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Weeks comes up big for North Brian Weeks has been the forgotten man in North Medford�s offense this season, but the junior wide receiver has been making some big catches during the state playoffs. None was bigger than the 23- and 10-yard gains Weeks made during North Medford�s last-minute touchdown drive to beat Churchill 29-28 last Saturday. "He�s not the fastest guy in the world or the biggest, but he�s got good hands and runs good patterns," North Medford coach Rod Rumrey says of the 6-foot, 166-pounder. "And he�s one of the hardest working guys on the team. Whether it�s running a pass pattern or blocking, he gets after it on every play." Weeks has caught only 12 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown this season, but four of his receptions came last week, and he could be a go-to player Saturday. "I�ve been happy to just block and help clear a path for our running backs," Weeks says, "but it�s been fun to get more involved in our passing game. "Teams have to pay a lot of attention to (Mike) Olson and (Travis) Poulton, and that�s helped me to get open." Weeks, Olson, Poulton and quarterback Kevin Foreman are all three-sport athletes. The North Medford High student body might be a bit surprised when a group of South Medford High students presents them with a giant poster supporting their football team at today�s pep assembly. The 3- by 10-foot poster says, "Best of Luck, Tornado!" "Best wishes, from your friends at South." Among other designs is a logo of the South Medford Panther paw with its arm around a Tornado. The poster comes from the South High leadership class taught by Jerry Hagstrom and Cori Valois. "What we�re trying to stress is a healthy rivalry," says Hagstrom, who is also the South Medford varsity volleyball coach. "What we�re trying to get rid of is the petty jealousy and envy that both schools sometimes harbor. "Unless we�re going head-to-head with them, we should be rooting for them. That�s the attitude we�re shooting for." Hagstrom also planned to support the Tornado by hoisting a big banner over one of the freeway bridges heading out of town, but didn�t coordinate the effort with the Department of Transportation. With a victory Saturday , North Medford offensive coordinator Brent Barry can join his brother, Jeff, and father, Jim, as being a part of a state championship team. Jeff Barry was the quarterback of the 1985 Tornado team that defeated Churchill, 14-13, in the state title game. He is now a professional baseball player. Jim Barry was a running back and defensive back on the 1959 squad that edged Jefferson, 7-6, in the championship game. The �59 squad, which went 12-0 and outscored its opponents 472-78, is considered by many to be the best in Tornado history. Brent Barry played quarterback at South Medford and guided the Panthers to the state playoffs in 1988, where they lost 12-7 to Benson in the quarterfinals. Jesuit coach Ken Potter�s dad , George, coached for more than 40 years in Oregon and Washington. He had stints at Athena, Sandy, Sunnyside, Wash., Bend and Centralia, Wash., before ending up in the Washington prep hall of fame. Ken Potter attended Oregon Tech, where he was the school�s last three-sport athlete. He was elected into the NAIA District 2 Hall of Fame. He quarterbacked OIT�s first nationally-ranked football team, was the first guard off the bench for the Owls� 1979 NAIA tournament team and played baseball as well. When Potter graduated in 1981 with a degree in radiology, he went into the medical field in Everett, Wash. He returned to school and earned an education degree from Portland State, where he served as a graduate assistant to Don Read, a former Oregon Tech coach. From there, Potter moved on to Aloha High School in Beaverton, where he coached baseball, basketball and football. Then he spent four years on Tigard�s staff, two under Deno Edwards and two under Craig Hastin. In 1987, Potter replaced Craig Howard at Jesuit. He has compiled a 111-38 record heading into the final game of his 14th season. This is Jesuit�s first trip to the state final since 1968 when the Crusaders defeated Marshfield, 28-0, at Autzen Stadium. That was the last game before the University of Oregon installed Astro-Turf. Oregon plans to remove the carpet and return to grass for 2001. Crusader kicker John Dailey is one of the best the state has seen for some time. The 6-foot-1, 194-pound linebacker has converted on 68 of 73 PATs this fall and has kicked seven field goals. His longest was 50-yarder against Beaverton. Dailey also hit from 48, 45 twice and 42 yards. "John Dailey is one of the best high school kickers I�ve ever seen," North Medford coach Rod Rumrey says. "The majority of his kickoffs go into the end zone If the kicks are short, they�re usually so high that they pin you inside the 20." Rumrey says North won�t change much in the way it does things on. "We told our players that if we�re going to win, we�re going to win with what got us here," Rumrey says. "We may add a few wrinkles and hopefully create some confusion and doubts and gain an advantage that way." On the other hand, Rumrey hopes that the confusion that struck the Tornado early in last Saturday�s victory over Churchill won�t be repeated. North had trouble getting in the right alignment against the Lancers early in the game and was never able to run effectively. "Believe me," Rumrey says. "It was no laughing matter to Brent Barry, myself and (quarterback) Kevin (Foreman). That�s one of the first times that�s happened all year. This is the 34th time a member of the Southern Oregon Conference has appeared in the state finals that began in 1940. The SOC has produced 17 outright champions and three co-champions. There have been four all-SOC finals. The Black Tornado enters the final for the 15th time and owns a state-record 59 playoff wins. The present Metro League membership is 9-3 in state finals. Jesuit is 1-0-1, winning the 1968 crown and sharing the 167 title with Grants Pass. � Don Hunt and Greg Stiles contributed to this report Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.