La Grande football will not face Madras as a league opponent in the fall as the OSAA approved new football leagues on Feb. 5, 2024.

WILSONVILLE — The 4A Special District 5 football league was whittled down to five teams after the Oregon School Activities Association Executive Board approved the Football Ad Hoc recommendations during a meeting on Monday, Feb. 5.

La Grande football will now have league opponents of Baker, Crook County, Ontario and Pendleton come fall. Madras, formerly a league opponent of the Tigers, was allowed to move down to 3A due to poor performance on the field.

Other local football teams saw no changes. Cove, Elgin, Imbler, Powder Valley and Union remain in the 1A 8-Man Special District 2 along with Adrian. The vote by the Executive Board comes after a plea from Powder Valley Superintendent Lance Dixon asking for additional time for 1A schools to come up with a plan for football was denied.

Using the formula created by the OSAA to determine school size, La Grande will be the second largest school in the 4A Special District 5 with 408 students. Crook County will be the largest school in the district with 622 students, while Ontario will be the smallest school listed as 346 students.

In school size, Union will lead the 1A 8-Man Special District 2 with 74 students while Adrian will be the smallest at 52 students.