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Battle of the Souths set for homecoming Patterson Thursday Sep 22, 2016 at 7:42 PM Sep 22, 2016 at 7:42 PM Kris Henry Mail Tribune @Kris_Henry Bill Singler and Scott DuFault have seen a lot of each other lately, so it only seemed right that their respective football programs eventually get together here in Southern Oregon. The head coaches at South Medford and South Salem, respectively, each have a son playing football for the Southern Oregon University Raiders — senior quarterback Jack Singler and junior defensive back Jake DuFault — and game talk is never far from their minds. “I’ve known Scott DuFault for a long time and I’ve seen him a lot lately at SOU games and we always kid each other,” said Singler, “but I look forward to playing against his football team because I know we’ll get a really good game.” The two-time defending Greater Valley Conference champion Saxons (2-1) will travel to Spiegelberg Stadium on Friday to take on No. 6-ranked South Medford (1-2) in what’s sure to be a competitive nonconference clash. Kickoff for the Panthers’ homecoming game is 7 p.m. “They’re a well-represented team from the Valley League and they play with a real confidence,” added Singler. “We’ve got to put our best foot forward because I know they’re going to come down here with the idea that they want to ruin our homecoming.” In Friday’s other 6A action, North Medford (3-0) plays at No. 3 Sheldon (3-0) and Grants Pass (3-0) will host Willamette (0-3) in a pair of Southwest Conference contests. In 5A Midwestern League play, No. 4 Ashland (2-1) will host Marist (0-3), No. 9 Eagle Point (3-0) is at Thurston (3-0) and Crater (2-1) plays at Springfield (0-3). South Salem boasts a run-first mentality guided by dual-threat senior quarterback Harrison Broadus. In last week’s 27-14 win over West Albany, Broadus rushed for 135 yards and two TDs on 22 carries and completed 9 of 17 passes for 149 yards and two scores. Overall, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound QB has rushed 50 times for 213 yards and two TDs and completed 25 of 52 passes for 367 yards, five TDs and one interception. “He’ll pack a punch and they like to run him with the ball,” said Singler. “There’s going to be some heavy run formations this week, out of the shotgun where he’ll be a dual-threat quarterback or they’ll get in a two-tight end set and pound it at you and throw some play-action passing to keep you off balance.” Senior Francisco Ramirez-Perez (56 carries, 211 yards, three TDs) and sophomore Ricky Villarreal (22 carries, 117 yards) complement Broadus out of the backfield. The Saxons have spread the ball around in the passing game, with junior Gavin Baughman leading the way with nine catches for 153 yards and one score. Other top receiving threats include juniors Andres Delgado (five catches, 77 yards, one TD) and Collin Vogt (five catches, 52 yards, one TD) and senior Conrad Thompson (four catches, 59 yards). Defensively, the Saxons have been able to come up with six turnovers in three games to help their cause. For South Medford, last week proved to be another solid step for the junior-heavy squad as the Panthers again went on the road and put the game away early en route to a 41-7 win at Willamette. “I liked how we played early in the game,” said Singler. “When you’re on the road you don’t want to give the home team any reason to feel good about themselves, so we talked a lot about coming out of the gate and establishing ourselves on both sides of the ball in the first quarter. I thought we did that real well and scored on four of our first five possessions of the first half, which was good.” The Panthers are averaging 45 points and nearly 467 yards per game thus far behind a blossoming offensive line and under the direction of junior quarterback Robbie Patterson. The 5-11, 195-pound signal-caller has completed 50 of 79 passes (63 percent) for 627 yards, seven TDs and one interception. Junior standout Chase Cota leads the SWC with 250 yards on 17 catches with two TDs, with junior Kaleb Franklin (14 catches, 181 yards, two TDs) providing Patterson another proven playmaker on the perimeter. In the backfield, junior Jaylin Parnell ranks third in the SWC with 283 yards rushing and four TDs on 39 carries, with senior teammate Brandon Salamanca close behind at 264 yards and two TDs on 43 carries. NORTH MEDFORD AT SHELDON: North Medford has had three weeks to ramp itself up for serious opposition and will get that in the form of SWC favorite Sheldon, which leads the conference in total offense (498 yards per game) and is eager to get league play off to a good start. Sheldon tailback Tanner Zenke leads the SWC with 445 yards rushing and four TDs on 45 carries, with dual-threat quarterback Zach Diehl averaging 5.6 yards per carry to go with a league-best 47-for-68 passing for 775 yards, nine TDs and four interceptions. Diehl was a quarterback who shifted to receiver as an understudy to Justin Herbert, now No. 2 on Oregon’s QB depth chart. The 6-1, 200-pound senior won a tight competition with Sam Olsson for the QB slot and continues to grow in that position. Patrick Herbert has shown the same game-breaking skills as his older brothers with 16 catches for 212 yards and two TDs, with Olsson also hauling in five catches for 142 yards and one score for an Irish offense that has been remarkably balanced (720 yards rushing, 775 yards passing) thus far. North Medford struggled in its win over South Eugene last week but picked up a huge piece of the puzzle as senior lineman Tre Holmes returned for his first action of the season. The all-SWC standout provides the Black Tornado a considerable presence in pressuring the quarterback and will also help solidify blocking on offense. The Black Tornado has averaged 350 yards of total offense and ranks second in the SWC with 243 yards allowed on defense. Junior quarterbacks Javan Gail and Josh Robbins each had “so-so” outings against the Axemen last week, according to head coach Mike Mitchell, and will be tasked with taking their game up a notch in order to compete with a speedy Sheldon defense. North Medford senior Joey Hunter ranks second (16 catches, 240 yards, three TDs) and junior Tyler Evans third (14 catches, 234 yards, one TD) in the SWC. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry