Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Sweet Home coaches say they will miss their Capital Conference rivals, but they expect new challenges if the Oregon School Activities Association implements a proposal to reorganize athletic leagues next month.
The OSAA proposal creates two new divisions, 5A and 6A, and would move Sweet Home High School into a 4A designation. The new leagues and divisions would be used beginning in the 2006-07 school year.
The OSAA Executive Board will consider the proposal on Oct. 24. The Executive Board includes Sweet Home football and softball Coach Rob Younger. Following approval by the board, the proposal would move to a delegate assembly for final approval.
“We’ve been working it for a year,” Younger said. “I’m excited about the six-class situation, and I think that’s what’s best for competitive balance around the state. I’d be awfully surprised if it didn’t pass.”
Sweet Home would move from the Capital Conference to “District Four,” which is mostly current ValCo schools. The new league would place Sweet Home in a conference with former Capital Conference rival Central High School along with Newport, Philomath, Taft and Toledo.
The Capital Conference is a combined 320 miles of travel one way. The new district will be about 361 miles, a difference of 41 miles per program per season.
That translates to about 1,230 miles in all programs for the year.
At an average of eight miles per gallon, the new district would cost the high school about $384 more per year at a rate of $2.50 per gallon.
“Over the course of an entire season, we will put slightly more mileage on our buses, however, we won’t have to deal with weather conditions crossing Tombstone Pass and Santiam Pass going to and from Sisters during winter and early spring,” Business Manager Kevin Strong said.
Athletic Director Steve Emmert said the new league might cost students a little more school time due to earlier departures for road games.
“The increased travel is not cost-prohibitive,” he said. “It’s not like it’s so much further we have to come up with a Plan B.”
Emmert doesn’t mind change, he said, and this proposal is better than many he saw, including proposals that would have had Sweet Home traveling to LaGrande for league games.
The change will really just flip the Huskies’ season, Emmert said. Sweet Home programs end up playing most of the proposed league’s schools in preseason. He expects Sweet Home will probably schedule its old Capital Conference rivals for pre-season games.
Competitively, what the change means depends on the sport, Emmert said. In track, Philomath and Newport are always strong, and the new league is a strong baseball league, with Philomath, Central and Newport.
Philomath is always solid in volleyball and basketball, Emmert said, but that’s a real running and swimming school.
Boys basketball Coach Tim Little said he the new league would mean about the same level of competition. “I hate to see us lose the rivalries with Stayton, Cascade and Sisters we’ve had over the years.”
He expects Central, Philomath and Newport to field strong teams, and in a couple of years, Toledo will have a decent program.
Little looks forward to rekindling the rivalry with Central, he said. In basketball, the Panthers are usually among the top 10 teams in the state.
“I think that’s my biggest worry,” Little said, but with the exception of Taft, Sweet Home is used to seeing all of new league’s teams each year in preseason.
Last year, the Huskies lost to Philomath and Central but beat Newport and Toledo.
Younger said he has mixed feelings about the proposed change.
“Number one, I hate to lose the traditions and rivalries we’ve had for 23 years,” he said.
It presents new challenges, and the Huskies will still play teams like Sisters, Cascade and Stayton while getting “Central back in league. That’s a great rivalry already.”
The new league has good football programs, and it’s got great basketball, Younger said, but it is not the best wrestling conference.
Baseball Coach Dan Tow said he’s always liked the Capital Conference, but “it’s not a horrible change.”
The new league is tough in baseball while the Capital Conference has always been balanced and competitive, Tow said. Central, Philomath and Newport are always strong in baseball, and Taft is not bad.
The change would have special meaning for Tow. Newport is where he grew up and played baseball. His parents still live there.
“That’s where I went to school,” Tow said. “I still know a lot of folks, so it’ll be fun to see some of these folks a little more.”
Girls basketball Coach Jason Gorham said the Huskies have had preseason success against teams in the proposed league.
“For us it could be a more competitive league schedule than we’ve had in the Capital Conference,” he said.
“I like the Capital Conference. I like the competition. At the same time, it’d be nice to be a little more competitive in our league.”
The Huskies have faced state-level teams in the Capital Conference in recent years.
In the new league, “Philomath is a real strong team,” Gorham said. It has generally been in the state tournament the last 10 to 12 years. Philomath stands out year after year while the rest of the league is balanced trying to nail the second and third spots.
The Huskies lost a 15-point contest to Philomath last year, but they did beat Philomath in summer league, Gorham said. The Huskies split games with Toledo and Newport.
The new league will probably present the least challenge to the Husky wrestling program, which already dominates the Capital Conference.
“I’m disappointed about the OSAA’s decision to move us,” Coach Steve Thorpe said. “For one, I like the Capital Conference. I like the people we compete against, and they raise my game.”
The new league is not as strong, although it will have Central, which always fields good wrestlers, Thorpe said. He said he doesn’t know how many of the new teams will field two full lineups, but he doesn’t expect many of them to do it. He does know Taft, Philomath and Central probably will not.
“I believe in having incredible competition,” Thorpe said. He said the Capital Conference has many individuals that push his wrestlers, although the Huskies have won eight of the last nine league titles. The only exception was Cascade winning it in 2000, then moving on to take the state 3A title.
Thorpe said the Huskies will move forward if the change does occur.
“Whoever they put in front of us, we’re going to wrestle them,” he said.
The Huskies will continue to wrestle their 4A preseason matches and tournaments while adding teams like Cascade and Molalla to their schedule.
“It’ll be a problem if we get a big head, overconfident,” Thorpe said. The Huskies will have a new situation, requiring new goals and finding ways to maintain their success.
“I’m not thrilled about the change, but we’ll get by,” he said.