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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 2019)
PAGE A14, KEIZERTIMES, OCTOBER 25, 2019 12,000 $ OFF MSRP 2019 F-150 SUPERCREW 2019 F-350 4X4 XLT 39,999 % 3555 River Road N, Keizer (503) 463- 4853 or 0 www.skylineforddirect.com sale price* x60 available *MSRP: $52,040. Sale price $39,999 after $3,791 Skyline discount $3,250 retail customer cash, $1,500 retail bonus cash, $750 select inventory customer cash, $750 retail bonus cash, $1,250 trade assist, $750 Ford Motor credit. Plus license, tax, title & doc fee. Must trade a ‘95 or newer. Must fi nance with Ford Motor Credit, on approved credit. 1 at this price. Subject to prior sale. Stk# 194160,VIN# KKD57102. Art for illustration only. Offer expires 10/31/2019. 0%x 60=48266 to fi nance after Skyline discount, Tier 0-1 OAC must fi nance with Ford Motor Credit. XLT LARIAT SUPER CAB UNDER 50K! $ ** **MSRP: $56,920. Sale price $49,995 after $3,925 Skyline discount $1,250 retail customer cash, $750 select inventory customer cash, $1,000 Ford Motor credit. Plus license, tax, title & doc fee. Must finance with Ford Motor Credit, on approved credit. 1 at this price. Subject to prior sale. Stk# 194357,VIN# E54636. Art for illustration only. Offer expires 10/31/2019. KEIZERTIMES.COM Smythe highlights new HOF class By MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes For the second time this year, McNary High School inducted new members into their prestigious athletic Hall of Fame, led by one of the best football coaches in state history, Tom Smythe. Smythe, along with Luke Atwood, Niki Hayhurst Volz and the 2001 state champi- on football team were all honored in a ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 17 at Quality Inn & Suites. In 34 years of coaching ship game, where the Celtics high school football in Ore- took down Beaverton by a gon, Smythe won 278 games score of 51- and three state 48 — which titles in three still holds the different de- record for cades (1987, most com- 1997, 2001). bined points Smythe in a state won two of championship his three state game. Smythe champion- believes that ships with it was the M c N a r y, best state fi - where he nal game ever was the head played. coach from While he 1995-2006. was known In his tenure as an offen- with the Celt- sive innovator, ics, the 78- what Smythe year old ac- — Tom Smythe prided himself crued a record most on was Former McNary coach of 105-29 and making sure fi ve confer- that his kids ence champi- were enjoying onships to go along with his playing the game of football. two state titles. “When a season was over, Smythe has had many in- I want kids to be able to credible moments over his look me in the eye and say illustrious career, but one ‘Coach, that was really fun,’” in particular that stands out Smythe said. “I think some- is the ‘97 state champion- times, coaches tend to take “I feel so blessed to have coached in Keizer, Oregon for the McNary Celts. What a beautiful time.” KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings Tom Smythe (middle) stands with McNary athletic director Scott Gragg (left) and principal Erik Jespersen after being entered into McNary’s athletic Hall of Fame. the fun out of the game. And to me, the fun is the most important part of the game.” Once the ceremony had wrapped up, Smythe grabbed the microphone and gave an emotional tribute to the Celtics faithful. “Twelve years at McNary. I can hardly put it in per- spective without tearing up and crying. I always told my players that it was okay for men to cry. And now I fi nd myself in that same situation, where I can hardly speak,” Smythe said. “I feel so bless- ed to have coached in Keiz- er, Oregon for the McNary Celts. What a beautiful time.” Those in attendance erupted in cheers at the con- clusion of Smythe’s speech, with the biggest applause coming from the members of his ‘01 state title team, who he was happy to share the spotlight with. McNary’s ‘01 football squad — also known as the “Giant Killers” — had one of the most dominating postseason runs in state his- tory, winning each of their playoff games by two touch- downs or more. But it was a loss to South Salem early in the season that lit a fi re un- der this team. “We used that loss as mo- tivation,” Smythe said. “I’ve had players tell me that if we hadn’t lost to South Salem, we probably wouldn’t have won (the championship).” The Celtics fi nished the season with a 13-1 record, which was capped off with a 35-10 victory over Sheldon in the state championship Please see HOF Page A10 Big third quarter propels McNary to victory KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings McNary running back Nico Sandoval runs past the Bend defense for a 52-yard score to give the Celtics their fi rst lead of the game in the third quarter. By MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes The McNary football team has been no stranger to halftime defi cits. The Celtics have trailed after two quarters in six of their seven contests so far this season. In their annual homecom- ing game, McNary found themselves in a similar posi- tion, losing by double-dig- its going into the