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Varsity 541 NEWS NOW Update: Wildfire along Highway 227 lined, in mop-up phase ... Medford lodging hits a record ... Defense says baby in Medford assault case may have brittle bones ... Update: Wildfire along Highway 227 lined, in mop-up phase ... Medford lodging hits a record ... Defense says baby in Medford assault case may have brittle bones ... PREP FOOTBALL Summit storms past Crater in semis No. 2 Comets suffer their first loss in historic season Comment By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Nov. 21, 2015 at 7:00 PM Updated Nov 22, 2015 at 12:35 AM By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Nov. 21, 2015 at 7:00 PM Updated Nov 22, 2015 at 12:35 AM --> Summit 41, Crater 7 RECAP: Summit quarterback John Bledsoe passes for four touchdowns and 238 yards and the Storm limit Crater to 12 first downs. UP NEXT: Next Saturday, 5... » Read more X Summit 41, Crater 7 RECAP: Summit quarterback John Bledsoe passes for four touchdowns and 238 yards and the Storm limit Crater to 12 first downs. UP NEXT: Next Saturday, 5A state championship, Summit vs. Ashland. » Social News GRANTS PASS — A whirlwind season of historic achievements for Crater’s football team was brought to a close in a similar whirlwind fashion Saturday afternoon in a 41-7 loss to Summit in the Class 5A state semifinals at Mel Ingram Field. The second-seeded Comets answered an early challenge by No. 6 Summit with a pinpoint pass from Matt Struck to fellow senior Garret Dey for an 80-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-all just 4½ minutes into the first quarter. That moment proved to be the high point for Crater (11-1) and, unfortunately for it, proved fleeting against the Storm (11-1), which will face Ashland in next Saturday’s state championship. Summit senior Jason Garcia fielded the ensuing kickoff at the 2-yard line, took a couple steps and lateraled the ball to Sean Kent, who carved through the coverage for a 98-yard return for a score. A Garcia interception on Crater’s next offensive possession put the Storm back in position and, on the ensuing play, Summit junior quarterback John Bledsoe connected with Nick Rasmussen for a 10-yard TD strike for a 21-7 advantage. In the span of five plays, Summit had managed to score three touchdowns to Crater’s one and came up with an interception to take control in the first state semifinal appearance for either school. “That was the turning point, obviously,” Summit head coach Joe Padilla said of his team’s first-quarter surge. “We score, they score right away but then the momentum swings again on the kickoff return. That’s what this game was going to be about, both teams capable of big things, so that was huge for us.” The early deficit left Crater with an uphill battle against the 5A’s top scoring defense in Summit, which entered the game allowing 9.7 points per game and none more than in its lone defeat, a 15-14 setback on Sept. 18 at Ashland. “They were showing a lot of pressure and we haven’t really seen that much all year,” said Struck, who was sacked five times and forced to vacate the pocket on a handful of occasions. “They’re a great team and they worked really hard to put in all the work to get to where they’re going,” Struck added. “I have much respect for them, they just outplayed us. We had a great season and we really wanted to get one more game, but things just roll how they roll.” Summit tacked on a 5-yard TD run by Dawson Ruhl with 1:25 to go in the first quarter for a 27-7 lead, then used a pair of TD passes from Bledsoe to Tim Meagher (22 and 3 yards) to build a 41-7 cushion at halftime. The second half was scoreless as Summit tried to lean on its running game to milk the clock and each defense took hold of the contest. “It was a good season, I’m real proud of the kids and the community and just thankful to be a little part of it,” Crater head coach John Beck said afterward. Bledsoe, son of former NFL star Drew Bledsoe, was 21-for-23 passing for 201 yards and four scores in the first half alone. Coming off minor knee surgery that kept him out of last week’s win over Redmond, Bledsoe utilized quick passes from shotgun formation as Summit receivers routinely settled underneath for gains long enough to keep the chains moving. “They bring a lot of blitzes, so quick passing was what we focused on,” said Bledsoe, who finished 28-for-34 passing for 238 yards. “Going into the game we just thought since they bring a lot of guys inside, if we could get the ball out quick that we would be successful.” On the flip side, Crater couldn’t seem to find rhythm on offense. Struck completed 19 of 35 passes for 250 yards with one TD and one interception, while senior tailback Cavin Gillispie bulled his way to 73 yards on 11 carries and Dey caught three passes for 118 yards. Gillispie’s longest run of 47 yards came after fumbling the handoff from Struck, picking it up a few yards upfield and rumbling deep into Summit territory. The standout senior also had a 94-yard TD run negated when it was ruled he stepped out of bounds at his own 14 while tightroping the sidelines. It was that kind of day for the Comets, who routinely seemed to take one step forward and then two steps back due to penalty flags or other issues. Overall, the Comets were tagged with 12 penalties for 111 yards. Six of the infractions were in the first quarter before Summit drew one penalty. The Storm finished with seven penalties for 55 yards. “I think the circumstances didn’t go our way,” said Beck. “You can spin it the way you want to spin it, but we didn’t get any help and everything went against us instead of for us. As soon as the stuff started to even out a little bit then the game was back to being a competitive ballgame again.” Ruhl had his streak of 100-yard rushing games snapped at four as Crater allowed him 48 yards on 12 carries. Overall, Summit ran for 82 yards on 32 carries while the Comets managed 54 yards on 23 attempts. Summit 41, Crater 7 At Mel Ingram Field, Grants Pass Summit;27;14;0;0;—;41 Crater;7;0;0;0;—;7 S — Rill 12 pass from J. Bledsoe (Wadsworth kick) C — Dey 80 pass from Struck (Santoni kick) S — Kent 98 kickoff return (Wadsworth kick) S — Rasmussen 10 pass from J. Bledsoe (Wadsworth kick) S — Ruhl 5 run (kick failed) S — Meagher 22 pass from J. Bledsoe (Wadsworth kick) S — Meagher 3 pass from J. Bledsoe (Wadsworth kick) TEAM STATISTICS ;Sum;Cra First Downs;23;12 Rushes-Yards;32-82;23-54 Passing Yards;238;250 Comp-Att-Int;28-36-1;19-35-1 Total Yards;320;304 Punts;3-33.0;5-35.0 Fumbles-lost;2-0;1-0 Penalties-yards;7-55;12-111 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Summit — Ruhl 12-48, Rill 1-4, Garcia 3-15, Kent 3-9, J. Bledsoe 3-(-13), Thompson 2-(-2), Leiphart 4-39, Viola 2-1, Mingus 1-(-19), Team 1-0. Crater — Gillispie 11-73, Dey 1-26, Winningham 3-(-5), Godley 1-(-2), Struck 7-(-38). PASSING Summit — J. Bledsoe 28-34-0 238, Viola 0-2-1 0. Crater — Struck 19-35-1 250. RECEIVING Summit — Meagher 5-40, Mason 2-36, Kent 5-35, Rasmussen 4-34, Tobias 3-28, Ruhl 2-21, Wadsworth 1-17, Rill 2-11, Thompson 3-8, Durfee 1-8. Crater — Dey 3-118, Kramer 4-53, Ireland 3-38, Cyr 5-33, Winningham 3-9, Weaver 1-(-1). 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 Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Nov. 21, 2015 at 7:00 PM Updated Nov 22, 2015 at 12:35 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction Schedules & Events --> Recent Scores --> Prep Notebook Kris Henry Challengers make it back on top in softball Winning the Southern Cascade League title seemed like a pretty bold goal this spring considering the recent history of the Cascade Christian... 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