SALEM!KEIZER HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SEPT "#"$ glorious return A PAGE % TITANS TAKE AIM ! PG " OLYS RETURN TO ELITE STATUS? ! PG #$ SOUTH’S YOUTH MOVEMENT ! PG #% VIKINGS PLAN FOR BREAKOUT ! PG #& McKAY’S KEY TO SEASON ! PG #' McNARY SET TO RELOAD ! PG ' McNary WR Gunner SmedemaPAGE 2, KEIZERTIMES, êD࢝DwĸDáowcoê,o°°`°°õ%ÚáDġwDĤ SEPTEMBER 2021SEPTEMBER 2021, êD࢝DwĸDáowcoê,o°°`°°õ%ÚáDġwDĤ KEIZERTIMES, PAGE 3 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL making sure they all get to play is our top priority,” South Salem head coach Scott DuFault added. With the season o!cially kicking o" on Friday, Sept. 3, there are numerous sto- rylines involving each team. After winning the Mountain Valley Conference (MVC) in consecutive years (2018-19), McNary will look to bounce back after going 3-3 in the spring season. The Celtics return most of their roster from last season, including senior Tyler Copeland, who, after establishing himself as one of the best receivers in the area, will become McNary's starting signal-caller in 2021. West Salem will be looking to reload after going undefeated during their spring campaign. The Titans have to replace 26 seniors from last year's team, but with a litany of athleticism and depth, West Salem is the odds-on favorite to win the conference title this season. Sprague's first two seasons in the MVC were uncharacteristically rough. With a young roster and arguably the most daunt- ing schedule in the state, the Olympians had a combined record of 4-14 in 2018 and 2019. However, Sprague put the rest of the league on notice by going 5-1 in the spring. While the Olys are thin on the line-of scrimmage, they possess some of the best skill position players in the state. South Salem, on the other hand, has been in rebuild mode over the past few seasons. Despite an underwhelming spring campaign, the Saxons pulled o" an incredi- ble 44-43 win over McNary in the last game of the season, coming back from a 24-point deficit. DuFault is hoping that the momen- tum from the emotional victory will carry over into this season. Even though this is the fourth year of the MVC's existence, it will mark the first season that each of the seven teams in the conference will play against each other — Bend, Mountain View and Summit make up the rest of the league. “The league season is going to be great. That is the way it should be. We have had success with the four-game league sched- ule, but I think playing all six teams will be a nice thing for us and the league in gen- eral,” McNary head coach Je" Auvinen said. In the Mid-Willamette Conference, all eyes will be on North Salem quarterback TC Manumaleuna. The sophomore sig- nal-caller — who has already received a scholarship o"er from the Oregon Ducks — showed that he was a star as a freshman and hopes to lead the Vikings to a breakout season. Not to be overshadowed is McKay soph- omore signal-caller Kyrin Fuimaono, who split time at quarterback for the Royal Scots as a freshman, but looks to become the team leader for a young squad this season. The Keizertimes Salem-Keizer football preview features an in-depth look at each team in the area and what fans should expect this season, including a Players to Watch list and list of games that will be fea- tured on local radio this fall. After a long wait, high school football is o!cially back. %è¥7zòázáFè McKay head coach Knowing that we are set up to play a nine-game season, it just brings some stability and normalcy back. We have been looking forward to this for a long time... glorious return makes its A t this time last year, the football fields at each Salem-Keizer high school stood quiet and empty. There were no coaches blowing whis- tles and barking out instructions to stu- dent-athletes, who came to practice in search of glory on Friday nights under the lights. The hope that filled each program at the potential of what a new season could bring was absent. The rowdy student sec- tion and marching band were nowhere to be found. There was no homecoming game, no senior night and no chance of making a run in the state playo"s. The COVID-19 pandemic took away many things from our normal lives, with one of them being high school football. Sure, there was a shortened spring season played in front of a limited number of fans, but it wasn't nearly the same. This year, however, as the heat of sum- mer begins to give way to the briskness of fall, high school football makes its glorious return to the gridiron in Salem-Keizer. While players and coaches won't be required to be wearing masks or cleaning balls after every repetition, the Delta vari- ant has many coaches instructing their kids to always wear a mask in the locker room, or anytime in a public indoor setting, and to try to limit exposure to people out- side their family and team. While things aren't quite back to “nor- mal” the excitement surrounding a full regular season