Commentary

By Steve Gress
Mid-Valley Sports

What else must the Corvallis High football team do to gain a little respect around the state?

I have pondered that question recently while watching a once-proud program turned laughing stock begin the slow climb back to respectability.

The Spartans are 5-1, a two-point loss to No. 6 Sprague the only blemish on their record. Yet they haven't received a single vote in The Associated Press' Class 4A Top 10 poll.

They would receive at least a point if I thought I could make a case for voting.

The reason I don't vote is simple — I only see the Valley League teams play and feel I would be voting based mostly on what other writers from across the state think. I once voted but realized I just went with the flow, skewing what is already an inexact science.

Maybe I should change my mind and vote again next week.

Or maybe I should wait and let the Spartans take care of that themselves. Besides, the coaches and players don't care whether they are ranked after six weeks of the season.

It's how they finish the season that counts the most.

Shoot, most of the players are simply excited about the opportunity to play. A chance at the playoffs is icing on the cake, but I have been told on several occasions this season to stop bringing up the dreaded "P" word.

This team only thinks about its next opponent.

Tonight that's a hungry West Albany team that has fallen on hard times but will be ready to play and jumpstart what it hopes is a strong finish.

That's a pretty smart approach for a program that hasn't reached the playoffs — oops, I said it again — since 1992 and hasn't had a winning campaign since the same season.

The Spartans have won 22 games, including five this season, since falling to Centennial in the playoffs in 1992.

They have lost 74.

This team is far removed from those teams of the past decade. The rebirth came last year when the Spartans, under new coach Chris McGowan, brought a new attitude to the field.

Sure, the Spartans went through growing pains, none more painful than dropping a heart-wrenching 27-14 decision to Sprague, allowing 13 points in the final 20 seconds.

They also lost a game against McKay where they trailed by seven at the half before losing 29-0. They also dropped a home against South Albany when the Rebels entered the game winless.

But in every instance, the players responded with a positive attitude and left all they had on the field.

That carried over to the offseason and into each game this season. There were no heads hung low after the loss to Sprague. The players simply congratulated the Olys, headed back to the locker room, showed up on Monday ready to go and completed the week with a 10-3 win at South Salem.

It was the first win against the Saxons since 1988.

This team wins with its attitude, and its defense.

Should McNary hand McKay its third consecutive defeat and the Spartans get past West Albany tonight, it will be virtually impossible to not bring up the "P" word.

Why? Because the Spartans will be a lock to finish in one of the top three spots in the standings, even if they lose their last two games to McNary and Crescent Valley.

Maybe then the Spartans will receive a little respect.

I doubt it.

But like I said before, that won't matter to the Spartans. No, they'll just get ready for McNary the next week. It could be a game for second place.

And if the Spartans come out on top, I know I'll be voting for sure.

Steve Gress can be reached at 758-9544 or steve.gress@lee.net.