SEPTEMBER 17, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A15
Ready wins it for McNary in overtime
Football
McNary kicker Logan Ready (28) is greeted by a slew of fans after nailing the game-winning kick that gave McNary the 17-14 win over Newberg.
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
“It was one of those games that you
will remember forever.”
That is what McNary head coach
Jeff Auvinen said moments after senior
Logan Ready made the biggest kick of
his life.
After the McNary defense prevented
Newberg from scoring in the first pos-
session of overtime, Ready drilled a
game-winning 43-yard field goal to give
the Celtics a 17-14 victory over the Tigers
on Friday, Sept. 10.
Ready, who also plays baseball at
McNary, said that it was the best feeling
he has ever experienced as an athlete.
“I just loved it. I just knew that the
SPORTS
whole team was going to come out and
support me. I just loved the feeling,” he
said.
The McNary defense came out and
set the tone in the first quarter, forcing
Newberg to go three-and-out on their
first two possessions — the Tigers had
just 12 yards of offense in the first quarter.
After stalling on their first two drives,
the Celtics offense found some rhythm
on their third possession.
Back-to-back first down comple-
tions from McNary quarterback Tyler
Copeland to his brother Braiden
Copeland gave the Celtics the ball inside
the Newberg 35-yard line.
Two plays later, Tyler Copeland turned
what seemed like a broken play into a
28-yard rush after scrambling past multi-
ple defenders and tiptoeing the sideline
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before finally being brought down at the
two-yard line.
McNary went with a two-back set on
their first play from inside the five-yard
line. With Newberg expecting the Celtics
to try and pound the ball inside, Tyler
Copeland fooled the Tigers linebacking
core with a beautiful play-fake and found
a wide open Gunner Smedema in the
end zone for a two-yard score, putting
McNary on top 7-0.
However, the Newberg offense found
new life in the following period, going on
a 75-yard scoring drive to tie the game at
7-7.
McNary appeared to be in position
to respond after a long reception by
Ready, but the play was called back due
to a holding penalty and the Celtics were
eventually forced to punt.
Penalties played a huge role over the
course of this game as both teams were
flagged for over 100 penalty yards.
“All I can ask for is that it is called
as consistently as possible. Both teams
made a ton of mistakes and they called it
pretty tight. But both teams got called. I
thought it was a fair job. It really hurt us
a few times and it really hurt them a few
times,” Auvinen said.
Newberg got the ball back on their
own 35-yard line and marched 65 yards
on a drive that was capped off by a four-
yard touchdown run by Hudson Davis, as
Newberg took a 14-7 advantage into the
half.
But when the two teams came out
for the second half, the McNary defense
returned to the field with a chip on their
shoulder, and managed to shut out the
Tigers for the remainder of the contest.
“Our defense stepped up in the third
See OVERTIME, page A22