3 Lane County teams to watch in the 2023 OSAA high school football state semifinals
OSAA high school football state semifinals will be played Friday and Saturday, and a number of Lane County teams will be competing for a chance to advance to the championships.
Here are three teams to watch.
Marist takes on Seaside in 4A state semifinals
Marist football (10-1) is back in the Class 4A state semifinals for the second time in the last three years.
The No. 2 Spartans defeated Mazama 48-27 in the state quarterfinal and will play No. 3 Seaside (8-3) at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Hillsboro Stadium.
Seaside defeated Marshfield 14-6 in the quarterfinals last week. The Seagulls will make their first semifinal appearance since 2018.
Last week, junior quarterback Nick Hudson became the first Marist player in program history to have over 3,000 passing yards in a season.
The Seagulls are led by sophomore Ryder Jackson, who has garnered 1,112 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns.
On defense, Jackson and senior Kyler McCleary have accounted for 22 and 21 tackles, respectively.
Lowell to face defending 2A state champion Oakland
Lowell football (10-1) will make their first appearance in the 2A state semifinals since 2016.
The No. 3 Devils defeated Gold Beach 48-20 in the state quarterfinal and will play defending state champion and No. 2 seed Oakland at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Willamette High School.
Oakland (10-1) defeated No. 7 Gervais 32-18 in the quarterfinals last week.
The Devils are led by junior JaMar Thurman, who has rushed for 2,513 yards and 35 touchdowns this season.
Elkton and Echo faceoff in 1A state semifinal
Elkton football (8-1) clinched their third state semifinal appearance in program history and first since 1981.
The No. 3 Elks defeated South Wasco County 58-34 in the six-man state quarterfinal and will play No. 10 Echo (7-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Hillsboro Stadium in the 1A semifinal.
''This is a fantastic achievement," said Elkton fifth-year head coach Jeremy Lockhart. "We're trying to stress to the guys that this is a big deal. They need to appreciate it, respect it for what it is and understand that 'You may never get back here, so take it for what it is and prepare for it.'"
Echo defeated No. 2 Powers 46-18 in the quarterfinals last week. The Cougars will make their second state semifinal appearance in program history since 1987.
Lockhart said one of the biggest challenges both teams have faced this week is finding a turf field close enough to practice on since they will be playing on turf at Hillsboro Stadium.
Elkton was forced to make the roughly 35-minute drive to Sutherlin High School. Meanwhile, Echo has had to practice 15 minutes away at Hermiston High School.
"Echo brings a lot to the table," Lockhart said. "They are a good team that does a lot as far as making you commit to something and then giving you something else. So, they're really, really fantastic at misdirection. They're fantastic at making you overcommit and really good at improvisation.
"Watching them on film, they are fantastic in just making something out of nothing, which is really hard to defend."
The Elks are led by senior quarterback Anthony Alimenti, who set a new six-man football state record in passing yards (1,749) and touchdown passes (27). Sophomore Andrew Houx has caught nine TD passes.
Alimenti surpassed Carter Boise of Mitchell/Spray/Wheeler who passed for 1,676 yards in 2021. He also passed Wib Vernon of Alsea who threw 21 touchdown passes in 1958.
"He (Alimenti) is like another coach on the field," Lockhart said. "He understands the game really well. We've groomed him to be the quarterback since he was a sophomore, started a decent amount that year and most of his junior year, barring injury."
On defense, Elks junior Tyler Pritchard has accounted for 61 tackles, three interceptions. Houx has 66 tackles and 14 tackles for loss.
Elkton returned to six-man football in 2020. Echo returned in 2018.
Edith Noriega is a sports reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at ENoriega@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @Noriega_Edith.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: OSAA football state semifinals: Eugene-area teams to watch
