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Cavemen dig deep to beat Crater By DAVID DAUGHERTY For the Mail Tribune GRANTS PASS -- There are moments in a football season that define teams. For the Grants Pass Cavemen, there moment came on Friday night. With star players dropping with injuries like ducks in a shooting gallery, coach Tom Blanchard was left searching for solutions to a huge problem, as his sideline looked like a MASH unit with helicopters flying in with wounded every minute. But Blanchard found solace in his reinforcements, as the Cavemens' substitutes were more than up to the challenge in a hard-hitting 23-7 Southern Oregon Conference victory over stubborn Crater at Mel Ingram Field. The victory upped the Cavemen's record to 5-1 overall and 4-1 in SOC play, while the Comets fell to 1-5 and 1-3 in league play. "This was a good thing for our football team," said Blanchard. "You never want injuries, but our guys decided they can win when things go bad. I don't think they thought that in the first half." In the first half, Grants Pass lost speedy tailback Brandon Hamada five plays into the game to a sprained ankle, fullback Jesse Lara a few series' later and talented receiver Gabe Barbee, who returned to action with a bum knee after a few plays. The start of the second half also brought the Cavemen bad luck when standout linebacker Matt Major went down with a knee injury. Major's injury could prove costly, as an early diagnosis proclaimed anterior cruciate ligament damage. The status of the starting backfield of Hamada and Lara is in doubt for next week's non-league game against Bend. With its starting backfield combination on the sidelines in the first half, Grants Pass' offense looked dazed and confused. But with the offense searching for answers, the defense took matters into its own hands. Barbee, drifting in coverage, picked off a P.J. Price pass and raced seven yards into the end zone with 3:22 to play in the first quarter for the game's first score. Barbee also came up with some big plays on offense, corralling five catches for 84 yards. "It felt like I was his receiver," said Barbee of the interception. "The ball just fell in my hands and I raced home." "P.J. thought he threw it over his (Barbee's) head, but he didn't," said Crater coach Randy Heath. "Those kind of mistakes really hurt us tonight." With the Grants Pass defense setting an early tone, the Crater defense was equally up to the challenge, forcing five Jay Slack punts, one fumble and a goal-line stand where they stopped the Cavemen on a fourth-and-one from the Crater 1-yard-line. "Our defense played their guts out all night," said Heath. "They played with a lot of heart. I'm sure they felt they left everything they had on the field tonight." Price and the Crater offense finally took their cue from the defense with 7:42 to play in the half when the senior quarterback found Kenny Strate over the middle for a 34-yard touchdown pass which tied the score after an errant Caveman punt snap sailed over the head of Slack. But Comet big plays were few and far between after their brief offensive exhibition. In the first half alone, the Grants Pass defense forced Price into 2-of-12 passing, while intercepting three passes. Price finished the night 5-of-22 for 91 yards and four interceptions. The half proved to be the wake-up call the shell shocked Cavemen needed. On its first drive of the second half, Grants Pass marched down the field 78 yards to pick up a Slack 25-yard field goal and a 10-7 lead. On the first play after the kickoff, Crater tailback Scott Toney busted through a huge hole on the left side, but was sandwiched between two Caveman defenders nine yards later and fumbled away the ball. Two plays later, quarterback Nathen Olson found Robbie Lesher on a perfectly thrown 18-yard fade route for a 17-7 lead. Olson finished his night completing 11 of 20 passes for 178 yards. "I've been telling him (Olson) all year to put the ball on my outside shoulder and I would go up and get it," said Lesher. "He finally did it and hit me for six (points)." Lesher was also a force on defense where he picked off another Price pass two series' later and raced 34 yards to the Crater 10. Though Slack failed to convert on a field goal attempt four plays later, the Grants Pass secondary had made their statement. "I actually thought the ball went through the receiver's hands," said Lesher. "After that I was just looking for the end zone.'' After forcing the Comets to three plays and a punt on their next series, the Cavemen found another unlikely hero in backup tailback Parker Lane. Normally a stalwart cornerback on defense, Lane cinched up his running shoes and ran like a man on a mission. The junior carried the ball 19 times for 91 yards on the night, including a nifty 30-yard touchdown run with 3:45 to play. "I was waiting to get in the open all night," said Lane, who was seeing his first real action at running back since the seventh grade. "When I saw the grass in front of me I wanted to get into the end zone as fast as I could." Lane's surprising effort even impressed his coach. "Everyone knows he's a sprinter," Blanchard said of Lane. "He started to run really hard tonight and when he controls his speed he can be really tough." After watching his team pull together under extreme duress, Blanchard was left to ponder what good things may lie ahead for his team. "The key is we have a non-conference game next week," said the coach. "We really need it. We need to get some kids healthy. We became a better football team tonight without some key players. They decided they had a chance to make the playoffs in the second half. I'm just really proud of them." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.