Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 2015)
NOVEMBER 6, 2015, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A15 OLYS, continued from Page A14 Freshmen lose to Sprague Olys a 14-0 lead with 4:43 left in the fi rst quarter. “They had some tricky blocking schemes and we got lacksidaisical in what we were supposed to do. We tried to do our own thing instead of working as a team,” said Celt LaCroix Hill. McNary started its next drive on the Saxon 45-yard line after a kickoff return by run- ning back Brady Sparks. Sparks notched two more long rushes and three shorter ones to put the ball at Sprague’s four-yard line. Van Cleave got the touch- down on a third-and-two at- tempt. The Olys scored again on their next drive after another big run by Nunn put them at fi rst-and-goal at the one-yard line. The teams went to half- time with a score of 21-6. Both teams struggled in the third quarter, but McNary won a goal-line stand with seven minutes left in the game. The Celts then pulled out a 99-yard drive capped by a touchdown pass from Van Cleave to junior Josh Benson in the end zone. The Sprague High School freshman football team closed an undefeated season in the Greater Valley Conference with a 44-14 win over Mc- Nary High School Thursday, Oct. 29. The young Celtics fi n- ished their season with a 3-5 league record and 3-6 overall. “With all of the injuries and the quality of opposi- tion in our league I’m real pleased that our kids played well and fought to the close of the season,” said Ted An- agnos, McNary head coach. “They improved every week and played hard.” Sprague started quickly in the fi rst quarter, scoring on a 50-yard run and a 20-yard pass to take a 13-0 lead. After the Olys extended their lead to 19-0 early in the second quarter, McNary bounced back on a two-yard touchdown run by Chantz Revis. After Revis ran in the two-point coversion, Sprague led 19-8 with three minutes remaining in the half. The Olys ran back the en- KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Celt Colden Garro holds off an Olympian tackler in the game Friday, Oct. 30. Sparks rushed for a two-point conversion to close the scoring gap to 21-14 with 3:54 left in the game. McNary appeared poised to snuff out the Olys’ return drive after key tackles by Collin Young and Colden Garro, but the Olys converted a short pass into a long run and reset the chains at the Celtic 29-yard line with a little over two minutes to go. Sprague pushed all the way to McNary’s four-yard line before deciding to simply ride out the clock by taking a knee. “On their third down con- versions we let them do what- ever they wanted and that kind of happened the whole game,” said Van Cleave. Auvinen said the game came down to giving up too much possession time. “We bent, we didn’t break, but we bent too far,” he said. suing kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown and a 25-8 lead. After holding McNary on downs late in the half, Sprague blocked a Celtic punt that led to a nine-yard touchdown run. Nigel Harris blocked the conversion kick, but Sprague still had a 31-8 lead at the half. The Olys recovered a mis- handled punt snap deep in Celtic territory that led to a 12-yard touchdown pass and a 38-8 lead. The Celtics battled back and scored on a Revis 23- yard run to cut the lead to 38-14. With subs playing the fourth quarter, Sprague closed the scoring on a three- yard run for the fi nal margin. Defensive coordinator Nick Phillips and offensive coordinator George Carter both praised the play of run- ning back and strong safety Robert Benson. Benson led the Celts with 96 yards rushing, the defense with 11 tackles and a pass in- terception. Revis added 62 yards rushing for McNary. Harris rushed for 15 yards, passed for 15 and added three tackles and an interception on defense. Collin Penner and Brent Preston had fi ve tackles each. Defensive line coach Todd Hatley complemented both Preston and Penner for their best games defensively of the season. “They both closed well,” said Hatley. Linebackers Griffi n Oliveira and Boston Smith chipped in four tackles each. Offensive line coach Geoff White complemented the play all season of tackle/guard Joshua Schmeltzer, who was extended an invite by Jeff Auvinen, the head coach of the varsity squad, to join the varsity team for the playoffs. “It’s an honor to be in- vited, and I’m sure Josh will benefi t from the experience,” said White. McNary’s football awards ceremony will be held at the school at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 2. VETERANS FOUGHT FOR OUR WAY OF LIFE. IT’S OUR DUTY TO FIGHT FOR THEIRS. DAV helps veterans of all ages and their families receive the benefi ts they earned. Lend support or get free help at DAV.org. THANK YOU K EIZER F IRE D ISTRICT FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF OUR E MERGENCY E QUIPMENT B OND We will share our progress and Keizer Fire District pride and spirit with you as we fulfill our promise to you. Our behalf of the Career and Volunteer Firefighters, paramedics and your elected Fire District Board of Directors T HANK Y OU PA I D F O R B Y F R I E N D S O F K E I Z E R F I R E D I S T R I C T