Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Emergency services Phoenix, Jacksonville make 'safest cities' list Ashland High School alumnus gives $650,000 toward field Pages from History Pot tax eyed by city Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services Central Point police make arrest in assault with pipe California man sentenced for gun trafficking Medford police offer citizens' academy Medford Fire-Rescue hosts open house Politics and Elections Falls: Jackson County sheriff's race isn't over Former sheriff calls Winters' retirement decision 'very wise' Will 'GMO effect' shape election? Dotterrer-Bates Senate race goes negative? Election officials fine Richardson for late reporting of rent-free home Education State mandates eye exams for kids 7 and younger Eagle Point School District goes silent on gun issue SOU's first governing board appointed Showing their peers how it's done McLoughlin middle-schoolers do their part for Weed Environment Wagner Creek work would restore streambank Deer-killing disease won't taint meat for hunters Marijuana growers are threat to salmon, biologists conclude Green home helps keep life simple Treatment plant scrutinized for algae growth in Rogue River State news Nation - World Obituaries J.T. Hamilton Leonard Arthur Dalbec Linda M. Brodie Mary Realini Donald E. Nuckles Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Sports Latest Stories Drag strip ownership signs new lease Harvick shatters Kansas record to capture pole Ashland High School alumnus gives $650,000 toward field US women reach semis with rout of France Beavers, Buffs ready for another possible shootout Varsity 541 College Sports Beavers, Buffs ready for another possible shootout NCAA needs to drop rule on celebrations Autzen Upset Raiders rally for win over Northwest Beavers unble to get ground game going Pro Sports Harvick shatters Kansas record to capture pole A’s Beane defends deals he made Seahawks QB Wilson: ‘I used to beat people up’ Royals top Angels on Moustakas homer Peppers, Packers overwhlem Vikings Community Sports Business Latest Stories Pallet Wine Co. expands in downtown Medford Blog: Autumn Has Arrived! Blog: Buffett buys into auto retailing � la Lithia Motors Harry & David netted $9 million in fiscal 2014 Founders of Downtown ART+SOUND event honored by foundation Real Estate News Pallet Wine Co. expands in downtown Medford Medford's Pixel Productions moves to new quarters Tenants begin moving into One West Main Purchasers praise Harry & David's turnaround Historic building owners get lessons in restoration People In Business Transportation Agriculture Pallet Wine Co. expands in downtown Medford Purchasers praise Harry & David's turnaround Opinion Latest Granlund cartoon: National Newspaper Week Our View: Equal rights measure is unnecessary Letters to the Editor, Oct. 3 Michael Gerson: Two cheers for Obama, not three Matthew T. Mangino: Rape kit backlog creates problems Editorials Our View: Equal rights measure is unnecessary Our View: Food labeling measure is a reasonable step Our View: 'Negative' is in the eye of the beholder Letters to the Editor, Sept. 29 Our View: Winters continues to be invisible Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Oct. 3 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 2 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 1 Letters to the Editor, Sept. 30 Letters to the Editor, Sept. 28 Guest Opinions Is Ashland taking over Jackson County elections? Birds sound the alarm on climate change Manor residents give in many ways Transparency is essential in O&C debate Hazardous fuel treatments vital to protection from severe wildfires Lifestyle Latest stories Community blog: "What Most People Really Need is a Good Listening to..." Mary Lou Casey Dr. Jeff Hersh: Ringworm is a very common infection Dr. Murray Feingold: Memory loss and aging Local bass champ looks to continue his rise Runners Corner: Most-wanted list for runners Food Community blog: Fermented or brined, pickles are paramount The Fermentista’s Kitchen A slaw by any other name would be ... cabbage salad Restaurant Inspections Community blog: Keep salmon succulent by smoking, poaching Home and Garden Fall is a good time to plant certain perennials Start now for a bowl of winter sunshine Counting the reasons to keep your eating local Medford gardens to be showcased Saturday Trees aren't always the best companions for plants Health Community blog: "What Most People Really Need is a Good Listening to..." Mary Lou Casey Dr. Jeff Hersh: Ringworm is a very common infection Dr. Murray Feingold: Memory loss and aging Runners Corner: Most-wanted list for runners Community blog: Taking Responsibility - Will It Make Us Healthier? Hiking Biking Faith Religion Briefs Religion briefs First Church of Nazarene plans cleanup Religion