JOHN DAY – The High Desert League is preparing for the annual district tournament in John Day this week.

The tournament will be held at the Grant Union High School gym this Saturday. However, with only a few days remaining before the tournament the tournament lineup has not been solidified. The top six teams in the HDL advance to the tournament and the top three from the tournament go into the Oregon School Activities Association playoffs.

Currently Crane is in first place with an 11-0 record. Jordan Valley and Adrian have one game remaining against each other, but are guaranteed second or third place regardless of the outcome, with either 10-1 or 9-2 records. Spray finished the season in fourth place with an 8-3 record.

The last two spots in the tournament are heavily contested. Burnt River is in fifth place with a 6-5 record. Dayville/Monument has a 5-5 record with one game remaining, and Prairie City is 5-4 with two games remaining.

If Prairie City beats Long Creek and loses to Dayville Tuesday, Oct. 21, the Panthers and Tigers would be tied with Burnt River at 6-5 and all the teams would have defeated each other in head-to-head play. A coin toss would then determine who would play when for the final spots because according Kevin Purnell, athletic director at Adrian High School, HDL rules prohibit a coin toss from eliminating a team from the playoffs.

Monument/Dayville, Prairie City or Burnt River would play the tie-breaking game on Wednesday Oct. 22.

Dayville lost 3-0 to Burnt River at home Oct. 17. Prairie City also lost its last match to Jordan Valley. The two cross-county rivals will now meet Oct. 21 to possibly decide postseason play.