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CLOUDY Temp: 40 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Saturday, December 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 November 21, 2002 South Medford�s Travis Phillips (73) has provided stellar protection for Panther quarterback Boomer Marshall, left, this season. With the help of his offensive line, Marshall has passed for 2,911 yards and 31 touchdowns to lead South into Friday�s quart Controlling the front lines The undersized South Medford offensive and defensive lines will play a big role in Friday’s quarterfinal game against Canby By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune When it comes to the spotlight, they may often get lost in the trenches. But the South Medford football team’s linemen, on both sides of the ball, will play a big role in determining Friday’s Class 4A state playoffs quarterfinal clash with Canby at 7:30 p.m. at Spiegelberg Stadium. On offense, they must give record-breaking senior quarterback Boomer Marshall time to throw and the running backs, led by senior speedster Andres Reed, room to roam. And they’re faced with doing it against a Cougars defense that allows just 12 points per game. On defense, they must penetrate to help contain Canby’s wing-T attack that posted 434 rushing yards in a season-opening, 43-21 victory over the Panthers in Canby on Sept. 6. They’ll be lined up across from a Cougars offensive line that features four first-team all-Pac-9 Conference selections. Yes, fourth-ranked, 11-0 Canby — fueled by impressive, bulky lines — presents a daunting task, but the South linemen must succeed, for the sake of the No. 6, 10-1 Panthers’ season. "Our offensive and defensive lines, if they play good, we’ll win," Marshall says. So who are these masked boys? Well, they are rotations that go as far as eight deep on both sides of the ball, but there are several stalwarts. Seniors Travis Phillips and Andrew Petersen, each of them 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, are "the leaders of our offensive and defensive lines," according to South head coach Bill Singler. "We really rely on those guys to play well up front, and they’ve been having good senior years," Singler says. Along the offensive line, junior center Jeremy Stahler (6-1, 211), junior left guard Theo Elliott (5-8, 211), senior right tackle Brian Weidman (6-2, 210) and sophomore Noah Brennan (6-2, 217) are also key components. Phillips plays right guard, and Petersen is the left tackle. Defensively, junior tackle Nick Griffin (5-8, 225), senior tackle John Swanson (6-2, 205) and senior end Justin Marshall (6-1, 190) join Phillips at end and Petersen at nose guard as the primary contributors. "Really, as you get into these playoff games and playing the better teams, you’re hopeful that your offensive line and defensive line can hang in there, if they’re not physically better than the other team," says Singler, who, in his fifth season, has the Panthers in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1992. "We’ve been able to do that. ... Willamette ran the ball at will against us, which was not a good situation. We need to improve our run defense up front. I think our offensive line did a very good job against Willamette’s front four, which gave Boom time to throw the ball." South did indeed struggle mightily trying to stop Willamette’s ground attack in the second round last week, as the Wolverines compiled 446 yards rushing. Phillips and Petersen are quick to point out, however, that the Panthers stiffened to hold Willamette four times within 3 yards of the end zone in the second overtime, preserving a 45-38 victory. Against the Cougar offensive front, which boasts 275-pound guard Zac Babb, 235-pound tackle Brett Rhodes and 240-pound tight end Ed Brown — all seniors and first-team all-Pac-9 picks, along with center Travis Burke — South plans to use its quickness. "Our main advantage up front would be our speed," says Phillips, who was named to the second-team all-conference squad for offense and honorable mention on defense for the Southern Oregon Conference champions. "They’re not exactly a slow team, but we’ve been working so much on our speed these last few weeks. If we get up and get off the ball, we know we can stop the trap with just speed. Even if their size is a lot bigger, we’ll just stop it with speed." Adds Petersen, who was also second-team all-SOC on offense, "We’ve got a lot of guys. We’ve got like an eight-man rotation on the D-line. We’ll be rotating lots, so we stay fresh and stay fast. Just gotta keep on moving." Greg Baker, who coaches the Panther linemen, along with help from Brandon Boice on defense, says South has improved significantly on both fronts since the first Canby matchup. "Our offensive linemen hadn’t played in one varsity game," says Baker, who groups Canby’s lines with North Medford and Willamette as the best the Panthers have seen. "Our defensive line was in a very embryonic state. ... As coaches, we’re really very, very proud of the progression these guys have made." Offensively, the linemen have meshed nicely to help South’s explosive skill players put up 36.8 points per game. "We just had to find ourselves," Petersen said. "Last year, we had the people on the O-line to run the ball. ... This year, our offense is a little bit different, our O-line is a little bit different. We like to pass more. We like to do a little misdirection, screens and draws and traps. That fits our personality more." Adds Phillips, "We’ve got more technique than size, so we’re trying to utilize that in the overall scheme of our game plan." Both of the lines’ senior leaders know their units have come far since first meeting the Cougars 2½ months ago. And both have different plans for the rematch. "We always wanted a chance to get them back, and now we’ve got it," Phillips says. "And now we’ve just gotta take it because we’re never gonna get a chance like this again, and we’ve got something to prove." Adds Petersen, "We’ve been saying, ‘Hopefully, we face Canby. Hopefully, we face Canby.’ Now we get the chance, and we’re not gonna let that slip." South’s unheralded grunts do indeed get their chance to shine under Friday night’s lights. Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 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