Fagan era ends with 35-19 loss

By STEVE GRESS
Gazette-Times reporter

With less than a minute to go Friday night, Chris McGowan received his first dashing of Gatorade. Across the field, Mike Fagan was watching as the final seconds of a 17-year coaching career ticked away.

When Jason Tacchini took a knee with less than 20 seconds left, the Spartan players and fans rushed the field to celebrate a season-ending victory against the cross-town Raiders for the second consecutive season.

Junior receivers Billy Clontz and Cory Dickson racked up huge gains through the air and senior Jason Graves had a career game on the ground as Corvallis capped a turn-around season with a 35-19 victory over Crescent Valley.

The Raiders finished up a long, disappointing and injury-riddled season that saw the team win just one game, a far cry from the playoff hopes they had when fall practice began in August.

Clontz and Dickson teamed up for 11 catches for 286 yards and three touchdowns, and Graves carried 19 times for 85 yards as the Spartans managed a few more big plays than the Raiders.

"You have to give them credit for that," Fagan said. "Some of those balls were thrown just where they needed to be thrown. A couple of the catches were great catches. I think our kids played tough. It just caught up with us in the end."

The fourth quarter was the difference as the Spartans led 21-19 heading into the final 12 minutes. And in a game of big plays, it may have come down to a pass interference call that gave the Spartans a first down at the 33 and kept alive a drive that eventually ended with a Jon Strowbridge touchdown for a 28-19 lead.

"I saw them coming and then I just kept my feet moving and I threw it in fifth gear and trucked in," Strowbridge, a senior, said of the touchdown run that looked like he would be stopped at the seven.

"It is the greatest feeling in the world by far, especially to do it two years in a row. It was great that we had a good cushion on them in the fourth quarter so that pumped our defense up."

The defense made the final big play as Brad Hendrix intercepted his seventh pass of the season and returned it 40 yards for his second score of the year to give the Spartans a 35-19 lead with eight minutes to play.

"I just went on instinct," Hendrix said. "I cut back and I thought Kyle Waller was going to catch me. He slowed down so I just went faster."

The game went back and forth throughout the first half as Marco Hubley ran back an interception 51 yards for a CV score and a 6-0 lead. Tacchini and Dickson hooked up for 89 yards and a score at the end of the first quarter as CHS led 7-6 after Dickson's extra point.

CV regained the lead on a 24-yard score from Justin Huntsman before Tacchini and Clontz hooked up from 11 yards out and a 14-12 lead.

Then the lights went out at Spartan Field and the teams went to the locker room for an early halftime. When the teams returned, the Spartans had the ball and 4:23 to go. Tacchini found Clontz from 18 yards out and a 21-12 lead.

"We talked about that at halftime that we had an opportunity to come out and put it in the end zone and then we get the ball in the second half or whatever you want to call it," McGowan said. "We accomplished that in the four and a half minutes. It forced them to play some catchup."

Adkins found Alan Oriard for one of his seven catches and the Raiders tight end bulled his way in from nine yards out for a score that made it a 21-19 game.

"I looked at Spencer and said it looked like we were going to have to keep scoring because it was going back and forth," Fagan said. "Those are the kind of games you enjoy. I just didn't like the way the fourth quarter went."

The Spartans got a lift from Graves, the third-string tailback at the start of the year. His running helped the Spartans maintain possession when the Raiders took away the passing game.

"It was critical," McGowan said. "For him to come in. My hats off to him because he has been a quiet warrior and he didn't get to play much at the beginning of the year, he just stayed around and stayed aro

und and he gave us that running game that we needed (Friday night). The guys up front did a great job."

Huntsman led the Raiders with 93 yards on the ground while Adkins passed for 166 yards.

"I think we were in it the whole game and had chances, we just didn't come through when we needed to," Huntsman said. "I wish we could have ended the year on a better note."

Corvallis 35, Crescent Valley 19

CRES. VALLEY 6 6 7 0 — 19

CORVALLIS 7 14 0 14 — 35

First quarter

CV — Marco Hubley 51 INT return (kick failed), 4:03

CHS — Cory Dickson 89 pass from Jason Tacchini (Dickson kick), 0:00

Second quarter

CV — Justin Huntsman 24 run (run failed), 8:00

CHS — Billy Clontz 11 pass from Jason Tacchini (Dickson kick), 6:04

CHS — Billy Clontz 18 pass from Jason Tacchini (Dickson kick), 1:35

Third quarter

CV — Alan Oriard 9 pass from Spencer Adkins (Hubley kick), 6:31

Fourth quarter

CHS — Jon Strowbridge 12 run (Dickson kick), 9:07

CHS — Brad Hendrix 40 INT return (Dickson kick), 8:11

Rushing: CV — Huntsman 15-93, Dowd 12-27, Steen 1-2, Adkins 7-(minus 25). CHS — Graves 19-85, Strowbridge 6-26, Manning 2-5, Roy 2-13, Clontz 1-5, Amodel 1-8, Tacchini 4-(minus 5)

Passing: CV — Adkins 13-24-2 166. CHS — Tacchini 12-24-1 295, Clontz 0-1-0 0

Receiving: CV — Oriard 7-83, Dowd 1-8, Huntsman 3-20, Hubley 1-36, Waller 1-19. CHS — Clontz 8-153, Dickson 3-123, Gerwick 1-19

Friday's scores

FOOTBALL

Corvallis 35, C. Valley 19

Newport 42, Philomath 19

S. Christian 27, Clatskanie 0

Perrydale 76, Alsea 26

Monroe vs. Waldport, (n)

SOCCER

Class 4A girls

Churchill 2, C. Valley 1

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