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Roseburg ousted after bizarre finish Prep football ROSEBURG -- Lakeridge running back Taylor Finley scored the winning touchdown and two-point conversion with 1:25 to play then survived a bizarre finish as the Pacers shocked second-ranked Roseburg, 15-14, in the opening round of the Class 4A state football playoffs Friday night at Finlay Field. The victory propelled Lakeridge (8-2) into a second-round contest against Intermountain Conference runner-up Mountain View (8-2). Roseburg, the Southern Oregon Conference champion, finished 8-2. Finley capped a 19-play, length-of-the-field drive, plunging through the right side of the line for a 3-yard touchdown on fourth down, then negotiated the right side again on the conversion run. But Roseburg wasn't through. Quarterback Kevin Linderman rapidly moved the Indians from their own 28 into Lakeridge territory. But running back Conway Bixby fumbled after catching a pass near the Lakeridge 40 and Dan Hudson recovered for the Pacers. But after Lakeridge quarterback Rory Magner took a knee three times, there was still time left on the clock and the Pacers went into punt formation. The ball was snapped over punter Matt Miadich's head into the end zone with six seconds remaining. Miadich scrambled about the end zone and finally put the ball up for grabs. It floated into Roseburg linebacker Steve Bennett's grasp at the five. However, Bennett slipped to the turf two yards short of the goal line. "He threw the ball as he was going down," Roseburg coach Thurman Bell said. "He had to be throwing to someone and he didn't have any receivers. It should have been a safety (for intentionally grounding the ball in the end zone)." Lakeridge was the No. 4 team out of the Three Rivers League, but beat the Southern Oregon Conference champion at its own game -- pounding away on the ground. "The bottom line is that we ran like six plays in the second half," Bell said. "They controlled the line of scrimmage with plain old smashmouth football. They had four or five fourth-down conversions and we stopped them once." Linderman staked the Indians to a 14-7 first-half lead on a 1-yard run and a 71-yard touchdown pass to Cory Whitman. GRANTS PASS 27, BENSON 0 -- At Portland, Grants Pass struck for 21 second-half points to pull away from the Portland Interscholastic League's No. 2 representative. The Cavemen (7-3) earned a second-round match against South Albany, the No. 3 team out of the Valley League. The Rebels upset No. 7 Gresham, the Mount Hood Conference champion, 38-19. Grants Pass senior running back Brandon Hamada rushed for 70 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown in the first half before sustaining a mild concussion the first time he touched the ball in the second half. But junior Parker Lane filled in and the Cavemen never missed a beat. Lane ran for 76 yards on 10 attempts, scoring a TD and two-point conversion. Sophomore Todd Martin tacked on 26 yards on six fourth-quarter carries, fullback Kim Ray added 24 yards on four attempts and hauled in three passes for another 40 yards. "I think our depth just got to them," Grants Pass coach Tom Blanchard said. "Parker is our second-string tailback and fullback and our first string wideout. He got some good time earlier in the season for about two-and-a-half weeks when Brandon (Hamada) was injured." Grants Pass quarterback Nathan Olson connected on 9-of-18 passes for 120 yards, including a 29-yard scoring strike to Brady Howe in the third quarter. Robert Costa capped the Cavemen's scoring with a 15-yard, fourth-quarter jaunt. "I thought Benson played dang-good defense," Blanchard said. "During halftime we were a bit frustrated because we came in and didn't have many points." Grants Pass ........0 6 15 6 -- 27 Benson ..................0 0 0 0 -- 0 GP -- Hamada 10 run (kick failed) GP -- Lane 7 run (Lane run) GP -- Howe 29 pass from Olson (Voges kick) GP -- Costa 15 (kick blocked) Class 3A Playoffs JUNCTION CITY 31, MAZAMA 0 -- At Klamath Falls, unranked Junction City took advantage of five Mazama turnovers to knock off the eighth-ranked Vikings. Junction City scored three touchdowns in about an eight-minute span of the first half to take a 19-0 lead. After the Tigers' opening score on E.J. Jenkins 2-yard run with 14 seconds left in the first quarter, Mazama lost fumbles on its next possessions and Junction City scored both times. Junction City totalled 345 yards in offense to 215 for the Vikings. Billy Paulsen led the Tigers' ground attack with 111 yards on 12 carries and Aaron Brahms added 104 yards on four carries. Junction City ........7 12 6 6 -- 31 Mazama ..................0 0 0 0 -- 0 JC -- Jenkins 2 run (Brahms kick) JC -- Mills 8 pass from Johnson (kick failed) JC -- Mills 4 pass from Johnson (run failed) JC -- Johnson 1 run (pass failed) JC -- Paulsen 10 run (kick failed). Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.