North Valley stymies Phoenix in Skyline opener - September 21, 2002

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)

2002-11-22

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CLEAR Temp: 55 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 21, 2002  SECTIONS   Home Page  Local News   Sports  Business  Obituaries  Life  Opinion - Politics  AP News  Weather  Classified  Archives  Site Map  EXTRA   HomeLife Magazine   W3 Magazine   Jobs @ Mail Tribune   Tempo A & E   Oregon CarZone   Wellness Connection  Real Estate  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  Contact Us  Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 21, 2002 North Valley stymies Phoenix in Skyline opener MERLIN — North Valley had options, and it used most of them in a 35-12 Skyline Conference football victory over Phoenix on Friday. Quarterback Tim Cunha had a breakout rushing effort and halfback Ariah Nead scored three touchdowns and passed for another to lead the offense. On defense, the ninth-ranked Knights (3-0, 1-0 Skyline) stymied the Pirates’ ground game and disrupted their passing attack. "The biggest key to the game was our defense," said Knights coach Todd Willaman. "We came out and played some smashmouth on them. It was good team defense. We were really bringing it." Cunha, meanwhile, directed the veer-option offense and personally benefited, rushing for 135 yards on only 11 carries. In an earlier game, it was Nead who ran for more than 150 yards. "When you’re running the veer option, it’s either the dive back, the pitch back or the quarterback," said Willaman. "They boxed the outside backers and were giving us the off-tackle. We just took what they gave us." Nead carried 11 times for 70 yards, including a 43-yard TD scamper. He also threw two passes, completing both for 95 yards. One went 61 yards to Erik Richardson for a score. Richardson also kicked all five PATs and intercepted a pass. Unable to run the ball, Phoenix relied on Brady Rhodes passing to Martin Gonzalez. Rhodes completed 12-of-34 passes for 212 yards with two interceptions. Gonzalez caught six for 136 yards. Jimi Lockheed scored both Phoenix TDs on short runs. Phoenix............................................0 6 0 6 — 12 North Valley...................................21 7 7 0 — 35 NV — Nead 2 run (Richardson kick) NV — Cunha 20 run (Richardson kick) NV — Nead 4 run (Richardson kick) P — Lockheed 3 run (run failed) NV — Nead 43 run (Richardson kick) NV — Richardson 61 pass from Nead (Richardson kick) P — Lockheed 1 run (pass failed) ROGUE RIVER 27, LAKEVIEW 14 — At Lakeview, Rogue River junior quarterback Matt Frederick had a hand in all four Chieftain touchdowns. Frederick hooked up with Matt Branch on three touchdown passes and ran for another. Frederick’s second-quarter 2-yard TD run and two-point conversion run pulled the Chieftains (2-1) to a 14-14 halftime tie. Frederick found the senior wide receiver Branch for TD passes of 27 and 60 yards in the fourth quarter to break the game open. Frederick also rushed 23 times for a game-high 168 yards. Rogue River...................................6 8 0 13 — 27 Lakeview.......................................7 7 0 0 — 14 RR — Branch 7 pass from Frederick (conversion failed) L — Pruitt 36 pass from Mills (Dolebear kick) L — Chartier 17 pass from Mills (Dolebear kick) RR — Frederick 2 run (Frederick run) RR — Branch 27 pass from Frederick (conversion failed) RR — Branch 60 pass from Frederick (kick good) MAZAMA 35, HENLEY 0 — At Klamath Falls, junior running back Ryan McGraw rushed for 116 yards and scored two touchdowns as Mazama defeated Henley (0-3) for only the second time in the nine-year history of the rivalry. Viking senior quarterback Kyle Blank scored one touchdown on the ground and passed for another. Blank gained 61 yards on 11 rushing attempts. Mazama (3-0) totaled 412 yards in offense, with 342 coming on the ground. Henley was limited to 119 yards of offense. Henley.............................................0 0 0 0 — 0 Mazama........................................21 0 14 0 — 35 M — R. McGraw 58 run (Starley kick) M — Blank 15 run (Starley kick) M — B. McGraw 8 pass from Blank (Starley kick) M — R. McGraw 26 run (Starley kick) M — Poetsch 32 run (Starley kick) Printer Friendly Version   Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News  | Sports  | Business  | Obituaries  | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives  |  Site Map   E Southern Oregon  | Classified   Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S