LOST RIVER 30, CRANE 20

Nov. 25, 2023 / “It feels good. I am really happy for them. They sure played hard.”

Those were among the thoughts of Lost River Raiders head football coach Dennis Dunlea as the Raiders celebrated winning back-to-back OSAA State Championships on Saturday, Nov. 25.

(Here is a link to some photos from the game: https://photos.app.goo.gl/VXD8b9c6aZvTVMP7A. We’ll add to the album and post more as we get shots from other photographers who were there.)

The No. 1 ranked Raiders played No. 2 ranked Crane for the OSAA 1A [8-man] Football State Championship on a sunny, cold afternoon at Caldera High School in Bend. Fans from Klamath County, including KCSD school board members and district administrators and leaders, crowded into the stands to cheer on our south county team.

It was a hard fought game against a team well-matched to the Raiders. “Crane had the best line, both sides of the ball, that we had seen,” Dunlea said.

Winning feels great, Dunlea says, but his ongoing message to the team isn’t necessarily about the win.

“Be humble, keep working. Those are life skills, and we talked a lot about life skills throughout our season and how this game translates to real life. And it doesn’t always turn out this way,” he said. “You do the work, you get to the reap the awards but the only difference between them and us is just a few points at the end of the game.”

The Raiders definitely did the work: They finished the season undefeated.

The Raiders are coached by Dunlea and assistant coaches Ivan Ayala, Mike Lacy, Mike Ongman, Ryan Hartman, and Kevin O'Brien.  Congratulations, Raiders!! Thank you for taking us on this journey with you! #ProudtobeKCSD