Keizertimes., September 21, 2018, Page PAGE B1, Image 11

SEPTEMBER 21, 2018, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE B1
KEIZERTIMES.COM
LIFE
OF
W iley
McNary lineman recovering
from neck injury, concussion
Arba football
tbams not
compbtitivb
Tasked with reviving a sport with de-
clining participation, an OSAA football ad
hoc advisory committee began meeting last
October.
In January, the 6A athletic directors then
voted for a four-game league schedule.
The idea was the fl exibility of playing
fi ve non-league games would allow teams
to put together a more competitive sched-
ule after 42 percent of games were decided
by more than four touchdowns the year
before.
Um... How’s that working?
Three weeks in, Salem-Keizer schools are
a combined 3-15 with McNary, Sprague,
North Salem and McKay all 0-3. The Celt-
ics have been outscored by 100 points.
Sprague? 51.
McKay, which thanks to the ad hoc
committee, was allowed to play down to
5A, lost its fi rst two games by 24 and 20
points.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier this
week.
West Salem, which itself opened the sea-
son with a 27-point loss at Lake Oswego
but has since carried the fl ag for Salem-
Keizer by blowing out Bend and handling
Grant, hosts Sheldon.
McNary travels to Tumwater, Wash.
while McKay and North Salem each play
two of the top ranked teams in 5A.
Here are my picks:
Sprague at South Salem
One of the consequences of a four-
game league schedule is two teams located
four miles apart are playing each other in a
non-league game. The good news here is a
Salem-Keizer team gets a win. Of course
the bad news is it also gets another loss. The
Olympians have dominated this series the
last two years, winning 48-7 and 58-12.
However, Sprague, 0-3, is obviously not the
same team. This game could really go either
way. But I’ll take the team that’s played the
more diffi cult schedule.
Prediction: Olympians 28, Saxons 24
McKay at Lebanon
Playing on Thursday night due to the
referee shortage, the Royal Saxons nearly
got their fi rst win last week, falling to South
Albany by four points. Next, McKay gets
Lebanon, fresh off a 37-36 loss in a heavy-
weight battle against undefeated Silverton.
While the Royal Scots showed progress,
they are not ready to knock off one of the
best teams in 5A.
Prediction: Warriors 37, Royal Scots 14
Silverton at North Salem
The Vikings have been close the past
two weeks before falling off in the second
half. A win should be coming soon but not
against the Foxes, who are on a roll.
Prediction: Foxes 50, Vikings 21
Sheldon at West Salem
A win by the Titans would go a long way
in bringing some respect to Salem-Keizer
football. It would also show that West Sa-
lem is a serious threat to compete for the
6A state title. But the Irish, featuring two of
the top players in the state in quarterback
Michael Johnson Jr. and tight end Patrick
Herbert, have owned West Salem, winning
41-7 and 35-8 the past two seasons.
Prediction: Irish 38, Titans 21
McNary at Tumwater, Wash.
Here’s what I know about Tumwater:
The T-Birds played for the 2A state cham-
pionship last season and at 3-0 are current-
ly ranked No. 1 in the classifi cation. With
more than 1,200 students, Tumwater would
compete in 6A if it were located in Ore-
gon. On offense, the T-Birds run the wing-
T, which McNary will be familiar with
from playing North Salem. In junior Dylan
Paine, Tumwater has a running back who
rushed for more than 1,800 yards and 24
touchdowns last season. McNary’s schedule
should eventually get easier but not yet.
Prediction: T-Birds 40, Celtics 27
Derek Wiley is Associate Editor of the Keiz-
ertimes.
Last week: 4-2, Overall record: 11-7
KEIZERTIMES/Dbrbk Wilby
McNary sbnior Wyatt Shbrwood was back with thb varsity foot-
ball tbam, on thb sidblinb, Friday, Sbpt. 14.
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
While he’s still weeks away from re-
turning to the football fi eld, McNary
senior Wyatt Sherwood was standing on
the sideline Friday and back at school on
Monday.
Sherwood suffered a neck injury and
concussion run blocking at West Linn on
Friday, Sept. 7. Early in the third quar-
ter, Sherwood had his defender on the
ground when McNary running back Ju-
nior Walling was tackled into him, bend-
ing his head back.
“You can’t really see it on fi lm but
that’s how we’re presuming it hap-
pened,” Sherwood said. “I think I kind
of blacked out a little bit because I can’t
really remember much of that play. There
was some pain in my neck but a lot of
numbness. My legs felt a little different.
