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Tri-City keeps Heat winless By PAUL FREELEND KEARNEY, Neb. � After displaying the potency and consistency of a Model T engine in the prior weeks, the Tri-City Diesel bore more resemblance to a finely tuned Ferrari Saturday night, scoring touchdowns on three of its first four possessions to down the Southern Oregon Heat, 49-35. Diesel coach Leland Skeen let fly with the offense early, scoring on two consecutive deep pass plays from quarterback Adam Lane to Todd McCoy and Derrick Kennedy. Skeen, though, said the Tri-City offense just made the necessary adjustments to the Heat�s defense. "We took what (Southern Oregon) gave us on those first couple of passes, since we knew their DB couldn�t keep up with our receiver," Skeen said. "Our players are starting to catch on to our philosophies, and the win will help us in terms of momentum. Getting 40 points is nice and when we start to get healthy, we should start to roll." Southern Oregon nearly gave Tri-City its third touchdown, fumbling the snap on a field goal attempt in its own 4-yard line. Reggie Boyd took the ball around the right end to put the Diesel up 19-6. While Tri-City preferred to air the ball out early on, the Heat opted for a more ground-based approach. Southern Oregon coach Kevin Wells later said that the Heat�s shift was more forced upon the team rather than planned. "Our starting quarterback was hurt and our backup was one of our starting wide receivers," he said, "so to help take the pressure off of him, we went to the running game early, a running game we think is pretty good. "We missed a couple of passes deep, though, and those couple of plays could have changed the whole ballgame. To Tri-City�s credit, they were able to nullify what we wanted to do on offense." Southern Oregon�s Gary Clemons benefited most from the change, rushing for 64 yards on 18 carries in the first half while quarterback David Douglas completed just 2 of 9 first-half passes. Douglas did open the second half brightly, though, connecting on a 40-yard strike to Ryan Morgan to draw the Heat to within 19-16. The two teams traded scores throughout the quarter, with Lane answering Douglas� TD throw with a 30-yard pass to Kennedy just as the third-quarter clock expired. In the fourth, Jimmy Moore intercepted Douglas in the Diesel end zone and the home defense produced fourth-down stands on consecutive possessions to seal the win. Lane was 8-for-19 passing for 175 yards. Douglas threw for 97 yards on 10-for-20 passing. Kennedy caught three balls for the Diesel, accounting for 76 yards and two touchdowns. Morgan had 69 yards and two touchdowns on three catches for the Heat. Wells was pleased with the Heat�s response to Tri-City�s early offense, though its execution in the later stages left a little to be desired. "As a group, we had a pretty good idea of what to expect coming into tonight," Wells said. "I was happy with our guys. Tri-City got out in front of us quickly, but we were able to hold our own and fight back. We made some mental mistakes that could have been eliminated, though, against a team with two games under its belt, and it seemed (the Diesel) was a little hungrier." Tri-City visits Southern Oregon April 26. "We will play these guys in a couple of weeks," Skeen said, "and we know winning on the road is tough. That�s just one more hurdle we will have to overcome." SCORE BY QUARTERS Southern Oregon........................................6 3 14 12�35 Tri-City.....................................................19 0 13 17 � 49 First Quarter SO�FG Theolo 20, 11:24. TC�McCoy 32 pass from Lane (Jensen kick), 10:07. SO�FG Theolo 44, 5:53. TC�Kennedy 41 pass from Lane (kick failed), 4:34. TC�Boyd 2 run (kick failed), 0:46. Second Quarter SO�FG Theolo 39, 13:49. Third Quarter SO�Morgan 40 pass from Douglas (Wells kick), 11:14. TC�Boyd 1 run (pass failed), 6:37. SO�Morrell 3 pass from Douglas (Theolo kick), 3:17. TC�Kennedy 30 pass from Lane (Jensen kick), 0:00. Fourth Quarter TC�FG Jensen 26, 9:20. TC�Weston 35 pass from Lane (Jensen kick), 5:25. SO�Douglas 8 run (kick failed), 2:52. TC�Neuhaus fumble recovery (Jensen kick), 1:39. SO�Morgan 25 pass from Douglas (kick failed), 1:31. TEAM STATS First Downs: SO 11, TC 11. Rushes-Yards : SO 31-110, TC 24-76. Passing: SO 97, TC 175. Interceptions-Ret: SO 1-15, TC 1-10. Comp-Att-Int: SO 10-20-1, TC 8-19-1. Sacked-Yds. Lost: SO 0-0, TC 0-0. Fumbles-Lost: SO 2-0, TC 2-0. INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING � Southern Oregon, Clemons 22-74, Douglas 9-36. Tri-City, Boyd 10-18, Kennedy 10-56, Thomas 2-6, Lane 2-(-4). PASSING � Southern Oregon, Douglas 10-20-1-97. Tri-City, Lane 8-19-1-175. RECEIVING � Southern Oregon, Morgan 3-69, Morrell 2-8, Harris 1-15, Clemons 3-5. Tri-City, McCoy 1-32, Kennedy 3-76, Weston 3-61, Boyd 1-6. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.