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PREP FOOTBALL Sheldon runs by South Medford Comment By Kris Henry Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 27, 2014 at 12:01 AM Updated Sep 27, 2014 at 9:03 PM By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 27, 2014 at 12:01 AM Updated Sep 27, 2014 at 9:03 PM SHELDON 40, SOUTH MEDFORD 25 --> RECAP: Sheldon quarterback Kellen Strahm runs for 213 yards and tailback Logan Comer adds 239 more as the Irish pin the first loss of the season on South Medford. UP NEXT: ... » Read more X SHELDON 40, SOUTH MEDFORD 25 RECAP: Sheldon quarterback Kellen Strahm runs for 213 yards and tailback Logan Comer adds 239 more as the Irish pin the first loss of the season on South Medford. UP NEXT: Next Friday, South Medford at Grants Pass; Roseburg at Sheldon. » Social News For Sheldon, the worst thing that happened last Friday is that the seventh-ranked Irish lost starting quarterback Justin Herbert to a broken femur in their first conference loss at home since 2000. Ditto for No. 9 South Medford. With Sheldon forced to use starting receiver Kellen Strahm at quarterback, the change proved beneficial as the revamped Irish spread offense took on a dynamic new look and resulted in a 40-25 runaway win Friday at Spiegelberg Stadium. The elusive senior set the tone with a 98-yard touchdown dash 41⁄2 minutes into the contest and routinely scrambled his way to big gains en route to 213 yards rushing on 16 carries. Senior tailback Logan Comer then took advantage of a defensive focus on Strahm to amass 239 yards and five TDs on 21 carries to power a potent attack that compiled 450 yards rushing on 38 attempts. “He’s quicker than Herbert and more dynamic as a runner, so when they spread you out and either give the ball to (Comer) or keep it with Strahm, that’s a tough deal to handle,” said South Medford head coach Bill Singler. “That’s the true spread offense and you saw it tonight. Sheldon’s going to be tough if Strahm plays quarterback because he can throw the ball with what they want him to do and he’s always moving and hard to get a real grasp on. He did a lot by himself in a couple instances tonight just scrambling around making plays.” Hudson Thomas paced the Panthers with 149 yards rushing on 14 carries while quarterback Craig Contreras completed 10 of 19 passes for 150 yards and three touchdowns, two to Chase Cota and one to Brayden Massey. South Medford didn’t do itself any favors against the six-time Southwest Conference champions, with the Panthers (3-1, 1-1 SWC) committing a pair of costly fumbles to go with an interception in the end zone by Jackson Johnson. “This was a tough week,” said Sheldon head coach Lane Johnson. “To come out here to Spiegelberg and win against a really good team, I’m really proud of our kids.” “The 98-yarder by Strahm kinda got our kids to believe that, hey, we can run the ball against them,” he added. “Our offensive line did a great job, like they always do.” South Medford quarterback Craig Contreras fumbled the snap on the first play after Strahm’s long TD run and Comer took advantage with two runs that covered the 21 yards left to the end zone for a 13-0 advantage that played into the hands of the Irish (3-1, 1-1). “You just can’t start off on a bad foot against Sheldon or any team, really, and we put ourselves in a hole,” said Singler. “We talked about it that we can’t give up big plays and we did. But we responded. In years past — even last year — we wouldn’t have responded, so I was proud of our football team how they remained competitive basically throughout the whole game.” Noah Terando’s first reception of the season — a leaping 35-yard grab to the 1-yard line — helped spark the Panthers to their first score, with Makai Manuwai crashing over for a TD that cut South Medford’s deficit to 13-6. Terando was making his first start after senior David Garcia injured his shoulder toward the end of last week’s win at Willamette. Sheldon and South Medford then traded scores to put the Irish lead at 20-12 before a second lost fumble on a handoff by Contreras cut short a promising Panther drive at the Sheldon 22 with 1:51 to go in the first half. Instead of a potential score to close the quarter — and with South to receive the second-half kickoff — Sheldon took the ball downfield and scored on a fourth-down, 24-yard run by Comer with 12.3 seconds remaining for a 26-12 lead. “That was tough but that’s the way games ebb and flow,” said Singler. The defense pitched a shutout on both sides of the ball in the third quarter but Comer scored from the 8 to open the fourth to make it 33-12. South Medford answered with a 60-yard drive powered by the running of Manuwai, who finished with 38 yards on nine carries, and a sensational extra effort by Contreras, who avoided pressure and found Cota in the end zone from 30 yards out. Rene Cabrera, making his first appearance as a placekicker after coming over from the soccer team, tacked on the point-after attempt to make it a two-score game. Comer quickly answered, however, on the next play when he darted right and then cut back upfield and outran the pursuit of Nick Henry for an 87-yard TD. Cota’s 9-yard TD grab came on the game’s final play to end the scoring. “We ran the ball better against Sheldon than we ever have, and that was good,” said Singler, whose team rushed 44 times for 247 yards. “We made some big plays at times, but those two fumbles really hurt us.” Sheldon; 13; 13; 0; 14; — 40 South Medford; 6; 6; 0; 13; — 25 S — Strahm 98 run (Specht kick) S — Comer 3 run (conversion fail) SM — Manuwai 1 run (kick failed) S — Comer 5 run (Specht kick) SM — Massey 13 pass from Contreras (kick blocked) S — Comer 24 run (kick blocked) S — Comer 8 run (Specht kick) SM — Cota 30 pass from Contreras (Cabrera kick) S — Comer 87 run (Specht kick) SM — Cota 9 pass from Contreras (no attempt) Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry By Kris Henry Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 27, 2014 at 12:01 AM Updated Sep 27, 2014 at 9:03 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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