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North Medford advances in 4A playoffs Photo by Bob Pennell Chris Endrikat celebrates a North Medford goal during its 2-0 playoff victory Tuesday over McMinnville. Whitaker goals fuel 2-0 win over McMinnville By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN North Medford High's boys soccer team played suffocating defense for 80 minutes Tuesday and got two goals from forward John Whitaker in an impressive Class 4A state sub-tournament debut. Behind Whitaker, a junior, the Black Tornado blew past McMinnville, 2-0, in a domineering display at North's District Field. The win sends North (8-7) into the first round of the state playoffs on Saturday against Three Rivers League champion Reynolds at Troutdale. "We played better than most fourth-place teams would," said North Medford coach Rich Garcia. "The way we played today, I think we're capable of playing with anybody in the playoffs. "We have a big advantage playing on our field because it's so wide (75 yards)," said Garcia. "That's a lot of ground to cover. If we put the ball outside like we did today and cross the ball inside, we are capable of scoring a lot of goals." North got off 22 shots but only converted two, both on shots by Whitaker. The Black Tornado had numerous scoring chances in the final 15 minutes as it stormed the McMinnville goal mouth, but they were off the mark. "Some of them came pretty close, but the adrenaline was flowing," said Garcia. "The kids wanted to go out and put them (the Grizzlies) away. They were trying too hard, and several shots went too long. The problem was the kids were looking at their own shots and their adrenaline was really up." Whitaker scored from 12 yards out on a header off an assist from Joel Sunderland to take a 1-0 lead at the 18-minute mark of the first half. Whitaker added his second goal, on an assist by Eder Salvador, from 18 yards out. "It was an inside-the-foot shot," said Whitaker. "I got a piece of the ball off the assist by Eder (Salvador) and kicked it in with the inside of my foot." North got off 22 shots in the game to five by McMinnville. The Black Tornado had five corner kicks to one by the Grizzlies. "We passed the ball a lot better today," said Whitaker. "I think we learned some things from playing Ashland last week. They made us better. We saw what they can do from their good passing. "In the second half, we let down for a little while," said Whitaker. "But coach (Garcia) told us to step it up and try to put them away. We were just a little anxious on some of the shots we got in the second half." North sweeper Chris Endrikat kicked in two shots, but both were disallowed. The first one was taken away due to what Garcia called a questionable offsides call. The second was wiped out after Endrikat finessed a looping shot over a defender as time ran out. The ball was in the air when the official's whistle blew, signifying the end of the game. But the officials ruled the official time was on the scoreboard clock, which had run out prior to the shot. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford,