Crater seniors Dawson Douglas and Dawson Davis made their collegiate plans official Wednesday during a socially distanced ceremony at Crater High, with the duo committing to the Southern Oregon University football team on the first day of the winter signing period.

Both Comets played key roles in helping lead Crater to the 2019 Class 5A state championship game, finishing runner-up at 11-2 overall following a 14-10 loss to Thurston.

Douglas, a 6-foot, 190-pound receiver, earned honorable mention all-state acclaim last season, while the 6-3, 280-pound Davis was a second-team all-state offensive lineman after each helped the Comets average 48 points and 453 yards per game entering the state final.

Douglas, whose father David also played for SOU and is an assistant coach at Crater, finished with 46 catches for 540 yards and nine touchdowns in 2019.

Like Crater, Southern Oregon University saw its fall schedule postponed and is expected to begin play in March. The Raiders were 4-7 overall and 4-6 in Frontier Conference play in 2019 under head coach Charlie Hall.

Hall announced 12 commitments in all Wednesday, nine from high school seniors and three from college transfers, in a smaller-than-usual signing day haul for the Raiders.

The class is less than half of its normal size, but that was to be expected considering limited recruiting opportunities due to canceled and postponed seasons at all levels across the country, along with the extra year of eligibility SOU’s student-athletes will have even if a shortened season is played this spring.

“This is a much smaller group, but I like what we have and we’re not done recruiting,” Hall said. “There are more spots to fill.”

“This is a tremendously talented group, especially on the offensive line,” added the coach. “You can never go wrong with improving the depth and quality of that position.”

Also committing to the Raiders were defensive back Raysean Clayton (Pasadena CC), long snapper Matthew Fadelli (Junipero Serra HS), defensive lineman Kross Galago (Thurston HS), offensive lineman Jake Hannah (North Bend HS), defensive back Gamon Howard (CC of San Francisco), quarterback Trey Martin (Oregon City HS), offensive lineman Kai Perez (Grants Pass HS), linebacker Drew Schuler (Hartnell CC), offensive lineman Matthew Shaddle (Bishop O’Dowd HS) and defensive back/linebacker Vincent Silva (Sunny Hills HS).