Game of the Week: Silverton battles West Albany for the league championship
Pete MartiniSILVERTON — There are two teams in the Mid-Willamette Conference that have been on a collision course all season, and it finally will happen Friday.
Silverton’s football team will host West Albany at 7 p.m. Friday, and with both teams coming in at 8-0, the conference championship is on the line.
“Obviously, West Albany is going to be our best opponent of the year,” Silverton coach Josh Craig said. “So we’re excited about the opportunity. Hopefully we can put it together on Friday and play a clean game.”
Both teams have dominated the conference this season.
The Foxes’ average margin of victory this season is 29 points, and they have five wins by at least 30 points.
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West Albany’s average margin of victory is 43 points, and they have won every game by at least 33 points.
Both teams have the same record and same opponents this season, so both are currently No. 3 in the OSAA rankings. They trail only No. 1 Thurston and No. 2 Crater in the Class 5A level.
“They’re explosive, they have big plays at any given moment,” Craig said about West Albany. “Their defense, just like last year, is the best in the state. They’re a dangerous team.”
Sophomore quarterback Jordan McCarty has been sharp this season for the Foxes, throwing for 1,150 yards, with 12 touchdowns and no interceptions. Senior wide receiver Grant Buchheit has 28 catches for 683 yards and six touchdowns.
The senior running back duo of Hayden Roth and Nathan Kuenzi has also been stellar, rushing for a combined 1,384 yards and 24 touchdowns. Kuenzi also has two receiving touchdowns.
“We have a really great offensive line, and we’re just clicking so far,” McCarty said. “We’re locked in right now, and we’re excited to play them. We really want to go get the (conference title), and we’re going to go all out, for sure. That would be big for us.”
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Craig wants to win the game Friday to capture the conference title, of course, but he is trying to keep the perspective that win or lose, the Foxes will have a state playoff game next week.
“We still have a postseason to get ready for. We want to beat these guys, go undefeated and all that,” Craig said. “But at the end of the day, the week after that is really important, so we have to keep that in the back of our minds. We’re going to do everything we can to win, so I guess in that way, it’s sort of a postseason mentality already.”
Game of the Week
Matchup: West Albany at Silverton
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Silverton (Josh Craig); West Albany (Brian Mehl)
About the teams: Silverton — The Foxes are 8-0 this season and tied for first place in the Mid-Willamette Conference with West Albany. Silverton is scoring 40.8 points per game, and allowing 11.0 points per game. The Foxes are tied for No. 3 in the OSAA rankings; West Albany — The Bulldogs also are 8-0 this season. West Albany is scoring 47.6 points per game, and allowing 4.5 points per game. The Bulldogs are tied for No. 3 in the OSAA rankings.
Friday’s games
McNary at South Salem, 7 p.m.
Sprague at West Salem, 7 p.m.
Lebanon at North Salem, 7 p.m.
Crescent Valley at McKay, 7 p.m.
West Albany at Silverton, 7 p.m.
Central at Dallas, 7 p.m.
Woodburn at Philomath, 7 p.m.
Madras at Salem Academy, 7 p.m.
Blanchet at Yamhill-Carlton, 7 p.m.
Scio at Corbett, 7 p.m.
Dayton at Amity, 7 p.m.
Clatskanie at Willamina, 7 p.m.
Santiam Christian at La Pine, 7 p.m.
Santiam at Colton, 7 p.m.
Sheridan at Culver, 7 p.m.
Regis at Monroe, 7 p.m.
Jefferson at Creswell, 7 p.m.
Gervais at Neah-Kah-Nie, 7 p.m.
St. Paul at Lowell, 7 p.m.
Mapleton at Perrydale, 7 p.m.
Falls City at Oakridge, 7 p.m.
Pete Martini covers high school and college sports for the Statesman Journal. You can contact Pete at pmartini@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6730 and follow @PeteMartiniSJ