>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

The Crane football team was seven and a half seconds away from playing for the state championship last season.

Then, Mohawk’s Brody Wilkins hit a game-winning field goal in the final seconds of a 2007 semifinal game.

The Mustangs have not forgotten that ending, and that their potential championship opponent would have been Imbler.

The Panthers lost its lone game of the season in the state finals to Mohawk, 22-16.

Saturday, Imbler and Crane will have their long-awaited duel.

“(Crane) was seconds away from the title game last year,” Panthers’ head coach Lee Lowe said. “I’m sure they have used that to their advantage all season.”

The world of Oregon eight-man football is a small one. Imbler enters the Class 1A quarterfinals after routing Mohawk last Friday, 52-14.

Crane received no real test from Gilchrist in the opening round last week winning, 58-8.

The Mustangs come into Saturday’s quarterfinal match undefeated and the state’s top team according to Maxpreps.com and Oregonprepsports.com.

“Crane has great athletes. They have been ranked number one for quite awhile,” Lowe said.

“(Dallen) Davies and (Raymond) Thompson lead a really strong offense. They might be the best combo in class 1A.”

The Mustangs have gone 38-4 over the past four seasons. They enter Saturday’s game undefeated at 10-0.

Crane has amassed 554 points this season and given up only 100. That’s an average score of 55-10 in favor of the Mustangs.

The Mustangs finished first in Special District 6, arguably the best league in Class 1A.

District 6’s second and third place teams, Jordan Valley and Adrian, both ranked in the state’s top five, fell last week in the first round.

The Panthers and Mustangs are familiar with each other. In 2005, Crane defeated Imbler on the road, 26-6. The teams met again a year later in the first round of the state tournament in Imbler. The Mustangs left the valley with another win, 36-30.

Crane’s closest match this season was at Adrian Oct. 17. The Mustangs won that league battle, 32-16.

On Sep. 26, Crane gave up its most points in a single game this year, winning at Harper, 54-18.

After losing their second game of the year at Dufur, the Panthers have won seven straight.

“We’re feeling good right now,” Lowe said. “We’re just happy to keep going. We want to try to stay focused and intense.

“The success the volleyball team had lends itself to motivation for us. The run they made was excellent. Every one is a big family in Imbler. We all loved to see the big blue trophy. We would love to just add another one to the trophy case.”