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Mustangs deny Cougs playoff berth MURPHY -- Illinois Valley can only think about "what could have been." The Cougars could have landed the Skyline Conference No. 3 playoff berth with a victory against Hidden Valley Friday night and the unlikely prospect of Henley losing to Lakeview. The unlikely happened as Henley got upset 25-8, but Illinois Valley didn't take care of its own business. Hidden Valley defeated the Cougars 47-9 to claim its second straight Skyline Conference championship and increase its conference win streak to 14. "It was one of those things we set as our goal," Hidden Valley coach Jim Figoni said of winning the league title. "We knew we had a good team coming back. The loss to Brookings early in the year forced us to take a long hard look at what we were doing." The game featured two of the top running backs in the Skyline Conference -- Hidden Valley's Tim Orr and Illinois Valley's Mike Melton. Melton entered the game with 1,560 yards rushing compared to 1,032 for Orr, but the Mustang senior all-star got the best in this matchup. Orr rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns, while Melton was limited to 65 yards and scored a touchdown late in the third quarter. The Hidden Valley defense was so dominant against the Illinois Valley double-wing attack managed just 35 yards with 3:59 left in the third quarter. The Mustangs' first-team defense has allowed only five touchdowns in conference games this season. "Our defensive linemen did a good job staying low and we had great pursuit from our middle linebacker (Andy) Sakraida," said Figoni. "We've made some real good improvement as a defense. That really helps the offense click." Junior defensive back Ryan Wilson is one reason for the Mustangs' improved defense. Wilson had one interception against the Cougars for at least his sixth of the year, according to Figoni. Wilson also returned the second- half kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown. It was the second straight week Wilson returned the second-half kickoff for a TD. "He's a tremendous defensive back," said Figoni. "He's got great hands and great speed. You don't coach speed." After the Cougars opened the game with a field goal, seventh-ranked Hidden Valley (8-1, 7-0 Skyline) came back to score on four of its next five possessions to take command en route to posting its second consecutive undefeated conference season. LAKEVIEW 25, HENLEY 8 -- At Klamath Falls, Robert Havely carried the ball 21 times for 118 yards and a TD for the Honkers. Quarterback Joel Johnson completed six of nine attempts for 103 yards and another TD for Lakeview. MAZAMA 50, NORTH VALLEY 16 -- At Klamath Falls, Tyler Starkey led the Vikings, completing 7 of 11 passing attempts for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Mazama compiled 450 yards of total offense to North Valley's 206 yards. ROGUE RIVER 40, PHOENIX 26 -- At Rogue River, Phoenix's Bryan Monical scored three touchdowns and accounted for 159 yards rushing and receiving, but Rogue River posted its first Skyline Conference victory in the final game of the season. LOST RIVER 48, ST. MARY'S 6 -- At Merrill, Jeremy Beasly and Justin Pyle combined for seven touchdowns as No. 1-ranked Lost River completed the Southern Cascade League season undefeated. Lost River ran up 385 total yards, including rushing touchdowns of 15, 63 and 57 yards from Pyle. St. Mary's managed just 210 total yards. BONANZA 25, CASCADE CHRISTIAN 0 -- At White City, Andy Kness scored four touchdowns to pace Bonanza, which took advantage of several Cascade Christian miscues. The Challengers outgained the Antlers on the ground 210 yards to 102 yards, but fumbled six times. With the loss, Cascade Christian finished the season 2-3 in Southern Cascade action. Brian Hammers paced the Challengers with 93 yards on 20 carries, while Damon Prins added 82 yards on 16 carries. BUTTE FALLS 46, PROSPECT 6 -- At Prospect, Butte Falls pulled away thanks to a dominating second-half effort that broke open a contest that was 14-0 at halftime. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford,