Tough year for top seeds in playoffs

It was not a good year to be a No. 1 seed in the OSAA football playoffs. All but one of the top seeds in the six classifications came up short of claiming a state championship.

On Saturday, No. 2 Adrian/Joseph Valley beat No. 1 St. Paul 38-32 for the Class 1A title; No. 3 Heppner recovered an onside kick to beat No. 1 Kennedy 12-7 to win the 2A championship; No. 2 Santiam Christian rallied in the fourth quarter to edge out No. 1 Hidden Valley 41-34 in the 3A title game; and No. 3 La Grande halted No. 1 Banks’ repeat title hopes with a 21-0 shutout in the 4A championship.

The only No. 1 seed to win a state title was Thurston, which beat No. 2 Crater 14-10 on Saturday, marking the second-straight title for the Colts.

Next Saturday, No. 4 Central Catholic and No. 3 Lake Oswego will battle for the Class 6A state championship.

The Rams and Lakers combined have won three state titles since 2013 and have made nine state title appearances since 2002. But how the 32-team field played out is what makes 2019 a unique postseason.

This year was only the second time since 2013 that the No. 1 seed has not reached the 6A state title game, according to the OSAA.

Of the 42 state titles at each level since 2013, only nine times have the top two seeds both failed to make the championship game — 2019 is the first time for the 6A bracket.

2019 was also the first time since 2013 that the No. 1 seed failed to advance to the quarterfinals .

—Bulletin staff report