is palpable among Salem- Keizer coaches. “It's been amazing. I don't think there is a better word to describe it other than amaz- ing. Our kids are really excited. Knowing that we are set up to play a nine-game sea- son, it just brings some stability and nor- malcy back. We have been looking forward to this for a long time and now it's here,” McKay head coach Brandis Piper said. “I want to make sure that all of our kids get a chance to play. I think that's an important thing. The one thing that I have noticed is that this pandemic has had a serious impact mentally on a lot of our kids. They haven't had a chance to do a lot of things. Getting them out here and BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes FILE PHOTO, Keizertimes WHEATLAND PUBLISHING CORP. 142 Chemawa Road N, Keizer, Oregon 97303 Phone: 503.390.1051 • www.keizertimes.com PUBLISHER & EDITOR Lyndon Zaitz publisher@keizertimes.com K EIZER times ADVERTISING ACCOUNT REP. Bill Phillips, advertising@keizertimes.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER & PRODUCTION MANAGER Andrew Jackson, graphics@keizertimes.com SPORTSWRITER Matt Rawlings, Brooklyn Flint !"!# HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREVIEWPAGE 4, KEIZERTIMES, êD࢝DwĸDáowcoê,o°°`°°õ%ÚáDġwDĤ SEPTEMBER 2021 PLAYERS to watch TC MANUMALEUNA QB / SOPH / NORTH SALEM ZANE AICHER RB!LB / SENIOR / McNARY TINITALI TINITALI III WR!DB / JUNIOR / SOUTH SALEM ZACH DODSEN GREENE WR!DB / SENIOR / WEST SALEM GUNNER SMEDEMA WR!DB / SENIOR / McNARY BROOKS FERGUSON QB / SENIOR / WEST SALEM AYDAN WATSON OL!DL SENIOR W. SALEM ERICK GONZALEZ WR!DB JUNIOR N. SALEM TYLER COPELAND QB / SENIOR McNARY LOGAN SMITH QB / SENIOR SPRAGUE JUSTICE ANTHONY WR!DB SOPH McKAY CHANSSE LEE WR!DB / SENIOR / McKAY JOSIAH DAVIS RB!DB / JUNIOR / N. SALEM KYRIN FUIMAONO QB / SOPH / McKAY CARTER BOYLES LB!RB / SENIOR / S. SALEM JAMAHL WILSON RB / SOPH / SOUTH SALEM BLAKE STUBBLEFIELD OL!DL / SENIOR / SPRAGUE DREW RODRIGUEZ WR!DB / JUNIOR / SPRAGUE KEIZERTIMES, PAGE 5 CAN COOKER X GAME TIME means Grillin’ Time! V BIG GREEN EGG Love – Peace – BBO Grease Sales, Service, Parts (503) 302-8489 3800 River Road N Suite 120, Keizer New Traeger ® Grills and Accessories TRAEGER TIMBERLINE 1300 V We can change the way you look at life! Cynthia Strawn, OD Mallory MacRae, OD OPTOMETRIC PHYSICIANS 4350 Cherry Avenue NE 503-393-6060 www.keizervision.comPAGE 6, KEIZERTIMES, êD࢝DwĸDáowcoê,o°°`°°õ%ÚáDġwDĤ SEPTEMBER 2021 BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes The McNary football team endured a number of ups and downs during their spring campaign, experiencing the thrill of a last-second 19-14 win against West Albany in their season opener and the heartbreak of a 44-43 defeat to South Salem in the season finale on the last play of the game. But after only losing nine seniors from their 42-man varsity roster last year, the Celtics are ready to reload for this fall. “We definitely experienced a little of everything in the spring, which is good for a program. Some of those lows you can learn a lot from. It shows the importance of every play, I think it sits on their mind a little bit. But we’re further ahead now because we finished in April, there wasn't that much to review,” McNary head coach Je! Auvinen said. “It's beneficial for us going into the year. I think we learned a lot and we are riding that into this season.” The McNary football program has been no stranger to having roller coaster seasons. In 2018 and 2019, the Celtics lost all five of their non-league competitions, but rallied to win their four Mountain Valley Conference (MVC) games and were crowned league champs both seasons. The Celtics reached the first round of the play- o!s each year, but were ultimately uncom- petitive in the postseason. Last season, the Celtics experienced the exact opposite result, winning all three non-conference contests, but losing their three league games. This year, McNary once again faces a tough non-league slate, hosting South Medford in their Sept. 3 opener, then trav- eling to take on Newberg the following McNary set to reload with experienced roster week before hosting Grants Pass on Sept. 17. “We have continued to put some pretty good opponents on our non-league sched- ule. That has been a challenge for us in years past, so it would be nice to develop more confidence and success with that portion of our schedule,” Auvinen said After graduating senior signal-caller Jack McCarty — who had some of the top passing numbers in the state last season — Auvinen will be handing over the quarter- back duties to Tyler Copeland. Copeland has played quarterback for most of his life, but in the spring, the 6-foot-3 senior blossomed into one of the best receivers in the area, leading the team with 22 catches for 376 yards and five touchdowns. Even though he is losing his top receiv- ing target, Auvinen expressed confidence in his senior leader. “It's obviously an