Dec. 5, 2025 / Lost River school communities celebrated their football team Dec. 4 as students at Merrill and Malin elementary schools lined the hallways, cheering and waving handmade signs as team members paraded through, giving high-fives. Players then returned to Lost River for a schoolwide assembly and celebration with classmates.

The Lost River Junior/Senior High School football team clinched the OSAA 2A state championship on Nov. 29, edging out Heppner by just two points in a nail-biting finish.
Head coach Dennis Dunlea, who has surpassed 200 career victories, reflected on his team during the assembly:

“I’ve won a lot of games and we’ve been pretty successful. But ultimately, that’s because we have great kids from great families who work hard,” he said. “… Football isn’t always fun. Sometimes it hurts. And they’re probably going to get yelled at more than once. But they are resilient.  I tell our players to be polite, be respectful, and remember where they’re from. They represent their family, their school, and their community, and we are proud of all of them.”

In addition to being great football players, the Raiders are stellar students, ranking as the No. 1 team in the state academically.

Lost River has won five football state championships under Dunlea – in 1997, 2004, 2022, 2023 and 2025. Dunlea was defensive coordinator in 1997 and took on the head coach role starting in 1999.

A huge shout-out to the coaching staff: Head Coach Dennis Dunlea, Coach Mike Ongman, Coach Greg Kelley, and volunteer coaches Mike Lacy, Ryan Hartman, and Kevin O’Brien.