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L/FOG Temp: 35 °F Wind: W at 3 mph Sunday, December 8, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend November 23, 2002 South Medford�s Logan Boyd (21) dives for extra yardage against Canby�s Joe Seifert in Friday�s quarterfinal game at Spiegelberg Stadium. Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman No miracle this time In a game where the teams combine for 1,192 yards of offense, South Medford’s late comeback falls short against Canby By DON HUNT Mail Tribune After more than a month of wild, high-scoring games and fast, frenzied and furious finishes, the South Medford High football team staged yet another hang-on-to-your seat thriller Friday night at Spiegelberg Stadium. This time, however, fate frowned on the state’s cardiac kids. Quarterback Boomer Marshall set a single-game passing record for the third time in four weeks and rallied the sixth-ranked Panthers from a 27-3 second- period deficit, but fourth-ranked Canby had just enough horsepower to secure a 47-44 state quarterfinals victory. The win advanced the 12-0 Cougars to next week’s semifinals, where they’ll meet Lake Oswego, a 39-36 upset winner over fifth-ranked Central Catholic Friday night. South Medford finished its season at 10-2 with its only two losses coming to Canby. Marshall completed 33 of 46 passes for 535 yards and five touchdowns to break his own single-game school record of 464 yards set the previous week in a 45-38 double-overtime victory over Willamette. Teammate Ryan Benson also re-set his single-game reception school record, snaring 12 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns. But Marshall also threw three interceptions, one of which was returned 22 yards for a touchdown by Canby safety Brett Allee. "We made one hell of a run and I don’t think we have anything to be ashamed of," Marshall said. "Tonight, we just ran out of time. If we would have had another couple minutes, there’s no doubt in my mind that we would have pulled this game out — just like the others." The Panthers had won five of their previous six games by a touchdown or less with each of them going down to the final possession before being decided. This one was no different. Canby appeared to have the game locked up when Roland Stegmeier scored on a 2-yard quarterback sneak with 3:04 remaining that gave the Cougars a 47-38 lead. But on the first play from scrimmage after South Medford regained possession, Marshall hit Benson on a crossing pattern and the senior wide receiver galloped 77 yards to the Canby 1. Marshall scored on a sneak on the following play, drawing the Panthers within 47-44 with 2:33 to play. South Medford then attempted an onside kick and nearly recovered it, but the ball bounced off Panthers receiver Thom Whiteaker and into the hands of Canby’s Joe Seifert. "The ball was bouncing around crazily and I thought I might get it," said Whiteaker, who had a huge night with seven catches for 217 yards and three touchdowns. "I think it hit my leg but I just couldn’t gather it in. "It’s too bad, because if we get it we’re going to take the ball and score again. They couldn’t stop us in the second half." Canby took possession at its own 41 and drove to the South Medford 19 before the Panthers were finally able to take over on downs. By then, the clock had dwindled to 16 seconds and South Medford was out of timeouts. Marshall hooked up with Benson for 16 yards and Logan Boyd for seven that advanced the ball to the Panther 41, but then the clock ran out on their season. "We had everyone back deep so we wouldn’t give up the big one, but man, I was still nervous," Canby safety Kenny Scharmota said of South Medford’s final possession. "Boomer’s an incredible player. He’s got a gun for an arm and until that final horn went off we couldn’t celebrate." South Medford finished with a season-high 600 yards of total offense and Canby racked up 592, including 427 on the ground. Marshall started the game with a hot hand, completing seven of his first eight passes — including five to Benson — as the Panthers drove from their own 27 to the Canby 20. They had to settle for Corey O’Neill’s 37-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead. Canby then reeled off 27 unanswered points on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Stegmeier to tight end Blake Thompson, Allee’s interception return, a 23-yard run by Shawn Doman and a 7-yard run by Scharmota. South Medford hadn’t trailed by this kind of margin — 27-3 —since its season-opening 43-21 loss to Canby, and looked to be in big trouble. But Marshall connected with Whiteaker for a 50-yard pass to the Canby 8 and then hit Benson on a fade pattern for the touchdown that got the Panthers within 27-10 at the half. "I told the kids at halftime that they were going to make the greatest comeback in Medford playoff history — and they almost did," South Medford coach Bill Singler said. "The bottom line was, we just didn’t get enough stops." Marshall rifled a 10-yard scoring strike to Benson and a 10-yarder to Whiteaker on South Medford’s first two possessions of the third period as the Panthers quickly closed to within 27-20. From there, it was another horserace. The Panthers twice closed within two points, the final time at 40-38 after Marshall hit Whiteaker from 37 yards out on a fourth and 10 play with 6:17 remaining. But the Cougars kept answering with scores of their own, and Marshall and Co. simply ran out of time. Canby 47, South Medford 44 At Spiegelberg Stadium Canby 7 20 6 14 —47 South Medford 3 7 14 20 —44 SM — FG O’Neill 37 C — Thompson 37 pass from Stegmeier (Simons kick) C — Allee 22 interception return (Simons kick) C — Dorman 23 run (kick failed) C — Scharmota 7 run (Allee kick) SM — Benson 11 pass from Marshall (O’Neill kick) SM — Benson 10 pass from Marshall (O’Neill kick) SM — Whiteaker 10 pass from Marshall (O’Neill kick) C — Stewart 37 pass from Stegmeier (kick failed) SM — Whiteaker 70 pass from Marshall (O’Neill kick) C — Thompson 33 pass from Stegmeier (Allee kick) SM — Whiteaker 37 pass from Marshall (O’Neill kick) C — Stegmeier 2 run (Allee kick) SM — Marshall 2 run (pass failed) TEAM STATISTICS Can SM First Downs 22 25 Rushes-yards 48-427 13-65 Passing yards 165 535 Comp-Att-Int 9-12-1 33-46-3 Total yards 592 600 Punts 2-32 2-34 Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-0 Penalties-yards 6-50 6-37 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Canby — Stegmeier 2-(minus 11), Allee 12-62, Scharmota 8-119, Seifert 1-(minus 4), Gustafson 4-26, Lever 6-74, Dorman 15-161. South Medford — Marshall 8-(minus 21), Boyd 1-12, Reed 4-74. PASSING Canby — Stegmeier 9-12-1 165. South Medford — Marshall 33-46-3 535. RECEIVING Canby — Dorman 1-10, Stewart 1-37, Thompson 5-106, Scharmota 2-10. South Medford — Whiteaker 7-217, Benson 12-178, Fischer 8-104, Reed 2-12, Boyd 4-24. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Canby Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S