CVC playoff picture is almost clear
McKay, South Salem victories clarify positioning

The 6A football playoff seeding for the Central Valley Conference has been all but been determined after a pair of exciting games in week five.

South Salem 35 , Sprague 32

South Salem's defense kept their team in the game against Sprague for three quarters, then the Saxon offense erupted in a big way in a high scoring fourth period to forge the road win and settle the battle for the second place playoff spot out of the CVC.

The host Olympians jumped out to a 12-0 lead as the Saxon offense could not get on track and twice gave Sprague good field position. Olys quarter Jeff Kidd hit Michael Desousa on a 24 yard TD pass with 8 1/2 minutes left in the first period to get the scoring started on a drive that began at the Saxon 40 following a short punt. Late in the second quarter, Sprague's Luke Yde intercepted a Conor Lynch pass and returned it to the Saxon 24. Kidd then threw another 24 yard TD strike--this one to Jeff Weisenhaus with 2:04 remaining in the period.

But the Saxon offense came alive on the next drive. South's Mark Mason returned the ensuing kickoff to the Sprague 47 yard line, and South took just a minute and four plays to get into the end zone. Jake Fohn's 14 yard run and the extra point cut the deficit to 12-7 at the break.

It could have been a whole lot worse for the visitors. South stopped an earlier second quarter drive--one of three red zone stops for the Saxons in the game. Jake Withnell blocked a field goal attempt to keep three points off the board that would prove to be the difference in the game.

Sprague extend their lead right out of the locker room, taking the opening second half posssession 80 yards on eight plays. Fullback Parker Miles scored on a six yard run, but with a third unsuccessful extra point conversion , Sprague's lead was just 18-7.

Lynch marched South right down the field on their next possession, taking nine plays and 65 yards. Travis Koon made a catch off a deflected pass for a 20 yard touchdown, and a two point conversion made it 18-15 Olympians.

That set the stage for a wild fourth quarter that featured five touchdowns and another key defensive stop for the Saxons.

Sprague was poised to extend their lead early in the fourth with the ball at the South Salem 15. But the Saxons forced a fumble by Miles and recovered at the 16 yard line.

On the very next play, Lynch ran an option play left, and with good down field blocking, rambled 84 yards for the go ahead touchdown and a 22-18 lead.

The advantage would be shortlived, as the Olys took just 2 1/2 minutes to go 76 yards. Brian Conklin's 15 yard TD run put Sprague back in front 25-22.

But the Saxons got another good kickoff return and a short field at the Olympian 46 yard line, and five plays later Lynch found a wide open Junior Espitia for a 16 yard TD. South went back on top 28-25.

On the next Sprague drive, the Saxon defense helped to put the game away. Under pressure, Kidd had a pass intercepeted near mid field by Will Sloan and returned to the Oly 35 yard line. Lynch hit Mason with an 11 yard TD pass for a 35-25 advantage.

Sprague managed to mount a late scoring drive. Kidd found Weisenhaus for a 34 yard TD pass with 2:26 left. But the Olys opted to kick to South, and the Saxons ran out the clock to take the win.

Both quarterbacks put up impressive numbers on the night. Kidd threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns on the evening for Sprague on 20 of 32 passes, but he was also intercepted twice. Lynch finished with 180 yards passing and three scores for South on 16 of 25 pases. He was also picked off twice.

South Salem (4-1) will get a first round home game in the playoffs with the win. They host North Salem next Friday before ending the regular season with a bye.

Sprague (3-2) travels to Lake Oswego next week in a non-league encounter and wraps up CVC play at Redmond. They will go on the road in the first round of the playoffs as the conference's number three seed.

McKay 21, North Salem 14

Upstart North Salem was just a yard away from taking a fourth quarter lead over McKay in game to determine the CVC's fourth and final playoff spot.

But the game turned upside down on fourth and goal, as the Scots forced a fumble and scored just five plays later for a 14 point swing and what proved to be the game winner in a 21-14 victory for the visitors.

The Vikings led McKay 14-7 at halftime, thanks to a pair of touchdown runs by fullback Robert Eason--a two yarder in the first quarter and a one yard plunge in the second. McKay's score came on a 22 yard pass from Ian Silbernagel to Majed Abdelrasul early in the second quarter.

The Scots tied the game in the third quarter on thier opening possession. Running back Jayson Kemble's 15 yard TD run knotted the game at 14, and it remained that way until the key sequence of plays early in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings got a big break when a punt snap sailed over the head of Scots punter Wes Groom, and North recovered at the McKay four.

The Scots defense stiffened, pushing North back three yards on two running plays. A pass from Viking quarterback Cole Ferguson to tight end Shelby Hanson gave North fourth and goal at the one.

Enter Major Harris for McKay. The Scots defensive end wrenched the ball loose from Eason as he attempted to get into the end zone, and advanced it to the 15 yard line. McKay scored five plays later on a 14 yard Silbernagel run and the extra point made it 21-14. Nobody reached the end zone the rest of the night.

With the win, McKay is in the driver's seat to clinch the fourth playoff spot, improving to 2-2 in CVC play. The heartbreaking loss dropped North to 1-3.

The CVC's fourth seed will play on the road at the #2 Mout Hood Conference representative.

McKay travels to McNary next week--needing a win to formally clinch the playoff spot. North will be at South Salem. McKay ends their season in two weeks at home against West Salem, while North will entertain McNary.

McNary 42, Redmond 0

A long trip over the Cascades did nothing to deter McNary from picking up their first conference win of the 2009 season. The Celtics rolled to the shut out win at Redmond to improve to 1-3 in the CVC.

The Celtics still have a chance to earn a playoff berth if they can pick up wins against McKay and North Salem over the next two weeks.

Redmond (0-4) travels to West Salem next week and entertains Sprague in their season finale'.

Of note: First place West Salem was idle this week, and will host Redmond next Friday.