By all accounts, the state championship game took place the week before during the semifinals.

The Amity Warriors had been literally rolling over their competition all season long. Up until the semifinals, the most an opponent had scored on Amity was 13 with the Warriors outscoring the opposition a whopping 518-65.

But in the game to determine who would play for the state title, the Warriors ran into their biggest road block of the season in the form of a tough Cascade Christian team. The Challengers lived up to their name.

Cascade Christian jumped out to a 10-point lead early in the first half. Amity answered with three straight touchdowns to enter half with a 21-10 advantage; but soon after intermission, the Challengers tacked on one more touchdown to make it a four-point game.

That’s when the Warrior defense stepped up and provided a pivotal fourth-quarter stop. In the game’s final minutes, the Challengers were driving. They got down to the Amity 23-yard line before the Warriors got the ball back four plays later and ran out the clock out to seal the 21-17 victory.

“The defense had a lot put on our shoulders, but we all kind of looked at each other and said, ‘This is it. This is everything. It’s either us being done with our senior years right now, or us going to state,’” said Amity’s Brian Disabatino.

And with that nail-biting win under their belts, the Warriors entered the state championship game with even more confidence and swagger and were able to get back to their steam-rolling ways. In a game that was never in doubt, Amity laid a 51-16 blowout on Rainier to claim the 3A state crown to cap perfect season.

And that’s why the Amity Warriors are the choice for the News-Register’s top sports story of 2009.

“It’s overwhelming,” said Warrior Chad Chitwood after the title game win. “It’s hard to put this feeling into words. But it feels good, I can tell you that. It feels really good.”

For their efforts, a gaggle of Warriors were rewarded with all-state honors. Coach Joel Magill took home 3A Coach of the Year, while Cody Porter was named Offensive Player of the Year and Chad Chitwood earned Defensive Player of the Year.

Nabbing first-team honors on the offensive side were Jake Stepisnik (offensive line), Disabatino (offensive line), Josh Kenner (tight end), Cristian Cabrera (running back) and Bobby Hatch (quarterback). Defensive first-teamers included Scott Rathburn (defensive line) Hatch (defensive back) and Jeremy Boyd (secondary).

For the seniors on Amity’s squad, the 2009 season was something they had been dreaming about for years, getting inspiration from the 2003 team that last brought home the state title.

“I was a ball boy in 2003 and I think what I remember most, probably, is just the crowd,” Chitwood said. “Everybody was yelling, and I remember just how happy everyone was. I’ve been waiting my whole football career to feel what that’s like.”

“This was really big for the seniors,” Hatch added. “We realized that this was the last high school game we’d ever play. We’ve been pumped up for this all day. We wanted to leave this morning to come out here and get ready to play. It was an exciting day.”

2. Linfield football makes D-III semifinals
It was something no one saw coming — not the Northwest Conference, not the media, not the fans.

But it was something the players and coaching staff knew they were capable of, and that’s all they needed.

“We really felt like coming in we had a chance to be very good,” Linfield coach Joseph Smith said. “The pieces were there. We just really needed to come together as one unit and I think as that started to emerge, yeah, we got pretty excited.”

Game after game, the Wildcats built a reputation for themselves. Starting out the season unranked, Linfield moved its way up the poll all the way to No. 5 at the end of the regular season.

The Wildcats, after opening their 2009 season with a home win over nationally-ranked Hardin-Simmons, hit the road for four straight weeks and returned home with their record unblemished.

Before we knew it, the Wildcats had secured their 54th straight winning season to keep the NCAA-record streak alive. But they weren’t done. The Wildcats finished out the regular season with a perfect record and the right to host during the first three rounds of the playoffs.

Their winning ways continued into the postseason, where they defeated three straight opponents at home — Cal Lutheran, Mary Hardin-Baylor and St. Thomas.

The Cats advanced to the semifinals, one game away from the national championship game, but were finally stopped by the eventual national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks.

Winning is something that has become expected at Linfield, and the 2009 squad made sure that tradition remained alive and well. They’ve also given Cat fans something to look forward to next season.

