Keizertimes., April 09, 2021, Page 15, Image 15

APRIL 9, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A15
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Celtics blank North Salem in dominant victory
SPORTS
Football
McNary receiver Gunner Smedema runs by a pair of North Salem defensive backs for a 21-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
After an eight-point loss to West
Salem in the previous game, McNary
head coach Jeff Auvinen said that he
wanted to see more consistency from his
team for the remainder of the season.
In their matchup with North Salem on
Friday, April 2, the Celtics showed their
coach that they could not only play with
consistency against the Vikings, but be
consistently dominant for four quarters.
McNary quarterback Jack McCarty
threw for 256 yards and four touchdowns
while the Celtics defense got their fi rst
shutout since 2016 in McNary’s 47-0 rout
over North Salem.
It was the Celtics largest margin of
victory since 2008.
“Every time we got it, we took it right
down the fi eld and every time they got it,
we shut them down,” Auvinen said. “It
was awesome.”
McNary had been plagued by poor
starts in each of their last two games,
but that wasn’t a problem in this one
as the Celtics got out to a 26-0 lead in
the fi rst period.
McCarty led McNary on a four-min-
ute, 70-yard drive, capped off by nine-
yard touchdown pass to Tyler Copeland
— who had six catches for 139 yards and
two scores on the night.
“Honestly, it was really fun. We defi -
nitely came together as a program on
off ense,” Copeland said. “We are really
putting it together at the end of the
season.”
“Being able to pick up fi rst downs and
have long sustained drives is everything
because it controls the game,” McCarty
added.
The
Vikings
coughed the ball up
on their second play
from scrimmage and
Kyle Grass recov-
ered the fumble to
give the Celtics great
fi eld position at the
North Salem 33-yard
line.
After
McCarty
scrambled 12 yards
on
third-and-long
to move the sticks,
he connected with
Gunner Smedema
on a screen pass, and
the junior wideout
juked out multiple
Viking defenders on
his way to a 21-yard
We game-planned really
well and we had a good
scout team this week. I
knew where I was going
on every play because
I knew what look they
were going to give us.
— JACK McCARTY
McNary quarterback
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes
score to put the Celtics on top 13-0.
North Salem had no answer for the
McNary passing attack as McCarty was
able to connect with numerous receivers
on short, long and intermediate routes all
throughout the fi rst half.
“We really focused this week on hav-
ing fun and kind of opening things up
and making our stuff a little more inter-
esting,” McCarty said. “I think it boosted
morale for sure and it obviously worked
because (North Salem) wasn’t prepared
for it.”
The Vikings went three-and-out on
their following possession, giving the
ball right back to the Celtics. McCarty hit
Copeland downfi eld on a long pass into
Vikings territory, and then two players
later, the senior signal-caller hit Ethan
Martin up the seam for a 23-yard score.
“It really came down to Jack having
a great game. He had great vision and
threw the ball right where we wanted.
He was throwing dimes all night long.
The line gave him some nice protection,”
Auvinen said.
See CELTS, page A22