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Roseburg unveils pass, routs Crater By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN CENTRAL POINT -- For at least one night, Roseburg's Indians junked their 5-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust running game. And of all things, Indians' coach Thurman Bell -- who has almost disdained the passing game in past state championship years in favor of playing power football with his running attack -- went to the air. "We threw so much, my arm's even sore," said Bell, laughing after he watched junior quarterback Kevin Linderman pass for 293 yards and three touchdowns to propel the Indians to a 42-0 rout of Crater on Friday night. Roseburg played what Bell described as "our best game of the year," as it totaled 450 yards, while the Indian defense limited Crater to just 56 total yards, including minus-7 yards on the ground. "Our kids came out with a purpose tonight," said Bell. "We moved the ball and our defense played great." Linderman, who grew up one block from former Roseburg High all-star quarterback Jake Cookus, said he had only a slight inclination that the Indians might break tradition and throw extra passes against the Comets. "The coaches told me we might open it up some and throw a little more," said Linderman. "But I never expected this. It was fun. "The line blocked great and gave me plenty of time, and the receivers got open and caught that ball," said Linderman. "That's all it takes." Linderman threw touchdown passes covering 5 and 80 yards to senior tight end Pat Anderson, and wide receiver Thys Kuitert joined the fun with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Linderman to account for Roseburg's final touchdown late in the third period. Bell cleared his bench in the final quarter, allowing all of his players to experience a confidence-building win. The Indians will need that confidence next Friday when they meet Grants Pass at Roseburg in a game with major state playoff significance. Roseburg improved to 4-2 in the SOC and Grants Pass moved to 4-1 with a win over Eagle Point. "It's going to be a good game," said Bell. "Both teams play good defense, and the intensity should be high. "They're a very good team. I just hope we're ready for them." Based on how the Indians dominated a talented Crater team, all indications are that they will be ready for the Cavemen. Roseburg sent one of the better rushing teams in the SOC backwards on Friday. The Comets rushed for minus yards for the first time this season. Crater features three of the top running backs in the SOC in Brad Ralph, Henry Delaney and Tanner Hillyer. But the physical Indians weren't budging at the line of scrimmage when the Comets tried to run. "They were pretty tough, but we didn't play very well," said Hillyer, the Comets' fullback and linebacker. "I don't know what happened, but it's disappointing. We just weren't clicking. "We came out and moved the ball early, and then we stopped them the first time they got the ball. "After that, we struggled." Roseburg took a 7-0 lead with 4:21 left in the first half on a 14-yard draw play for a touchdown by sophomore tailback Conway Bixby. The Indians drove 74 yards for their second touchdown. Linderman scrambled for runs of 20 and 32 yards to highlight the drive and passed to Anderson for 5 yards on the touchdown. Roseburg immediately capitalized on a Crater mistake on the ensuing kickoff when Geoff Kirkendall recovered a fumble in the Comets' end zone for a touchdown. Crater's Josh Johnson fumbled the ball on the kickoff and it rolled backwards as it was tipped twice, and Kirkendall ended up on top of it in the end zone. "That was a big play and it turned things around going into halftime," said Bell. "It was kind of a lucky play." Suddenly, the Indians were coasting with a 21-0 lead at halftime. They went up 28-0 after Linderman's 80-yard touchdown pass to Anderson. A 23-yard run on a reverse play by wide receiver Ryan Morrison of the Indians moved the ball to the Crater 1-yard line a few minutes later. Bixby capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown dive. Linderman closed out the scoring with his 33-yard touchdown strike to Kuitert. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� interRogue & The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford,