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Panthers cruise on past Grizzlies Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming South Medford's Rob Brown (44) sacks Ashland quarterback Cameron Voget in Friday's game. By TIM TROWER The line on South Medford football is that it has outstanding skill-position players. Maybe the line should be, simply, the line. The veteran group created holes with post-digger efficiency in a rousing, 38-7 victory over Ashland Friday at Spiegelberg Stadium. Andres Reed was the principal beneficiary, rushing for a career-high 227 yards and three touchdowns for the Panthers, who remained unbeaten (3-0, 1-0 Southern Oregon Conference) and went 3-for-3 on its early-season goals: win the season-opener, win on the road and win the SOC-opener. "We came out planning to dominate, and that's what we did," said senior guard Ben Vandagrift. "We've been wanting to do this all year. We finally found a team we could do it to, and we took it to them." His partners in excavation across the front were center Jacob Villa, guard Rory Donnelly and tackles David Ballard and Pierre Caballero. They repeatedly attacked the midsection of Ashland's defense, softening it enough that Reed and running mate Rob Brown ripped off big chunks up the gut. When the Grizzlies' attention shifted there, the flanks became susceptible to the sprinter Reed. "The line is to be commended," said South coach Bill Singler. "We have five seniors up front, and they came to play. We told them that they would win this football game for us, and they dominated the line of scrimmage." With the offense hitting on all cylinders - yes, even quarterback Boomer Marshall and his band of receivers got into the act - and the first-unit defense maintaining its streak of not having been scored upon, the game didn't live up to its billing. Many believed South and Ashland (1-2, 0-1 SOC) would battle for the conference's third and final playoff spot. But the Panthers marched 65 yards on the game's opening series, Reed scoring from the 9. Ashland went three and out, then South mounted a 63-yard drive that culminated with Brisen Healy's 27-yard field goal to make it 10-0. A fumbled snap by Ashland was recovered by Panther Travis Phillips, and shortly thereafter, Marshall scooted in from the 1 for a 17-0 lead early in the second. The Grizzlies ran a reverse on the ensuing kickoff and Charles Dotterrer took it the distance, 81 yards, but the play was called back because of holding. After South forced another punt, Reed scored from 13 yards out to make it 24-0 with 81/2 minutes left in the second quarter, and the outcome didn't seem in doubt. Ashland coach Jim Nagel said he's believed all along the Panthers are legitimate contenders not only for the playoffs, but for the league title. "After watching them in person," he said, "I still feel the same way. For all we know, we could be the second-best team in the conference." Maybe not on this night, when the Grizzlies again fell victim to a ground assault. "South pretty much dominated us in every phase," said Nagel, whose string of 17 straight playoff appearances with Ashland appears in jeopardy. "Up front they were too physical for us, their running backs ran through tackles, and they kept us off balance with the run and the pass. They were able to do whatever they wanted offensively." By halftime, South had run 39 offensive plays to Ashland's 17 and had outgained the Grizzlies 257 yards to 15 - including minus 17 rushing. With Marshall, the Panthers are perceived to be a passing team. He threw for 346 yards a week earlier, but that's only because Redmond loaded up to stop the run, said Singler. With Reed and Brown, who added 87 yards to the Panthers' rushing total of 347, South considers itself a running team first. "You have to credit the line for that," said Villa of the massive yardage total. "Everybody's working together, and we're real confident. This was a big step for us mentally." Reed, a 6-foot, 185-pound junior, wasn't about to argue. "Our line has really gotten better this year," he said, adding that his lone job is to "run the ball. Fine the holes and explode through them. Run as hard as I can." He made some cuts in the open field that wounded the Grizzlies, but he also broke a few tackles along the way. "Ashland couldn't wrap up that good," said Reed, "and I was able to slide off them, break some tackles and get 20 or 30 yards." Reed had 130 yards at halftime, and finished off his evening with a 45-yard sprint around the left end on the next-to-last play of the third quarter. South substituted liberally at the start of the fourth, and Ashland scored midway through the final period on a 15-yard pass from Bryan Clevenger to Torrance George. It did little to diminish the feeling that South has arrived. "We've always been the underdog," said Reed. "Now we want to show the SOC that we're here. South is coming, and we're not going to be underdogs any more." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.