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Black Tornado still smarting from 47-0 drubbing by Roseburg last week By DON HUNT North Medford High football coach John Beck didn't see any reason to punish his players in practice this week following last Friday's 47-0 loss to Roseburg. No extra windsprints. No additional contact drills. No tongue lashings. The Black Tornado performed way below its own set of standards, Beck admits, but the players knew it and came to practice Monday with a resolve to salvage the rest of the season. North Medford, 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the Southern Oregon Conference, meets Grants Pass (3-0, 1-0) Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Spiegelberg Stadium. "Our guys were humiliated and they're just plain mad," Beck says. "They want to get their pride back." A win would help, too. It may be early in the season, but a loss to the Cavemen would leave North Medford at 0-2 in the Southern Oregon Conference and possibly force it to win out in order to make the playoffs. What makes the Tornado's task all the more difficult is that it heads into Friday's game without Dan Johnson, the leader of its offensive and defensive lines and the lone veteran up front. Johnson, a 6-foot-21/2, 277-pound senior and a Division I recruit, sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee on the first play from scrimmage against Roseburg. He is expected to be out 2-3 weeks. Wide receiver Brian Weeks could also be sidelined Friday with a sprained ankle and tailback Justin MacLauchlan will wear a flak jacket to protect bruised ribs he suffered against the Indians. MacLauchlan went into the Roseburg game as the leading rusher in the SOC but came out of it No. 5 after netting a minus-4 yards on five carries. He now has 236 yards and four touchdowns on the season. "Roseburg beat us up pretty good," Beck said, "but we've got other kids who can do the job. We 've just got to step up." Despite suffering one of its worst losses in school history, Beck thought a handful of North players performed well, including safety Travis Poulton and linebacker Novie Bier. Bier replaced MacLauchlan on defense early in the game and finished with 10 tackles, deflected a pass, blocked a punt and caused a fumble. Beck wants to see his entire defense get back to its swarming ways against the Cavemen, who have gotten off to a 3-0 start under second-year coach Jeff Weiss. Weiss admits Grants Pass has played a cupcake schedule - its three wins have come over South Eugene, Mountain View and Crater, which are a combined 0-9 - but has been pleased at his team's dominance in each game. The Cavemen have been especially impressive on defense, where they're allowing just 171 yards and 8.7 points per game, the stingiest numbers in the SOC. Outside linebacker Speedy Ortiz and middle linebacker Dan Eubank, who has 10 tackles each of the past two games, have anchored the GP defense. What makes the Cavemen a better team than last season, however, is quarterback Tom Cohen. The 6-2, 180-pound senior is the No. 2-rated passer in the SOC with 577 yards, seven touchdowns and just one interception. "He has a lot of poise and he throws a nice ball," Weiss says. "And the best thing is, he doesn't make mistakes. He's a 4-point student and probably knows our offense better than me." If history is an indication of what's to come, Friday's game will be close. Seven of the past 10 games between the two teams have been decided by a touchdown or less, including three in overtime. North Medford eked out a 12-9 victory last season - its closest game of the regular season. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.