PAGE B6, KEIZERTIMES FOOTBALL PREVIEW, SEPTEMBER 6, 2019
McNARY CELTICS
KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings
With 22 seniors on their varsity roster, the McNary Celtics have high hopes for the 2019 season as they prepare to defend their Mountain Valley Conference crown.
McNary looks to repeat as conference champs
By MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
A roller coaster season for
the McNary football squad last
year still resulted in the Celtics
being crowned the 2018
Mountain Valley Conference
champions.
But despite winning the
league title, there were aspects
of last season that left a bad
taste in the mouth of McNary
head coach Jeff Auvinen.
The Celtics were 0-6 last
year against teams that weren’t
in the MVC (including
playoffs) and really struggled
to be competitive in their
non-league contests, with
their average margin of defeat
being over 30 points.
“We got better last year
and we won the league title,
but we didn’t compete very
well in non-league games, or
in our playoff situation. I think
that’s a mentality. I don’t think
the talent level was all that
different, I just think the kids
didn’t believe that they could
be successful,”
Auvinen said.
“One of our
goals is to
develop
the
mentality
that we can
compete and
be successful
against those
type of teams.”
McNary
will
have
plenty
of
chances
to
prove themselves in their non-
conference slate this season.
Along with playing road
games at North Medford and
South Medford, the Celtics
host a pair of teams ranked in
the top-10 in the preseason
coaches poll. They will take
on #5 West Linn on Friday,
Sept. 13 and #6 Tualatin on
One of the main reasons that
the Celtics are considered the
favorite to win the conference
for a second straight season is
the return of Erik Barker and
of ups and downs. They are
natural leaders and they will
do well for us in that aspect,”
Auvinen said of his two
senior captains. “They really
care about the
success of the
team and they
care
about
each one of
our
guys,
which helps
them lead by
example.”
Walling, a
running back
and linebacker,
has been a
starter for the
Celtics every
year of his career. Last season,
he rushed for 1,005 yards
and 12 touchdowns on 210
carries. On defense, Walling
recorded 86 total tackles (49
“We’re on par with
anyone as far as
physicality goes.”
— Jeff Auvinen, McNary head coach
Sept. 20.
“We’re on par with anyone
as far as physicality goes. We
just need to prepare ourselves
every day,” Auvinen said.
Junior Walling — arguably
two of the top skill position
players in the state.
“They have been around
and have got through a lot
solo) and had fi ve sacks —
he was named fi rst-team all-
conference on both sides of
the ball.
Back in June, Walling
committed to continue his
education and football career
at Oregon State University.
Barker, on the other hand,
is entering his third year at the
Celtics signal-caller and is the
only retuning quarterback in
the MVC that received all-
league recognition last season,
throwing for nearly 1,500
yards and 11 touchdowns. He
is currently being looked at by
several Division I-AA schools
and was offered a scholarship
by Georgetown University.
At 6-foot-4, 220 lbs.,
Barker is one of the most
physical players on the team,
which is why he will also be
playing on the defensive end
McNary roster
#
PLAYER NAME
YR.
POS.
HT.
WT.
#
PLAYER NAME
YR.
POS.
HT.
WT.
175
1
Ethan Martin
WR/DB 11
5-7
145
27
Ethan McMunn
WR/DB 12
5-11
2
Junior Walling
RB/LB 12
6-2
230
28
Logan Ready
WR/LB 10
6-1
170
3
Jack McCarty
QB/DB 11
5-9
175
29
Nico Sandoval
RB/DB 12
5-8
165
4
Alex Tavera
WR/DB 12
5-9
150
31
Drew Brown
RB/DL 12
5-11
200
5
Quintin Camenisch
WR/DB 11
5-8
140
34
Matt Mehlhoff
RB/LB 11
5-10
180
6
Noah Lelack
WR/DB 12
6-1
175
35
Jake Paton
WR/DB 10
5-8
150
7
Ethan Rubio
WR/DB 12
6-2
195
38
Hayden Kaiser
TE/DL 10
6-3
210
220
8
Spencer Delacruz
RB/DL 12
6-0
190
45
Dyami Rios
RB/LB 11
6-2
10
Layton Thurlow
RB/LB 12
6-0
205
48
Rudy Garcia
RB/LB 10
5-11
210
11
Quinn Bach
RB/LB 10
5-9
165
55
Griffen Hubbard
OL/LB 11
6-3
200
OL/DL 10
12
Erik Barker
QB/DB 12
6-4
220
56
Jeremiah Ratliff
5-10
205
13
Josh Winslow
RB/LB 12
5-9
170
58
Anthony Garcia-Reyes OL/DL 12
5-8
220
14
Joseph Fowler
RB/LB 12
5-11
180
59
Gavin Anderson
OL/DL 11
6-2
215
15
Junior Nunez
WR/DB 11
5-10
155
64
Nathan Young
OL/DL 12
6-0
290
16
Haley Hughes
K
5-6
135
70
Malakai Vasseur
OL/DL 12
6-6
375
17
Tyler Copeland
QB/WR 10
6-2
170
72
Michael Tischer
OL/DL 12
6-1
290
18
Gunner Smedema
QB/WR 10
5-7
140
73
Aldo Villalvazo
OL/DL 10
5-11
250
12
19
Evan Cornell
WR/DB 10
6-1
175
74
Nic Shepherd
OL/DL 12
6-4
260
20
Zane Aicher
RB/DB 10
5-10
175
75
Michael Ridgway
OL/DL 12
6-3
270
21
Daniel Mood
K
5-11
170
76
Coleman Young
OL/DL 11
6-3
260
23
Riley Flores
WR/DB 12
6-2
175
78
Jose Delgado
OL/DL 11
5-6
350
25
Adam Dang
RB/DL 12
5-11
185
12
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