PAGE A28, KEIZERTIMES, DECEMBER 31, 2021
PORTS
2021
Graphic by LOGAN TURBES of Keizertimes
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
Despite their being no athletic events
for the fi rst two months of the year due
to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of
Keizer featured a litany of notable sports
stories this year.
Here were the top 10 sports stories
featured in the Keizertimes in 2021.
McNary wins fi rst game in
return to the fi eld
In their fi rst game since November
2019, the McNary defense set the tone
from kickoff until the last play.
Facing fourth-and-goal from the
McNary 10-yard line with four seconds
left on the clock and trailing by fi ve, West
Albany quarterback Michael Cale tried a
fade to his favorite target, Caden Zamora,
in the corner of the end zone for the win.
But McNary’s Sage Allen broke up the
pass as time expired, giving the Celtics
the 19-14 victory on Friday, March 5.
During a typical McNary home game,
there would be a celebration with the
student section on the fi eld and players
would stay behind for nearly an hour
after the horn sounded, greeting friends
and family members and taking pho-
tos. But due to COVID-19 protocols, the
Flesher Field grandstands were empty.
There was no band, there was no cheer-
ing after a big play, only silence.
However, after the game was over,
the players weren’t dwelling on what
had been taken away from them during
this tumultuous year, they were instead,
thankful for the simple joy of playing
football once again.
“It feels amazing to be out here again.
Right before kickoff I was like Man, I am
really about to play football again,' and I
am so glad it turned out the way it did,”
McNary linebacker Dyami Rios said.
“It feels so good to be back. It's a
blessing that we are able to be out here,”
Celtics running back Dakota Dunagan
added.
McNary head coach Jeff Auvinen, who
has been coaching football at McNary for
nearly three decades and has been a part
of two state championship teams (1997,
2001), claimed that this might be one of
the best feelings he has ever experienced
after a game.
“I've been doing this a long time, and
no matter what level it's at, it's always
been awesome. But this might be the best
I have ever felt,” Auvinen said.
Trailing 14-13 late in the fourth quar-
ter, McNary quarterback Jack McCarty
connected with Braiden Copeland for a
14-yard touchdown to give the Celtics the
See TOP 10, page A22