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NOVEMBER 2, 2018, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE B1 KEIZERTIMES.COM LIFE OF W iley LEAGUE CHAMPIONS 1975 1996 1997 1998 2005 2018 OSAA rankings out of whack McNary won its fi rst league champi- onship since 2005 last Friday. The Celtics reward? A road fi rst round playoff game against one of the best teams in the state. While the OSAA power rankings have never been exactly accurate, this season’s schedule, which featured fi ve non-league and four league games, has shown a brighter light on its imperfec- tions. McNary fi nished seven spots be- hind West Salem, a team it beat hand- ily just two weeks ago. The Titans have one more win and are benefi ting from playing games against No. 1 Lake Os- wego and No. 3 Sheldon. But neither of those contests was close and overall the Celtics played the tougher non-league schedule as two of West Salem’s non- league wins came against No. 29 Grant and No. 23 Bend. Of course, McNary also defeated Bend, in a league game. North Medford didn’t do the Celtics any favors. After blowing out McNary to open the season, the Black Tornado lost six of their fi nal seven games to fi n- ish No. 32 and barely make the post- season. But the Celtics other non-league games came against No. 6 West Linn, No. 9 Tualatin, No. 13 South Medford and Tumwater, who fi nished 8-1 in Washington. The Bend schools also have to be scratching their heads as Bend fi nished one spot ahead of Mountain View even though the latter just won 24-7 last Friday. Even more ridiculous, Sprague, who missed the playoffs after fi nishing No. 36, trounced No. 23 Mountain View 34-6 on Oct. 19. The Olympians, who played an even tougher schedule than McNary, could not overcome a one-point loss to South Salem on Sept. 21. How did McNary and West Salem’s non-league schedules prepare them for the playoffs? My picks: Southridge at West Salem Neither of these teams enter the playoffs with a lot of momentum. While the Titans did blow out Sprague last week, they are just two weeks removed from falling at home to McNary. The Skyhawks ended the regular season with a 30-14 loss at home to Aloha. On paper, West Salem and Southridge have similar resumes. Both defeated Moun- tain View. The Titans lost at Beaverton by two points while the Skyhawks won at Beaverton by fi ve. Southridge hasn’t won a playoff game since 2014 when it then lost by 42 points to West Salem in the second round. I’ll take the team coming off a win and playing at home. Pick: Titans 38, Skyhawks 28 McNary at Lakeridge Before Tom Smythe ever won a state championship at McNary, the legendary head coach won the title at Lakeridge in 1987. Smythe went a remarkable 157- 32 in his fi rst stint as head coach of the Pacers. But Lakeridge hasn’t had the same success as of late, posting a 7-20 record over the previous three years before fi nishing 6-3 this season. The Pacers, who last won a playoff game in 2014, were riding a four-game winning streak this season, before falling to No. 1 Lake Oswego 30-14 last Friday. That stretch included a 48-38 victory at No. 5 Tigard. Like McNary, Lakeridge also has wins over Sprague and Bend and lost at West Linn. This game will defi - nitely test just how much the Celtics have improved after 28 and 44-point losses at West Linn and Tualatin in Sep- tember. McNary is riding high after go- ing 4-0 in league play. But the Celtics still haven’t played their best game. Pick: Celtics 44, Pacers 40 Derek Wiley is the associate editor of the Keizertimes. Last week: 4-0, Overall 30-16 Celtics win MVC By DEREK WILEY Of the Keizertimes McNary has spent the last four years under head coach Jeff Auvinen focused on getting better, not just every season or even every game, but every play. That work paid off last Friday with the football program’s fi rst league champion- ship since 2005. The Celtics defeated South Salem 40- 33 to clinch the Mountain Valley Confer- ence title. McNary made no more progress within a single season than this one. After starting 0-5, the Celtics won all four of their league games. “We stayed the course and got better,” Auvinen said. “That’s all you can do is play the next play.” McNary appeared like it would roll over the Saxons when the Celtics led 25-6 and recovered an on-side kick with 5:40 re- maining in the fi rst half. But South Salem took advantage of a McNary fumble and turnover on downs to Please see CHAMPS, Page B3 KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley McNary senior Noah Bach, left, runs away from a South Salem defender for a 52-yard touchdown on Friday, Oct. 26 in a 40-33 victory over the Saxons. Junior Walling, right, celebrates after making a play on defense. McNary soccer players voted all-league McNary had six players voted to the All-Mountain Valley Conference boys soccer teams. Senior Jesus Lopez (defense), Jovanie Bravo (mid- fi eld) and Sebastian Lopez (goalkeeper) were selected to the First Team. Miguel Bravo, a senior midfi elder, was named to the Second Team. Luis Lopez (midfi eld) and Francisco Rios (forward) were honorable mention. The Celtics fi nished 7-4-4 this season, losing 3-1 at Beaverton in the fi rst round of the 6A state playoffs. McNary’s girls soccer team had fi ve players on All-Mountain Valley Conference teams. Senior Abbie Hawley (forward) was voted to the First Team. Seniors Gina Munguia (midfi eld) and Sydney Snapp (goalkeeper) were named to the Second Team. Seniors Isabella Haselip (forward) and Katy Wyatt (midfi eld/forward) were honorable mentions. The Lady Celts fi nished 5-8-1 this season. KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley McNary seniors Jovanie Bravo, left, and Abbie Hawley were selected to the All-Mountain Valley Conference First Team. South Salem XC teams qualify for state Submitted McNary’s boys cross country team ran in the Mountain Valley Conference Champion- ships Saturday at Central Oregon Community College in Bend. McNary senior David Al- len led the Celtics cross coun- try team in his fi nal race at the Mountain Valley Conference Championships. Running at Central Or- egon Community College in Bend, Allen fi nished 33rd overall in 19:10.27 on Satur- day, Oct. 27. McNary sophomores Gavin Gasperini and Andrew Goemaere placed 39th and 40th in 19:35.39 and 19:42.91. Freshman Caleb McCoy then took 42nd in 20:05.97. Brennan Whalen, another sophomore, was the fi nal run- ner to score for the Celtics, fi nishing 45th in 20:22.89. With three runners in the top four, Summit won the boys race. Bend and South Sa- lem took second and third to also qualify for the state meet on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Lane Community College in Eu- gene. Sophomore Evan Gonza- lez and senior Jay Grant led the Saxons, fi nishing sixth in 17:30.19 and eighth in 17:41.83. Sprague senior Landon Sorenson placed 13th in 18:13.99. Summit, winners of 10 straight state titles and cur- rently ranked No. 1 in the Please see RUN, Page B3
