PAGE A20, KEIZERTIMES, NOVEMBER 12, 2021
Celts move to second round with
convincing win over North Medford
Football
McNary running back Dakota Dunagan attempts to break through the tackle of a North Medford defender
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
In their first home playoff contest in
four years, the McNary football squad
showed their superiority on both sides
of the ball
The McNary offense broke the
30-point threshold for the fifth time
this season, while the defense held
North Medford to under 200 yards of
total offense, giving the Celtics the 37-7
win over the Black Tornado in the first
round of the OSAA playoffs on Friday,
Nov. 5.
The Celtics improved to 7-3 with the
victory.
“It was exciting for all the coaches
and the kids,” McNary head coach Jeff
Auvinen said. “The guys flew around
and made plays. Kids that hadn't played
that much this year just stepped up and
went.”
The Celtics 4-3 defense set the tone
right away, holding North Medford to
just two total
yards in the first
quarter,
and
putting relent-
less pressure on
Black Tornado
quarterback
Mason Warren.
“I
thought
we were going
to have to load
the box more
than we did. We
started in our
base
defense
and shut them
down in that first
series, which is
when we real-
McNary head coach
ized that we
could stay in our
We started in our
base defense and shut
them down in that
first series, which is
when we realized that
we could stay in our
regular stuff.
— JEFF AUVINEN
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes
regular stuff,” Auvinen said.
“Our guys were getting pressure all
night,” McNary linebacker Jake Paton
added.
After going three-and-out on their
opening drive, the McNary offense
found a rhythm on their following
possession.
The Celtics converted a key fourth-
down on a run by Dakota Dunagan to
get the ball inside the North Medford
30-yard line. McNary quarterback Tyler
Copeland then followed by hitting
Zane Aicher with a 12-yard screen pass
to put the Celtics in the red zone, and
moments later, Aicher capped off the
drive with a two-yard touchdown run to
give McNary a 7-0 lead.
North Medford moved the sticks
for the first time early in the second
quarter, but coughed the ball up on the
next play to give the Celtics great field
position.
Copeland hit Logan Ready for a first
down on a fourth-and-three hitch pass,
then found Jesse Dyer on a third down
slant to put McNary in the red zone.
The Celtics were without their top
receiver in Braiden Copeland — who
suffered an injury in the previous game
— while their second best receiver,
Gunner Smedema, was playing on
an injured leg, which meant guys like
Ready and Dyer needed to step in their
place. Ready had a career-high seven
catches for 51 yards and a touchdown,
and Dyer caught four balls for 36 yards.
Even though McNary couldn't push
the ball downfield like they had in pre-
vious games this season, the Celtics
still found great success in taking what
the defense was giving them, contin-
uously hitting underneath routes to
move the sticks.
SPORTS