The Far West League regular season starts tonight as the league’s teams begin an eight-week quest for a spot in the Class 4A playoffs.

The Sunset Conference opened last week, while the Midwestern League girls started their counting season Saturday and the boys begin Friday. The Skyline League, which includes Powers and Pacific, also starts Friday.

North Bend’s teams begin the Far West League season at home, with a visit from Douglas tonight. This will be the first of three meetings between the schools, with the league returning to a triple-round robin schedule this winter.

Brookings-Harbor, which visits South Umpqua, enters the season ranked first in the Class 4A boys coaches poll after just missing the state title last year. The Bruins are unbeaten this season. Sutherlin is the only other team with a winning record, though North Bend has shown promise in the preseason. North Bend visits Brookings-Harbor on Friday.

Sutherlin, the defending girls state champion, opens at home against Siuslaw tonight. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 in the most recent coaches poll and are off to an 8-0 start. Douglas is the only other league team with a winning record, at 5-3.

As in the past, the schedule calls for girls varsity games to start at 6 p.m., followed by the boys at approximately 7:30 p.m.

In the Sunset Conference, the top two teams from recent years, Cascade Christian and Bandon, square off tonight on the Tigers’ home court. Cascade Christian is ranked No. 1 in the Class 3A coaches poll and went unbeaten in its first season in the league last year, knocking the Tigers off their perch atop the standings. No. 10 Bandon is 9-2, while Cascade Christian is 8-2.

Cascade Christian opened league play by pounding Coquille last week.

Myrtle Point, the top girls team in the league for years, finished second at last year’s state tournament, but also lost a lot to graduation. The Bobcats, who return league most valuable player Sam Sanders, beat Bandon in the Sunset Conference opener and visit league newcomer Rogue River tonight.

Gold Beach, which is at Coquille tonight, is ranked sixth in the most recent coaches poll, with the Bobcats eighth.

In the Midwestern League, Marshfield’s girls visit North Eugene tonight after losing to Thurston to open the league season. The Pirates visit Willamette, one of the favorites to win the state title, on Friday. Through the first game in league play, Willamette, Thurston, North Eugene, Churchill and Marshfield all have three or fewer losses on the season.

Marshfield’s boys open league play at home against Willamette on Friday. The early league favorites are Churchill and Thurston, ranked sixth and eighth, respectively, in the most recent Class 5A coaches poll. Marshfield was ranked 12th.

In the Class 1A Skyline League, Pacific opens at Camas Valley on Friday, while Powers is at Days Creek.