Oregon football poised to end 9-year playoff drought

OREGON – One more win. That’s all the Oregon Hawks need to secure their first winning season since 2014. It should also be enough to bring their nine-year playoff drought to an end.

If the Hawks can defeat 0-8 Rockford Christian on the road in their regular-season finale on Friday night, they’ll finish with a 5-4 record.

For a program that hasn’t won more than three games in a season in almost a decade, this season has been a welcome change. And that’s been embraced by the Oregon community, which has rallied around this year’s team more so than past teams.

“It feels like the whole town is on our side this year,” senior outside linebacker Jackson Glendenning said. “In years past, it felt like it was just the football players that were looking forward to games, but now, it feels like everyone wants a part of it. It’s pretty cool.”

The improvement from last year’s 2-7 season and the opportunity to make the playoffs this year has validated all of the hard work from the offseason, as well as everything the coaches have been preaching. With a win this week and a playoff berth, Oregon will have a chance to match or surpass 2014′s 6-5 season record.

“It would be huge [to make the playoffs this year]. It’s kind of validated all of the stuff that we do,” second-year head coach Broc Kundert said. “We ask the kids to do a lot. We lift a lot. We run a lot in the summer. All year-round kind of stuff. So it would mean a lot to the kids, it would mean a lot to us as coaches. We put in a lot of time, too. And I think the community wants to get behind a winner.”

Like Glendenning, Kundert also has seen an increase in community support.

“We’ve had a lot of people send emails, texts, like, ‘Hey, great job, keep it up,’ ” Kundert said. “I had a fan say, ‘It’s great to see Oregon football competitive in every game they’ve been in.’ I don’t know if that hasn’t been the case in the past, but I came here and my expectation is to win and the kids are doing it, so it’s fun to be a part of it.”

One of the biggest keys to Oregon’s success has been the run/pass balance on offense. The offensive line has taken a big step this year, and that’s been reflected in the rushing and passing numbers. Junior running back Logan Weems has rushed for 879 yards and 12 touchdowns on 177 carries with six 100-yard rushing games this season.

Junior quarterback Jack Washburn is 61-for-133 passing for 970 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s posted five 100-plus-yard passing games this season, including two 200-plus-yard passing games (236 vs. Dixon and 211 vs. Genoa-Kingston). Senior wide receivers Griffin Marlatt (9 catches, 204 yards, one touchdown) and Austin Egyed (22-274) and junior tight end Josh Crandall (10-222-3) have been his top targets this year.

I think we let them know that we’re here now. Oregon football is here, and we’re ready to make some waves in the Big Northern.

—  Oregon senior wide receiver and defensive back Griffin Marlatt

The defense also has stepped up this season. Apart from the Week 5 game vs. Byron, when it gave up 51 points against the undefeated, top-ranked Class 3A team that’s scored at least 49 points in every game, it’s been solid all season. The Hawks gave up 29 points to 7-1 Dixon in its second-worst defensive game, 20 points in an overtime game against 4-4 Genoa-Kingston and 22 points against 4-4 Rockford Lutheran. In every other game, they’ve conceded seven points or fewer.

Oregon provided the first sign that it was different from past teams right away with a 6-0 double-overtime win over North Boone in Week 1 – a team that’s now 6-2. After losing to the Vikings 46-20 in Week 9 last year, the Hawks completely flipped the script in 2023.

That game, the 28-7 Week 6 win over Stillman Valley and the 29-20 loss to Dixon in Week 2 showed the Hawks can compete with the rest of the Big Northern Conference.

“I think we let them know that we’re here now,” Marlatt said. “Oregon football is here, and we’re ready to make some waves in the Big Northern.

Kundert has seen improvement in just about every position group. The improvement on both sides of the line and the addition of Weems at running back have been among the biggest differences this season.

“Logan, obviously, at running back has been huge. To get 1,000 yards in a high school season, which he’s not quite there yet, he’s close to 1,000 yards, that’s a huge testament to him. It’s a huge testament to the guys in front of him. That offensive line group has been a huge improvement for us,” Kundert said. “D-line’s been really good. Jackson Glendenning at outside linebacker has been a big improvement. He’s kind of a leader on the field for us. He’s a real smart kid, so he knows where everybody’s going and can call stuff out.

“Our two safeties, Hunter Bartel and Avery Lewis, have been really good. I could honestly probably call out every single position group as being improved from last year, and I think that’s why we’re on the verge of getting to the playoffs here.”