important position to have on your ball club. We're losing a very good receiver with him switching positions, but Tyler has a strong arm, he's a good athlete and a good leader for us. I think he will excel at the quarterback posi- tion,” Auvinen said. However, Auvinen also said that there will be certain packages where they split Copeland out wide to throw him the ball. The most likely quarterback for that par- ticular wrinkle is senior wideout Gunner Smedema, who was the quarterback on the Celtics JV team two seasons ago. “With Gunner being a senior, and a guy that we know is a playmaker as well, I think he has the inside track to that package,” Auvinen said. “But if Gunner and Tyler are both playing receiver at the same time, inside and out, that's going to be tough for Follow THE LEADER @keizertimes Facebook • Twitter • Instagram …in Keizer news McNARY CELTICSSEPTEMBER 2021, êD࢝DwĸDáowcoê,o°°`°°õ%ÚáDġwDĤ KEIZERTIMES, PAGE 7 LEARN MORE – CVCGOREGON.COM CALL US AT – 503.388.5158 PLUS NEW COMMERCIAL —————— & —————— RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION CCB NO. 203150 with custom designs & remodeling We Make Your House ... A Home KEIZER LES SCHWAB TIRE CENTER 3030 River Rd N • 503.585.7551 • LesSchwab.com PROUD SUPPORTER OF McNARY ATHLETICS GAMES START AT "#$$ P.M. Sept. 3 vs. South Medford Sept. 10 at Newberg Sept. 17 vs. Grants Pass Sept. 24 at Bend Oct. 1 vs. Sprague* Oct. 8 at South Salem Oct. 15 vs. West Salem* Oct. 22 vs. Mountain View* Oct. 29 at Summit *game will start at 7:15 p.m. SCHEDULE teams to cover.” Along with having an experienced and capable wideout on the outside in Smedema, McNary running backs Zane Aicher (senior) and Braiden Copeland (junior) proved how valuable they were last season in the passing and rushing attack. Despite playing the majority of the season with a broken hand, Aicher had 135 receiving yards and was second on the team with 229 rushing yards and five touchdowns— Aicher will also be entering his third year as a starting linebacker for the Celtics. “He is very multidimensional. He is going to play some receiver for us, he is going to play some running back for us. He can also play just about any spot on defense. Zane is a smart kid and hard worker,” Auvinen said. “He is a great leader for us. Kids really look up to him, which is super valuable.” Braiden Copeland, on the other hand, also battled injuries last season, but still racked up 109 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and was the second-leading receiver with 16 catches for 246 yards and four scores. Not to be left out is senior tailback Dakota Dunagan, who led the Celtics in rushing last season and completes the three-headed monster that is the McNary running back rotation. “The way both Zane and Braiden can catch the ball, they will be good third down backs for us,” Auvinen said. “Dakota will be used a lot on the early downs.” Although they lose their best interior lineman in Coleman Young, McNary returns senior starters Aldo Villalvazo, Jeremiah Ratli! and Issac Scroggins to the front five. “They will play a lot up front, both o!en- sively and defensively,” Auvinen said. Auvinen has a lot of trust in his three senior returners, but says that other kids will need to step up to fill the other roles on the line-of-scrimmage. “We are a little thin up there but I think if we can stay healthy, they are going to work really well together. With our base (4-3) defense we can use just three of them, and when we go to a four-man front we can bring up a linebacker,” Auvinen said. “But we still need some other kids to progress.” While there may be some question marks on the line, the Celtics linebacker and secondary will be as good, if not better, than any crew in the league. Aicher, along with Braiden Copeland and senior Jake Paton started every game last year at line- backer. The Celtics also return their two cornerbacks in Smedema and senior Sage Allen, plus Tyler Copeland will be return- ing to his free safety spot. “We are really strong with our lineback- ers and DBs. We feel really good about the guys back there doing what they are sup- posed to be doing,” Auvinen said. Since taking over the program in 2013, Auvinen has brought McNary to the post- season every year — minus last season when there were no playo!s. Even though the Celtics are just 2-7 in playo! contests since 2013, Auvinen believes his team has what it takes to get past the first round this season. “The expectations are high for this team, with one of them being making a playo! run,” Auvinen said. “A successful year is winning two out of three non-league games, winning the league and then win- ning two to three games in the playo!s.”PAGE 8, KEIZERTIMES, êD࢝DwĸDáowcoê,o°°`°°õ%ÚáDġwDĤ SEPTEMBER 2021 Titans take aim at conference crown BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes Under head coach Shawn Stanley, who is entering his 17th season with West