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DNS FOG Temp: 40 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Friday, November 22, 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 28, 2002 Engle leads North past Grants Pass By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune GRANTS PASS — North Medford senior Tyler Engle found himself in the shadows for most of Friday night’s game against Grants Pass at Mel Ingram Field. Standing a generous 5-foot-8 in cleats will do that for you, especially when you spend half the night defending a 6-6, 200-pound player in GP’s Kory Mahr. But when the fifth-ranked Black Tornado needed it most late in Friday’s game, it was Engle who stepped to the forefront in leading North Medford (4-0 overall, 2-0 Southern Oregon Conference) to a come-from-behind victory over the Cavemen (2-2, 1-1), 19-13. "When we needed a play, he and Reese Lamson did it for us," said North coach John Beck. "Great players make great plays, and Tyler’s a great football player." Engle’s 40-yard scamper to the end zone gave North its first lead with 1:02 to play, capping an improbable victory on a night when Grants Pass gave the highly regarded Tornado more than it wanted. Lamson rushed 17 times for 170 yards, including a 65-yard dash that set up a touchdown pass from Beau Hovland to Ryan Weisz to tie the game at 13-all with 10:22 remaining. "We were just lucky to get out of here with a win," said Beck. "(The Cavemen) played their best football game of the year, and they’re going to continue to get better and give people problems for the rest of the year. "We found a way to win, and that’s a mark of a good football team when you’re faced with adversity. That was a typical Grants Pass-North game. You never know who’s going to win until the last second." With 7 minutes to play in the game, Engle showed signs of good things to come when he snuffed out a potential third-down conversion for the Cavemen by blasting the ball loose from Mahr for a rare incompletion toward the all-star. Engle’s true grit shined through on the offensive side of the ball, however, as he slid to haul in North’s first third-down conversion of the night with 3 minutes left for a 17-yard gain. Faced with a third-and-8 on the play, Hovland was flushed right out of the pocket and got a pass off just before being dragged down. "Beau put it in a spot that nobody else could get to it but me," said Engle. "Hats off to him; he did a great job." After a holding penalty and a defensive stand by Grants Pass pushed North back to its own 46, Hovland pulled a play out of the Cavemen’s playbook by dumping a backside screen pass to Lamson, who raced 14 yards to the GP 40. On third-and-5, North went to a little razzle-dazzle reverse that the Tornado failed to convert just prior to halftime. That time, Engle could only muster a 2-yard carry. The second time, however, the shifty playmaker came up big. Engle took the reverse handoff toward the left sideline, then ducked in behind a Hovland block, found another opening toward the middle of the field and left GP’s Josh McGowan in his tracks as he cut back again to the left corner of the end zone. "The first time we ran it, I thought it would go for a lot more yards but (the Cavemen) just had backside pull," said Engle. "The second time, we just had tons of key blocks and I just had the cutback lane and kept going. "It was wide-open space in the middle, then at the last second there was a little cutback lane and I blew it up." Completions of 15 and 42 yards by Mark Heater to Mahr put the Cavemen in scoring position inside 20 seconds to play. After a 6-yard completion to McGowan put GP at the North 31 with 7.1 seconds to go, Grants Pass used Mahr, who had seven receptions for 133 yards, as a decoy. An overthrown pass toward McGowan was negated on the ensuing play as North was called for holding Mahr on an overzealous jam off the line. And with only 2.8 seconds to play at the North 21, Mahr once again played the role of decoy as Heater zipped a pass that sailed too high for a slanting Spencer Holland as time expired. Heater finished the night 17-of-36 for 195 yards with one interception and one TD pass to Mahr. "We saw when (Mahr) was double covered that it was just going to be too tough (to get him the ball)," said Grants Pass coach Jeff Weiss. "We thought we were better off getting someone singled out. You can only go to the well so often. We tried something different and it almost worked." As did the Cavemen’s hopes of an upset on homecoming night. "We don’t deserve to be in the top 10, but we played like we’re a top-10 team tonight," said Weiss. "I really believed we had them, but Engle made a great play. We were in position, but he just made some good moves and did a nice job. You really have to give him credit." Weiss was equally impressed with how the Tornado persevered despite his team’s valiant effort. "North Medford proved something to me tonight," said Weiss. "They didn’t get any cheap ones. That impressed me more about them. They’re truly a good football team because when you can’t rely on the big play and have to go earn it, they earned it." Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] 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