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HAZE Temp: 48 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 21, 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 October 12, 2002 South holds on against Roseburg By DON HUNT Mail Tribune ROSEBURG — The South Medford High football team gave coach Bill Singler a couple of anxiety attacks and started him on his way to a couple of ulcers, but the Panthers’ locker room was a happy place late Friday night. After eight seasons of futility, the Panthers finally had a victory over the Roseburg Indians. The Panthers built a 21-7 halftime lead, stretched it to 28-7 late in the third period and then hung on for dear life to secure a 35-28 victory — their first over the Indians since 1994 and their first at Finlay Field in a decade. Boomer Marshall fueled the victory with one of his best performances as a high school quarterback, completing 18-of-26 passes for 267 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. "It’s frustrating to lose a big lead like that, but we showed a lot of character under fire," said Singler, whose team won its fifth straight game and improved to 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the Southern Oregon Conference. "We battled through adversity and won in a tough environment. "From a mental standpoint, this was an important step for our team." Andres Reed got the Panthers off to a fast start when the senior tailback bolted up the middle 76 yards to pay dirt on the first play from scrimmage. It marked the first time all season that Reed, who sat out two games with a knee injury and still wasn’t 100 percent last week, made a big impact with his speed and agility. "That’s our isolation play and we worked on it all week in practice," said Reed, who finished with 135 yards on 13 carries. "The hole was there. Some guy had my legs about 10 yards up the field but I shook him off, got to the outside and it was off to the races." Roseburg came back to tie the game 7-7 at the 3:34 mark of the second period when Austin Shoptaw raced 23 yards on an option play, but South Medford dominated the rest of the half. Marshall hooked up with Ryan Benson on a 37-yard touchdown pass up the middle that culminated a 69-yard, six-play drive, then hit Benson again on an 11-yard strike with 4:46 left in the second period to give the Panthers a 21-7 edge at the break. When South Medford put together a 91-yard, 15-play drive the first time it had the ball in the second half, capped by Thom Whiteaker’s spectacular leaping touchdown catch in the end zone from 27 yards out, the Panthers had a 28-7 advantage. And seemingly, they had control of the game. But the Indians quickly drove 80 yards for a touchdown on their next possession, with fullback Paul Moothart getting the score on a 9-yard run, then got a break when Marshall fumbled the ball away at the South Medford 20. Four plays later, on the first play of the fourth period, Moothart bulled into the end zone from the 1. The Indians had missed their previous extra-point kick, but pulled within 28-21 on a two- point conversion pass from Scott Moyer to Brodie Harvey. Now it was white-knuckle time, and the Panthers responded. Marshall drove them 78 yards in 10 plays, hitting all five of his passes for 53 yards along the way, including a 22-yarder to Benson on a third-down play and a 6-yarder to Benson for the touchdown. Although Roseburg came back to score one more time on Jake Dorsey’s 47-yard run, and had the ball in South Medford territory when time ran out, the third and final Marshall-to-Benson connection proved fatal for the Indians. "That was the key series of the ballgame," Roseburg coach Thurman Bell said. "It looked like we had all the momentum in the world and then Boomer took them down the field for their last score. "I give them credit. They made the big plays when they had to." The Panthers’ final touchdown came on a play the San Francisco 49ers use. Whiteaker runs a route in the flat, while Benson runs a deeper pattern, first to the inside and then to the outside along the back of the end zone. Marshall fired a strike to Benson, who barely kept his feet in-bounds. "That’s the first time this season that Boomer has thrown me the ball on that play," said Benson, who wound up with seven catches for 92 yards and three TDs. "Whiteaker’s the primary receiver, but he was covered. I wasn’t open by much, but Boomer threaded the ball in there." Along with Benson, tight end Eric Fischer had a big game for the Panthers with six catches for 109 yards, and sophomore tailback Logan Boyd augmented Reed with 78 yards rushing on 13 carries. All told, South Medford racked up 467 yards of total offense compared to 385 by the Indians. "It looked like a track meet out there for awhile," said Bell, whose team dropped to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the SOC. "The bottom line was, we couldn’t get a stop when we needed it." Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, 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