Salem, the Titans football program has gotten to the point where expecta- tions are high every year — they were the only Mountain Valley Conference (MVC) team to win a playo! game in 2018 and 2019. After just missing out on confer- ence titles in 2018 and 2019, the Titans entered the six-game spring season with no opportunities to win the league or make a playo! run. But instead of going into the year unmotivated, the Titans played more loose and free according to Stanley, which allowed them to finish the season 6-0 with five of their six vic- tories coming by double-digits. “There are high expectations in our program. But last year, knowing there were no playo!s, I think it kind of freed us up a little bit. I would love for us to have fun and play that free when there is something on the line. Everybody per- forms better when you are having fun and playing loose,” Stanley said." Although they lose 23 seniors from last year's squad, Stanley has a lot of con- fidence in the depth of his team, even if several of his guys are inexperienced." “I feel good about our players and the WEST SALEM TITANSSEPTEMBER 2021, êD࢝DwĸDáowcoê,o°°`°°õ%ÚáDġwDĤ KEIZERTIMES, PAGE 9 There’s Only One Veta! Veta the Realtor RE/MAX Equity Group ͭͨͫǤͺͰͯǤͫͨͱͭ• ̷ Ǥ•ǤǤ Ȁ ȁ ƥ Ƭ depth of our players, there just aren't a lot of tested Friday night guys. Earlier on in the season there are going to be some mistakes and some nerves. But I feel good about these guys, and by the end of the year we will be playing our best football,” Stanley said." The biggest gaps that the Titans will need to fill are on the line of scrimmage, as Holden Whipple, Conner Moore and Isaac Barnecht all graduated in the spring. Junior Wyatt Jenks and seniors Ayden Watson and Jaiden Dunton are the Titans most experienced guys up front and will be the top returners on the line on both sides of the ball — but Stanley will have to rely on a number of newcomers to fill the other positions." “We have some guys that are unproven and do not look like your tra- ditional college lineman, but we have guys that are tough, have great tech- nique and understand our scheme,” Stanley said. “We will try to play as many guys as possible, but if we have two guys in a spot, maybe one will start on O and the other will start on D.” The Titans will also have a new signal-caller this season as 6-foot-6, 230-pound senior quarterback Brooks Ferguson looks to take the reins of the o!ense. Ferguson got one start last sea- son, filling in for an injured Jackson Lowery, and led West Salem to a 47-0 win against South Salem. “He is super talented, and it's nice to know he has that one game against South under his belt where he performed really well without a ton of preparation. We are feeling really confident about him,” Stanley said." Ferguson's top target will be Zach Dodsen Greene, who led the Titans in receiving last year and is expected to be one of the top wideouts in the state according to Stanley, who has high praise for the senior. “He may be the best receiver we have ever had. He is a great route-runner and has great hands and body awareness. He has put in a ton of time in the o!- season making himself better,” Stanley said." The Titans lost arguably the top run- ning back in the MVC last season in Nate Garcia, who ended his career with a five touchdown performance in a 35-21 win against Sprague. Stanley expects seniors Johnny Withers and Hudson Giertych to get the bulk of the carries in the backfield this season. While West Salem is inexperienced in the secondary, Stanley has a lot of confidence in his core of linebackers, led by junior Jimmy Lathen and senior Brock Strader. “We have a lot of good players in that spot,” Stanley said. West Salem has a history of playing one of the tougher non-league sched- ules in the state, and this year is no exception. The Titans travel to Grants Pass on Friday, Sept. 10 then head north to take on Tualatin two weeks later." “I tell our AD to get us the tough- est games you can get. I think those challenges in the early season make us better later in the year. I am looking for- ward to seeing how we respond to those challenges,” Stanley said. With some solid returners and a fair amount of depth, look for West Salem to contend for the conference title and make a run in the postseason. “Our real goal is to be as good as we can be at the end of the season so we can head into the postseason and win some playo! games,” Stanley said. “We are about building young men. We want to make these guys better people, better students and eventually better fathers and better husbands. If you work towards doing that, a lot of the other stu! will just take care of itself.” ALL GAMES START AT ! P.M. Sept.3 vs. Newberg Sept. 10 at Grants Pass Sept. 17 vs. South Salem Sept. 24 at Tualatin Oct. 1 vs. Mountain View Oct. 8 vs. Summit Oct. 15 at McNary* Oct. 22 at Bend Oct. 29 vs. Sprague *game will start at 7:15 p.m. SCHEDULENext >