I couldn’t move them at fi rst but then I
could. When they stood me up, my ex-
tremities all went numb and that’s what
really kind of scared me.”
Sherwood was carted off the fi eld,
placed in an ambulance and taken to
Oregon Health and Science University
in Portland, where it was determined he
had swelling in his C5, 6 and 7 vertebrae
and spinal canal. After spending Friday
night at the hospital, he was released Sat-
urday at 5 p.m.
Sherwood tried to go to school the
following Tuesday.
“I didn’t really do well because the
lights really hurt,” Sherwood said. “I had
a pretty good concussion at that time.”
A week later, Sherwood was feeling
much better.
Sherwood has always been a lineman,
although an undersized one. He played
offensive tackle at 185 pounds last season.
“I had to prove myself there against
some big guys, some 300 pound guys,”
Sherwood said. “It was diffi cult but I held
my own.”
With the goal of getting up to 220,
Sherwood spent the offseason in the
weight room and eating more protein.
By the start of this season, Sherwood,
who also grew two inches, weighed in
at 245.
“I’m bigger and stronger. I feel fast-
er,” Sherwood said. “I can hold my own
against guys and I can take guys, too.”
Sherwood, who also plays on the de-
fensive line for the Celtics, looks forward
to returning to the fi eld.
“I plan on coming back sometime,”
he said. “I’m thinking two weeks from
now, maybe less. I’m not sure yet. It will
be kind of different. I might be a little
more cautious with things than I was be-
fore. I might not use my head as much as
I used to. I’ll be wearing a cowboy collar
to keep my head from going back again
like that to prevent that injury again.”
Celtics on fi re entering league play
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
McNary boys soccer coach Miguel Camarena
set a goal to be in the top 10 of the OSAA power
rankings at the end of non-league play.
With a 1-0 win over Gresham on Monday, the
Celtics accomplished that, rising to No. 4.
McNary’s next goal, a league championship,
begins Tuesday, Sept. 25 when the Celtics host
West Salem to open Mountain Valley Conference
action.
“Every conference game is always a challenge
because you know everyone,” Camarena said.
“Our kids are ready. I’m excited.”
McNary fi nished the preseason 4-1-2 with the
only loss coming at No. 1 and undefeated Lake
Oswego.
Senior Jesus Lopez said the loss was a wakeup
call.
“After our fi rst loss, we started to pick it up
a bit and we realized we can’t take another loss,”
said Lopez, who scored McNary’s only goal
against Gresham, heading a corner kick off a Go-
pher defender and into the net.
“As I was going up towards the ball I tripped
on the other player,” Lopez said. “I tried to head
it and it rebounded off the other player and went
in.”
After scoring just one goal in each of its fi rst
three games, two ties and a loss, the Celtics scored
10 in its next four, all wins.
“We create so many opportunities and in the
fi rst two or three games we missed those goals
and now we’re scoring in every game,” Camarena
said.
ATHLETE
of the Week
presented by
ALEJANDRO
VILLARREAL
Plbasb sbb FIRE, Pagb B2
Boostbr Club to honor Bbacons,
raisb monby for participation fbbs
Kim Phillips
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
Kim Phillips, one of 10 in-
dividuals who will be honored
on Oct. 6 by the Salem-Keizer
High School Sports Booster
Club, coached at McNary for
34 years.
But she almost didn’t make
it more than one.
“It was a time when they
were going to be moving peo-
ple and I didn’t want to move
so they needed a coach for
another sport (track), so I did
for a season to keep my job,”
Phillips said.
While Phillips main sport
was swimming, she never
stopped stepping up when
McNary needed another
coach. She was the head coach
of the varsity volleyball pro-
gram from 1982 to 87 and
then girls golf for 18 seasons
from 1994 to 2011.
Phillips coached notable
swimmers Seth and Martin
Pepper—an NCAA champion
and qualifi er for the Olympic
trials and an NCAA champi-
on, respectfully, Jake Palmer—
a state champion and Amber
Boucher, who participated in
the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team
Trials.
On the golf side, Phillips
coached two inviddual state
champions—Jerilyn
White
and Rebecca Kim.
Her girls swim team fi n-
ished third at the state meet
and the girls golf team placed
second in 2005, missing the
state championship by just two
strokes.
Also a P.E. teacher for 34
years, Phillips saw the benefi ts
of being a student athlete.
“They learned how to
work together, winning and
losing isn’t everything, perse-
verance, especially for some
of those kids that weren’t very
good when they fi rst started
and stuck with it,” Phillips said.
Plbasb sbb BEACON, Pagb B3