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CLEAR Temp: 48 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Friday, October 11, 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 September 26, 2002 Cavemen bracing for Tornado tilt Grants Pass holds recent edge over North, but No. 5-ranked Tornado boasts dominating talent By DON HUNT Mail Tribune There’s something about the North Medford High football team that brings out the best in Grants Pass. The Cavemen have beaten the Tornado four of the past six years, including last season’s 20-3 drubbing at Spiegelberg Stadium. The two longtime rivals meet Friday night at Mel Ingram Field in Grants Pass, and while the No. 5-ranked Tornado enters the game as a heavy favorite, the prudent prognosticator wouldn’t bet much on either team. In other Southern Oregon Conference games Friday, Eagle Point (2-1 overall, 1-0 SOC) visits South Medford (2-1, 1-0), Ashland (1-2, 0-1) travels to Klamath Union (1-2, 0-1) and Crater (1-2, 0-1) journeys to Roseburg. "It’s our home-opener and we expect 5,000 fans to be in our stadium," Grants Pass coach Jeff Weiss says. "Every time these teams meet, there’s a playoff-like atmosphere. It’s one of the better rivalries in the state." Weiss admits, however, that his Cavemen (2-1, 1-0) will have to play a near-perfect game to upset a North Medford (3-0, 1-0) squad that is among the best in the state. The Tornado is coming off a stunning 49-6 rout of Roseburg. The previous week, it handed ninth-ranked Lake Oswego its first home defeat in three years. "They’ve got every facet of their game working at a very high level," Weiss says. "Their defense has suffocated everyone they’ve played and their offense and special teams aren’t far behind. "We’re just hoping we can stay in the game and make it competitive." The Tornado’s cat-quick defense is allowing just 193 yards and six points per game — both figures lead the SOC — and junior tackle David Faaeteete has been so dominant that opponents have been reluctant to run to his side. On the first play from scrimmage last Friday, the 6-foot-3, 255-pound Faaeteete split a double team and threw Roseburg tailback Jake Dorsey for a 3-yard loss. "He blows up a lot of plays," says Weiss of Faaeteete. "He pretty much takes away half the field from your offense. "Unfortunately for us, the guys on the other side aren’t bad, either." What makes North Medford doubly difficult to contend with is an offense that had a breakout game against Roseburg. The Tornado amassed 512 yards of offense against the Indians, led by Reese Lamson’s 138 yards rushing and Beau Hovland’s 9-for-15, 202-yard, four-touchdown performance through the air. Lamson, a senior transfer from Corning, Calif., has been a pleasant surprise for the Tornado. He didn’t move to Medford until August — missing all of the summer workouts — but quickly established himself as a tough inside runner with decent speed. "He (Lamson) came from a Wing-T offense and so everything is new to him, but he’s adjusted quickly," North Medford coach John Beck says. "I think he’s one of the best running backs in the league." Lamson’s emergence enabled Beck to move speedy senior Tyler Engle to a slotback/flanker position, where he’s been a threat running and catching the ball. Engle caught a 64-yard touchdown pass on the game’s first play from scrimmage last Friday and finished the night with 92 yards receiving, 75 yards rushing and three touchdowns. "We knew we needed to have those two guys on the field at the same time," Beck says. "They complement each other so well." Beck is also tickled with the play of Hovland, who has completed 68 percent of his passes for 423 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions in the Tornado’s three games. "He threw 15 passes last Friday and only one of them was off-target," Beck says. "He had a couple passes dropped and a couple others were catchable. "He’s getting more comfortable and more confident, and we’re starting to open up our offense a little more and take advantage of his skills." Grants Pass hasn’t been nearly as productive on offense. The Cavemen are averaging only 209 yards per game — seventh in the SOC. However, the Cavers feature one of the conference’s top wideouts in 6-foot-6, 195-pound Kory Mahr, who has 14 catches for 252 yards and three touchdowns. Mahr is also a standout in GP’s secondary. He had two interceptions in last week’s 25-8 victory over Crater. ASHLAND AT KLAMATH UNION — Ashland squeaked out a 19-15 victory over Klamath Union last season that extended its win streak over the Pelicans to 17 straight. The Grizzlies expect another dogfight Friday, but should put a lot of points on the board behind the passing of senior quarterback Bryan Clevenger. Clevenger threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns during last Friday’s 34-20 loss to South Medford, and has an SOC- best 772 yards on the season. The Grizzlies have struggled to run the ball effectively, however, and they’re giving up an SOC-worst 33 points per contest. In an effort to bolster his ground attack, Ashland coach Jim Nagel is taking a hard look at sophomore David Jacobson- Fried and junior River Menanno to plug in at fullback. Klamath Union is coming off a 25-6 loss to Eagle Point and is averaging a league-low 13.3 points per game. CRATER AT ROSEBURG — Crater hasn’t beaten Roseburg since 1994 but the Comets know they’ve got a realistic shot at upending an Indian squad that lacks the talent of past teams. Roseburg’s 49-6 loss to North Medford last Friday was one of the worst in coach Thurman Bell’s 32 years as coach. To make matters worse, the Indians lost a couple of starting offensive linemen to injury during the game and another one in practice Monday. "We’re very thin up front," Bell says. Crater coach Rich Cable, unhappy with his team’s effort during last Friday’s 25-8 loss to Grants Pass, put the Comets through a rigorous workout Monday — 4,200 yards of windsprints that took 37 minutes. "We’ve played them (Roseburg) tough for the first half the last two years," Cable says. "Now we need to play hard for four quarters." Junior Nick Rose earned his first start at quarterback last week and responded by completing 8-of-11 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. The Comets had a total of just 40 yards passing in their first two games. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, 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