3. Bulldogs snag baseball state championship
After battling through 11 hard innings, in a game lasting more than three hours, the Willamina baseball team concluded its remarkable run through the playoffs by proudly hoisting the state championship trophy over their heads after a thrilling 14-9 win over second-ranked Westside Christian.

“Their never-say-die attitude was the key,” Willamina coach Cliff Toney said after the win. “We should have lost this game several times, but we made some great plays. These kids are winners.”

The Bulldogs rattled off eight runs in the top of the 11th inning to break loose for the win. BJ Wilson was 6 of 7 from the plate in the victory.

The championship win, though, was just one of several impressive wins cobbled together by the Bulldogs, who had to knock off No. 1 Grant Union in the semifinals.

And to even get into the title game, the Bulldogs had to pull off a semifinal shocker.

In the semis, the Bulldogs were facing off against the top-ranked team in the state, Grant Union. The two met earlier in the year and the Prospectors took a commanding 12-2 run-rule win in five innings. This time, though, Willamina jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. And, after the visitors took a one-run edge in the top of the seventh, the Bulldogs answered, using a two RBI double by BJ Wilson, sending Willamina to state.

Oh, and the week before? Willamina was down two in the fifth, looking at runners on second and third with no outs. And that’s where the team’s postseason theme started, with the Bulldogs ultimately winning it with a pair of runs in the seventh.

JJ Flynn earned a first team all-state nod as an outfielder. Wilson earned second team as a pitcher and Brandon Bruckner was a second-team utility pick. Adrian Wilson notched a spot on the third team as an outfielder.

4. Y-C boys make second round of state playoffs
In 2009, the Tigers boys soccer squad did something they wouldn’t have dreamt possible in their previous seasons — they made the postseason.

Y-C started its postseason with a sound 4-0 win over Cowapa League foe Scappoose. That pushed the team into the first round of the state playoffs. The Tigers hit the road and laid a 3-2 overtime win on the Tigers of La Grande to move into the second round, where they eventually fell 4-0 to Cottage Grove.

But what’s remarkable about this story isn’t all about where they went, it was more about where they came from. In the two prior seasons, the Tigers lived in the Cowapa League cellar, winning just two games in both the 2007 and 2008 seasons combined.

In 2009, however, the Tigers finished with a 7-6-3 record, 4-3-3 in league play. And, with playoff hopes on the horizon, Y-C finished out the regular season with three straight wins to propel them into the postseason.

5. Dayton soccer returns to state semifinals
The Pirates are quickly becoming a staple in the 3A soccer playoffs, proving this year that last year’s semifinal run was no fluke.

Led by league MVP Jesus Cruz, Dayton cruised through their regular season with a 7-1-1 record. After tying Santiam Christian atop league standings, the Pirates eked out a 1-0 win to earn themselves the No.1 seed from 3A Special District 4.

After a 3-1 overtime win over Corbett in the first round and a 3-2 victory over Riverside, the Pirates once again found themselves in the state semifinals. But, once again, Dayton was stopped just shy of the state title game, dropping their final match of the year 4-1 to powerhouse Oregon Episcopal.

“Probably nobody was thinking we would be here again, having the opportunity to relive the experience from last year,” Dayton coach Jose Cruz said. “It was nice. The team has good chemistry and is just a solid group. My philosophy is that everybody is important and part of the group, and everybody was a part of this team.”

Jesus Cruz, along with teammate Gube Castro, earned first team all-league honors for their efforts. Alvara Magana and Gerado Vargas brought home second-team honors and Chris Rupp and Adrian Molina earned honorable mention.

6. Highflyers bring professional sports to Yamhill County
Up until this year, if sports fans wanted some professional action, they had to leave the county.

But the Yamhill Highflyers brought the pros to us. As part of the International Basketball League, the Highflyers made their debut in late May at Patton Middle School in McMinnville when they defeated the Nippon Tornadoes, in Mac all the way from Japan, 140-121.

The Highflyers are the fourth IBL team in Oregon and the league features 18 teams across the country. Play is fast-paced and scoring is high. With a shorter shot clock, these teams must shoot more, making for much more offensive action. And the bulk of the players are professionals from various countries. Some are even ex-NBAers.

In their inaugural season, the Flyers played nine games — two home and the rest on the road. Their home debut win was the only victory of the shortened branding season, but with a full year to prepare, this season should be much better in terms of record.

