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Grants Pass runs past North For the second week in row, Tornado is kept out of the end zone By DON HUNT Two weeks ago, the North Medford High football team owned a 2-0 record and a No. 2 state ranking. Now the Black Tornado is fighting for its playoff life. Tom Martin ran for two touchdowns and Tom Cohen passed for another to lead Grants Pass to a 20-3 victory over the Tornado Friday night at Spiegelberg Stadium. The loss left North Medford at 0-2 in the Southern Oregon Conference for the first time since 1994 and, with only three teams advancing to the state playoffs this season, leaves the Tornado in a big early-season hole. Grants Pass, meanwhile, improved to 2-0 in the SOC and 4-0 overall. "This is a huge win for us and obviously a tough loss for them," Grants Pass coach Jeff Weiss said. "We thought we had the talent to beat them, especially since they were a little beat up coming in. "But the thing I really liked was the poise our kids showed. We didn't make very many mistakes." Indeed they didn't. The Cavemen managed only eight first downs and 147 yards of total offense, but they had no turnovers and only three penalties for 25 yards. Just as importantly, they scored on their opening possession of the game and the third period to set the tone for each half. "That was huge," Weiss said. "We've scored out of the gate in each game, but North is the best team we've played. It was great to get some momentum early-on like we did." Wide receiver Tyler York sparked the Cavemen on their opening 53-yard touchdown drive. First, he made a spectacular juggling catch for 32 yards that advanced the ball to the North Medford 15 on a third-and-10 play. Later, on third-and-goal from the 2, Cohen found York in the back of the end zone for the score. "I'm not sure how I came up with that first one - I just kept tipping the ball until I could get both hands on it," York said. "On the touchdown, I was wide-open and just hoping that Tom (Cohen) would see me." North Medford's Dustin Brooks blocked the extra-point attempt, but the 6-0 lead proved to be plenty on this night. Aided by a roughing-the-punter penalty that kept a drive alive, the Tornado managed its only points of the game when it drove from its own 39 to the Grants Pass 23 late in the first half. The drive stalled, but Shawn Hale booted a 41-yard field goal that cut the Cavemen's lead to 6-3 at the half. However, Grants Pass re-established its dominance at the start of the second half when it marched 61 yards in six plays to take a 13-3 advantage. A 24-yard screen pass from Cohen to Kory Mahr was the big play on the drive that culminated in Tom Martin's 12-yard sweep for a touchdown. Martin got a crunching block from 5-foot-7, 130-pound wide receiver Derrick Draper on the play. "I'm going to buy him (Draper) dinner for making that block," Martin said. Martin capped the scoring with six minutes left in the game on a 2-yard run, bulling over Tyler Engle in the process. That touchdown was set up when Cohen seemingly dropped back to punt from the North Medford 37 but instead hit Draper for a 26-yard gain. Cohen didn't have a big night statistically but completed 10 of 17 passes for 107 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. "This team has something special going on," Cohen said. "We're very cohesive. We believe in each other and everyone plays hard." The Tornado, meanwhile, was left scratching its head. North Medford coach John Beck alternated his two quarterbacks - Brett Timmerman and Travis Poulton - throughout the game. Each had good moments, but both were under constant duress and neither was able to get the Tornado into the end zone for the second straight week. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.