As Jake Roy slipped past the line of scrimmage, he surveyed the field and found the path he wanted to take to the end zone last Friday night.

Never mind that the path included a South Albany defender.

Roy met the defender head on and delivered a punishing blow as he fell forward for a few more yards.

Usually, offensive players want to find the quickest path to the end zone that doesn't include a defender.

Not Roy and his Corvallis High teammates.

No, they want to make as much contact as possible to let the opposition know this is a different Spartan football team.

After 10 losing season, the Spartans are primed to make a run at a winning season, and possibly a trip to the playoffs.

CHS will try to start 3-0 for the first time since 1986, the last time the Spartans played for a state title. That year, CHS started 6-0 and finished 12-2, falling to Glencoe in the state championship.

While this year's team isn't looking that far down the road, they are looking to make some noise in the Valley League. CHS slipped past West Salem 20-12 on Sept. 5 and then routed South Albany 43-7 in a game it dominated from start to finish.

"We played a well-rounded game," said CHS coach Chris McGowan, a member of the last Spartan team to win a state title in 1983. "Coming off of (the West Salem game) we really needed that. Our program needs that. We've been waiting for that to happen and we kind of unleashed it (Friday).

"(We are) 2-0 and with a decisive win. That will do a lot for our program. It's a good place to be right now."

With seven weeks still left in the season, Roy and his teammates realize there is much work to be done. They don't want to settle for just playing hard and coming up short.

"It's basically a mentality that we are going to play from the heart," he said. "We're not going to take anything from anybody, just play as hard as we can and get what we can out of it. We are going to try to push each other as hard as we can.

"We are going to will it to win. We are going to go into a game knowing that we are going to win."

CHS started 1-0 last year, and were 2-2 after a miracle win against North Salem, the same team it will face tonight in Salem. The Spartans needed a 65-yard scoring pass from Jason Tacchini to Billy Clontz to tie the game as time expired, and then a 35-yard extra-point after a celebration penalty from Cory Dickson to win it.

The players haven't forgotten that close call.

"The only thing we are thinking about right now is last year and how we won by one point," Roy said. "We don't want to have that again. We want to go into the game and leave a mark like we did against South Albany. We don't want to leave thinking, ‘Oh, that was a so close.' "

McGowan has been impressed with has been the way his players finish plays.

"The guys played hard," he said after Friday's win. "That is encouraging."

While CHS finished 3-6 last year, losing four straight after the 2-2 start before ending with a win over Crescent Valley, the players have gained a confidence that they feel they should win. Some of that comes from the leadership of Roy and Clontz. Both were members of the Richey's Market American Legion baseball team that reached the World Series this summer.

"Now we know what it's like to win," Roy said. "Billy has come in here hustling around catching balls and the energy starts to rub off on each other and then it becomes exciting."

After such a convincing win, a letdown could be possible.

"We have to come out just like this was a close game," said senior Kurtis Magee. "We have to practice hard and go after everything."

Added Roy: "We were on the other end of that scoreboard for years. Now it's time to turn it around. It's gotten to the point where we don't horse around anymore."