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Black Tornado churns by Celtics By Kris Henry Oct 21, 2022 11:46 PM A A 5 View all photos Minus its leading rusher, North Medford didn’t skip a beat Friday night in posting a dominant 52-6 win over McNary in Keizer. With senior stalwart Ty Pugliano on the sidelines out of precaution due to an injury suffered one week ago, his backfield mates more than picked up the slack, as Alexander Angulo ran for three touchdowns and Kilohana Wailehua added another to spur a rout of the Celtics. Angulo twice scored on 6-yard runs while Wailehua added a 2-yard TD run as the Black Tornado leaned on its veteran offensive line to help churn out the South/Central Football Conference road victory. “It’s nice having those guys,” said North Medford head coach Nathan Chin of the reserve running backs. “They all complement each other really well. Without having Ty this week, the other guys were going to have to step up and they did, there’s no doubt about it. And with whoever’s running the ball, those five guys in front plus (tight ends AJ Pugliano and Kellen Thomey) in the mix, our run game is pretty solid.” All of it served to settle the nerves of Chin, who was a little leery of his Black Tornado (5-3, 5-1) getting caught in a Week 8 trap against winless McNary (0-8, 0-6) “You always get nervous to come up and play these games but I’m proud of the boys for taking care of business,” said Chin. “It was one of those deals where you put this game against a team that hasn’t won a game right in the middle in what ends up being two of your biggest games of the season with Sheldon last week and the Black and Blue Bowl next week, and worry about it. I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say I was worried about how we’re going to come, but the kids did a really good job of taking care of business.” The mismatch on paper quickly evolved into a mismatch on the field, with North Medford simply not letting McNary gain much ground on offense while the Black Tornado shined in its own right. Beyond a pair of Angulo touchdowns and the one for Wailehua, North Medford used a 24-yard TD connection from JT Knobloch-Scott to AJ Pugliano, a 25-yard field goal by the kicker-turned-QB, a safety when a snap eluded McNary’s punter and he had to fall on it in the end zone and a 3-yard TD run by Jeremiah Robbins to build a 39-0 halftime advantage. North Medford’s defensive effort was particularly impressive, with its crew in the trenches constantly pressuring Celtics QB Jackson Alt and not letting any of the running backs gain much ground. “Our D-line absolutely swallowed them up,” said Chin. “That kind of effort has not been uncommon for our defense this year. There’s definitely two main staples of what our team has really identified itself with in the last six weeks, and that’s our defense and our run game. We’ve done a really good job in that fashion.” McNary’s lone touchdown came on a bit of good fortune, with Alt nearly losing the ball in the pocket after bumping into a lead blocker before regrouping to find Jaboi Balos streaking across the middle for what resulted in a 70-yard touchdown. The effort became moot moments later when DeAndre Card fielded the ensuing kickoff on his own 7-yard line, burst across the field and then raced virtually untouched down the Black Tornado sideline for a 93-yard score. North Medford201976—52 McNary0006—6 NM — Angulo 6 run (kick failed) NM — Wailehua 2 run (Knobloch-Scott kick) NM — AJ Pugliano 24 pass from Knobloch-Scott (Knobloch-Scott kick) NM — Angulo 6 run (Knobloch-Scott kick) NM — FG Knobloch-Scott 25 NM — Safety, snap into end zone NM — Robbins 3 run (Knobloch-Scott kick) NM — Angulo 2 run (Knobloch-Scott kick) M — Balos 70 pass from Alt (kick blocked) NM — Card 93 kickoff return (kick failed) Have a story idea? Reach sports editor Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected] or via Twitter @Kris_Henry Alexander Angulo, North Medford football Kilohana Wailehua, North Medford football AJ Pugliano, North Medford football Kellen Thomey, North Medford football Jeremiah Robbins, North Medford football