Mail Tribune Sports - Cavemen rally past S. Albany

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)

2000-09-15

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Cavemen rally past S. Albany GRANTS PASS -- Brandon Hamada's 10-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion with 2:31 to play Friday helped Grants Pass overcome a 12-0 deficit and oust South Albany from the Class 4A state football playoffs, 15-12. With the come-from-behind, second-round victory, the Cavemen (8-3) became the lone Southern Oregon Conference team to advance to the quarterfinals. Grants Pass, the SOC's No. 3 seed, next faces Mountain View. Mountain View clubbed Lake Oswego 58-40 on Friday. South Albany (7-4) got on the board in the first quarter when Jordan Hunter shrugged off a Grants Pass defender to haul in a 9-yard touchdown pass from Tim Sparks. The Rebels' two-point conversion run failed. Kevin Heim's 7-yard run in the second quarter boosted the South Albany lead to 12-0, with the Cavemen denying another two-point run attempt by the Rebels. South Albany's second scoring drive was kept alive when Grants Pass was called for pass interference on a fourth-and-12 play. Hamada lifted the Cavers' hopes later in the second quarter with a 10-yard touchdown romp, with Jay Slack providing the point-after kick to make it 12-7. Neither team could muster much of an attack in the third quarter. Grants Pass tore a page from the South Albany playbook in the fourth quarter, using a steady ball-control attack to march 70 yards and cut more than five minutes off the clock before Kim Ray finally bulled into the end zone from the 1-yard line. Hamada followed with a two-point conversion to cap the scoring. The Caver tailback rushed for 102 yards on 26 carries in helping Grants Pass grind out its attack. South Albany took to the air on its first play from scrimmage following the Caver score, only to have Mike Hudman step in front of the pass for an interception. Grants Pass was forced to punt after three plays, but left little time on the clock for the Rebels, who tried in vain to advance the ball. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune   Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.