The Flyers are slated to start their 2010 season on May 1, playing in 22 games in their first full season.

7. Linfield twins finish 1-2 at D-III decathlon championships
It was double the fun last track season when Linfield twins Josh and Jeremy Lovell of Vancouver, Wash., finished first and second, respectively, in the men’s decathlon at the NCAA Division III Championships.

Josh scored a personal-best 7,080 points to earn Linfield’s first NCAA championship since 2001. Jeremy also earned a personal best of 6,857 points to come in behind his brother.

“We are just absolutely ecstatic about the way the competition turned out,” Wildcat coach Garry Killgore said. “I’m very proud of Josh for the way he handled the pressure of being the No. 1 guy going into the meet. And I was very impressed with Jeremy’s composure, especially in the 1,500.

I couldn’t ask for anything more from these guys. They just went out and did an outstanding job.”

And good news for the Linfield program, these two are juniors. They still have one more season with the Wildcats this spring.

8. Willamina reaches championship game for third straight year
Even though the Bulldogs didn’t walk away with a state title at this year’s OSAA 3A State softball championships, just getting to the title game is a feat within itself. And Willamina did it this past spring for the third year in a row.

Behind the arm of ace pitcher and two-time 3A Pitcher of the Year Caralyn Chewning, the Bulldogs plowed through West Valley League play with a 12-2 record to finish second in their league. After WVL playoffs, the Bulldogs entered the postseason as the No. 2 seed.

The Bulldogs blanked their first two opponents in the opening rounds of state playoffs, defeating Glide on the road 5-0 and Elgin-Imbler at home 9-0. They went on to beat Regis 5-2 on the road in the semifinals.

But in the championship, the Bulldogs found a familiar foe in Valley Catholic. The Valiants went on to a 4-3 win over the Bulldogs, their fourth straight title, the last three coming against Willamina.

“Second stinks. It really stinks,” Chewning said after the heartbreaking loss. “Especially three years in a row. But I am proud of what we did this season. It was a good season and we played really well. So we’ll learn to live with it.”

The success didn’t go unnoticed, as Chewning and Sammi Bowman earned first team all-state nods, while Geci Bowman made the second team. Keep an eye on the Bulldogs again this time around, as Chewning works to pitch her team back to the title game once again.

9. Perrydale produces pair of state champs
In wrestling and track, it only takes one to win a state championship. And that was certainly the case for Perrydale in 2009.

Jordan Moran, the sole member of the Pirates’ wrestling squad, became the first Perrydale wrestler to bring home a state title, winning in the 130-pound division of the 2A/1A Wrestling State Championships.

“It’s amazing,” the then-sophomore said after his big win. “I’m so excited. It’s settling in and becoming more real. I can’t believe this feeling.”

Briana Hawes also made Perrydale history this year, becoming the first Pirate track and field state champion. Hawes, the sole member of the girls track team, earned the state gold in the 1,500. It was the fourth year in a row Hawes had qualified for the OSAA 1A State Track & Field Championships and she wanted to make sure she didn’t come home empty handed this time.

“I wanted this so badly,” said Hawes, now at Oregon State. “This is my senior year. It was my last race, and I just wanted it really, really badly, so I just went for it.”

10. McMinnville High’s Alyssa Hasslen ends Grizz career in style
This McMinnville High School graduate was the most decorated athlete to come out of Mac High as of late. And she capped off her senior season in style with not one, but two, golds at the OSAA 6A State Track & Field Championships — one in discus and the other in shot put.

It wasn’t a huge surprise for track & field fans, who came to recognize that Hasslen was practically automatic over her final two seasons. For the McMinnville senior, however, it was a great way to finish her high school career.

“I’m really happy with today,” said

Hasslen, whose name will certainly remain in the record books at Mac High for some time. “I was really confident going into the discus, and it felt good to finish with a gold.”

It was the second state shot-put title for Hasslen. She earned gold as a sophomore as well.

Her junior year she finished second in the event. She also claimed a pair of state golds in the discus to go along with a sixth-place finish as a sophomore.

Hasslen has taken her track career to Arizona, where she will participate in her first collegiate track season this spring.