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PREP FOOTBALL Solid start South Medford staves off Sunset in season opener Comment By Kris Henry Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 5, 2015 at 12:01 AM Updated at 12:02 AM By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 5, 2015 at 12:01 AM Updated at 12:02 AM --> SOUTH MEDFORD 35, SUNSET 27 RECAP: South Medford senior Cody Howard-Marthoski throws three first-half touchdowns and sophomore Chase Cota scores three times to help the Panthers... » Read more X SOUTH MEDFORD 35, SUNSET 27 RECAP : South Medford senior Cody Howard-Marthoski throws three first-half touchdowns and sophomore Chase Cota scores three times to help the Panthers hold on in their season opener. UP NEXT : Next Friday, South Medford at Lake Oswego. » Social News After months of frantic preparation, South Medford finally got a chance to put its young guns on display for all to see Friday when it kicked off the football season at Spiegelberg Stadium. For the most part, those young Panthers didn’t disappoint as they built a 35-13 lead on visiting Sunset and ultimately held on for a 35-27 nonconference victory. “We’re a real young team so we have a lot still to work on,” said Panthers sophomore Chase Cota, “but we’re getting there and this is a good start. We just need to improve every week.” Making his first varsity start in a designed dual-quarterback setup for South Medford, senior Cody Howard-Marthoski passed for three first-half touchdowns and finished 15-for-26 passing for 159 yards. Sophomore Robbie Patterson alternated series with Howard-Marthoski and, despite being victimized by a couple dropped passes, completed 8 of 13 for 83 yards and one TD as the Panthers totaled 242 yards through the air overall. “It was amazing,” said Howard-Marthoski of his first start. “I was just super-stoked to play with all my boys and go out there and kick some butt the first game.” “We were definitely clicking in the first half,” he added. “We kind of cooled down in the second half, but that was all right.” After South Medford (1-0) stymied Sunset on its first drive, Marthoski-Howard was hot from the get-go in driving his team 60 yards for an opening score. Sophomore Kaleb Franklin did the honors with a 7-yard TD reception just 3½ minutes into the contest. The Apollos (0-1) answered in unlikely fashion when, faced with a fourth-and-six play on the South Medford 22-yard line, quarterback Scott Wright eluded a sack attempt by Makai Manuwai and found Carter Webb wide open behind the defense for a tying touchdown. Undaunted, the Panthers really turned on the jets after that as junior Bobby Chaney guided the team downfield with a pair of nice runs and Franklin put them in scoring position with a 26-yard gain of his own. Howard-Marthoski’s 10-yard TD pass to Cota made it 14-7 with eight minutes to go in the second quarter, and the duo hooked up again for a 31-yard score with 16 seconds left to allow South Medford to take a 20-7 lead into the break. “We got off to a great start,” said Panthers head coach Bill Singler, whose team improved to 12-4 in season openers since 2000. “I was really pleased with both quarterbacks and how they handled the offense, got us into good plays and made some good throws with no turnovers. And our defense allowing only seven points in the half was pretty good, too.” While some may have been concerned about South Medford’s plan to utilize both Howard-Marthoski and Patterson behind center — with Chaney sticking his nose in there from time to time — the Panthers seemed to handle the transitions seamlessly. “We all are best buds so it’s not really a big deal,” said Howard-Marthoski. “We’re all just out there having a good time.” Cota’s third TD reception of the contest opened the scoring in the third quarter, with the 6-foot-3 standout hauling in a 6-yard pass from Patterson for a 28-7 advantage. Cota finished with six catches for 75 yards and said the quarterback rotation didn’t affect the receivers at all. “We work so many routes in practice and we always work with both quarterbacks evenly so it wasn’t a big deal,” he said. “Both quarterbacks I have good timing with and I know their tendencies so it works out.” The teams traded third-quarter touchdown runs, with Caden Carter going in from 9 yards out for Sunset while Manuwai, who recovered a fumble at defensive tackle to give his team the ball back, added a 3-yard TD run. The Apollos cut into their 35-13 deficit by capitalizing on another fourth-down defensive miscue as Bobby Chopra got behind the defense for a 30-yard score and later when Webb hauled in an innocent screen pass and raced upfield for a 64-yard TD. Sunset’s hopes at a comeback were negated after that when Chaney hauled in an onside kick with 1:30 to play and the Panthers were able to run out the clock behind hard running from Cristian Ibarra and Manuwai. “In the end it got a little shaky defensively and we let up a couple that we shouldn’t have,” said Cota, “but we came out with a win and that’s what matters.” Chaney finished with six receptions for 75 yards to complement six runs for 51 yards, while Franklin hauled in seven passes for 55 yards and rushed four times for 63 yards. Cedrick Mobley also had three catches for 50 yards to help the Panthers’ cause. Jason Dumont completed 11 of 21 passes for 212 yards and two TDs for Sunset, which also alternated quarterbacks and saw Scott Wright connect on 4 of 11 passes for 67 yards. Carter paced the run game with 16 carries for 66 yards, while Webb had three receptions for 98 yards and Alex Stickel hauled in two passes for 55 yards. Sunset outgained South Medford, 419 to 405, and both teams were sloppy as the Apollos committed 10 penalties for 85 yards and the Panthers were flagged 15 times for 120 yards. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry By Kris Henry Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 5, 2015 at 12:01 AM Updated at 12:02 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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