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GP slips by Crater photo by Drew Fleming By Greg Stiles CENTRAL POINT � Winless, perhaps. Lifeless? Not a chance. For a team that has been knocked around for nearly two months, revamped its offensive line and lost its veteran quarterback, the Crater Comets gave the visiting Grants Pass Cavemen all they could handle Friday night at Dutch Meyer Field. It took an 80-yard drive and a defensive stand in the final 9� minutes for Grants Pass to escape with a 20-13 Southern Oregon Conference football win. "I guess we thought we�d roll over them, but this is the SOC," said Grants Pass tailback Brandon Hamada, who rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns, including the winning score with 3:52 to play. "This is the toughest league in the state, top to bottom." And this was one night when the bottom could�ve been quicksand for Grants Pass� playoff aspirations. "They played inspired football," Grants Pass coach Jeff Weiss said. They had last week off. They might have been 0-5, but when you have a week off, you throw those five games away and it�s a four-game schedule. They wanted a (win) to start those four games and we happened to be their opener." Grants Pass avoided the Comets� best shot and improved to 3-2 in the SOC and 4-2 overall. Crater is now 0-6 and 0-4 in conference. But the Comets didn�t look the part of a team that hasn�t really been close to winning. Junior Derek Petersen, making his second start at quarterback since taking over for the injured P.J. Price, continually made something out of nothing to keep the Comets in the contest. Despite going against the leading pass defense in the SOC, Petersen managed to complete 6-of-10 passes for 98 yards. More importantly, he eluded Grants Pass tacklers until the very end when he was dropped short of a first down on a fourth down play in Caveman territory. "I think Derek made some very good decisions," said Crater coach Randy Heath. "He�s a competitor and not afraid to be in that spot. He�s a leader and he made some plays when the situation wasn�t that good." After Grants Pass drove 96 yards in five plays to take a 12-0 advantage on Parker Lane�s 25-yard TD reception, Petersen rallied the Comets to a rare fourth-quarter lead. On third-and-four from the Crater 26, Petersen hooked up with David Sills for a 22-yard gain to the 48. On the next play, Dan Casey bolted around the right side and galloped 52 yards down the sideline for a touchdown, eluding Lane and Brady Howe at the GP 5. "The hole closed (when a linebacker blitzed), so I bounced to the outside and picked up a block from Chris Dearmon," Casey said. Scott Malone�s PAT pulled Crater to within 12-7 with 2:15 left in the third quarter. Dearmon sacked Grants Pass quarterback Nate Olson to start the next series and the Comets forced a punt. Taking over at its 27, Crater marched 73 yards in eight snaps. The big play was Petersen�s pass to Casey over the middle. Sills sprang the back with a crunching block and Casey dashed to the right sideline going all the way to the 10. Three plays later, Petersen rolled right, juked three defenders and stepped into the end zone. "I had great blocking on the play, but I saw Lane coming up and the wide receivers weren�t free," Petersen said. "I knew I had to make a move." The Comets went for two points, but Petersen�s pitch to Casey fell to the ground, leaving the Comets clinging to a one-point advantage with 9:31 to play. But the Cavemen weren�t through. Olson made a couple of big plays then turned things over to Hamada as Grants Pass drove 80 yards in 10 plays. Olson rolled right for 12 yards on a third-and four for a first down at the GP 38. Then on fourth-and-four at the Crater 40, Olson bootlegged left and managed to loft the ball over hard-charging Justin Samples to tight end Brian Richard for a 12-yard gain to the 28. "Basically our season, whether we were going to the playoffs or not, came down to that play," Weiss said. "Our tight end, Brian Richard, had played the entire game at defensive end. He was pretty beaten up and wasn�t our top choice on that play, but he made the catch." From there, Hamada took over. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound senior broke two tackles to get to the 16 on the next play. He then barged into the end zone, spinning through defenders for the go-ahead score with 3:52 remaining. "I knew I couldn�t go down," Hamada said. "I just followed my blocks the whole way." Olson then hit Brady Howe on a slant for the two-point conversion. Crater still had time, however, and when Bruce Voges� kickoff thumped into lineman Aaron Harleman at the 40, the Comets also had good field position. Casey�s 21-yard burst to the Grants Pass 31 added fuel to the Comets� hopes. But Casey was stopped for 2 yards on the next play and Petersen�s pass fell incomplete on second down. A screen, effective earlier, was only good for 2 yards. As the clock ticked under a minute, Petersen dropped to pass again, but had to scramble and this time Andrew Fish was waiting. "I wasn�t going to let go for anything," said Fish, who dropped Petersen at the 30. After yielding a 14-play, 60-yard drive, capped by Hamada�s 1-yard plunge to start the game, the Comets didn�t allow a first down until the second half. "We�ve just got to go out and compete like we did tonight," Heath said. "And then see what happens." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.