Statesman Journal from Salem, Oregon • Page 7

Area colleges: Portland State's Nelson injures his foot again, Page 3B Sports Ttext messages Sports scores r. section ui carvrug iicvvq Text SJSPORTS or SJNEWS to 44636 to sign up. Sports editor: James Day (503) 399-6801, jdayfeStatesmanJournal.com Tuesday, November 23, 2010 Di HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL Upcoming college football coverage James Day on the Ducks, Beavers and college football, go to StatesmanJournal.com. LUNCH BREAK: Horowitz and videographer Chris Hagan will not post their interview show this week because Hagan is on vacation. It will resume Dec.

2, during Civil War week. GALLERIES: See photos from Oregon and Oregon State games at Statesman Journal.comsports. TWITTER: Go to Twitter.com ghorowitz or Twitter.com jdaysalem to follow tweets by Horowitz and Day about the Ducks and the Beavers. WEDNESDAY: Reporter Gary Horowitz will have a Beavers practice story, a notebook about the Ducks and a column on how the Ducks' ambitions go beyond the Rose Bowl this year. THURSDAY: Horowitz will have a story on the challenge of preparing for the Ducks as seen by Pac-10 coaches.

INSIDE OSU notebook, Arizona at a glance, Page 3B. ONLINE BLOGS: For blogs from Horowitz and sports editor OREGON FOOTBALL Two wins from title game, Ducks maintain focus Ho. 1 0regon vs. Ho. 20 Arizona 1 South Salem is 9-0 all-time in quarterfinal games By Chris Hagan Statesman Journal South Salem's football team unloaded a lot of baggage Friday with its 26-24 second-round playoff win against Central Catholic.

The victory sent the Saxons to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1991. That year, Joe Douglass had two touchdown runs and Steve Hagen picked off a pass to lead South Salem past Sunset 14-3 in the second round. Ranked No. 2 and 11-0 at the time, the team ended up falling in the state championship game to Ashland. Since then, South Salem has made the playoffs nine times and moved on to the second round four times without breaking through to the quarterfinals until now.

In 2000, the Saxons lost 38-20 as a No. 3 seed to Jesuit. They lost twice as league champions: 34-16 to Pendleton in 2001 and 40-14 to Canby in 2008. They lost to Lake Oswego 24-9 last year as a No. 2 seed after beating David Douglas in the first round.

It's the 24th time a top-classification team has gone at least 19 years between quarterfinal games and the first time since South Eugene snapped a 24-year streak in 2006. The Saxons join Aloha, which has waited 24 years, toy PT mi WHEN: 4 p.m. Friday, Autzen Stadium. RECORDS: Oregon (10-0, 1 at HiV A i 7-0 Pac-10), Arizona (7-3, 4-3). TICKETS: The game is sold out.

TV: 4 p.m. ESPN (Comcast 35). HOROWITZ ON THE RADIO: Reporter Gary Horowitz will discuss the Oregon-Arizona game on the KYKN (1430 AM) pregame show at 2:15 p.m. Friday. THOMAS PATTERSON I Statesman Journal file This weekend, team can clinch at least a spot in Rose Bowl By Gary Horowitz Statesman Journal EUGENE Oregon coach Chip Kelly said after Monday's practice that the team has not had a conversation about clinching the Pac-10 championship.

If the top-ranked Ducks defeat No. 20 Arizona on Friday at Autzen Stadium, they would earn at least a share of the conference crown and at least a Rose Bowl berth. But a return to Pasadena, isn't high on Oregon's wish list, not with a spot in the BCS national championship game Jan. 10 in Glendale, just two wins away. An Oregon win or a Stanford loss would secure back-to-back conference crowns for the Ducks.

Oregon defeated No. 7 Stanford 52-31 on Oct. 2. "Hasn't come up yet," Kelly said of Pac-10 championship talk. "Our meth- mm 7 Above, South Salem 's Conor Lynch is sacked as the Saxons lose to Lake Oswego in a second-round game last year.

