Document text
North Valley closes in on Skyline title KLAMATH FALLS - North Valley's rock-solid defense faced its most difficult challenge of the season Friday. And the Knights demonstrated they were up to the task against explosive Henley. North Valley clinched at least a piece of its first Skyline Conference football championship since 1992 by posting a 21-0 shutout over the Hornets. North Valley (8-0, 5-0 Skyline) can claim the title outright with a victory against Phoenix (5-3, 4-1 Skyline) at home next Friday. The fourth-ranked Knights, who have surrendered only 49 points all season, limited Henley to 31 yards on the ground and 94 passing. "Our defense was phenomenal," North Valley coach John George said. "The defense played great all night." In the fourth quarter, the Hornets drove to North Valley's 1, but were turned away in four tries up the middle. "They ran right into the teeth of our defense and that's our strength," said George. North Valley used an effective ground attack led by Colin Beard, who rushed for 119 yards on 18 carries. Beard sealed the game with a 1-yard TD run with 7:51 remaining in the game. "Our offensive line really stepped it up," said George. "We overcame some penalties and really wore them down." The Knights got on the scoreboard at 2:13 before halftime when junior quarterback Tim Cunha found tight end Derek Wright for a 45-yard touchdown pass. North Valley increased its lead to 14-0 when Cunha dashed in from 20 yards on an option play at the 7:59 mark in the third quarter. "We attacked them in a few places," said George. "We ran our option effectively and also ran off tackle. Cunha led us well on the field." North Valley.............................................. 0 7 7 7 - 21 Henley........................................................... 0 0 0 0 - 0 NV - Wright 45 pass from Cunha (Parmelee kick) NV - Cunha 20 run (Parmelee kick) NV - Beard 1 run (Parmelee kick) PHOENIX 26, ROGUE RIVER 20 - At Rogue River, Eric Kessler ran for 239 yards and three touchdowns as Phoenix rallied in the closing seconds for a win. Coupled with a Henley loss to North Valley, Phoenix takes over sole possession of second place in the Skyline Conference at 4-1. Rogue River tied the game on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Matt Frederick to Matt Branch with only 1:45 left in the game. The Pirates (5-3 overall) answered behind the arm of quarterback Ross Ellis. The senior signal caller completed passes of 14, 15, 24 and 11 on the closing drive then hooked up with Brady Rhodes for the winning score with 16 seconds remaining from 14 yards out. Frederick led the Chieftains (0-8, 0-6 Skyline), who close out the season against Lakeview next Friday, with 129 yards through the air and 59 on the ground. Phoenix.....................................................6 0 6 14 - 26 Rogue River.............................................7 0 0 13 - 20 RR - Branch 6 pass from Frederick (Perryman) P - Kessler 16 run (run failed) P - Kessler 5 run (run failed) RR - Smith 1 run (pass failed) P - Kessler 32 run (Ellis run) RR - Branch 7 pass from Frederick (Perryman kick) P - Rhodes 14 pass from Ellis (pass failed) HIDDEN VALLEY 28, MAZAMA 27 - At Klamath Falls, the Mustangs intercepted a Vikings' two-point conversion attempt with 1:15 remaining, then recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock. Junior running back Trevor Schmidt led Hidden Valley (4-4 overall, 3-2 Skyline) with 207 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 29 carries. Mazama (3-4, 2-3) compiled 318 yards on the ground behind junior running back Seth Morehouse, who picked up 151 yards and three TDs on 23 carries. Mustangs senior quarterback Josh Mundell completed 7 of 11 passes for 123 yards. The Vikings outgained Hidden Valley, 415-364. Hidden Valley ......................................7 0 14 7 - 28 Mazama .................................................6 15 0 6 - 27 M - Morehouse 17 run (kick failed) HV - Schmidt 47 run (Porzil kick) M - Blank 9 run (Brosterhous pass from Blank) M - Morehouse 1 run (Gansberg kick) HV - Schmidt 9 run (run failed) HV - Kunst 17 run (Schmidt run) HV - Schmidt 44 run (Porzil kick) M - Morehouse 4 run (pass failed) ILLINOIS VALLEY 39, LAKEVIEW 0 - At Lakeview, Illinois Valley picked up its second win of the season with a rout of Lakeview in a non-conference matchup. The Cougars (2-5, 1-4 Skyline) wrap up the season with a game at Hidden Valley next Friday. Southern Cascade League � GILCHRIST 35, ST. MARY'S 6 - At Gilchrist, Bo Allen rushed for 89 yards and scored four of the five Gilchrist touchdowns. Allen scored on runs of 7, 3 and 1 then added a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter. Gilchrist (2-5) rushed 37 times for 234 yards while holding St. Mary's in check for much of the game. Ruben Cotti-Lowell led the Crusaders with 98 yards rushing on 13 carries. St. Mary's........................................................0 0 0 6 - 6 Gilchrist...................................................14 7 14 0 - 35 G - Allen 7 run (Larkin kick) G - Allen 3 run (Larkin kick) G - Allen 1 run (Larkin kick) G - Allen 75 interception return (Hall pass from Pervis) G - Ernst 3 run (kick failed) SM - Cotti-Lowell 35 run (kick failed) LOST RIVER 27, CASCADE CHRISTIAN 9 - At Merrill, Cascade Christian couldn't sustain its momentum from a win a week ago, dropping a Southern Cascade League game to rival Lost River. The Challengers fell to 3-5 on the season, while Lost River improved to 5-3. Skyline A NORTH LAKE 28, BUTTE FALLS 8 - At Silver Lake, Butte Falls appeared headed for a Class 1A state playoff spot but North Lake used a devastating ground game to derail the Loggers. Butte Falls (5-2, 4-2 Sky A) could have determined its own destiny for the Skyline A League's No. 2 state playoff berth with a win. Instead, with North Lake (5-2, 4-2 Sky A) and Paisley also tied for second in the league at 4-2, the Loggers will now need help next week when North Lake hosts Paisley. Butte Falls must beat rival Prospect and have Paisley defeat North Lake in next week's season finale to secure a state playoff spot. North Lake coach Dan Damewood estimates the Cowboys rushed for over 600 yards on the ground. North Lake took a 20-0 halftime lead on touchdown runs by Bobby Munroe, Brandon Fivecoat and Brett Condon. Condon added a 64-yard kickoff return for a TD after Butte Falls scored in the fourth quarter. Butte Falls.................................................... 0 0 0 8 - 8 North Lake................................................ 8 14 0 6 - 28 NL - Munroe 14 run (Munroe run) NL - Fivecoat 26 run (Munroe run) NL - Condon 4 run (run failed) BF - 4 run (run) NL - Condon 64 kickoff return (run failed) Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.