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Black Tornado takes on athletic Olympians By DON HUNT When football practice opened at Sprague High School in Salem 3 1/2 months ago, 170 players hit the field. One of them, 6-foot-5, 255-pound junior tackle Jake Pratt, had run cross country the year before. "He's quite an athlete," Sprague football coach Robin Hill says. "He'd usually finish in the middle of the pack. The kid can flat-out run." Pratt injured his knee the first week of the football season and has yet to crack Sprague's starting lineup, but his athleticism -- a lineman running cross country, for crying out loud -- typifies the Olympians' talent level. North Medford meets the Valley League champion Olympians in the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs Friday night at Sprague High. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. Hill says this is the best team he's had in his 13 years at Sprague, and no one is arguing. The Olympians, who have rattled off nine straight victories since a 28-10 season-opening loss to McNary, are loaded with both quantity and quality. And just in case North Medford coach Rod Rumrey needs something else to worry about, Sprague runs a Wing-T offense that the Black Tornado hasn't seen this season. "They've got some very big linemen on both sides of the ball and a couple of skill players that rank right up there with the best in the state," Rumrey says. "We're going to have to play our best football to win this game." Hill started tinkering with the Wing-T in 1987, his first season at Sprague, and went to it full-time the following fall. The offense is predicated on misdirection plays -- sweeps, traps, counters and bootlegs -- and can flourish without large linemen. "The linemen are doing mostly angle blocks, trap blocks and influence blocks," Hill says. "No one has to go one-on-one with the guy across from him. You don't need brute force. "We've survived with no starters over 200 pounds and we've survived with average talent. But if you've good talent then you can do some special things." This season, the Olympians have the latter. Quarterback Mike DeMuniz, who has completed 59 percent of his passes for 1,485 yards, 14 touchdowns and just four interceptions, was the Valley League's offensive player of the year. Fullback Josh Jackson is the Olympians' leading rusher with 930 yards and 15 touchdowns on just 100 carries, and 6-4, 195-pound split end Ryan Petersen is their leading receiver with 26 catches for 600 yards and five scores. Jackson bad a big game last week, running for 208 yards and two touchdowns in the Olympians' 41-8 victory over Marshall in the first round of the playoffs. The Olympians are averaging 41 points per game while giving up only 14. UP front, Sprague feature three first-team all-conference players -- center Jeff Livingston, guard Kevin Hansen and tackle Ryan Nack. If North Medford hopes to slow down the Olympians' high-powered attack, its defense can't get fooled by the misdirection plays, Rumrey says. "Their basic offense is to run trap, fake trap, sweep and bootleg," Rumrey says. "On almost every one of their plays at least one of those things happens, and quite often they'll pull both guards. "We've got to be disciplined and read our keys." The Wing-T is essentially a running offense, but Demuniz's threat as a passer makes it dangerous for an opponent to put eight or nine players near the line of scrimmage. "People think all anyone does with this offense is run the ball, but if you've got good receivers and a good thrower then there's no reason you can't put the ball in the air," Hill says. "And we do. It's just a real good high school offense." Chances are, North Medford will have to put four or five touchdowns on the board to emerge triumphant. And the Tornado is certainly capable of winning a scoring derby. Fullback Ken Halpin ran for 197 yards and five touchdowns during last Friday's 56-12 romp over North Bend. But the player who worries Hill the most is Tornado quarterback Nate Mayben. "He's as good as we've seen this year -- he's the real deal," Hill says. "He's very good at throwing on the run and he can hurt you by running the ball up the field." Sprague's defense, though, could be the best North Medford has faced this season. Led by Valley League defensive player of the year Bill Swancut, an end, the Olympians' first-team defense has not allowed a touchdown in the past five games. Hansen, a linebacker, and cornerback Kyle Grove were also named to the Valley League all-conference defensive team. Hill is also high on Pratt, the cross country runner turned tackle. "To show you how good of an athlete he is, he made the varsity basketball team as a freshman," Hill says. "And then last year he didn't go out. "He's a different kid -- a 4.0 student who marches to his own drummer. "Athletics just haven't been that important to him in the past, but I think he's really enjoying the football season right now." Although Pratt has yet to start a game, he's been getting more and more snaps each week, particularly on defense. "If he starts lifting weights, he'll be a monster next year," Hill says. "He's got the potential to be a major college player.'' Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.