After season-opening victory, CHS turns focus to future

By STEVE GRESS

Gazette-Times reporter

Last year, one week made a season for the Corvallis High football team.

When Josh Mori returned the second-half kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown against Crescent Valley in the final game of 2001, the Spartans were less than a half away from ending a 27-game losing streak.

The Spartans held on for a 7-0 win and the pain and bitterness of all those losses were instantly wiped away.

"This is going to heal a lot of wounds," Julian Wallace said after the game. "We did it for the seniors. We wanted it more, that's all. I'd go one and eight every year to beat these guys."

Wallace, now a senior, and the rest of his teammates aren't about to settle for a 1-8 season this year, especially after a 19-0 win over West Salem last Friday night. The Spartans open the home portion of their schedule at 7:30 tonight against West Albany.

One game won't make this year.

"We forget the game we played," said Jon Strowbridge, one of three seniors along with Wallace and Derek Ellis to start for three years. "We forget that we won those two games, and we are going to come out like this is the season opener again.

"We aren't talking about West Salem. We are all about West Albany."

This is a new year for the Spartans. They have a new coach in Chris McGowan, who has replaced 23-year veteran Gary Beck, who resigned after last year's final victory.

The players came to camp with a renewed spirit, ready to prove to people they were a better team than their record had indicated.

"I was excited because I knew the kind of players we had, and I just wanted to see how we could perform and prove that we could actually win a game," Ellis said. "I knew we could do it. I was just excited to see it happen."

Said Wallace: "We have learned a lot. Now we really don't have anything to lose and have a lot to gain. All we want to do now is gain respect, and I think we can do that.

The Spartans haven't received that much respect over the past five years. The players remember what it was like to go through three years without winning a game on the field.

That stretch has helped the players learn how hard they needed to work to be successful in the win column.

"It is tough, but actually it makes you want to work harder in the offseason to be a better player, and a lot of us seniors did that too," Wallace said. "I think we should be pretty good this year as long as we want it like we did in the offseason."

Strowbridge also learned what it took to stay focused during the losing stretch.

"It is really frustrating, obviously, losing all those games," he said. "I guess you just have to love the game enough to go out there everyday. Even if you lose you have to go back the next week and start practicing again."

Many of the Spartans spent the offseason getting ready for this year. They worked in a summer passing league and held their own with some of the other Valley League teams. They know it won't be easy, but they also know they aren't about to be satisfied with one win or even two or three.

"We have won two games, but I think we are a good enough team to beat those two teams any time," Wallace said. "I think we are even a better team to take on West Albany and the other teams. So we just have to play and take every game one at a time and not be satisfied.

"I think we did have something to prove and we still haven't done it yet. We still have a lot to prove."

Tonight's football games

• West Albany at Corvallis, 7:30 p.m.

• West Salem at Crescent Valley, 7:30 p.m.

• Philomath at Junction City, 7 p.m.

• Monroe vs. Santiam Christian at Philomath High, 7 p.m.