break. But when they came out of the locker room, the Celt- ics looked like a brand new team. After being shut out in the fi rst half, the Celtics scored 21 points in the third quarter in route to their 28-20 victo- ry over Bend on Friday, Oct. 18, moving to 2-0 in Moun- tain Valley Conference play. Junior Walling led the way for McNary with 25 carries for 183 yards, to go along with his 12 tackles in the Celtics victory. “We knew that we needed to be confi dent and we knew that we needed to play with some heart. The seniors took leadership and we just put it all together. That was a real fun game,” Walling said. McNary quarterback Erik Barker had his best perfor- mance of the season in this one, throwing for 198 yards and a touchdown. “I think the kids are start- ing to believe in themselves and believe in each other. That was huge for us to be able to rise to the challenge,” McNary head coach Jeff Au- vinen said. The Celtics defense strug- gled early on with Bend’s double-wing offensive at- tack as the Lava Bears scored on their opening possession thanks to a 31-yard run from Nate Denney. After their fi rst drive stalled in Bend territory, the Celtics offense drove the length of the fi eld thanks to a 39-yard completion from Barker to Riley Flores, as well as a pair of fi rst down runs from both Barker and Walling. But on fourth-and-goal from the Lava Bears one-yard line, Barker couldn’t reach the end zone on a quarter- back draw, and the Celtics were forced to turn the ball over on downs. Driving 79 yards and get- ting nothing out of it seemed to be a momentum killer for the Celtics as the fi rst quarter came to a close. To make mat- ters worse, McNary turned the ball over near midfi eld on their fi rst possession of the second quarter, and Bend took advantage with another rushing score from Denney, which put the Lava Bears up 12-0. Bend would take that same lead into the half. But when the Celtics got the ball to be- gin the third quarter, it didn’t take long for the momentum to shift. Walling’s 40-yard run on the third play of the second half got McNary inside the red zone. Four plays later, the senior running back dove into the end zone from a yard out, making it a one posses- sion game at 12-7. The Celtics got the ball back almost immediately af- ter forcing the Lava Bears to go three-and-out. From there, it only took McNary one play to grab their fi rst lead. Running back Nico San- doval took a pitch to left, cut upfi eld and went untouched into the end zone from 52 yards out, putting McNary on top 14-12. “When I saw that gap, I just turned it on,” Sandoval said. Sandoval’s long touch- down run wouldn’t be Mc- Nary’s last big play of the quarter. On a beautiful play-action look that froze the Bend linebacking core, Barker threw a dime on a corner rout to Noah Lelack, and the senior receiver juked out a defense back and dove across the goal line for the Celtics third touchdown in less than nine minutes. But it wasn’t just the of- fense that made adjustments after halftime. The McNary front seven made life a lot more diffi cult for Bend in the second half, forcing the run- heavy squad to rely more on their passing attack. “We came out in the sec- ond half just blowing every- thing up. I was really proud of our defense,” Walling said. After Lelack’s touchdown made the score 21-12, Bend responded early in the fourth quarter. Denney scored his third touchdown of the night, and the Lava Bears got the two-point conversion to make it a one-point game. Bend’s defense got their fi rst stop of the second half on McNary’s next drive, but when the Lava Bears got the ball back, quarterback Cole Musgrave muffed the snap from under center, and the Celtics were able to dive on the loose ball, allowing their offense to regain possession. The Celtics offensive line dominated the trenches in the fourth quarter, allowing Walling room for a 32-yard run down to the one-yard line. Walling would punch it in moments later to put Mc- Nary on top 28-20. “I want the ball in my hands, so I always feel very comfortable in those situa- tions. I had a lot of faith in my linemen to make it easy to get the job done,” Walling said. Bend drove down to the McNary 35-yard line on their fi nal drive. But on fourth-and-nine, Junior Nunez broke up Musgrave’s pass intended for Sebastian Edwards. The Celtics took over on downs and were able to run the clock out thanks to a pair of fi rst down runs from Walling. “I never felt secure until after that fourth down play. But we had some kids come up big down the stretch,” Au- vinen said. McNary’s victory sets up a senior night showdown with the West Salem Titans — the only other unbeaten team in the MVC. Kickoff is Friday, Oct. 25 at 7:15 p.m. The Celtics pulled off a big upset last season at West Salem, and the Titans will be looking for revenge in a game that will likely decide the league championship. “I know that West has had this game circled on their calendar for a while. I think these kids are going in con- fi dent because we have beat (West Salem) two of the last three years and I believe that they will rise to the chal- lenge,” Auvinen said. “We seem to have a different psy- che this time of year.”
