Douglas 10/24/25

We did a little more driving this Friday night than we had originally planned on, but in the end everything turned out well for everyone except the South Umpqua Lancers.  We had made plans to attend a game in Glide, but after arriving there only to find out their game had been rescheduled, we put Plan B into action and drove on south through the rain showers and gusting wind to Winston. 

We didn’t have time to do much exploring before the game, but when we turned west off of the interstate and drove through town it felt a lot larger than the last time I’d been there.  When I got home and had a chance to do a little research I learned that it’s about 50% larger than it was thirty years ago when my parents lived there, so my internal population-o-meter is still pretty accurate.  They’re closing in on 6,000 people in the town now, which doesn’t even include all the animals at the Wildlife Safari, since that’s just outside the city limits on the north side of town.  We took another right turn onto highway 42 and found the high school just north of the South Umpqua river, with the unincorporated community of Dillard on the other side of the river to the south.  There is an alternative high school over in Dillard, but otherwise Douglas High School is the only high school in the Winston-Dillard School District.

The first Winston post office opened in 1893 and named for the postmaster, Elijah Winston.  But the town wasn’t incorporated for another sixty years, and when it was it was called Coos Junction, because highway 42 winds through the Coast Range to Coos county to the west.  Then just two years later the name was changed back to Winston and this time the name seems to have stuck.  Dillard, much smaller at around 500 people or so, was named for early settler John Dillard who settled there in the mid-1800’s.  The school is named for the county, which in turn was named for Stephen Douglas, the politician and debater of Abe Lincoln. The Winston/Dillard area has long been a logging and lumber center, and just this year there have been large layoffs from at least two of the mills in the area, so I was wondering if we would see any signs of distress in the community, but we saw no overt evidence of it, either before, during, or after the game.

We parked the bucket in the lot in front of the school and walked toward the lights behind it.  As we walked past the modern-looking school buildings I had to check for a plaque with my dad’s name on it.  I knew he had worked for the school district for a while and the buildings looked like they may have been from his time there, but I couldn’t see anything.  We continued on and found that parking spaces continued around the side and ended in another sizable gravel lot behind the school closer to the field, but our spot would make for a quick exit when it was all over with. 

As we approached the field my scalp inexplicably began to itch, which was weird.  I shower regularly and consistently practice good follicle hygiene, so I was at a loss as to what was going on.  That’s about the time I remembered that this is where Tiny Troy used to go to school, and that I was probably receiving some kind of subliminal message to buy his shampoo.  Troy Polamalu was from southern California, but he came to live with relatives just outside of Winston when he was nine years old.  He was a three-sport stud for the Trojans before playing for the USC Trojans and then becoming a hall of fame safety for the Steelers in the NFL.  And now he sells shampoo on TV.  Douglas was also where punter Josh Bidwell played before he went to the U of O and then the NFL, and lineman Dennis Boyd played there before going to OSU and then spending 5 seasons with the Seahawks.

Douglas has been playing football since 1953, and the Trojans made it all the way to the 4A state championship game in 2010.  They lost that game to Baker, and that has been their only appearance in a championship game.  These days they play at the 3A level in Special District 4, and were coming into this game with a 2-4 record.   They would be hosting the 4-2 Lancers from South Umpqua, with the winner staying just a game behind leaders Siuslaw in the league standings.

We paid our $5 each at the table on the east side of the field and headed for the uncovered aluminum bleachers on the north side.  It wasn’t raining at the time, but the showers had been coming down off and on for a while and some industrious fans had erected several pop-up shelters over some of the seats.  I had no doubt that the rain would be back before the game was over, and I was a little envious of those people who had thought ahead and wouldn’t be getting soaked with the rest of us, but what could be done? 

As I was posing that question to myself, Mrs. Ednold was working her magic and had procured a couple of prime seats a few rows up completely under the cover of someone else’s shelter before I even knew what was going on.   As it turned out, the rain never did return and nobody was drenched by the end of the night, but it was nice of someone to share their spot and also nice not to have to worry about staying dry.  The students, band and cheerleaders were at the far end of the bleachers so we could hear them well enough to tell that they were good and had a lot of vocal support from the student section, but we weren’t overrun by students, which is always good. The whole place felt like it could use a few more lights, as everything outside of the playing field was a little dim and dingy, but I don't think we could have been in a better spot to enjoy the game.

The natural grass field was wet, but it didn’t appear to play much of a role in how the game played out.  The Lancers started strong, and their quarterback made some nice throws in the first quarter, but an interception kept them out of the end zone.  The Trojans’ offense looked pretty strong too, but they couldn’t score either, and we had a scoreless game through the first 12 minutes.  Not long after the two teams switched ends Douglas was finally able to score, and thanks to another turnover, scored again shortly after.  The kicker doinked the extra point off the left upright though, and I just hoped that that wouldn’t turn out to be the difference between the teams when the game was over.

While the Trojans took their 13-0 lead into the locker room, the rest of us certainly couldn’t complain that there wasn’t enough going on at halftime.  First, the senior members of the cheer squad, the cross country team, and the marching band were all introduced, along with their parents and significant others.  We got to hear the PA announcer read blurbs from each one of them telling us their plans for the future and their favorite high school moments and thanking the appropriate people for supporting them.  It was all very nice, but took a little longer than I think they realized it would. 

Next up was an on-field performance by the Trojan Marching Band in their spiffy marching outfits.  They did three or four numbers with their 20 or so members, including some flag twirlers, which are always my favorite.  They sounded good and did it all while on the move, making some indistinguishable shapes.  For those of us who can’t play an instrument even when we’re stationary, there’s no surer way to make you feel like a loser.  The cool part was when time ran out for the halftime and the players retook the field while the band still had one more tune to play.  It reminded me of that old Don McLean song, and I watched curiously to see if the conductor would cut them off and yield or if they would hold their ground and finish the show.  In the end, this was not the day the music died.  With the players going through their warm-up routines all around them, the band did stay and complete their final song, and someone even put a few more minutes on the clock after they left to give the teams time to properly warm up, so anyone hoping for a bloody confrontation between the band members and the players was sorely disappointed. 

I was afraid the Lancers from South Umpqua would get their passing game going again and make up the deficit in the second half, but the Trojan defense seemed to get better as the game went on, and by the end of the third quarter Douglas had extended their lead to 19-0 and appeared to have the game in hand.  This gave me a chance to hit the concession stand without fear of missing too much drama, and though there wasn’t any coffee on the menu the hot cocoa kept us warm for the remainder of the game.  Something kept that Trojan defense warm, too.  They continued to pitch a shutout and the offense even scored again right at the end to make the final 27-0.  It was somehow a dominant win over a team that was really not too bad.  South Umpqua moved the ball well all night, but at every crucial point the Trojans would pick up a fumble or intercept an errant pass or make a big fourth down stop, and that proved to be the difference.

Our quick-getaway parking spot was a stroke of genius, if I do say so myself, and with highway 42 right in front of the school we were soon back on the freeway and headed for home.  Fortunately, we were running low on gas and I had an excuse to stop by the giant Shell station in Curtin, the one right across the road from the Stardust Motel.  The Stardust is not looking good, with the chain link fence still partially hiding its condemned state, but the big Stardust sign is still there, and I’m holding out hope that it will return to all its former glory and I’ll be able to stay there some night.  About the only thing better than watching your team win 27-0 would be watching your team win 27-0 and then getting to stay at the Stardust Motel.  My fingers are crossed.