Nominees are Amity, Cascade, Central, Dayton, Kennedy, McNary, Regis, St. Paul, Scio, Silverton and South Salem.
The Salem-Keizer area has long featured some of the top high school football programs in the state of Oregon.
The 11 schools listed below have a combined 44 state championships awarded by the Oregon School Activities Association.
Now it’s your turn to decide the top football program in the area.
The nominees for top all-time high school football program in the Statesman Journal coverage area are:
- Amity Warriors
- Cascade Cougars
- Central Panthers
- Dayton Pirates
- Kennedy Trojans
- McNary Celtics
- Regis Rams
- St. Paul Buckaroos
- Scio Loggers
- Silverton Foxes
- South Salem Saxons
Information about each program is listed below. Vote for the school you think is most deserving at statesmanjournal.com. The poll closes at 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 23.
Amity Warriors
State titles (7): 1947 (B classification, coached by Ray Stephens), 1998 (2A, Jeff Flood), 1999 (2A, Jeff Flood), 2000 (2A, Jeff Flood), 2001 (2A, Jeff Flood), 2003 (2A, Joel Magill), 2009 (3A, Joel Magill)
Runners-up (2): 1953 (B, Ray Stephens), 2002 (2A, Joel Magill)
Total semifinals: 12
Cascade Cougars
State titles (2): 1980 (AA, Karl Elliott), 2015 (4A, Steve Turner)
Runners-up: 0
Total semifinals: 10
Central Panthers
State titles (4): 1960 (A-2, Marv Heater), 1962 (A-2, Bill Hargadine), 1967 (A-2, Bill Hargadine), 1983 (AA, Duane Riddell)
Runners-up (2): 1995 (3A, Greg McAnally), 1998 (3A, Bill Coutts)
Total semifinals: 14
Dayton Pirates
State titles (7): 1948 (B, Everett McReynolds), 1985 (A, Dewey Sullivan), 1986 (A, Dewey Sullivan), 1995 (2A, Dewey Sullivan), 1996 (2A, Dewey Sullivan), 2002 (2A, Dewey Sullivan), 2012 (3A, Brodie Unger)
Runners-up (2): 1999 (2A, Dewey Sullivan), 2011 (3A, Gary Thorson)
Total semifinals: 21
Kennedy Trojans
State titles (1): 2018 (2A, Joe Panuke)
Runners-up (7): 1989 (A, John Kuppenbender), 1991 (2A, John Kuppenbender), 2009 (2A, Randy Traeger), 2015 (2A, Joe Panuke), 2019 (2A, Joe Panuke), 2021 (2A, Joe Panuke), 2022 (3A, Joe Panuke)
Total semifinals: 11
McNary Celtics
State titles (2): 1997 (4A, Tom Smythe), 2001 (4A, Tom Smythe)
Runners-up: 0
Total semifinals: 3
Regis Rams
State titles (8): 1973 (A, Art Lushenko), 1974 (A, Art Lushenko), 1975 (A, Art Lushenko), 1976 (A, Dave Nord), 1977 (A, Bob Marklund), 1980 (A, Joe Rossitto), 1987 (A, Bill McArthur), 2016 (2A, Kyle McGrath)
Runners-up (4): 2000 (A, Kirk Miller), 2001 (A, Kirk Miller), 2003 (2A, Luke Buchheit), 2013 (2A, Tom Beckett)
Total semifinals: 23
St. Paul Buckaroos
State titles (7): 1984 (B-8, Pete Popoff), 1991 (1A-8, Pete Popoff), 1992 (1A-8, Pete Popoff), 2002 (1A-8, Jay Phillips), 2009 (1A-8, Tony Smith), 2010 (1A-8, Tony Smith), 2024 (2A-9, Tony Smith)
Runners-up (10): 1959 (B-6, Leslie Weatherill), 1984 (B-8, Pete Popoff), 1987 (B-8, Pete Popoff), 1993 (1A-8, Pete Popoff), 1999 (1A-8, Jay Phillips), 2001 (1A-8, Jay Phillips), 2012 (1A-8, Tony Smith), 2018 (1A-8, Tony Smith), 2019 (1A-8, Tony Smith), 2022 (1A-8, Tony Smith)
Total semifinals: 26
Scio Loggers
State titles (2): 2009 (2A, Kyle Braa), 2010 (2A, Kyle Braa)
Runners-up (1): 2011 (2A, Jim Mask)
Total semifinals: 9
Silverton Foxes
State titles (2): 1991 (3A, Robby Robinson), 2021 (5A, Josh Craig)
Runners-up (3): 1956 (A-2, Murl Anderson), 1990 (3A, Robby Robinson), 2014 (5A, John Mannion)
Total semifinals: 11
South Salem Saxons
State titles (2): 1954 (A, tie, Lee Gustafson), 1971 (AAA, Marv Heater)
Runners-up (3): 1957 (A, Lee Gustafson), 1966 (A, Marv Heater), 1991 (4A, Randy Wegner)
Total semifinals: 10
Jesse Sowa is the sports editor for the Statesman Journal and The Register-Guard. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Vote: Which is the top all-time high school football program?
Category: General Sports
