since 2022 Friday.
Junior Caleb Morton had a hat trick, including the goal that triggered the mercy rule in the second half, and was joined in the goal column by senior Jose Garcia, sophomore Callahan Daniels, junior Omar Garcia, sophomore Mason Dawson and sophomore Dallin Petersen. Senior Bryce Petersen led the team with three assists, while Jose Garcia, junior Ryder Jackson and sophomore Carlos Garcia each had one.
“They played with great intensity, teamwork and focus,” Pelicans head coach Trever Petersen said.
Klamath Union travels to Marshfield at 6 p.m. Sept. 6. Baker/Powder Valley/Pine Eagle travels to Idaho to face Fruitland (2-0-0) at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 7.
Henley 3, Ontario 0
Henley (1-0-0) won a physical game in 90-plus degree heat thanks in large part to two goals in the first 10 minutes from reigning Skyline Conference Player of the Year Layne Worrell Saturday.
Worrell, a junior, dribbled through multiple defenders before slotting the ball away to put Henley up 1-0 in the eighth minute. Two minutes later, he scored on a pass from classmate Michael Ruelas to double the lead. After that, though, Ontario (0-1-1) was able to regroup and put some pressure on the Hornets. Henley entered halftime with its lead intact only because three outfield players made goal line saves.
“Once we got that 2-0 lead, we lapsed,” Henley head coach Lupe Gonzales said. “We just completely lost that sense of urgency.”
Seven minutes into the second half, senior Brian Leon took the ball into the left side of the penalty area and scored at the far post. The Tigers’ best chance to get on the board came with less than five minutes to go when they were awarded a penalty kick, but sophomore goalkeeper Ivan Garcia came up with a save to preserve the shutout.
Gonzales attributed much of Ontario’s failure to capitalize on scoring chances to the fact that Saturday’s game was the second leg of a back-to-back for the Tigers. They played to a 1-1 draw at Phoenix Friday.
“I’m happy for today, but I think we have some things we’ve got to work on,” Gonzales said.
Henley travels to 3A St. Mary’s Medford at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Ontario travels to Bend to face Crook County at 5 p.m. Sept. 6.
Tulelake 5, Modoc 3…Tulelake 5, Quincy 3
Tulelake (6-2-0) won both games of a round robin tournament Saturday.
In the first game, the Honkers avenged a loss to Modoc (3-5-0) at the Quincy Fall Fest Aug. 16 (their first loss to the Braves in 22 years) thanks to goals from five different players: sophomore Ismael Garcia, senior Anthony Loza, junior Anthony Alcala, senior Melvyn Flores and junior Xavier Silva. Freshman Izmael Perez had two assists, and classmate Ricardo Covarrubias had one.
In the second game, Loza and Perez scored twice and Flores scored once to lift Tulelake over Quincy (1-6-0). Flores also had two assists, while Loza and junior Rafael Hernandez each had one.
“We had a 30 to 45-minute break in between [games]…Quincy was fresh and ready to go,” Honkers head coach Miguel Navarro said. “[I was] truly impressed by the team’s performance. They exceeded my expectations.”
Tulelake resumes Shasta Cascade League play at Weed at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Volleyball
Several Basin teams competed in season kickoff tournaments Saturday.
Chiloquin, Lost River and Klamath Union played in the NPJ State Preview tournament in Salem, while Henley and Mazama played in the Cascade Christian Invitational. The Queens won 2-0 over Valor Christian and the Raiders before losing 2-0 to 2A Trinity Lutheran, while the Raiders beat Valor Christian and 4A Seaside 2-0 before the loss to Chiloquin. They finished the tournament with a 2-0 loss to 3A Taft.
Klamath Union, which opened the season with a 3-0 win over 3A La Pine Thursday, beat Taft 2-0 and lost to 5A North Eugene 2-0 before beating Seaside 2-0.
Mazama lost its only recorded game at the Cascade Christian Invitational 2-1 to Henley. The Hornets went on to lose 2-1 to 3A Creswell.
Alumni watch
Isabela Coffman (Klamath Union ‘24) made her college cross country debut for Utah Tech at the Utah Valley Invitational Friday. She ran a 19:12.7 in the women’s 5K to finish 93rd out of 122 runners. The Trailblazers placed seventh out of nine teams and will compete at the UC Riverside Invitational Sept. 21.
