Football preview: Eagles to battle Echo Cougars for state title

Published 9:30 am Thursday, November 23, 2023

The Joseph Charter School Eagles and the Echo Cougars will face off Saturday in the Oregon 1A 6-man football championship game. Here’s a preview of the game:

Where and when: 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 25 at Hermiston High School.

Records: Joseph, 9-1 overall; Echo, 8-3 overall.

The Oregon School Activities Association will crown the second ”formal” 1A 6-man champion on Saturday, Nov. 25 with either the Cougars or the Eagles bringing home the trophy for the first time.

Echo is the shock of the playoffs, coming in as the 10th seed and now playing for the title. The Cougars opened the season falling in three of their four opening games, including a lopsided 52-28 season-opening loss to Joseph, the fourth seed in the playoffs. But this is not the same Cougar team Eagles fans saw Sept. 1. 

Beginning with an Oct. 6 victory over the Tigers of Monument/Dayville/Long Creek, Echo came alive, collecting a string of victories, including three wins in the playoffs, to set up the rematch with Joseph. 

Echo is now a balanced team offensively with the Cougars putting up 384 yards in the team’s 34-19 win over Elkton in the semifinals. In all, 181 of those yards came on the ground while the Echo passing game accounted for 203 yards. Senior Sam Wyse was the workhorse for the Cougars, carrying the ball 18 times for 141 yards. Sophomore Kohlvin Wyse finished the Elkton game 8-for-13 for 189 yards including one touchdown throw and one interception.

Wyse spreads the ball around with senior Dom Curiel, senior Islic Wade and senior Keegan Chitty each accounting for three receptions. Curiel also throws the ball, going 4-for-4 in the Elkton victory.

The Joseph offense will need to contend with senior Beau Wade, the leading tackler for the Cougars. In the win over Elkton, Wade ended with eight tackles, six of those solo. Senior Kobe Harwood also recorded eight tackles with four of those solo.

Echo will need to clean up their game its game in the finals, as the Cougars collected 17 penalties for 135 yards. The officials were busy the entire game, as there were 26 penalties between the two teams.

The Cougars meet Joseph as the lowest seeded team in the state playing for a state title. Joseph makes the return trip to Hermiston after knocking off the top seeded Panthers of Prairie City/Burnt River, 33-19, in the semifinals.

Unlike the earlier season loss to the Panthers, the Joseph offense was clicking, putting up 314 total yards, including 214 yards in the air. Kane Johnson for three scores while going 5-for-11 and no interceptions.

Zander Walker carried six times for 55 yards to lead Joseph’s ground game. Jesse Larison added 10 carries for 35 yards while Kellen Crenshaw hauled in four passes for 141 yards and two scores.

The Eagles capitalized on big scoring plays in the first half, including a 65-yard scoring pass from Johnson to Crenshaw to close out the first half and take the momentum into the locker room.

Unlike the Cougars, Joseph ended their game with zero penalties for the day.

Like most 6-man games, do not expect a low-scoring affair for this title game — but Eagle fans should not expect a blowout repeat of the first meeting of these two teams. Both teams have shown efficient offenses and can place points on the board. The defense that can stop the opposition in big-play situations could be the difference. In addition, Echo cannot hand Joseph over 100 yards in penalties and expect a state title.