briefs Religion Briefs Milestones and Achievements Still stifling laughter 40 years after 'Young Frankenstein' New Arrivals Wedding New Arrivals Barbecue will support treatment for stricken skateboarder Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Asian cuisine for all seasons at Misoya Bistro Leftover Salmon plays Applegate Lodge Ages and Ages plays the Imperial Ballroom Rogue Valley Symphony opens its 2014-15 season Southern Oregon Pride Festival celebrates diversity Theater Randall Theatre presents 'Blithe Spirit' A tribute to a great lyricist 'Mrs. Mannerly' is a matter of manners There's no accounting for poor manners Friends of Jim Giancarlo remember Ashland theater icon Music Leftover Salmon plays Applegate Lodge Ages and Ages plays the Imperial Ballroom The Farr Side: Bennett-Gaga collaboration is a cross-generational gem Rogue Valley Symphony opens its 2014-15 season Blues duo releases 'Over the Moon' Community Events Southern Oregon Pride Festival celebrates diversity Greater Medford Multicultural Fair Volunteers needed for Downtown Art + Sound Medford's Third Fridays Downtown Art + Sound Festival Dining Asian cuisine for all seasons at Misoya Bistro Spoons 'Get Giddy' at Porters Jacksonville's Thai House is everything good Thai should be Ami Sushi serves up Asian dishes Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Wagner Creek work would restore streambank ... Central Point police make arrest in assault with pipe ... State warns that fire danger is still a threat ... Wagner Creek work would restore streambank ... Central Point police make arrest in assault with pipe ... State warns that fire danger is still a threat ... PREP FOOTBALL Are you ready for some football? Prep season opens Friday with Black Tornado at home, Panthers at Sunset By Kris Henry Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 4, 2014 @ 2:00 am By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 4, 2014 @ 2:00 am » Social News A rejuvenating wind filled the sails of the North Medford football faithful last season. The question all offseason has been, with the bulk of that unit returning, what will the Black Tornado do for an encore? The first chance for an answer will come Friday, when the prep football season begins throughout the state. North Medford opens against the Fortuna (Calif.) Huskies, beginning at 7 p.m. at Spiegelberg Stadium. “I’m excited to see what 2014 will bring us and what will happen,” said Black Tornado quarterback Troy Fowler, the reigning Southwest Conference offensive player of the year. In Friday’s other 6A season openers, South Medford is at Sunset and Grants Pass at Sherwood. At the 5A level, Crater opens its season at Dallas while Ashland is at Klamath Union and Eagle Point plays host to South Albany. In other action, Phoenix plays at Brookings-Harbor and Cascade Christian is at Henley. On Saturday night, St. Mary’s plays host to Creswell to open its season. An upbeat attitude among the North Medford faithful will coincide with a new look for a Black Tornado program that prides itself in trying to carry on a tradition founded in the Medford High days. Gone are the red helmets and traditional black home jerseys, and in their place are new matte black helmets and an updated black jersey that carries over some of the camouflage elements on the shoulder that have increasingly become more popular. “It doesn’t have to be a forever thing, it’s just something for right now,” said North Medford head coach Mike Mitchell of the change. “But the kids love it. And the new uniforms have Oregon stuff on the sleeve in the black and it really looks sharp.” The story behind the change is a remarkable one, and just goes to show that you better be careful what you agree to as a coach. During an informal chat among coaches and players, Mitchell said the focus turned to what the group could do to get kids excited about a North Medford program that hadn’t had a winning season since 2005 and was winless in 2011. “So Troy says, ‘Can we change the helmet,’” Mitchell recalled, “and I said, ‘Well, you really don’t want to because we’re in a traditional school and it’s something you just don’t want to do overnight.’” With the recent revolution in altering uniforms — sparked by the University of Oregon’s never-ending options — Mitchell didn’t totally take the idea off the table. That’s when Fowler struck as quickly as any pass to talented wideouts Tristen Holmes or Jared Evans. “So he says, ‘Well, what if we go 10-2,’” added Mitchell. “This is a true story. So we’re sitting there and I don’t know we’re going to go 10-2 last year at the pre-camp so I say, ‘OK, if we go 10-2 we’ll change the helmet color.’ And I’ll be damned, we go exactly 10-2.” The end result definitely has already been a winner with Fowler and company. “I look at pictures now from when we had red helmets and I’m kinda like, ‘Oh gosh, that kinda looks bad,’” said Fowler. “I don’t really like the red helmets anymore now that we have these.” That’s not to say there hasn’t been a little blowback from Black Tornado purists, including Fowler’s baseball coach, Brett Wolfe. “Coach Wolfe is like, ‘Why would you change that?’ and I’m just like, ‘Coach, we’re not living off that anymore, we need to start our own tradition this year.’” North Medford definitely isn’t taking anything for granted, especially against a Fortuna squad that is coming off a 10-3 campaign and already sporting a 1-0 record after topping Healdsburg 35-21 last week. “They’ve got a few major college prospects on their team and are really good,” said Mitchell. “We went out and got a couple good teams for our first two (nonconference) games (in Fortuna and Canby) because we didn’t like the seeding last year.” “The plan is to beat two 10-3 teams in the preseason. Can that backfire? Yes it can, but that’s not part of the plan,” he added with a laugh. SOUTH MEDFORD AT SUNSET: South Medford has the challenge of containing one of the state’s top quarterbacks in senior Willy Pflug, who recently committed to play at the University of Montana. Pflug (6-0, 185) is a third-year starter who passed for more than 2,000 yards to go with 27 TDs in 2013 to earn first-team all-Metro League acclaim after the Apollos went 7-3 overall. “He can really throw the ball and they’ll cause us problems in that regard by spreading us out and getting into one-on-one matchups,” said South Medford head coach Bill Singler. Pflug’s escapability makes him that much more dangerous and difficult to defend against, and he’s supported by a veteran offensive line to complement junior running back Caden Carter (second-team all-Metro) and senior tight end Kincaid Crile (6-5, 203). Sunset introduces a new corps of receivers, led by junior Alex Stickel (6-2, 180), senior Jacob Lee (6-0, 180) and junior Britten Molesworth (5-11, 200). Sunset’s defensive strength stands to be on the line, led by Crile, and with returning inside linebackers Seth Wilson and Joe Peterson. Other than Carter at safety, however, the Apollos are relatively inexperienced in the secondary. South Medford will look to unleash a diverse running attack that features seniors Josh Hall, Hudson Thomas and Blake Snyder and junior Makai Manuwai and provide balance with the passing of third-year starting quarterback Craig Contreras, who completed nearly half his passes last year for 1,240 yards in the regular season. CRATER AT DALLAS: Crater will look to make a triumphant return to the 5A level with an intriguing Week 1 matchup against a Dallas program that went 8-4 last year and has high hopes for 2014, entering the season ranked ninth. The Comets are replacing nearly all of their offensive unit from a year ago but have a capable pitch-and-catch tandem with quarterback Matt Struck and receiver Dylan Morgan. Defensively, linebackers Cavin Gillispie and Tommy Winningham help power an athletic nucleus that features linemen Ryan Davis and Johnny Gonzalez. ASHLAND AT KLAMATH UNION: Second-ranked Ashland has been anointed a state title contender and will look to prove it belongs on the first step of what the Grizzlies hope will be a long journey this season. Ashland returns seven starters on both sides of the ball, while Klamath Union was picked second in the preseason 4A Skyline Conference poll and features first-year starter Vaughn Vallejos at quarterback and versatile skill players. Ashland is loaded with proven playmakers like tight end Parker Layton, receivers Shashi Penn and Max Montgomery and running backs Ryne Robitz and Mason Dow. Dual-threat quarterback Kyle Weinberg takes the reins as a junior. SOUTH ALBANY AT EAGLE POINT: Eagle Point graduated a lot of key contributors but returns a proven bunch in the trenches but has some breakout threats in first-year quarterback Ra’eed Sowell, receivers Ryan Lorenz and Orion Irving and running backs Jordan Castro and Anthony Lazano. South Albany went 3-6 a year ago but returns the bulk of its roster. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry By Kris Henry Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 4, 2014 @ 2:00 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. fantasy football Marshall Must Be in Fantasy Lineups Despite Ankle Oct. 3, 2014 at 11:41 pm Picking Winners and Fantasy Stars for Upcoming Games Oct. 3, 2014 at 6:37 pm Ben Tate's Fantasy Expectations Must Be Tempered in Week 5 Oct. 3, 2014 at 5:31 pm Week 5 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Oct. 3, 2014 at 12:00 pm Week 5 Fantasy Projections for Players with Matchups We Love Oct. 3, 2014 at 12:00 pm Must-Start Fantasy Players of Week 5 Oct. 3, 2014 at 9:00 am calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501