Careful use of first-half timeouts allow Corvallis to shift momentum

By Steve Gress

Mid-Valley Sports

SALEM — It would have been easy for Chris McGowan to simply let North Salem run out the clock in the first half.

The Corvallis High coach had watched as his team had committed four turnovers and managed just 67 yards of offense.

But with the Spartans trailing 14-0 with just over a minute left, McGowan decided to use his timeouts to force the Vikings to punt.

The strategy worked as Ryan Doty's 38-yard return set up a 17-yard touchdown pass to Billy Clontz that gave the Spartans a lift heading into the locker room, and began a streak of 28 unanswered points as Corvallis improved to 3-0 with a 28-14 win Friday night.

"We can do that," McGowan said. "That's what Billy brings to the offense. I think it lifted everyone's spirits and now we don't have as far to go and I think the guys knew that we could do it. We just had to start playing a little better and smarter."

Said Nick Emmons: "I told Clontz he was going to make a big play, and he did. It was awesome."

Corvallis is 3-0 for the first time since the 1986 season while North Salem falls to 1-2. The Spartans are in a first-place tie with Sprague, McKay and McNary and host Sprague next Friday.

As frustrating as the first half was for the Spartans, the second half was that much better. CHS opened the second half with a six-play, 54-yard drive that Nick Emmons capped with a 14-yard touchdown run to bring the Spartans within 14-13 with 9:42 left in the third quarter.

With Doty being a factor as a punt returner, North Salem opted to kick away from the Spartan senior, giving CHS a short field. A 21-yard punt set CHS up at the 32 and Kurtis Magee capped the three-play drive with a nine-yard run after J.J. Manning's 20-yard jaunt. Nick Hubel connected with Clontz for the two-point conversion and CHS led 21-14 with 11:46 to play.

"It was frustrating, but we've got heart and we came back together," Emmons said. "We got over our mistakes and we played awesome in the second half."

What the Spartans did in the second half was run the ball. Of their 29 offensive plays, 27 were runs, one was a pass and one was a missed field goal attempt.

Manning broke off three long runs to finish with 49 yards on four carries while Emmons gained 58 yards on eight carries in the second half, including a 15-yard touchdown run with 2:47 remaining to seal the win.

"In the second half we thought we could run the ball at them because we had had success doing it, we were just shooting ourselves in the foot (in the first half)," McGowan said. "The plan was to just pound it at them and take come of the pressure off the receivers. You've got to go with what works, so we kept at it and the guys really came through."

McGowan said he was proud of the way the Spartans responded, but expected the effort.

"Our team, they are tough and they will play," he said. "(North Salem) is a good football team and they play physical. Our guys are going to be sore (today).

"It was jus doing what is necessary to win and being selfless. We've got guys that aren't getting the ball, I don't think (Cory) Dickson got a touch all night, but winning is better than trying to spread all that out."

While the Spartans may be 3-0, a tough stretch is ahead as they play all three of the teams that are 3-0 and make a trip to South Salem.

"We have to keep on going," Emmons said. "We have a lot of games left."

Corvallis 28, North Salem 14

CORVALLIS 0 7 6 14 — 28

NORT SALEM 7 7 0 0 — 14

First quarter

NS — Wright 85 INT return (Vieyra kick), 5:54

Second quarter

NS — White 1 run (Vieyra kick), 4:35

CHS — Clontz 17 pass from Hubel (Dickson kick), :19

Third quarter

CHS — Emmons 14 run (kick failed), 9:42

Fourth quarter

CHS — Magee 9 run (Clontz pass from Hubel), 11:46

CHS — Emmons 15 run (Dickson kick), 2:47

Rushing: CHS — Manning 4-49, Emmons 16-85, Magee 9-44, Simmons 5-17, Roy 4-12, Hubel 4-minus-10. NS — White 25-65, Eklund 2-7, Norman 1-5, Ammon 1-5, Clark 2-minus-19

Passing: CHS — Hubel 5-10-2 49. NS — Clark 9-19-1 92

Receiving: CHS — Clontz 3-41, Magee 1-0, Simmons 1-8. NS — Ammon 4-79, Terpening 2-6, Graves 1-0, McCrae 1-2, White 1-5