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Hounds hand Heat fifth loss photo by Jim Craven By KRIS HENRY CENTRAL POINT - Southern Oregon's new wrinkles made things interesting Thursday night at the Inferno. The Heat was hard-pressed to keep up with the Ohio Valley Greyhounds, however, thanks to another second-half lull as Ohio Valley earned a 45-26 win. Southern Oregon (1-5) scored nine points in the second half - triple its output from three previous home games - but Ohio Valley (4-2) answered with 21 second-half points to pull away for the non-conference victory. Having seen his team post 76 points last week and with the league's No. 1 defense, Ohio Valley coach Wilke Perez seemed relieved once the final buzzer sounded Thursday. "This is a tough place to play," said Perez. "They're a lot better than their record shows and this game was a lot closer than that final score. "I think their coach did a great job adjusting to our offense and their guys did a great job of fighting to the end. You have to admire that." Andy Hixson made his debut at quarterback for the Heat, completing 10 of 22 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. Rust set in on a couple offerings, however, with Hixson intercepted once in the end zone and failing to connect on several second-half drives. "Once again we needed to put points on the board in the second half and we were unable to do that," said Heat co-head coach Eric Vanderwegen. "We're going to have to learn to throw the ball with some consistency in the second half." Hixson got the call to start in place of Vanderwegen, who was injured in last Friday's loss at Yakima. Hixson's crowing moment came on a 26-yard hookup with Duane Patterson for a third-quarter touchdown that cut Ohio Valley's lead to 31-23. The Greyhounds answered with touchdown runs by Fred Coger and Birdie Dockery to ice the game. "That's a tough way to start when you've been out of football for two years," said Vanderwegen in reference to Hixson. "There's a learning curve there. He's a few steps behind but he'll get there." David Douglas, who replaced an injured Vanderwegen at QB after the season-opener, played mostly at the receiver position before taking over for Hixson with two minutes to play. Douglas went 1-for-6 for 11 yards and one interception. Southern Oregon running back Gary Clemens bulled over from the 1-yard-line to make it 10-10 in the second quarter before the Greyhounds made their first run. Dockery rumbled for a 5-yard TD and Donald Dorsey danced past the Heat for a 50-yard kick return following a field goal attempt by John Acosta to make it 24-10. "We take great pride in our special teams," said Perez, "and Donald did a great job tonight, along with the seven guys blocking for him." At the Inferno Ohio Valley Greyhounds 10 14 7 14 - 45 Southern Oregon Heat 3 14 6 3 - 26 SO - Acosta 41 FG OV - Williams 35 FG OV - Dorsey 47 run (Williams kick) SO - Clemens 1 run (Acosta kick) OV - Dockery 5 run (Dorsey run) OV - Dorsey 50 kick return (kick failed) SO - Douglas 1 run (Acosta kick) OV - Dockery 4 run (Williams kick) SO - Patterson 26 pass from Hixson (kick failed) OV - Coger 2 run (Williams kick) OV - Dockery 5 run (Williams kick) SO - Acosta 36 FG INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Ohio Valley - Dockery 12-46, Dorsey 4-48, Armour 11-0, Coger 1-2, Williams 1-(minus-1). Southern Oregon - Clemens 13-31, Hixson 5-(minus-4), Douglas 2-5. PASSING Ohio Valley - Armour 5-9-1 for 55. Southern Oregon - Hixson 10-22-1 for 74, Douglas 1-6-1 for 11. RECEIVING Ohio Valley - Dockery 3-9, Johnson 1-12, Jefferson 1-34. Southern Oregon - Patterson 3-40, Douglas 2-8, Morrell 2-7, Clemens 3-3, D. Daniels 1-19. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.