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North pounds Eureka EUREKA, Calif. � Any worries of the North Medford football team looking past Eureka toward its showdown with Roseburg next week were put to rest early. The fifth-ranked Black Tornado stormed out to an insurmountable lead and coasted to a 54-14 non-conference rout of the Loggers on Friday. "We got off to a great start," said North Medford coach Rod Rumrey. "Basically, the first three times our offense touched the ball we scored." It wasn�t only the offense giving Eureka fits. Loggers� quarterback Jake Anderson was picked off three times, all returned for touchdowns, and never found a rhythm against the Black Tornado defense. North Medford quarterback Kevin Foreman helped shake off any effects of a five-hour bus trip when he hooked up with Travis Poulton on a 26-yard touchdown pass to stake claim to a 7-0 lead. Foreman again found an open man, this time Mike Olson from 39 yards out for a score and the rout was on. "Last year, we had success running to the outside against them (Eureka)," said Rumrey. "Tonight we went inside and really had a lot of success. Our offensive lineman took it right at them." It was Olson�s defensive play in the first quarter, however, that may have broken Eureka�s back. Following Olson�s touchdown grab, the Loggers scooted down the field on a 50-yard run to move deep into North Medford territory. On the next play, Olson stepped in to pick off Andersen�s pass and raced 102 yards to paydirt and a commanding lead. Foreman hooked up with Olson again on North�s next possession for a 46-yard scoring strike and defensive back Aaron Beitenbach closed the first-half scoring with a 48-yard interception return. It was all down hill for the Loggers at the that point as North Medford extended its already healthy 47-6 halftime lead with a third-quarter Novie Bier 30-yard interception return to cap the Black Tornado scoring output. Olson ended his big night with two scoring grabs and 102 yards receiving on only three catches. Foreman completed all six of his passes with three touchdowns tosses and one scoring run. He also led the Black Tornado in rushing with 60 yards on two carries. Eureka totaled 224 yards of offense, including 170 on the ground, but most of it came in the second half when things were already decided. North Medford, which improved to 4-0 overall and remains 3-0 in conference play, travels to clash with fourth-ranked Roseburg on Friday in a battle of the two remaining unbeaten teams in SOC play. ROSEBURG 27, GRANTS PASS 7 � At Grants Pass, Conway Bixby led a dominant ground attack for fourth-ranked Roseburg as the Indians remained undefeated in SOC play. Bixby rolled up 168 yards on 22 carries as Roseburg ran for 241 yards. On the flip side, the Cavemen were unable to penetrate the Roseburg defense, amassing only 38 yards on 21 carries. Grants Pass standout Brandon Hamada was bottled up the entire contest and found room for only 15 yards rushing on 12 carries. The Cavemen made things interesting in the third quarter when Nate Olson hooked up with Parker Lane on a 51-yard scoring strike to cut the deficit to 21-7. But the Indians responded with a 31-yard touchdown jaunt by Bixby early in the final stanza. Grants Pass had 141 yards total offense, most of it on Olson�s 103 yards passing. Roseburg improved to 4-1 overall. The Cavemen are 2-2. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.