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South clobbers Crater Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Medford's Josh Gandee (30), Ben Vandagrift (51) and Quentin Clayton (61) put the squeeze on Crater's Dan Casey (21) in Friday's game. Ryan Heil's big night gives Panthers the easy SOC victory against Crater By DON HUNT Ryan Heil touched the football only four times Friday night, but his impact on the game couldn't have been much greater. The South Medford High wide receiver caught touchdown passes of 70, 30 and 62 yards from quarterback Boomer Marshall to fuel the ninth-ranked Panthers to a 56-27 victory over Crater at Spiegelberg Stadium. The victory boosted South Medford to 5-0 and set up a Southern Oregon Conference showdown against No. 2 Roseburg next Friday at Spiegelberg. Heil electrified a South Medford homecoming crowd by dashing 70 yards on an inside screen pass on the second play from scrimmage to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead. "That's the first time all season we've thrown that pass to Heil, and he took it to the house," South Medford coach Bill Singler said. "What can you say? The kid's a big-time receiver in this league, and the state, for that matter." Heil finished with four catches for 173 yards, and his three touchdowns boosted his season total to 11, tops in the state for wide receivers. His first touchdown was one for the highlight film as Heil caught the short pass in the right flat, cut to the middle of the field, spun away from a would-be tackler and then cut to the far sideline before going the distance. "Once I spun away from those guys, all I saw was open field and three of our guys blocking," Heil said. "I just kept running." Heil's final TD was also of the spectacular variety as he outfought Crater defensive back Franky Drake for a long pass and then sped 62 yards to paydirt. That score gave the Panthers a 35-14 lead early in the third period just moments after the Comets had closed within 28-14 and seemingly had the momentum. "Their guy (Drake) was in good position and got a hand on the ball, but I was still able to catch it," Heil said. "And then he fell down and it was off to the races again." Heil's big night overshadowed some other outstanding performances by players on both teams. Marshall, the South quarterback, completed 10 of 12 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns, while Panthers tailback Andres Reed - the leading rusher in the SOC - amassed 173 yards and one TD on just nine carries. Crater quarterback D.J. Beatty, meanwhile, had his best night in a Comet uniform by completing 18 of 31 attempts for 259 yards and two scores. Crater running back Dan Casey was no slouch, either, as he packed the ball 37 times for 138 yards and a pair of touchdowns. "Our kids are going through some difficult times right now, but to their credit they haven't chucked it in," said Crater coach Randy Heath, whose team fell to 0-5. "That was by far D.J.'s best game as a quarterback. He stepped up in the pocket and zinged some nice passes. "Our biggest problem was our tackling. They've got some tough runners and elusive receivers, but we didn't wrap anyone up all night." South Medford threatened to run away with the game in the first half as the Panthers built a 21-0 lead on Heil's first two touchdown catches and a 1-yard sneak by Marshall. But Crater put together a well-executed 83-yard, 17-play drive to close the gap to 21-7 with 15.2 seconds remaining before the intermission. The Comets had four third-down conversions and one fourth-down conversion on the drive that culminated on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Beatty to tight end Andrew Norum. But the hard-earned drive went for naught when South's Rob Brown galloped 78 yards to the Crater 2 on the ensuing kickoff and Reed punched the ball into the end zone on the next play - and the final play of the half - that made it 28-7 at the break. "It was a short kick and I just took off with it," Brown said. "Then I broke it to the outside and gave it everything I had." Drake finally ran down Brown at the 2, but South Medford had one more play and Reed took it in. "That was a back-breaker," Heath said. "We worked hard to get that first touchdown on the board and then they get it back in two plays." South Medford finished with 415 yards of total offense, while Crater racked up a season-high 387 yards. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.