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50 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, November 25, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 15, 2004 Turning dreams into reality South Medford’s Justin Meyer and Eagle Point’s Jered McClellan earn top honors in the SOC By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune Every football player dreams of being named player of the year in their respective discipline. It’s a longing that often pre-dates the moment they first don a uniform. It’s fostered through game-breaking plays made alone or against a few buddies in backyards, parks or school fields. South Medford High linebacker Justin Meyer and Eagle Point quarterback Jered McClellan each held tight to that dream this season but believed it to be unlikely considering the amount of talented players in the Southern Oregon Conference. But through hard work and dedication, each senior was able to turn their dream into a reality recently as they were honored by the SOC coaches in the annual post-season awards banquet. Advertisement For helping lead the fourth-ranked Panthers to an undefeated run through the SOC, Meyer was named defensive player of the year. The 5-foot-9, 180-pounder led South in tackles and was a guiding force as the Panthers ranked first in run defense (113.2 yards per game), second in total defense (268.4 ypg) and second in scoring defense (17.9 points per game). "Obviously I’m not the biggest guy in the world so it’s awesome that somebody my size can get player of the year," said Meyer, who was a second-team all-SOC linebacker last year. "It just shows anybody can get it if you set your goals high and work hard to reach it." As quick as he is to accept such an honor, Meyer said none of it would have been possible without considerable help from his teammates. "I don’t really take it as an individual award even though it is," he said. "I’m kinda taking it as a whole defense award. I’m really grateful for everything my teammates did for me to help me out this year. They allowed me to make the plays, and I was just able to step up and make them." All humility aside, South Medford head coach Bill Singler said Meyer has been relentless in a regular season dominated by the stellar play of the Panther defense. "He has a nose for the football and he’s quick," the coach said of Meyer. "He’s not a big player but he’s sure a player who has a big heart. That makes up for a lot." Despite playing for a team that has made its fortunes on offense in recent years, Meyer took it upon himself to help the Panthers field a more balanced attack this season. "You could just see the determination in his eyes that he felt, as well as our coaches felt, that we could have a quality defense this year," said Singler. "I think he just kinda wanted to take that leadership role early on that side of the ball and the kids just followed him." Joining Meyer on the first-team defense were teammates Noah Brennan, Ben Koziol and Kyle Singler, who was the only player to earn first-team honors on both sides of the ball. The 6-foot-7, 200-pound sophomore was also a first-team choice at tight end. In leading the Panthers to their second SOC title in three years, head coach Bill Singler was named coach of the year by his peers. "It means a lot," he said of the honor. "It means that our program is going in the right direction. It’s a product of our coaches and our players and our administration. Everybody just seems to be on the same page from top to bottom. We’re excited about not only our present, but the future of South Medford football." Similar excitement can be found in Eagle Point, where McClellan helped guide the Eagles to a remarkable season in which they tied for second place in the SOC with North Medford and Roseburg but missed out on the playoffs by virtue of a coin flip tiebreaker. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound offensive player of the year led the SOC in scoring with 11 touchdown runs, 24 extra-point placekicks and a two-point conversion run. McClellan completed 111 of 188 passes (59 percent) for 1,566 yards and 21 TDs, and rushed 102 times for 616 yards. "More than anything else, Jered really was the heart and soul of our team as far as what we wanted to do offensively," said Eagles head coach Harry Hedrick. "He was able to run the option to give us a different look and the addition of him throwing the ball the way he did this year was huge. You add those things together and that made us dangerous to defend." Eagle Point led the SOC in rushing (244.8 ypg) and scoring offense (35.4 ppg) and ranked second in total offense (418.8 ypg). McClellan was a part-time starter last year but had a breakout campaign as a senior, leading the Eagles to an unprecedented 6-0 start that included the school’s second win ever over Roseburg. "I think that really made a statement and showed everybody that we could play with the top teams from the conference," McClellan said of the 41-34 win in which he led the Eagles 82 