Prep notebook

By STEVE GRESS
Gazette-Times reporter

Kurtis Magee lay sprawled on the ground, half his body on the sideline, the other half on the field.

Magee had just delivered a punishing hit to Sprague quarterback Ryan Ward, but it was Magee who absorbed the most damage.

"My whole right side is tingling," Magee said as his teammates began to hover over the Corvallis High junior.

Magee got up after a few minutes, walked around and asked about going back into the game. Magee and his Spartans were in a barn-burner, deadlocked at 7-7 late in the third quarter with Sprague last Friday night.

The Olympians were driving and Magee wanted nothing more than to get back on the field and help his defense make another stand. It was gut-check time for a defense that had been up to the challenge in its first two-plus games.

However, Magee wasn't cleared to return to the game, despite his protests, probably for the best. While Magee couldn't return, his enthusiasm for the sport he lives for never dwindled. Instead, he walked up and down the sideline cheering on his team.

His teammates responded in his absence. Sprague managed to reach the Spartan nine for a first-and-goal situation. On the first play, Sprague running back John Breza bolted up middle where he was met by senior Jon Strowbridge, who was as solid as a brick wall.

On second down, Aaron Phillips had a chance, only to run into the swarming Spartan defense for a 2-yard loss. Sprague attempted a reverse on third down, only to see Corvallis sophomore J.J. Manning stay home and stop Ryan Marshall for a 12-yard loss and force the Olympians to attempt a field goal for the lead.

A bad snap led to an incomplete pass, giving the ball back to CHS with the game still tied.

That series, as well as the one that followed a Brad Hendrix interception (which Magee was one of the first to congratulate him on) epitomize this year's Spartan football team. That drive ended in junior receiver Billy Clontz running under a Jason Tacchini pass for a 34-yard touchdown and a Spartan lead.

It was a "have to" catch Clontz said on the sidelines. In years past, that pass probably would have fallen incomplete. But this group of Spartans isn't the same that suffered through a 27-game losing streak.

And while the Spartans eventually lost the game Friday night (27-14) when Ward connected with Marshall for an 83-yard touchdown in the game's final seconds and then returned a fumble on the ensuing kickoff to end the game, you can bet this team will be ready to go when they take to Spartan Field on Friday night for its game against North Salem.

The team has learned a lot over its first three games. Shutting out West Salem, a first-year school, may not seem like much, but it gave the players some confidence heading into a tough game with West Albany.

The Bulldogs presented a challenge and showed the Spartans what it took to take the next step in the always competitive Valley League. And you can be sure the players recognized what it took because they showed that last Friday against Sprague.

After spotting Sprague a 7-0 lead on the opening possession, the defense rose to the challenge and gave the offense a chance to make a comeback, which it eventually did.

"We played Spartan football for the first half," Clontz said. ‘We just didn't come out with it at the end."

First-year coach Chris McGowan, who played for the Spartans in the '80s and knows what it means to wear the Spartan jersey, felt bad for his players, but was happy with the way they responded to the loss to West Albany and how they approached last week's game.

"They played their hearts out," McGowan said. "We showed some heart and that is encouraging especially coming off last week where we didn't show as much heart. So I give them a lot of credit for that."

The Spartans will be ready to go Friday night. Oh, and I'm sure Magee will be, too.

Steve Gress covers high school sports for the Gazette-Times. He can be reached at 758-9512 or sgress@gtconnect.com.