OCTOBER 15, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A21
McNary stays in MVC title hunt with
bounce-back win over South Salem
SPORTS
McNary linebacker Ben Allen had a crucial 34-yard pick-six in the Celtics 21-13 win over South Salem
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
After suff ering a devastating loss
to Sprague last week, the shorthanded
McNary football squad responded in a
major way.
Despite being without their starting
quarterback, and one of the best play-
ers in the Mountain Valley Conference
(MVC) in Tyler Copeland, McNary
(5-1, 2-1, MVC) used a physical rushing
attack and stifl ing defense to defeat
South Salem 21-13 on Friday, Oct. 8.
“It was huge. It was a gritty win. I very
much respect gritty and tough-minded
individuals. To come back from the
loss last week where we lost our quar-
terback that was playing really well, the
bounce back was huge,” McNary head
coach Jeff Auvinen said. “There was
a little bit of a limited playbook this
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Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes
week, but they gritted it out.”
McNary senior running back Zane
Aicher led the Celtics off ense with 17
carries for 102 yards and a touchdown
“It means a lot,” Aicher said about
the win. “We're more than just one guy.
We are a team. There's not just one guy
we depend on, and we proved it.”
Due to Copeland's ankle injury he
suff ered in the previous game, Gunner
Smedema, the Celtics leading receiver,
took reps as McNary's signal-caller all
week at practice and was named the
starting quarterback.
“It was pretty stressful. My arm still
isn't really there, but we practiced run-
ning a new off ense and I felt more con-
fi dent throughout the week,” Smedema
said.
McNary's new off ense featured a
two-back set and several new wrinkles
in the ground game, including multiple
designed runs for Smedema, who only
threw for 25 yards, but rushed for 71
yards on 15 carries.
“We went to a little more protection.
You saw two backs almost exclusively.
The lead backs did a great job block-
ing. They probably got us an extra 100
yards off their lead blocks,” Auvinen
said.
South Salem appeared unprepared
for McNary's new off ensive approach
on the opening possession as
Smedema ran for a pair of fi rst downs
to put the Celtics in business. McNary
took six minutes off the clock on the
See CELTS, page A22