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SUNNY Temp: 57 °F Wind: NW at 4 mph Sunday, October 5, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection 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 Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 27, 2003 Grants Pass� Michael Mills (7) tackles Eagle Point�s Jeremy Carvajal (6) while Pat Bransfield comes in to assist during Friday�s game at Eagle Point High School. Cavemen edge Eagles by a Haer A late fourth-quarter touchdown gives Grants Pass the win over Eagle Point in wild SOC contest By DON HUNT Mail Tribune EAGLE POINT — In a game in which the defenses dominated, it only made sense that a defensive player would make the biggest play of the night. J.D. Haer, an unheralded defensive end for the Grants Pass Cavemen, snatched the ball from Eagle Point quarterback Creighton Nevin near midfield with four minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Eagles nursing a 12-7 lead. Given one last chance to win the game, the Grants Pass offense sprang to life. Advertisement Junior quarterback Nolan Morgan calmly drove the Cavemen 49 yards in 10 plays, hitting tailback Pat Allen on a 5-yard touchdown pass that clinched a 14-12 Grants Pass victory. The winning score came with just 18.2 seconds left in the game. Grants Pass moved to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in the Southern Oregon Conference with the victory, while Eagle Point fell to 2-2 and 0-2. Morgan deserved credit for his composure down the stretch, but GP’s final drive wouldn’t have been possible without Haer’s ball-hawking heroics. "I wrapped the quarterback (Nevin) up, stripped the ball out of his hands and grabbed it," said Haer, a 5-foot-8, 195-pound junior who rumbled 8 yards with the pigskin before being tackled. "That’s the first time I’ve ever run with the ball in a game. I almost went into shock." Eagle Point’s defense, led by the physical play of 230-pound tackle Nick Smith, had stymied Grants Pass most of the game. But Morgan completed 5 of 6 passes on GP’s winning drive, including a 17-yard strike to Jake Dastrup and, on a crucial fourth-and-five play, a 9-yard slant pass to Anthony Miller that advanced the ball to the Eagle Point 4. Two plays later, Morgan fired a swing pass in the right flat that Allen took to pay dirt. "That’s a play we normally use on a two-point conversion," said Allen, who sat out most of the second half with a hip-pointer. "We had trips (three receivers) to the right and I lined up behind the tackle. The other receivers went in and I went out. "It was a great call and Nolan threw me a perfect pass." Morgan, a 6-5, 210-pound junior who was making only his second start, finished the game 18-of-33 for 204 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He hooked up with Miller on a 67-yard scoring strike just three plays into the game that gave the Cavemen an early 7-0 lead. "Winning a game like this is a big confidence-booster," Morgan said. "Things didn’t look good in the fourth quarter, but we got the ball one last time and took it to the house." The Morgan-to-Miller touchdown and Josh Lundquist’s PAT kick gave Grants Pass a 7-0 lead at the 10:28 mark of the first quarter, but Eagle Point scored later in the period on a 4-yard run by junior fullback Jason Rullamas. Nevin set up the touchdown with a 35-yard gallop on an option play. However, the Eagles’ attempt at a two-point conversion failed due to a fumble on a double reverse, leaving Grants Pass with a 7-6 lead. Eagle Point was compelled to go for two because its kicker — Brian Jermain — was nursing a sore knee. Neither team was able to generate much offense after that until early in the fourth period, when Rullamas barreled 43 yards up the gut to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Nevin. Eagle Point again failed on the conversion, leaving the score 12-7 with 8:44 remaining in the game. The Eagle Point defense forced Grants Pass to go three-and-out on its next possession, and a 24-yard punt gave the Eagles good field possession at their own 41. They managed one first down and were on the Grants Pass 43 when disaster struck. "Our defense played well, but we made way too many mistakes, both mental and physical," Eagle Point coach Harry Hedrick said. "Too many turnovers, too many penalties and we must have had kids fall down five or six times." Smith, who seemed to be in on nearly every tackle during running plays, took the loss hard. "We deserved better," he said. "All we can do is work harder in practice and win the next one." Nevin finished the game with 76 yards rushing on 12 carries and Rullamas added 51 yards on seven attempts. Spencer Holland had 65 yards on 16 carries for the Cavemen, most of them coming in the second half. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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