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CLEAR Temp: 50 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend October 12, 2002 Pirates can’t keep up with Mazama By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune PHOENIX — Phoenix coach Gordy Crowston’s boisterous sprint off the field at halftime told the first-half story for the Pirates against eighth-ranked Mazama on Saturday night. Phoenix had just dodged a bullet when Mazama quarterback Kyle Blank’s last-second pass sailed incomplete in the end zone, leaving the teams tied at 7-all in a game dominated by the Pirates to that point. Fast forward to Crowston’s exit from Jack Woodward Stadium, and the scene is considerably slower and more muted after watching the Vikings rally for a 26-14 Skyline Conference victory. "We thought we had them," Crowston said of his halftime feelings. "We thought we had some things on them coming out in the second half, but we just couldn’t sustain anything. We could not string good plays consecutively on offense." On the flip side, Mazama (6-0, 4-0 Skyline) scored touchdowns on its opening two drives of the third quarter, and limited the Pirates (3-3, 1-2) to four first downs in the second half. "We needed to keep making plays offensively," said Crowston, "and when we didn’t, we gave them the chance to regain the momentum." Leading that charge for Mazama was senior fullback Seth Morehouse, who rumbled for 130 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries. The 5-foot-8, 200-pound sparkplug garnered most of those numbers in a second half guided by sheer desperation and determination against a Phoenix team that controlled action up to the midpoint. "We got them pretty good in the jamboree earlier this season," Morehouse said of the Pirates, "but they surprised us tonight. We just weren’t ready to play them tonight." With the opportunity to practically seal up the conference title, the Vikings turned it up a notch after withstanding the Pirates’ opening punch. "We were pretty worried (at halftime)," said Morehouse. "We knew this was pretty much for the conference title, so we just came out with more intensity and stepped it up a ton in the second half." Phoenix used hard-nosed running by Jimi Lockheed, timely passing by Brady Rhodes to Martin Gonzalez and Cody Marsing and a ball-hawking defense to control the first half of play. Lockheed rushed 14 times for 75 yards in the first half, setting up the first touchdown of the game with his steady running. Max Boots capped the drive from 2 yards out with 1:16 to play in the first quarter. The Pirates let the Vikings back into the game a few minutes later, however, when Rhodes’ pass toward Gonzalez was intercepted by Aaron Phillips and returned to the Phoenix 4-yard line. Morehouse plowed over for a touchdown two plays later to tie the game at 7-all with 9:32 to go in the second quarter. Undaunted, Phoenix mounted a drive down to the Mazama 14 before finally stalling when Lockheed was held to no gain on a fourth-and-2 play. After exchanging punts, the Vikings put together a drive of their own to the Phoenix 11 with 11 seconds to go until halftime. But when Blank’s second straight pass sailed incomplete, Crowston charged off the field in a flurry of pats on the back for his Pirates and yelps of excitement. Then came the opening drive of the second half, on which Mazama drove 67 yards in 11 plays, scoring on a 3-yard run by Morehouse. After a three-and-out series that concluded with a 7-yard punt by Rhodes, Mazama struck quickly with a three-play, 38-yard drive capped by an option toss from Blank to Ryan McGraw for a 13-yard scamper to go ahead 19-7. Morehouse tacked on a 4-yard scoring run with 2:50 to play to put Mazama up 26-7. But the Pirates rallied behind the passing of Rhodes to Gonzalez and crew, with Lockheed capping the drive with a 1-yard plunge with 1:15 remaining in the game. For Lockheed, the touchdown run was only his third carry of the second half. The junior finished with 81 yards on 17 carries. "We lost track of what we wanted to do with (Lockheed) in the second half," said Crowston. "We wanted to go to him, but we also thought we had them with our tailback (Boots) on a stretch. Then when we didn’t get it, we found ourselves in a passing situation. " And completions were few and far between until Rhodes’ late surge in the fourth quarter. The senior left-hander completed 15-of-27 passes for 207 yards. Gonzalez hauled in nine passes for 149 yards. "We’re still learning how to be consistent on offense, and I think that’s the key," said Crowston. "I think our defense is playing hard enough and making the plays. Once we get our passing game in sync where we can make consecutive good plays, we’ll be OK. "That No. 3 (playoff) spot is just sitting there for us, but we’ve got to get better in order to claim it." Mazama.........................................0 7 12 7 — 26 Phoenix............................................7 0 0 7 — 14 P — Boots 2 run (Casebolt kick) M — Morehouse 1 run (Starley kick) M — Morehouse 3 run (kick failed) M — R. McGraw 13 run (pass failed) M — Morehouse 4 run (Starley kick) P — Lockheed 1 run (Casebolt kick) INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Mazama — Morehouse 22-130, R. McGraw 9-16, Blank 12-58. Phoenix — Lockheed 17-81, Boots 9-14, Robins 1-0, Rhodes 3-(-8). PASSING Mazama — Blank 4-13-0 75. Phoenix — Rhodes 15-27-1 207, Gonzalez 1-1-0 (-8). RECEIVING Mazama — Starley 2-46, R. McGraw 1-21, B. McGraw 1-8. Phoenix — Gonzalez 9-149, Marsing 3-31, Robins 2-(-6), West 1-15, Lockheed 1-10. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S