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No rest for the weary in SOC race North hopes KU is the tonic for what ails the Tornado By DON HUNT Alan Borelli and five of his North Medford High teammates stayed up all night last Friday pondering the problems that have besieged the Black Tornado football team. Early Saturday morning, Borelli went down to the school and met with head coach John Beck to report what the group had discussed. "We put everything out in the open and voiced our opinion," says Borelli, a senior linebacker and offensive tackle. "We needed to clear the air about some things and we did that." Borelli didn't go into more detail than that, but the upshot is that the Tornado, which is coming off back-to-back losses and hasn't scored a touchdown in three games, has had its best practice sessions of the season this week as it prepares to meet Klamath Union on the road Friday. With an 0-2 start in the Southern Oregon Conference, North Medford may have to win its final five games to advance to the state playoffs, particularly since only three teams from the SOC qualify for the postseason this fall. "Our feeling is that we can't lose another game and that's how we're approaching every game from here on out - win or stay home in the playoffs," Borelli says. "We've got a real sense of urgency going right now. "The intensity in practice went way up this week. We know what's at stake." North Medford's biggest problem in 47-0 and 20-3 losses to Roseburg and Grants Pass the past two games has been an offense that has struggled to move the ball on the ground and struggled even more to score. The Tornado had only 56 yards rushing against Roseburg and 60 against Grants Pass. Beck says the Tornado is leaning toward senior Travis Poulton as its starting quarterback. Junior Brett Timmerman passed for 435 yards and four touchdowns in helping North Medford to victories over Mountain View and Bend to start the season, but had a rough outing the following week against Roseburg. The pair split duties last week. "Travis is a good option guy and rollout guy and he can really give a defense fits with his ability to scramble," Beck says. North Medford's inexperienced and undersized offensive line, which lost guard Dan Johnson to a sprained knee in the Roseburg game, can use a signal caller with mobility, Beck says. Beck also hopes to get tailback Justin MacLauchlan more involved in the offense. The speedy senior ran for 240 yards and four touchdowns in the Tornado's first two games but has gained just 20 yards combined in the last two. Klamath Union, meanwhile, has been competitive under fourth-year coach Wayne Amos. The Pelicans are 2-2 with their two losses coming by a total of seven points, including last Friday's 19-15 loss to Ashland. Klamath Union tailback Brad Mejia is the SOC's leading scorer with 56 points and the third-leading rusher with 441 yards and seven touchdowns. "They run that fly offense and it's a little scary because we don't see it very often," Beck says. "And they've got some good skill kids " North Medford has won the last nine meetings between the two schools by an average score of 47-8. Klamath Union's last victory over the Tornado was 14-13 in 1991. 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.