Junior quarterback leads Corvallis past West Salem, 20-12

By Kevin Hampton
Mid-Valley Sports

SALEM — Nick Hubel was having a nightmare.

Hubel, a junior, was making his first start at quarterback for Corvallis at West Salem on Friday night, and nothing was going right.

He tossed five interceptions, the first returned for a Titans' touchdown in the second quarter.

But with the game on the line in the fourth, Hubel had a dream drive.

Trailing 12-7 with 5:45 left and coming off two straight picks, Hubel led the Spartans on a 71-yard drive to put them ahead.

"It just takes one pass," Hubel said. "The blocking was great and there were just some beautiful catches."

His extra-point pass was caught short of the end zone, but J.J. Manning picked off a West Salem pass and banged off a few Titans before breaking away and giving the Spartans a 20-12 win.

Hubel hit receiver Billy Clontz three times on the game-winning drive. He found Clontz deep for 28 yards and then they hooked up over the middle for 17 more.

Hubel said he tends to tense up when he gets nervous and each interception made it tougher until he finally gathered himself for the final drive.

"At that point I just threw the ball a little better," he said. "I just relaxed and was able to throw to all the receivers."

While Hubel stuggled for three quarters to throw the ball downfield, he finally was able to click with Clontz.

"He's one of our go-to guys and we've got several on this team," Hubel said. "I was just able to get the ball to him."

Kurtis Magee pushed a pile of Titans back for 10 yards to the West 15. Two plays later, Clontz made an acrobatic grab and lunged into the end zone.

Clontz said the defensive back bumped him when the ball arrived.

"The ball kind of went up in the air and he looked down," Clontz said. "I was able to bring it in for six."

The Spartans had no doubt about making the drive, Clontz said.

"It's just something you have to do, when the ball's up in the air, you have to come down with it," he said. "We kind of started figuring out what they were running on defense and we had a couple of great calls by our coaches."

The Spartans struggled to get on track in the first half, losing a fumble to stop a scoring threat on the first drive of the game and then giving up three interceptions.

The first interception was right after the Spartans stopped West Salem with a fumble recovery. Hubel was hit as he released the ball and Titans' defensive lineman Drew Johnson snatched the fluttering ball and rumbled in for a 6-0 lead.

The Spartans took the lead when Manning blew through a big hole up the middle for a 38-yard score.

Clontz said Hubel showed what kind of a quarterback he can be on the final drive.

"A clutch player comes up with big plays at a big time," Clontz said. "He's a great kid and he'll improve greatly throughout the season."

Corvallis 20, West Salem 12

CORVALLIS 0 0 7 13 — 20

WEST SALEM 0 6 6 0 — 12

Second quarter

WS — Drew Johnson 21 interception return (run failed)

Third quarter

CHS — Manning 38 run (Dickson kick)

Fourth quarter

CHS — Clontz 9 pass from Hubel (pass fail)

CHS — Manning 48 int return (Magee kick)

Rushing: CHS — Manning 4-50.

Passing: CHS — Hubel 10-26-5 178.

Receiving: CHS — Clontz 4-61, Dickson 2-29.