Document text
Comets tire of hard luck, eye first win By Don Hunt Rather than remember those days in September, Randy Heath would just as soon forget them. To say the least, the month has been a nightmare for the Crater High football coach. Not only have the Comets lost all four of their games, but Heath was involved in an auto accident that injured his wife on Sept. 16. As the family was stopped in traffic on the way back from Coos Bay to watch their daughter�s soccer match, a truck smashed into them from behind. Andrea Heath suffered back and neck injuries and has been going through physical therapy. Heath�s woes continued last Friday when P.J. Price, Crater�s starting quarterback, tore knee ligaments and is out for the season. "Everyone is pretty frustrated right now," Heath says. "A win would really lift our spirits." The 0-4 Comets will shoot for that elusive victory when they travel to 0-3 Eagle Point � the SOC�s other winless team � on Friday night. In other games involving Southern Oregon Conference teams, South Medford (2-1) hosts South Eugene (1-2), North Medford (3-0), journeys to Eureka, Calif. (4-0), Klamath Union (1-2) ventures to Ashland (2-1) and Roseburg (3-1) travels to Grants Pass (2-1). Despite the miserable start and the loss of his starting QB, Heath remains optimistic that Crater can turn its season around, or at least win a handful of games. Junior Derek Petersen, who played the second half of last week�s 34-14 loss to Sheldon and completed 2 of 5 passes for 55 yards, will start in place of Price. "Derek doesn�t have the arm strength of Price, but he does a good job with the short and intermediate routes and makes good decisions with the ball," Heath says. "And he�s good at running the option. "I�m confident we can move the ball with Derek in there." Of bigger concern is a young Crater defense that is allowing 394 yards and 37 points per game, statistics that have the Comets ranked last in the SOC in total defense and scoring defense. Senior linemen Mike Lillie and Justin Samples have had moments of glory, but by and large the Comets have struggled to stop any of their opponents. "We�re looking for an identity on defense," Heath says. "We�re looking for some kids to step up and be a little tougher." Eagle Point has been equally frustrated, particularly following last Friday�s 21-14 loss to Mountain View, a game in which the Eagles held a 336-222 edge in total offense but failed to score four times inside of Mountain View�s 20-yard line, including three times in the fourth quarter. "We did everything but get scores when we had to," Eagle Point coach Mike Johnston says. "We�ve made a lot of progress since our first game but don�t have a win to show for it. "Obviously, we�re desperate for a win and so is Crater." The Eagles feature the SOC�s top receiver in Greg Horn, who has 18 catches for 332 yards and three touchdowns. He had a 69-yard reception for a score last week and is averaging 18.4 yards per catch. Junior tailback Victor Shelton had a breakout game last week with 151 yards on 27 carries and one touchdown, and now ranks third in the SOC with 269 yards. With the two school districts bordering one another, the Crater-Eagle Point rivalry has been a spirited one ever since the Eagles became a Class 4A school and joined the SOC in 1979. "Neither team has a problem getting up for this game," Johnston says. SOUTH EUGENE AT SOUTH MEDFORD � One of South Medford�s goals at the start of the season was to post a winning record. The Panthers can take a big step in achieving that objective with a non-conference victory over the Axemen. Both teams are coming off shellackings � South Medford losing 45-6 to North Medford last week and South Eugene losing 50-14 to Churchill. "We�ve got an opportunity to go 3-1 and that�s a good start," South Medford coach Bill Singler says. "We�ve talked all week about putting the North game behind us and I think we�ve done that. "It�s our homecoming and we want a win." Quarterback Boomer Marshall has completed 44 of 69 passes (63.7 percent) for 566 yards, six touchdowns and one interception to pace the Panthers, but he might be without one of his favorite receivers Friday. John McKay, who also starts in South Medford�s defensive backfield, is questionable with strained knee ligaments suffered against North Medford. South Eugene has a game-breaker in wide receiver Eli Markstrom, who finished second in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes at last spring�s Class 4A state track meet. NORTH MEDFORD AT EUREKA � A pair of unbeaten teams will clash on the Northern California coast as the 3-0 Black Tornado meets the 4-0 Loggers. Eureka presents problems with its fly offense, which often has a running back going in motion at full speed and either taking a handoff or faking it, with another back taking the ball in a different direction. The Loggers are also a big team, with three players over 280 pounds and nine over 250. But of greater concern to North Medford coach Rod Rumrey is his team�s mental makeup. With the Tornado coming off an emotional win over South Medford and with Roseburg on tap next Friday, this is what�s known as a sandwich game. "Our practices haven�t been as sharp this week as they were earlier," Rumrey says. "We need to understand that we can�t just show up Friday and expect to win." With quarterback Kevin Foreman leading the way, the Tornado has outscored its three opponents by a combined score of 142-12. Foreman leads the SOC in passing efficiency, completing 17 of 29 attempts for 320 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Foreman is also the No. 6 rusher in the SOC with 228 yards, six touchdowns and a per carry average of 8.8. Phil Ouellette leads North Medford in rushing with 346 yards and three TDs. KLAMATH UNION AT ASHLAND � Like North Medford, Ashland may have a tough time getting emotionally charged in this game following last week�s dramatic 16-14 victory over Grants Pass in which Ryan Goodman kicked a 40-yard field goal in the final seconds of play. And that could prove trouble against a Klamath team that muscled up quite well against Grants Pass and Roseburg the last two weeks. The Pelicans lost 21-0 to Grants Pass but were in the game most of the way, and trailed Roseburg just 13-8 at the half last week. "They�re a lot stronger up front than they�ve been," Ashland coach Jim Nagel says of the Pelicans. "They�re more physical, more confident and they don�t back down." However, Klamath may have trouble moving the ball against a rugged Grizzly defense that held Grants Pass to 184 yards last week. ROSEBURG AT GRANTS PASS � This is the game of the week in the SOC and a Roseburg victory would set up a showdown between the Indians and North Medford next week in Roseburg. Roseburg coach Thurman Bell welcomes back tailback Conway Bixby, who suffered a severe ankle sprain on Sept. 8 against Ashland and missed the next two games. But Bixby will likely see action on defense only, thanks to the emergence of Rod Cope, a junior who rambled for 227 yards and three touchdowns last week. Cope leads the SOC with 396 yards and seven scores, while GP�s Brandon Hamada is second with 347 yards and eight TDs. Several other Indian starters who missed last week�s 47-8 win over Klamath Union are also expected back, but linebacker Leaf Forest (shoulder) and defensive back/kicker Mike Myhre (back) remain sidelined. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA