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Grants Pass nips South, 7-0 By KRIS HENRY Sometimes in life you take what you can get. That theory played out Friday night as South Medford and Grants Pass each left Spiegelberg Stadium reasonably pleased following the Cavemen's 7-0 win in the Southern Oregon Conference finale for both teams. With the No. 3 playoff seed already locked up, the injury-plagued Cavemen merely were looking for a victory. In the second year of Bill Singler's effort to revive the Panthers, South Medford simply was looking for something positive on which to springboard into next season. Both got what they wanted as the Panthers extended the playoff-bound Cavemen to their limits before succumbing in the low-scoring affair. "I'm happy as heck to get the heck out of here with a win because I was very, very nervous about this game," said Grants Pass coach Tom Blanchard. "We have no excuses. South played an excellent football game. They took it to us but our kids came out in the second half and got one score that stood up. I'm not going to knock my team, I'm going to credit South. They played an awfully good football game, and they would have beaten a lot of teams tonight." Although he would have preferred a victory, Singler hugged his way through the South locker room after the game congratulating his players on a strong effort. "I'm so proud of these guys," Singler said. "They've held together all season. That was a chance for our team to take the next step against a quality football team, and I think we did that. "We wanted to play toe-to-toe with them tonight and show that we can play with a playoff-caliber team." The win moved Grants Pass to 6-3 overall and 5-2 in the SOC, while South Medford (1-8) dropped to 0-7 in league play. Brandon Hamada capped the lone scoring drive of the night with a 4-yard scamper into the right corner of the end zone. Jay Slack's kick made it 7-0 with six minutes to play in the third quarter. The game's only other potential scoring drive came in the fourth quarter as South Medford drove from it's own 34 to the Grants Pass 27-yard line before turning the ball over on downs with 6:42 to play. The low-scoring affair was as much due to steady defense by Grants Pass and South as it was anemic offense by both teams. The game featured 14 punts and only a handful of double-digit gains by either offense. "Defensively that was our best game of the year," said Singler. "We dropped too many balls on offense, but that was a great defense we were going against." South's defense limited the SOC's No. 3 rusher, Brandon Hamada, to 78 yards on 22 carries. South Medford tailback Jeremy Boyd rushed 22 times for 69 yards while quarterback John McKay scrambled 12 times for 25 yards but could only connect on 8-of-23 passes for 66 yards. South's hard-nosed defense possibly extended the long list of Cavemen injuries. Linemen Sean Provost, Trenton Ray and Joe Looney were each helped off the field, and Blanchard said he was unsure whether they would be ready for next week's playoff game against Benson. Grant Pass was already without starting linebackers Matt Major and Len Nuanez. Nuanez suffered a concussion last week against North Medford but is expected to return next week. "We'll just have to go with what we have next week," Blanchard said of his team's injury woes. South won't have the luxury of developing a playoff game plan this week, but that doesn't mean the Panthers won't have their minds on football. South loses only six seniors and adds a talented freshman cast to its group of seasoned sophomores and juniors. "These kids have now taken the next step," said Singler. "We talked about how the foundation has been laid. We're starting to put the frame on, and I'll tell you what, next season we're going to put that roof on. I think we have a lot to look forward to." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.