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Organized in 1998 by a group including Mike Morrell
and president Doug Stone, the Oregon Football League brought
together the southern Oregon teams playing primarily as independents
during the mid-90's In 1998 the Rogue
Warriors dominated the scene running off to an 8-0 record and the
inaugural OFL Championship.
The OFL expanded in 1999 with the addition of
the Grants Pass Marauders, but it was the Rogue Valley Blaze who ended
the Warriors unbeaten streak at 9 in a row, but couldn't double the feat
in the '99 Championship as the Warriors were crowned Back-to-Back OFL
Champs. 2000 saw the departure of the
Rogue Valley Blaze, and the first northern addition to the league in the
Salem Doom. The Doom ended it's run after only 3 games, and the
Klamath Crusaders ascended to the OFL throne winning close game after
close game, including the 21-20 championship victory over the two-time
defending champs. 2001 was a contraction
year back to four teams as the Doom were gone and the Marauders ended
their run in the OFL after two seasons. An expansion team in the
east arose with the addition of the Central Oregon Stampede out of Bend,
OR. The Outlaws would take the OFL title in the lowest scoring
championship game in league history, a 3-2 win over the Crusaders.
The Warriors regained their crown in 2002 with a
one-point championship victory over the Stampede, while the defending
Champion Outlaws found themselves in the cellar. This was the
first time the league roster remained with the same lineup in 2
consecutive years since it's inception.
2003 was an explosion of expansion as the four-team OFL became an
eight-team version of what it would remain with the inclusion of teams
from the Eugene area previously playing in the Nineman League. The
Northwest Timberwolves and Eugene Red Dragons joined, as did upstart
teams Columbia River, Southwestern Oregon Raiders, and Umpqua Valley
Knights. The Stampede were the class of the regular season, but
the Warriors once again took the Championship with a 48-21 dismantling
of the Stampede in the title game. The Douglas County Outlaws, an
original charter team did not return for a sixth season.
From worst to first, and back again. That's
what 2004 was for the Eugene Dragons as they went from an 0-8 team in
2003 to a 9-1 championship team that defeated the Stampede 24-7.
In doing so, the Dragons and their management became one of the most
controversial in league history. The Northwest Timberwolves, were
replaced with the Oakridge Timberwolves of the Nineman League, while the
league expanded again with the Siskiyou Savages near Crescent City,
California becoming a member. In 2005 the
Dragons were knocked off the throne with a playoff defeat by the Rogue
Warriors who went on to claim their fifth championship trophy.
Allegations swirled back and forth after the season regarding the
expected expansion of the Eugene-based Oregon Outlaws from the Nineman
League, and before long, the Dragons packed up their team and departed
for the Washington-based Pacific Northwest Football Conference. An
ill-advised move, as the Dragons suffered through two crushing seasons
including a record-setting 105-0 loss to the South Sound Shockers in
'07. The Timberwolves also ended their alignment with the OFL
after the 2004 season. As expected, the
Oregon Outlaws from the Nineman League joined the OFL along with a new
team in Salem called the Monarchs. The Outlaws ran the table and
kept the Warriors from a 6th title and also became the first OFL team to
win the championship with an undefeated record since the '98 Warriors.
The Salem Monarchs were a middle of the pack 5-4 team, but would end up
changing the face of Oregon football in a short couple of years.
The Outlaws won back-to-back titles with a 29-20
win over the High Desert Lightning. The Lighting, formerly the
Central Oregon Stampede, shocked the OFL with an upset playoff win over
the Rogue Warriors. The Salem Monarchs changed their name to the
Oregon Monarchs while the Columbia River Coyotes broke the record for
longest losing streak. The Outlaws, as Champs of the OFL were set
to face the South Sound Shockers of the PNFC in the first GNFA Qualifier
game, but due to too many injuries, pulled out and the Lightning as
runners-up took their place. The Shockers were too much and
advanced to the GNFA title game with a 47-2 win at Fort Lewis' Cowan
Stadium. 2008 saw the OFL break into
divisions for the first time in an effort to shorten road trips and cut
down on travel expenses for the teams. The Siskiyou Savages
changed their name to the South Coast Storm, while the Vancouver Vipers
and Springfield Buzzards joined as expansion teams. This was also
the end of the line for the Southwestern Oregon Raiders as they shut
down operations. The Oregon Monarchs halted the Outlaws run for a
third straight title with a one-point playoff victory, then went on too
dominate the Warriors in the Championship game 55-14 and in so doing,
started a Northwest winning streak that would not be ended until
the 2011 PFL playoffs. The Columbia River Coyotes finally ended
their run of futility after setting a GNFA record 40-consecutive losses.
The Monarchs defeated the Blue Mountain Stars in the GNFA Championship
game played in Portland. For 2009, the OFL
returned to single division play with the departure of the Coyotes and
the South Coast Storm. The Monarchs decimated the competition
enroute to back-to-back titles, the fourth time in OFL history a team
accomplished the feat. In doing so, the Monarchs set an OFL
scoring record and shattered many offensive records. Traveling to
Wenatchee, Washington for the GNFA Championship, the Monarchs came from
behind to win a second GNFA crown. The
final official year of the OFL, pre-Pacific League merger again saw the
Monarchs appear untouchable except for a close 13-10 win at Umpqua
Valley in mid season. However, the Knights, hoping to repeat the
feat with a different outcome got blasted in the championship game 52-7.
The Monarchs became the first team to win 3-straight OFL titles.
The GNFA Championship game never got off the ground as the Washington
League champion Hermiston Hurricanes refused to take on the Monarchs and
forfeited the game just days before it was to be played.
The Pacific Football League was formed in 2011 and
the OFL was placed in the southern division, with the exception of the
Umpqua Knights who terminated operations due to health issues with
management, and the Vancouver Vipers, who were moved to the PFL North
with the Washington based teams. The closure of the OFL also ended
a record-setting nine championship game appearances by the Rogue
Warriors, who came away with five championship trophies in the thirteen
years of the OFL. 2001, '04, '07, & '10 were the only years the
Warriors watched the title game from the stands. |
