REDMOND — Standing on the football field at Ridgeview High on Wednesday afternoon, in frigid temperatures that had coaches buried beneath layers as if prepared for a trip to the mountain, Boomer Fleming recalled the days of late summer.

The senior running back remembered vividly that during those practices, well before the regular season started, he and the Ravens knew exactly where they wanted to be at this point in the season. They expected to be here.

And here they are.

A 28-21 home victory over Henley last week has Ridgeview (11-1) riding a 10-game winning streak. The Ravens have racked up just shy of 425 yards of total offense per game, and their defense has limited opponents to fewer than 13 points per contest.

And here they are, where they expected to be — in the semifinals of the Class 4A state playoffs.

“We just had a huge buy-in from the whole program,” Fleming said. “All of us bought into this idea that we could be the state champs, and that is what we’re striving for now.”

Ridgeview, in just its second year, is one win away from a shot at the state title. To get there, the Ravens, seeded No. 4 in the 16-team bracket, will have to go through top-seeded Philomath — at 11-0, the last remaining undefeated team in 4A.

At Cottage Grove High School this afternoon, one of the highest-scoring offenses in 4A will square off against one of the stingiest defenses. The wing-T offense of Philomath’s Warriors, who defeated Gladstone 35-17 at home last week to advance to the semifinals for the first time since winning the then-Class AA state title in 1988, has posted nearly 41 points per game — third-most in 4A. So far this season, Philomath has outscored opponents 450-171.

Stopping that offense, a run-based system predicated on misdirection, is where the focus will be, Ridgeview coach Andy Codding said.

“It’s not about playing Philomath. It’s about playing the wing-T,” said Codding, whose defense has 23 sacks and 15 interceptions this season while allowing the second-fewest points in 4A. “We need to get ready to play a wing-T team. Philomath’s pretty good, but I think if we can make adjustments to play against that offense, we’ll be in position to play against them.”

On paper, the similarities between the Ravens and the Warriors are evident. Philomath and Ridgeview rank 1-2 in 4A with 11- and 10-game winning streaks, respectively. Both have the ability to score at will: both rank in the top 10 in the classification in points scored. Each program boasts a defense that sits in the top four of 4A in fewest points allowed. And each runs an offensive formation — the wing-T of Philomath, the fly sweep of Ridgeview — that emphasizes the run.

But all the resemblance aside, all the production and efficiency Philomath has shown through 11 games, that goes out the window when Ridgeview takes on the Warriors this afternoon.

“We’re just going into this thinking it’s going to be a yard-for-yard game,” Fleming said. “It’s going to be (about) every inch of what we can get on each other. Going into each game, we just look at it (as) four quarters. They might run faster (40-yard dashes), they might bench-press more, but you’ve got to play the game for four quarters. And that’s really what we pride ourselves on being able to do.”

It will most definitely be a battle, one that Ridgeview senior fly back Cody Simpson looks forward to. It will most definitely be about momentum, something Ravens junior running back Tanner Stevens said his team will look to seize early on.

“We’re confident going into this game,” Codding said. “We’ve got some work to do. They’re a tough team, but we’re not running scared from them.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0307; glucas@bendbulletin.com.