At left, in 2000 South Salem's Travis Brown (left) tries to knock down a pass to Jesuit's Mike Hass, who went on to be an ail-American at Oregon State. ods have been the same since day one. We're talking about playing against a really, really good Arizona team that in the last couple years we've had some bat-, ties with." Oregon won the past two matchups against Arizona, but the games were close. The Ducks prevailed 44-41 in overtime last season in Tucson, and hung on See Saxons, 4B High school notebook, Page 3B Football pairings, Page 4B See Ducks, SB statesman Journal lite NFL Rivers throws four TD passes in blowout win against Broncos Mill f.K... Oregon ties San Diego WR legedu Naanee, who is from Portland, is out with a hamstring injury.

INSIDE Vikings fire Childress, game statistics, standings, Page IB Shaun Phillips has 2 sacks as Chargers harass Kyle Orton By Bernie Wilson The Associated Press SAN DIEGO Take away all those special-teams blunders and turnovers, and this is how the San Diego Chargers were supposed to look all along. Philip Rivers tied his career high with four touchdown passes and the Chargers beat the Denver Broncos 35-14 on Monday night for their third consecutive win. "This was the most complete game we've played in all three phases," Rivers said. "We are in a lot of ways in playoff football already. into the end zone, and Darren Sproles had a 57-yard catch-and-run in the third.

The four-time defending AFC West champion Chargers (5-5) also pulled off a fake punt, a remarkable accomplishment considering the special-teams gaffes that contributed to a 2-5 start. Mike Scifres, who has had five punts blocked this year, waited for fullback Mike Tolbert to get open, then hit him with a 29-yard pass that set up Rivers' tying 6-yard scoring pass to Malcom Floyd in the first quarter. The Chargers, coming off a bye, pulled into a second-place tie with Oakland, one game behind Kansas City. Denver fell to 3-7. Rivers completed 15 of 24 passes, including three to Crayton for 105 yards.

Tolbert gained 111 yards on 24 carries. Rivers also threw four touchdown passes in the Chargers' last game, a 29-23 win at Houston on Nov. 7. The Chargers won despite playing without star tight end Antonio Gates, who missed his second consecutive game with a torn plantar fascia in his right foot, and rookie running back Ryan Mathews, still bothered by a high ankle sprain. The Chargers held Orton to 217 yards on 24-of-38 passing and sacked him five times.

Phillips had two sacks in the second quarter, including one when he chased down Orton as he tried to complete a flea-flicker. You almost can't afford a step back at this point" Although Rivers threw for a season-low 233 yards, San Diego's defense, led by linebacker Shaun Phillips, settled in and harassed Denver's Kyle Orton after he led an easy opening scoring drive. Patrick Crayton scored on a 40-yard catch-and-run late in the second quarter, hurting his left wrist as he fell GREGORY BULL I The Associated Press San Diego linebacker Shaun Phillips sacks Denver quarterback Kyle Orton on Monday. Serving Salem since 1962 Dsssfris's '1 High school athletes of the week You can vote at Salem.highschoolsports.net for the Capitol Auto Group athletes of the week. The poll closes at 3 p.m.

Thursday. FOOTBALL 503-581 -241 1 2510 Commercial St SE Salem OTHER SPORTS i 1 fM 77 UNKTtO TIME Off tw ROLANDO GARCIA, STAYTON BOYS SOCCER: Saved a penalty kick as the Eagles shut out Hidden Valley on the way to the Class 4A state title. JAIME VELE2, WOODBURN BOYS SOCCER: Hit the game-winning penalty kick in the Bulldogs' 2-1 overtime win against Corvallis in the Class 5A state championship game. JUNIOR ESPITIA, SOUTH SALEM: 27 carries for 177 yards and two touchdowns, plus 4 for 6 passing, including the winning touchdown vs. Central Catholic.

FRANKY RODRIGUEZ, KENNEDY: 25 carries for 225 yards in a 48-0 win against Oakland. A.J. HEDGECOCK, DAYTON: 21 carries for 173 yards for two touchdowns plus a 2-point conversion in a 28-9 win vs. Blanchet. BRIAN KESSI, SANTIAM CHRISTIAN: 13 of 22 passing for 276 yards and two touchdowns in a 56-22 win vs.

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