yards for the winning score in the final 66 seconds. The ensuing weeks brought forth a return of the rooter bus at Eagle Point and, in general, a considerable amount of excitement to the community as the Eagles climbed as high as No. 8 in the Class 4A state rankings. "I think we left a pretty good mark at Eagle Point High School," said McClellan, who was joined on the first-team offense by linemen Mike Heppner and Tyler Cam and wide receiver Jeremy Carvajal. "We’re disappointed that we didn’t make the playoffs, but we still accomplished a lot this year." North Medford linemen Johnny Vaigafa and Lorenzo Arenas earned repeat first-team honors on offense, while Black Tornado linebacker Ryan Weisz and Roseburg punter Kyle Loomis were the only repeat first-team honorees on defense. 2004 SOC Football All-Stars FIRST TEAM OFFENSE C — Johnny Vaigafa, N. Medford, 6-1, 290, Jr. G — Lorenzo Arenas, N. Medford, 6-2, 274, Sr. G — Mike Heppner, Eagle Point, 6-4, 255, Sr. T — Tim Endecott, N. Medford, 5-11, 210, Jr. T — Tyler Cam, Eagle Point, 6-1, 285, Jr. TE — Kyle Singler, S. Medford, 6-7, 200, So. QB — Jered McClellan, Eagle Point, 6-3, 170, Sr. RB — Josh Casebere, N. Medford, 5-7, 168, Sr. RB — Aaron Buxton, Roseburg, 5-9, 170, Sr. RB — Craig Dolmage, Grants Pass, 5-11, 180, So. WR — Jeremy Carvajal, Eagle Point, 5-10, 170, Sr. WR — Isaiah Smith, Roseburg, 6-3, 187, Sr. PK — Kyle Loomis, Roseburg, 6-2, 180, Jr. FIRST TEAM DEFENSE DL — J.D. Haer, Grants Pass, 5-8, 195, Sr. DL — John Malone, Roseburg, 6-5, 195, Sr. DL — Noah Brennan, S. Medford, 6-3, 235, Sr. DL — Ben Koziol, S. Medford, 6-1, 250, Jr. LB — Justin Meyer, S. Medford, 5-9, 180, Sr. LB — Ryan Weisz, N. Medford, 6-0, 195, Sr. LB — Morgan Mason, Ashland, 6-1, 180, Sr. LB — Mike Schlottig, Grants Pass, 5-9, 195, Sr. DB — Kyle Singler, S. Medford, 6-7, 200, So. DB — Kevin Berg, Grants Pass, 6-2, 180, Sr. DB — Nate Idrogo, Eagle Point, 5-8, 170, Sr. DB — Drew Herrera, N. Medford, 6-0, 167, Sr. P — Kyle Loomis, Roseburg, 6-2, 180, Jr. OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR — Jered McClellan, Eagle Point, Sr. DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR — Justin Meyer, South Medford, Sr. COACH OF THE YEAR — Bill Singler, South Medford. SECOND TEAM OFFENSE C — Eli Peterson, Roseburg, 6-0, 195, Sr. G — Ben Koziol, South Medford, 6-1, 250, Jr. G — Pat Bransfield, Grants Pass, 6-1, 285, Sr. T — Morgan Heard, Roseburg, 6-5, 280, Jr. T — Noah Brennan, S. Medford, 6-3, 235, Sr. TE — Jeff Skinner, Ashland, 6-3, 215, Sr. QB — Brett Stephens, Roseburg, 5-10, 158, Jr. RB — Ryan Odell, S. Medford, 6-0, 180, Jr. RB — Nate Idrogo, Eagle Point, 5-8, 170, Sr. RB — Logan Boyd, S. Medford, 6-0, 190, Sr. WR — Steve Jorgensen, Ashland, 5-8, 170, Sr. WR — Dan Chancler, S. Medford, 5-10, 165, Sr. PK — Noah Brennan, S. Medford, 6-3, 235, Sr. SECOND TEAM DEFENSE DL — Simon Weibel, Ashland, 6-3, 225, Sr. DL — Logan Rock, Eagle Point, 6-3, 240, Sr. DL — Steve Johnson, N. Medford, 6-3, 235, Sr. DL — Jacob Dean, Grants Pass, 6-3, 205, Sr. LB — Aaron Buxton, Roseburg, 5-9, 170, Sr. LB — Ryan Odell, S. Medford, 6-0, 180, Jr. LB — Brian Kitchell, Ashland, 6-1, 190, Sr. LB — Mike Mills, Grants Pass, 6-1, 175, Sr. DB — Blake Keitzman, Roseburg, 6-0, 164, Jr. DB — Jon Lang, S. Medford, 5-9, 175, Sr. DB — Tony DeSimone, S. Medford, 6-0, 175, Jr. DB — Steve Jorgensen, Ashland, 5-8, 170, Sr. P — Tommy George, S. Medford, 5-11, 160, Jr. HONORABLE MENTION OFFENSE C — Rick Imhausen, South Medford, 5-11, 210, Jr.; Shane Smith, Grants Pass, 5-10, 190, Sr. G — Justin Schultz, North Medford, 6-1, 255, Sr.; Simon Weibel, Ashland, 6-3, 225, Sr. T — Jason LeFever, Ashland, 6-2, 240, Jr.; Brett Roeloffs, South Medford, 6-1, 215, Sr.; Logan Rock, Eagle Point, 6-3, 240, Sr.; Tyler Dungey, Grants Pass, 6-1, 220, Jr. TE — John Malone, Roseburg, 6-5, 195, Sr.; Steve Johnson, North Medford, 6-3, 235, Sr.; Cody Clark, Crater, 6-3, 215, Jr. QB — Jon Weaver, South Medford, 6-2, 170, Sr.; Ben Running, North Medford, 6-4, 218, Sr.; Sam Littleton, Ashland, 5-11, 165, Jr. RB — Callan Hartzer, Crater, 6-0, 190, Jr.; Ryan Weisz, North Medford, 6-0, 195, Sr. WR —Kyle Williamson, North Medford, 5-11, 175, Sr.; A.J. Nichols, Eagle Point, 5-11, 155, Jr.; James Snyder, Roseburg, 5-9, 160, Sr.; Drew Herrera, North Medford, 6-0, 167, Sr. PK — Nick Taylor, North Medford, 6-1, 200, Sr. HONORABLE MENTION DEFENSE DL — Charlie Alexander, Crater, 5-9, 246, Jr.; Johnny Vaigafa, North Medford, 6-1, 290, Jr.; Drew Wilkerson, Crater, 6-3, 190, Sr.; Rick Imhausen, South Medford, 5-11, 210, Jr. LB — Cody Clark, Crater, 6-3, 215, Jr.; Brian Benson, Roseburg, 5-11, 180, Sr.; Ryan Folsom, North Medford, 5-10, 170, Jr.; John Wasniewski, Crater, 6-2, 190, Jr. DB — James Snyder, Roseburg, 5-9, 160, Sr.; Josh Bakke, North Medford, 6-1, 165, Sr.; Chase Maloney, Crater, 5-8, 170, Sr.; Pat Allen, Grants Pass, 5-9, 155, Sr. P — Kevin Berg, Grants Pass, 6-2, 180, Sr. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. 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