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Churchill wallops South By Don Hunt EUGENE � It may seem difficult to find anything positive to say when you�ve just lost a football game by 50 points. But South Medford High coach Bill Singler was remarkably upbeat following the Panthers� 57-7 loss to Churchill in a first-round state playoff game here Friday night. "This was a learning experience and it�s something we can build on for next season," Singler said. "Nobody likes to get beat like we did tonight, but our kids competed hard the whole way. We didn�t back down. We were still hitting in the fourth quarter. "Next year, our goal will be to see how far we can go in the playoffs rather than just getting there." Niles Mittasch raced 81 yards on a sweep on Churchill�s first play from scrimmage and the No. 6-ranked Lancers never looked back as they improved to 9-1 and earned a second-round berth against Dallas next week. South Medford finished its season at 5-5. Mittasch, the MVP of the Midwestern League, hauled in a 74-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Rhode and added two more scoring runs in the first half on bursts of 4 and 25 yards as the Lancers took a 30-0 halftime lead. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Mittasch finished with 128 yards rushing on just nine carries and had three receptions for 73 yards. "He�s a very special back, the best in our league," Churchill coach Jack Wigmore said after Mittasch padded his touchdown total to 31 on the year. "He�s fast and he�s got some great moves." All told, the Midwestern League champion Lancers racked up 400 yards rushing and 572 yards of total offense. South Medford had its moments, however. To start with, tight end Bjorn Johnson made a spectacular one-handed catch on a pass from Boomer Marshall that covered 31 yards on the Panthers� second play from scrimmage. That drive stalled, but after Mittasch went the distance for Churchill�s first touchdown, South Medford marched from its own 29 to inside the Lancer 1 before Marshall was stopped inches shy of the goal line on a fourth-down quarterback sneak. The 15-play drive featured passes of 37 yards to John Benson and 17 yards to Jonathan Wright. In the second half, South Medford reached the Churchill 3 and again came up empty. "It was frustrating not to score in those situations, but at times we moved the ball well against the No. 6 team in the state," Singler said. "Earlier this season we never would have done that." Marshall, the Panthers� sophomore quarterback, finished with respectable passing numbers: 16 of 33 for 228 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. "I felt confident the whole game � I just wish we could have scored a few more times and made things closer," Marshall said. "But this was a great experience for us, and we can use it as a springboard for next season. "Maybe next year it�ll be us winning 57-7." Trailing 16-0 after one period, the Panthers tried a fake punt that backfired. John McKay came up four yards shy of a first down on a fourth-and-10 play from the Churchill 49. The Lancers wasted no time in capitalizing on the good field position, driving 43 yards on just four plays with Mittasch scoring from 4 yards out. Adrian Poggi tacked on the PAT for a 23-0 Churchill lead. Just two minutes later, the center snap sailed over McKay�s head on another punt play disaster, giving Churchill a first down at the South Medford 18. On the following play, Mittasch scampered the distance on a reverse and suddenly it was 30-0. In the third period, Churchill abandoned its double-wing running formation and went to a spread offense. Rhode, the Lancer QB, completed five straight passes, the final one going 14 yards to Kery White for a touchdown and a 37-0 Lancer lead. Rhode, a 6-6, 230-pound senior, completed 9 of 12 attempts on the night for 145 yards and two scores. The touchdown tosses were his 17th and 18th of the season against just one interception. Rhode has been working with Chris Miller, the former University of Oregon and NFL quarterback who is now an assistant coach with the Lancers. "The credit for our passing game success goes to Chris Miller," Wigmore said. "He�s taught Jeff (Rhode) so much." South Medford finally got on the board with 9:24 remaining in the game when sophomore tailback Andres Reed broke a couple of tackles and ran 49 yards to paydirt. "Their speed was really the difference in the game," Singler said. "We couldn�t catch the one guy (Mittasch), and then they hauled us down from behind a few times when we were out in the open. "But we�re a lot quicker than we were last year and we�ll keep working on it. "We�re walking out of here with our heads held high." Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.