Corvallis learns to hit back after slow start

By Steve Gress
Mid-Valley Sports

The first time the Corvallis High defense stepped on the field, it looked as if it was overmatched.

Canby took the first possession of its jamboree scrimmage and drove to the 1-yard-line. The next play, the Cougars punched the ball in for a touchdown.

That display caused defensive coordinator Ron Sather to have a discussion with his squad.

"Between the two games, Sather went off, and that just motivated us to get better each game," CHS senior defensive back Brad Hendrix said.

The unit has done that, helping the Spartans to a 4-1 record heading into tonight's important Valley League contest against McKay (4-1) at Spartan Field. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. between teams vying to remain in the hunt for one of three playoff berths.

The winner will remain alone in third place and hold the tiebreaker.

The Spartans have allowed 50 points in five games, but 14 came on an interception and a fumble recovery. The defense has allowed three touchdowns in the last four games and has given up three points in the second half of the last three games.

That includes allowing one offensive touchdown and shutting out Sprague in the second half of a 14-12 loss. The Olympians lead the Valley League, scoring 34.6 points per game. McKay enters tonight's game second in the league at 31.6 ppg.

The success is a bit of a surprise.

"I don't think we expected to be as good as we are," senior defensive lineman Mike Reeves said. "I mean, I think we knew we could, but we had to put it together."

Said senior linebacker Jake Roy: "We expected to play well, but holding in four games some pretty good teams to three touchdowns, we didn't expect that. We knew that we were going to need to make some good stands and put some stops on some drives. It was just something to let the chips fall where they may, and we are going to play as hard as we can."

The Spartans play hard each down and aren't afraid to hit the opposition. Roy showed that against Sprague, zeroing in on the receiver and making a hit instead of going for the interception. The ball fell incomplete.

The defense has a swagger, but it doesn't overlook any opponent. The team meets each morning the day before a game to eat doughnuts and watch film. That has brought the players closer.

"Mentally we are going to give up everything individually to gain everything for the team," Roy said. "We are there for each other. If Brad is going to go up and pick off a ball, there are going to be five guys in front of him. Like at West Salem when JJ (Manning) got the interception, we threw about 15 blocks. We were knocking people.

"It's part of the mentality that we have created as a defense to bring it on. There's not much that is going to beat us."

So who is playing the best: the line, linebackers or defensive backs? That depends on whom you ask.

The linemen say they are. So do the linebackers and the backs.

Then they all smile.

"I wouldn't say that one group of the defense is better than the other," Roy said. "I mean, there are so many different aspects of the game that we all feel like part of it. Every game the roles are changing. We need to understand that if we do our role, something good is going to happen.

"You have to give credit to the D-line for keeping containment and give credit to the linebackers for flying around and then our defensive backs are there. What more can you ask for. Everyone is filling in their roles perfectly."

While the mentality is there, another big difference between this defense and others is speed.

"We're fast," Reeves said.

"We have good angles and it's hard for the running back or wide receiver to get anywhere," Hendrix echoed.

And they all want to play.

"It's one thing that I look forward to," Hendrix said. "I look forward to kicking off. We come out of the locker room ready to go. There's no question that we're not going to play bad.

"We have a lot of confidence right now."