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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 24, 2005 Kline picks fine time to shine Senior cornerback’s third interception of the game secures OT win for South over Crater By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — Cody Clark brought down the thunder for Crater, but Kelly Kline brought down the ball for South Medford during Friday night’s Southern Oregon Conference football opener for both teams. And in the end, it was the latter that made the biggest difference in leading the Panthers to their first win of the season. After South Medford scored a touchdown and extra point to take a 21-14 lead in overtime, Crater had its turn in the Kansas Plan cut short by Kline as he pulled down his third interception of the game to seal a hard-fought victory at Dutch Meyer Field. "Kelly Kline really rose to the occasion," said South Medford coach Bill Singler. "He’s not very tall (at 5-foot-8), but he’s athletic and goes up and catches the ball at its highest point. He’s starting to really believe in himself. He made some plays against Lake Oswego, and he made some more plays this week." Advertisement It was thoughts of last Friday’s loss to eighth-ranked Lake Oswego that led to Kline’s total attention in overtime. In that game, South had the Lakers on the ropes until they scored on a pass play with eight seconds to go and then completed another pass for a two-point conversion to rally for a 15-14 triumph. "I just didn’t want it to turn out like the Lake Oswego game," Kline said. "We played so hard in that game and lost, we just wanted to come out with a win in this game." And with Crater facing a second-and-four from the 19-yard line, the senior cornerback had designs on being a hero. "I was hoping they’d go my way because I’d been playing good all game," said Kline. "All I wanted to do was make a play and come up with a win." When Cory Staniforth’s arching pass toward Tyler Davis sailed his way, Kline said his eyes lit up as he wrapped two hands around the errant pass. Moments later, he could hardly breathe as Panther players, coaches and fans seemingly hugged him from the far end zone all the way back to the visitors’ locker room. "Our whole motive was to come over here and find a way to win this football game," said Singler, whose team improved to 1-3 overall. "The will and character that these kids showed at the end of the game was phenomenal. Crater gave us everything they had and our kids stepped up and made plays when they had to." Leading the surge for the Comets (2-2 overall) was Clark, who provided one bone-crunching hit after another from his linebacker position. "Cody Clark is physical and steps up and lays the pads on you," Singler said of the one-man wrecking crew. "He had a whale of a ballgame on defense. We were just trying to find ways to run the ball, but he was finding ways to stop us from running the ball." South managed 137 yards rushing on 36 carries against the SOC’s top-rated defense, with Dan Welcome paying a hefty price for his 107 yards on 24 carries. Welcome’s 3-yard scamper in OT proved to be the game-winner, but he also met up with Clark on a handful of carries that looked more like two rams staking claim to their territory than football plays. "It was a great battle," Crater coach John Beck said of the smashmouth play. "I think South gave us their best shot, and I think we gave them our best shot. It was just a great high school game. This is what SOC football on a Friday night is all about." It was the kind of nip-and-tuck game that could’ve gone either way. "Somebody was going to win," Clark said. "If you have to lose, I guess that’d be as good of a situation as you could ask for." Both defenses stiffened up when it came to crunch time, with the Comets intercepting South starter Tommy George on three occasions (twice by Davis and once by Bryce Peila) and Jared Adamson picking off another Staniforth pass. Each team also lost a fumble, with Crater’s Charlie Alexander coming up with one in the second quarter and South Medford’s Jacob Watson pouncing on a key fourth-quarter fumble induced by Welcome. "Overall, I thought we played well in spurts, but we continued to shoot ourselves in the foot at the wrong time," said Singler. "Until we keep from turning the ball over, it’s going to be a struggle." Even with the availability of junior Kyle Singler, George went the distance at quarterback and completed 18 of 29 passes for 241 yards and a 5-yard hookup with Kenny Licea that opened the scoring in the first quarter. Licea also added a 2-yard score in the second to give South a 14-7 lead at intermission. Singler made his first appearance at free safety with 34 seconds to go in the first quarter and remained on the defensive side of the ball for the rest of the contest. While South was expected to mix in a second quarterback, the Comets had that scenario thrust upon them when Ben Koziol blasted starter Brian Theis on a rollout pass to start the second quarter. Theis didn’t return. In his stead, Staniforth took over and guided the Comets on a scoring drive capped by Charlie Reina’s 6-yard run. Staniforth finished with 76 yards passing and three interceptions and rushed seven times for 39 yards and a game-tying TD in the third quarter. "Cory’s a great athlete and a heckuva quarterback," said Beck, noting that Theis was OK but remained sidelined for precautionary reasons. "We’re just lucky to have two good quarterbacks in the program. Cory played well for us coming in in a tough situation." But at least on this night, Kline had his number. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail Kline picks fine time to shine ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztechmedia Website Hosting Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy online casino Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Reservationstogo Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Natto Kinase Nattokinase Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Advertisement s