PAGE A14, KEIZERTIMES, OCTOBER 25, 2019
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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.”