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51 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, November 13, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 5, 2004 North Medford plans to unleash Josh Casebere, the SOC�s leading rusher, a lot in tonight�s game against Grants Pass. The Black Tornado is looking to bounce back after last week�s 55-34 loss to Roseburg. Tornado faces must-win matchup Only a win over GP stands between North and a seventh straight trip to state By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune If ever Grants Pass High’s football team is going to get North Medford’s full attention, it’s tonight. The Black Tornado enters the Southern Oregon Conference finale at Spiegelberg Stadium fighting for its playoff life, and isn’t about to take any chances. "We’re pretty much treating it as our final game," says North head coach Rod Rumrey. "It’s like a playoff situation: You win and you keep going; you lose and you’re packing up and going home." North Medford (6-2, 3-2 SOC) had a chance to shore up its state-playoff status last Friday, but let that opportunity slip away in a 55-34 rout by Roseburg. Advertisement Given a second chance by virtue of Wednesday’s coin flip tiebreaker, the Black Tornado has only one path left to the state playoffs and that is right through Grants Pass (3-5, 2-3 SOC). "It’s going to be interesting to see how we bounce back from that last game," Rumrey says in sizing up tonight’s clash, "and this Grants Pass Caveman-Black Tornado rivalry has been a tremendous rivalry over the years. The games are almost always close and hard-fought down to the wire. I see this as being a typical battle." In tonight’s other SOC contests, fifth-ranked South Medford (7-1, 5-0) plays at Roseburg (6-2, 4-1) and Crater (1-7, 0-5) is at Ashland (2-6, 0-5). All games begin at 7 p.m. South and Roseburg are already guaranteed spots in the Class 4A state playoffs. A win by North would create a tie with Eagle Point (7-2, 4-2), which the Black Tornado defeated 36-15 two weeks ago, and ensure a seventh straight trip to the state playoffs. Interestingly, it was the Eagles who last denied North a playoff berth in 1997 when they won a similar winner-take-all finale, 25-22. Caught in the middle of all the state-playoff hubbub is a Grants Pass team merely looking to close its season on a high note. "That spoiler stuff doesn’t mean a lot for us," says GP head coach Tom Blanchard. "We’d rather win for ourselves and our program and let everything else take care of itself." "I feel badly that one good team is going to get left out of the playoffs," he adds. "It’s certainly not a good deal for either Eagle Point or North because they’re both quality teams and deserve to be in there." Had the Cavemen been able to find a replacement for injured quarterback Nolan Morgan, who was lost for the season in Week 2, it’s possible GP could have entered tonight’s game with playoff hopes of its own. The Cavemen boast the SOC’s top defense in terms of yards allowed (242.1 per game) and unearthed a gem of a running back in sophomore Craig Dolmage five weeks ago. Running behind one of the most physical and aggressive offensive lines in recent GP history, Dolmage has scored 11 touchdowns and averaged 172.4 yards per game to climb into the No. 2 rushing spot behind North senior Josh Casebere (1,143 yards and nine TDs on 168 carries). "It’s hard to believe he’s only a sophomore," Rumrey says of Dolmage, who torched Crater last week with 270 yards rushing and six TDs on 35 carries. "He looks like he’s a very physical, awfully good runner." Containing Dolmage and GP’s single-wing attack will be of utmost concern for a Black Tornado team that allowed 400 yards rushing to Roseburg. Much of that damage done by the Indians came after North lost defensive linemen Tim Endecott (pinched nerve in his neck) and Lorenzo Arenas (ejection). While Endecott is most likely out for the rest of the season, Rumrey says Arenas had his automatic one-game suspension overturned this week when it was deemed the 6-foot-2, 274-pound senior did not throw a punch at a Roseburg player last Friday. "With the two of them, that’s the left side of our line," says Rumrey. "That hurt us last Friday and it would have been real tough for us again (tonight). Having Lorenzo back is definitely going to help." Rotating in to fill Endecott’s role at left tackle and defensive end will be Hugh Rogers (6-1, 260), Jason Slowey (6-4, 250) and John Volgarino (5-8, 228). Rumrey says all will have to step up their play tonight in a game that should be won at the line of scrimmage. "(Grants Pass’) ability to control the football concerns me," says the coach. "We need to be able to slow that running game down and then when we get the football, we need to be able to have some protection up front to open things up for what we want to do." Blanchard agrees that the battle at the line will tell the tale once all is said and done tonight. "Our only chance is to be able to move the ball slowly but surely with our offense," he says. "Then that will take some pressure off our defense. I know they’ll move the ball against us because they’ve moved the ball against everyone else. Our key is to limit their chances somehow." CRATER AT ASHLAND — Each relatively young team will be chomping at the bit to claim their first SOC win of the season and provide a springboard for more to come. "This is two teams going into the game really hungry for a win," says Ashland head coach David Coldiron, whose Grizzlies lost 21-19 at Crater last season. "Somebody’s going to go home empty-handed, and we don’t want it to be us." The key for Crater will be in the play of its secondary, led by cornerbacks Chase Maloney and Charlie Reina and safeties Colin Hodges, Jason Juveland and Tyler Schultz. The Comets lead the SOC in passing defense, allowing an average of 94.6 yards passing per game. Behind blossoming QB Sam Littleton, Ashland picked up its second win of the season last week with a 31-25 edge at Klamath Union. Littleton averages a second-best 199.3 yards passing per game and has a full complement of receivers at his disposal tonight in Steve Jorgensen (36 receptions for 555 yards), Jeff Skinner (27 for 571) and Josh Cornelius (19 for 221). Jorgensen and Skinner each have pulled in six TDs to help an Ashland offense that is averaging about 100 yards and nine points more than the Comets thus far. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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