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South Eugene puts the hurt on Panthers B y Don Hunt A season that started with high hopes and great promise has suddenly turned into one of pain and suffering for the South Medford High football team. Two weeks after winning their first two games, the Panthers find themselves with a 2-2 record and enough injuries to fill a hospital ward. South Eugene handed South Medford its latest setback, 14-7, Friday night at Spiegelberg Stadium. Scott Gerweck hit Casey Nagler on a 14-yard touchdown pass with 10.4 seconds to play that broke a 7-7 tie, lifted the Axemen to victory and spoiled the Panthers� homecoming. "We�re a shell of the team we were two weeks ago," South Medford coach Bill Singler said. "We�ve lost some good kids (to injury) and tonight we didn�t play with the intensity it takes to win a football game. "Somehow, some way, we�ve got to regroup and recapture what we had." The Panthers went into Friday�s game without wide receiver/defensive back John McKay, their best player and team leader. They left it with three other starters going down. Defensive back Dan Kime suffered a concussion, nose guard Chris Thomas a knee injury and tight end/defensive end David Burnett a pulled groin. McKay will likely return for next Friday�s game against No. 7-ranked Ashland, but the other three probably won�t, Singler said. South Eugene, which like South Medford is rebuilding its program under fourth-year coach Scott Bless, dominated the game up front and enjoyed a 323-148 advantage in total offense. But the Axemen ruined one long drive with a fumble, ran out of downs on another and missed a field goal after reaching the South Medford 15-yard line on their first possession of the second half. Thus, all they had to show for their superior play through the game�s first 47 minutes and 50 seconds was a 7-7 tie, their lone touchdown coming on an 11-yard pass from Gerweck to Nick Nelson with 1:22 left before halftime. But Gerweck, who finished with just 63 yards passing, lofted a perfectly-thrown 14-yard pass to Nagler in the left corner of the end zone for the game-winner in the waning seconds for the victory. "I just threw it high and let Casey (Nagler) track to the ball," Gerweck said. "The safeties were out of the way and Casey beat their corner to the spot. It was a pretty easy play, really." The Axemen drove 64 yards in 11 plays for the winning score. Along the way, halfback Nick Yarabinec scooted 11 yards to the South Medford 33 on a fourth-and-four play and Gerweck completed a 15-yard pass to tight end Chris Ware an instant before getting blasted on a blitz. South Eugene�s dominance was evidenced in the rushing numbers. Yarabinec, a 5-foot-9-, 155-pound junior who continually slipped tackles with his shifty moves, finished with 139 yards on 25 carries and senior fullback Ryan Strutin added 124 yards on 21 carries. The Axemen finished with 260 yards on the ground compared to just 93 by the Panthers. "We really controlled the first half and should have been ahead by at least two touchdowns," said Bless, the South Eugene coach whose team evened its record at 2-2. "Our offensive line is the heart of our team and we feel like we can run the ball on anybody." Three-year starting tackle Shawn Williams, a 6-2, 240-pounder, led the way up front for the Axemen. "Our whole line is back from last year and we worked hard in the weight room over the summer," Williams said. "We�ve come together real well." As badly as South Medford was outplayed, the Panthers managed to drive 80 yards in 12 plays for the tying touchdown with 1:08 remaining in the third period. Jimmie Maddox registered the TD on a 2-yard run, but the big play on the drive was a 25-yard hookup by a pair of sophomores � quarterback Boomer Marshall to wide receiver Ryan Benson � that advanced the ball to the South Eugene 25. The Panthers also converted a key fourth down play on a screen pass to Maddox that covered seven yards to the 13. The touchdown and Jared Mulhollen�s extra point pulled South Medford into a 7-7 tie. Singler was hoping that was the spark his team needed to squeeze out a win. But the beaten-down Panthers had nothing left. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.