PAGE A8, KEIZERTIMES, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015 Keizer LABOR DAY *Bonus cash available on 2015 models only. Please see your Skyline Ford Sales Associate for details. 3555 River Road N, Keizer • (503) 463- 4853 skylineforddirect.com *Not all buyers qualify for Ford Credit Financing. 72 months at $13.89 per month per $1,000 fi nanced regardless of down payment. Bonus cash requires Ford Credit fi nancing and is not available on 2015 MY Focus RS, Mustang Specialty Vehicles, Transit, Transit Connect, E-Series, F-150, and Super Duty. Take new retail delivery from dealer stock by 9/8/2015. See dealer for qualifi cations and complete details. KEIZERTIMES.COM Celts take on Vikings in fi rst outing KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Celts Kolby Barker and Raymond Bond square off in drills prior to a scrimmage during McNary’s annual Blue Day. BY ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes If the McNary High School varsity football team has its way, the North Salem High School Vikings will be cower- ing on the opposite side of the fi eld Friday, Sept. 4. “I defi nitely want to see us set the tone and show aggres- siveness that will instill fear,” said Sam Farr, a McNary ju- nior. “Our coaches have come out insanely confi dent in our potential and we’re feeling ex- cited about what we can do.” The Celtics and Vikings take the fi eld at North Salem beginning at 7:15 p.m. McNary’s new head coach, Jeff Auvinen, is focusing on developing a new sense of toughness in his fi rst year on the job and hopes the team establishes dominance out of the gate. “We want to have them control the tone and the tem- po. We don’t want to have to react. It’s not going to be per- fect, but we’re going to try to be as tough as we can be,” Auvinen said. Headed into the game, McNary lacks the established playmakers of some recent years, but returns a number of players in key positions along with some lessons learned. “We knew we had potential last year, but we didn’t really live up to it. We can’t go into games thinking we are going to be good, we have to prove ourselves and prove it every week,” said Brady Sparks, Mc- Nary’s senior running back. Senior Trent Van Cleave will lead the offense with Sparks behind him. Matt Aguilar is likely to be a key receiver for the Celtics after spending a fair amount of time in the role as a junior, but Van Cleave will have a veritable throng of receivers to choose from between juniors and se- niors moving up to the varsity ranks for the fi rst time. On the line, Auvinen ex- pected big things from Jason Sperle, Kolby Barker, Kyle Bonn, Caleb Kiefl uk-Yates, Hayden Sader and Farr going into the season. Many of those will play on both sides of the ball. “I think we’ll be able to open up big holes for the run- ning game and make some of the big plays that get everyone excited,” Farr said. Lacroix Hill is expected to lead the defense as he returns for his senior season. Hill was sidelined with injury for most of his junior year. Please see CELTS, Page A9 Ems hold off Volcano rally By HERB SWETT For the Keizertimes A ninth-inning rally by the Vol- canoes was not enough to overcome visiting Eugene on Tuesday as the Emeralds won 5-4 in the fi rst of a three-game series. After three scoreless innings, Eu- gene scored four runs in the fourth. With two out, newcomer Domenic Mazza replaced starting and losing pitcher Mike Connolly and pitched effectively for 2-1/3 innings. Salem- Keizer scored once in the sixth, each club scored once in the seventh, and the Volcanoes got only two runs in the ninth. In the Eugene fourth, PJ Higgins led off with an infi eld single and Eloy Jimenez followed with a single to right fi eld. After Connolly struck out Andrew Ely, a wild pitch moved both runners up. With Alex Bautista at bat, a wild pitch scored Higgins and sent Jimenez to third. Bautista doubled to left center, scoring Jimenez. After an- other wild pitch moved Bautista to third, Tyler Alamo drove him in with a single to left. Blake Headley doubled to left, moving Alamo to third. Adonis Paula scored Alamo with an infi eld single. Jose Paulino replaced starter Jus- tin Steele on the mound after four innings and became the winning pitcher. In the Volcano sixth, Ronnie Je- bavy hit a two-out, bases-empty home run, his eighth of the season. Please see RALLY, Page A12 KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Volcano Miguel Gomez heads for fi rst after putting the ball in play during the game Tuesday, Sept. 1. The diamond in the rough On cloud (U)9 by G.I. Wilson Submitted A group of Keizer soccer players proved darn close to unbeatable this summer. The U9 Keizer United team traveled to four of the state’s premier tournaments the past few months and won all of them. They swept the Capitol Cup in Salem, the Adidas Cup and the Nike Mt. Hood Challenge by winning four games in each tournament. Their only loss in tournament play came in the Lake Oswego Cup and they went on to beat the same team in the championship game. The team is sponsored by Marlene Parsons, a Keizer city councilor, who has contributed more than $3,000 to the team during the past two years. “Marlene is an amazing piece of this team and she is like family to us,” said Steve Adams, one of the team’s coaches. Top row: Coach Danny Estrada, Addison Samual, Jesse Keymolen, Isaac Ceja, Steven Adams, Coach Steve Adams and Coach Eric Branch. Bottom row: Riley Hayman, Joe Arechiega, Chico Rodriguez, Junior Flores, Silas Branch and Vince Estrada. We are anchored in a quiet little cove, watching the tips of our rods. Two fat rainbows--of about two pounds--tucked away in the cooler. We continue to soak up the double images of Mt. Bailey. The tranquil surface of the lake becomes a giant mirror refl ecting the snow-covered mountain in the background. A booming blast--far off in the distance--shatters the si- lence. “Wow! Must have blown off half of a mountain with that charge,” Paul whispers. We learned an hour later, that half mountain was Mt. St. Hel- ens. It was May 18, 1980. We were fi shing Diamond Lake, deep in the Oregon Cascades, over 350 miles from St. Helens. Today is my fi rst time back to Diamond Lake since that his- toric blast. Another wow, is in order. What a change from what I remember. State of the art ma- rina and docks, a well-maintained fl eet of aluminum boats and motors. Guided fi shing trips - for up to 10 customers - are offered by Diamond Lake Charters. The original motel is still open but they now offer a wide range of accommodations from rustic vintage cabins to a beauti- ful lakefront retreat center that sleeps up to 20. Please see WILSON, Page A11