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P/CLOUDY 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 November 2, 2002 South Medford quarterback Boomer Marshall, left, runs with the ball as North Medford�s Ryan Weisz makes the stop. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli South has final say Panthers prevail in back-and-forth tussle with North for SOC championship By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune As the smoke cleared from Friday night’s spectacular show at Spiegelberg Stadium, South Medford celebrated wildly on the field and North Medford disbelievingly wandered into its locker room. A high school football game for the ages had just ended, and South, the underdog in what was hyped beforehand — correctly, it turns out — as the rivalry’s greatest edition, was a 45-41 winner. The Southern Oregon Conference championship was the Panthers’ bounty. Andres Reed’s 9-yard screen pass from Boomer Marshall with 1 minute, 15 seconds remaining would be the winning score, but the outcome wasn’t decided until Beau Hovland’s fourth- and-2 bomb slipped through Ryan Weisz’s hands with 39 seconds left. After 964 yards of total offense, 96 combined points and a smorgasbord of big plays and bigger moments, South was left smiling. "This is the funnest game I’ve ever played in, the best I’ve ever personally played and the greatest feeling I’ve ever had after a game," said Marshall, the Panthers’ clutch senior quarterback who went 23-for-36 for 448 yards and five touchdowns. With the SOC’s No. 1 seed, South (8-1 overall, 7-0 SOC) will host Portland Interscholastic League No. 3 Lincoln next Friday at 5 p.m. in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs. Completing a rare Spiegelberg doubleheader, North (8-1, 6-1) faces Churchill, the Midwestern League No. 3, at 7:45 p.m. The 10th-ranked Panthers weren’t expected to be able to withstand the third-ranked, and previously unbeaten, Black Tornado’s physical prowess. But from the start, in front of a stadium packed to the brim, South stood tall. Both teams began with punts before the Panthers struck first on Reed’s 62-yard burst down the left sideline. The inside handoff beat North’s blitz on second-and-10, and Reed used his breakaway speed after eluding the Tornado’s first wave. Following a second North punt, South went back to work, and Marshall completed 4-of-5 passes to move them 74 yards in six plays. A 30-yard swing pass to Reed, keyed by senior lineman Travis Phillips’ block, and the 26-yard touchdown to Thom Whiteaker, a bubble screen that started left and moved right, were the big-gainers. When the first quarter ended, the Panthers held a 14-0 edge on the scoreboard and 191 yards in offense and five first downs to the Tornado’s 22 and one. North responded by recovering a muffed punt return on the South 35-yard line and pulling to within 14-6 on Reese Lamson’s 5-yard TD run. A bad snap ruined the extra point. The Panthers answered by taking advantage of a roughing-the-passer penalty and marching to the Tornado 14 before Corey O’Neill’s 32-yard field goal. It was 17-6 at 6:36 of the second quarter. Before halftime, another 29 points lit up Medford’s skyline. First, North went 67 yards in five plays, capped by Lamson’s 35-yard explosion down the right sideline. Hovland extended across the goal line to get the two-point conversion. South promptly replied on its second play, as Marshall’s right-side screen to Reed blossomed into an 81-yard sprint to make it 24-14 at 3:10. On the Tornado’s ensuing second play, Tyler Engle hauled in Hovland’s pinpoint crossing pass and made two Panther defenders look silly for a 71-yard catch and run. The crowd barely had time to catch its breath before Reed tore off 32 yards on a draw and Marshall hooked up with Whiteaker for a 31-yard TD despite pass interference. The 31-21 South lead forged at 1:09 of the second quarter would last into the second half. In the third quarter, the Tornado received the ball first and advanced 80 yards on nine plays. Hovland’s 21-yard Donovan McNabb impersonation was the capper, pulling North within 31-28 at 7:12 of the third. The vaunted Tornado defense stiffened to hold the Panthers for the second time, and a bad snap forced punter Eric Fischer to the ground at his own 20. North needed just one play to cash in, Lamson reading Brian Heil’s seal block to cruise into the end zone untouched. At 4:46 of the third, the Tornado had its first lead, 34-31. North extended the edge to 41-31 on its next possession, marching 77 yards in 10 plays. Fullback Rob Folsom bolted 34 yards for the TD at 9:13 of the fourth quarter. "We came back from (14) points down and got the momentum," said Engle, who made five catches for 102 yards. "It was looking good at that point." In danger of suffering a sixth straight Black and Blue Game defeat, South responded. Backed up to its own 9 by a holding penalty, Marshall found Fischer on a deep post that didn’t end until Fischer was tackled at the Tornado 1. The 90-yard pass play paved the way to Marshall’s 3-yard fade to Ryan Benson at 6:24 of the fourth. North nearly added to its 41-38 lead on the next series, but a 57-yard screen catch and run by Weisz was nullified by a procedure penalty. The Tornado punted, and the Panthers took over at their own 29 with 4:07 to play. As he did last week against Grants Pass, Marshall began working his late-game magic. Three completions in four attempts moved South to the North 46, then Marshall ignored an open Benson in the flat to air it out for Whiteaker down the middle. The big-play senior dove to secure a 31-yard reception to the Tornado’s 15. "I just went up and got it," said Whiteaker, who caught four passes for 99 yards. "There was a guy on my back, and I jumped and hung on. The SOC title was on the line, and I wanted it more." Following Reed’s 6-yard draw, the Panthers called timeout with 1:26 remaining. On second-and-4, Marshall’s pass intended for Benson in the right end zone was nicely batted down by Alex Grigas. With a tying field-goal attempt looming, South came through on third-and-4. Marshall moved right, and threw back against a swarming North pass rush to Reed. Theo Elliott’s block at the goal line was the only help Reed needed to scoot in for his third touchdown of the night. "They didn’t see me," said Reed, who erupted for 235 yards in offense to bury the frustration of an injury-plagued senior season. "There was nobody there." Five last-ditch Tornado passes laster, the Panthers were the kings of Medford for the first time since 1996. "We put the game in Boom’s hands," said South head coach Bill Singler, who orchestrated a 535-yard attack against the SOC’s top defense. "The team feeds off him. ... And these seniors weren’t gonna be denied." "They made the plays," said North head coach John Beck. "They just made more of them in the end." Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 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