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North rumbles past Thurston By Don Hunt Curtis Stout has been the forgotten man in North Medford�s offense this season. Heading into Friday�s game against Thurston at Spiegelberg Stadium, the senior fullback had gained only 55 yards in five games while sharing the position with Justin MacLauchlan. But Stout stepped into the spotlight Friday, amassing 117 yards and two touchdowns on just six carries as the No. 3-ranked Black Tornado romped to a 56-20 non-conference victory. Stout also recovered a fumble from his defensive end position. "It feels great to get some carries and get into the end zone a couple times, but my main job is to block and I�m happy doing that," Stout said. "When you�ve got a guy like Phil Ouellette in your backfield, you need to get the ball in his hands. He�s our main runner." Ouellette, the No. 2 rusher in the Southern Oregon Conference, ran for 103 yards on just seven carries and quarterback Kevin Foreman added 41 yards on six attempts and four touchdowns as North Medford remained unbeaten at 6-0. Thurston lost its third straight and fell to 3-3. North Medford wasn�t as sharp as the previous week when it charged to a 31-0 victory over Roseburg. The Tornado was a little flat in the beginning but revved up its offense for 35 second-period points and a 49-7 halftime lead. "I didn�t think we were playing all that well and I look up at the scoreboard and it�s 49-7," North Medford coach Rod Rumrey said. "Our offense was a little out of sync at times but our defense continues to play hard-nosed football and kept giving us good field position." The Tornado had to drive just 17 yards for its first score after Travis Poulton blocked a punt on Thurston�s first possession. Foreman got the first of his touchdowns on a 12-yard option run. North Medford drove 80 yards the next time it had the ball with 77 of them coming on a run by Ouellette. The senior tailback squirted over left tackle, picked up a crunching block from wide receiver Brian Weeks and ran up the left sideline until he got caught from behind by Brad Nesslin at the Thurston 3. Three plays later, Foreman ran in from the 1 and it was 14-0 with 3:11 remaining in the first period. Foreman capped a 74-yard drive with a 22-yard run the next time the Tornado had the ball, and the lead swelled to 28-0 a little over one minute later when Stout busted up the middle on a quick trap 28 yards to paydirt. The fourth score was set up by Mike Olson�s 29-yard punt return. Stout then recovered a fumble at the Thurston 11, and on the following play Foreman found Olson wide open for a touchdown pass and a 35-0 Tornado cushion. "We came out a little flat but once we got our first touchdown there was no stopping us," said Foreman, who now has accounted for 20 touchdowns � 11 rushing and nine passing � this season. "We got more fired up as the game went along." Thurston finally got on the board when quarterback Rhett Green hooked up with Steve Farley on a 34-yard touchdown pass. But Stout rumbled 65 yards on another trap play just seconds later, and Foreman followed with a 3-yard touchdown run that made it 42-7 with 31 seconds remaining before the half. "I just kept my legs going and ran right over a guy," Stout said of his longest run of the season. North Medford was perfectly content to take the 42-7 lead into the intermission, but when MacLauchlan intercepted a Green pass and returned it 25 yards to the Thurston 13, the Tornado went for more blood. Stout got the call and scored on the next play. "We just couldn�t match up with their speed," Thurston coach Don Stone said. "They�re definitely one of the best teams in the state." Green finished with credible numbers � 17 of 37 passing for 200 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. But more than half of his yards came in the second half when the game was out of reach. The 6-foot-3, 193-pound Green weathered a fierce pass rush most of the night. He was sacked only twice but was knocked down numerous times, fumbled once and was called for intentional grounding on another occasion. "We knew he was a good quarterback and that we had to get pressure on him," said North Medford linebacker Alan Borelli, who registered both of the Tornado�s sacks. "I�ve got to give him credit for getting rid of the ball as often as he did to avoid getting sacked, but we had him out of rhythm. "I thought our defense played hard all night." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.