Chris Young, a former standout safety at Auburn High, has given an oral commitment to play at Oregon State.

Young originally signed a letter of intent in 2010 to play at Washington, but he didn’t qualify academically. He spent two seasons at Arizona Western College. He picked the Beavers over Washington State and Indiana. Young will be a junior and have two seasons of eligibility.

Oregon State is getting one of the hardest-hitting players I’ve covered. Young should compete immediately for a starting role. The Beavers graduated one safety, another returns and both backups from last season will be …

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For those going through high school football withdrawls, you might want to stop by the Tanoa Bowl on Saturday. The event brings together players from Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Utah.

Team Oregon will face Team Alaska at noon and Team Washington will play Team Utah at 4 p.m. Both games are at Auburn High School. Tickets are $10 and include both games. Children 10 and younger are admitted free of charge.

Here’s the Washington roster. You can find more information on the game here.

SPSL NORTH BOYS BASKETBALL PREVIEW CAPSULES

Feature on Mount Rainier standout sophomore Adrian Davis – click here

CRYSTAL BALL
1. Mount Rainier (10-10)
2. Kentwood (17-10)
3. Kent-Meridian (12-12)
4. Tahoma (5-15)
5. Kentridge (21-10)
6. Kentlake (10-13)
7. Jefferson (6-14)
8. Auburn Riverside (8-12)
9. Auburn (21-7)
*2010-11 records

STARTING FIVE
G Adrian Davis 6-2 Soph. Mount Rainier
Took the league by storm as a freshman, averaging 19 points per game

F Jaron Heck 6-3 Sr. Kentlake
First-team all-league pick averaged 17.7 points per game

F Martel Taylor-Barone 6-4 Jr. Kent-Meridian
One of a few great athletes on a team hungry for the postseason

F Taylor Jones 6-6 Sr. Kentwood
Conquerors big man can play inside and outside

G Jawan Stepney 6-1 Soph. Kentridge
Wasn’t afraid to take big shots at big moments as a freshman

FASTBREAK
In its second season in the SPSL North, Mount Rainier could win the league title. Guard Adrian Davis is electrifying and has a talented supporting cast in point guard Malik Rogers, forward Caden Rowland (14 ppg) and Dawane Clay, who can clean up the boards. Read more »

Cam Christian, a 2007 graduate of Auburn High, died in car accident early Sunday morning near Priest River, Idaho, KREM reported.

At Auburn, Christian earned all-state honors in baseball as a junior and helped the Trojans reach the state championship game during his senior season. He also earned two varsity letters in football.

Christian was attending Seattle University and was a captain of its baseball team. Here’s a link to his bio. Previously, he played at Washington State University.

According to KREM, alcohol was not a factor and he was wearing a seat belt.

Preps: Five Things to Watch

1. Tacoma’s oldest rivalry

Tacoma’s oldest rivalry renews when the Stadium Tigers invade Lincoln Bowl. For decades, dating back to the early part of the 20th century, the teams met on Thanksgiving Day and played in front of crowds that grew as large as 20,000 spectators. Those days are long gone, but bragging rights are still popular and plenty will be at stake in the nonleague contest.

2. New duties for Lakes’ Dozier

After watching Lakes senior David Wood throw for 192 yards and six touchdowns last week, while two-year starting quarterback Cedric Dozier …

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Curtis ended the regular season with a 70-24 win over playoff-bound Beamer on Thursday night. By scoring 70 points, the Vikings tied the SPSL’s record for points scored in a season with 416. Auburn set the original mark last year.

Some other postseason-related loose ends were tied up on Thursday, too:

Kentridge and Auburn Riverside both lost, which means Kentridge will play at the winner of tonight’s Gig Harbor-Bellarmine Prep contest and Auburn Riverside will take on Graham-Kapowsin at Art Crate Field in a pig-tail game on Tuesday. Read more »

Auburn senior Kevin Henderson has given an oral commitment to play basketball at the University of Montana, according to a press release sent by Trojans coach Ryan Hansen.

Henderson, a 6-foot-4 guard, averaged 22 points per game, earned first-team all-SPSL North honors and helped the Trojans reach the state tournament last season.

Henderson picked Montana over Portland State University.

No. 3 Auburn (4-0 league, 4-0 overall) vs. No. 8 Kentwood (3-0, 4-0), 7 tonight at French Field

The lowdown: The game of the year in the SPSL North, Auburn and Kentwood are two eerily similar teams. The Trojans and Conquerors rank first and second in the SPSL in rushing attacks and total defense. Auburn moves the ball almost exclusively via the run. Running backs Alphonse Wade and Austin Embody – both are averaging more than 100 yards per game – spearhead the ground game. The Trojans have attempted the second-fewest passes in the league, completing 13 of 27 attempts for 188 yards. Kentwood’s offense is slightly more balanced, but still run-heavy. RB Mikell Everette has run wild, picking up 11.3 yards per attempt. QB Shane Green has been incredibly efficient, completing 21 of 32 passes for 401 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Auburn, winner of the last two SPSL North crowns, has won 28 straight regular season games, the longest such winning streak in Class 4A.

TNT pick: Auburn 21, Kentwood 17
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