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Knights emerge in battle of battered By GREG STILES PHOENIX -- The baling wire and chewing gum were all used up. In a game pitting two banged up football teams, it came down to guts and grit. The nod went to the North Valley Knights, who took advantage of Phoenix mistakes Friday night to register a 26-7 Skyline Conference victory at Jack Woodward Stadium. "This is a great win for our program and a fantastic win for the kids," second-year North Valley coach John George said. "We talked about overachieving, shaking it off and stepping it up and we did." North Valley (3-4, 3-2 Skyline Conference) went through four quarterbacks in the contest, with freshman Tim Cunha guiding the team in the fourth quarter. So it fell on running backs Chuck Milburn and Paul Sutherland to shoulder the load and they produced. Milburn -- one of five seniors on the squad -- packed the ball 22 times for 118 yards and the clinching touchdown early in the third quarter. Sutherland, a transfer from Rogue River, tacked on a season-high 94 yards and two touchdowns on 11 attempts. Sutherland gave the Knights the lead early in the second quarter, gave them breathing room late in the half and then helped break it open early in the third quarter by blocking a punt. "We've been rotating Paul with our three backs," George said. "He's got great speed, and I felt we needed to utilize that more. He was a game-breaker for us tonight. He gave us guts and speed." Early on, however, it was Phoenix that shined as the Pirates (4-3, 2-3 Skyline) drove 58 yards in six plays the first time they touched the ball. After Chris Loftin rambled 25 yards to the NV 1, quarterback Bobby Dawson sneaked across the goal line and Kyle Kennedy toed the PAT to make it 7-0. But North Valley responded with a 16-play, 92-yard drive that shifted the momentum. Phelps tossed a 9-yard scoring pass to Derek Wright, who outleaped the Pirates' Christian Heath for the ball. Milburn's PAT made it 7-7 with 58 seconds left in the quarter. North Valley took the lead with a seven-play, 54-yard march, keyed by Phelps' 27-yard completion to Ken Hiler to the Phoenix 24. Four plays later, the Knights were at the 16. Sutherland, who had carried once to that point, burst up the middle, was momentarily stopped at the 14 then slithered into the end zone. Three plays later, Kawika Udink, who had early intercepted a pass, recovered a fumble at the Phoenix 48. After a 10-yard holding penalty on first down, the Knights found themselves with a fourth-and-one at the Pirate 39. With Clint Ironside and Brian Neumann clearing a path, Sutherland started right then dipped inside and found nothing but day light to make it 20-7 with 2:11 left in the half. "I looked outside and then inside and just reacted," Sutherland said. Phoenix was forced to punt deep in its own territory early in the third quarter. Again Sutherland, made the big play, storming in from the right side to block Eric Kessler's punt and recovering at the eight. On the next play, Milburn followed Jesse Stumbo and Neumann into the end zone. "We had a lot of young guys, some who hadn't even played varsity ball, step it up tonight," Milburn said. Amazingly, the Knights rushed for 285 yards and gained 55 more through the air with a lot of different hands involved in handoffs. Luke Godfrey, who quarterbacked the team a year ago suffered a hand injury in early September, leaving Aaron Phelps the starter and Cole Parmelee his back-up. Phelps landed on his left shoulder on the third play from scrimmage and Parmelee momentarily stepped into the breach. On the Knight's second possession Parmelee broke his collarbone after hauling in a pass for a short gain. When it became apparent Phelps had separated his shoulder, Paul Mitchell took his turn to start the second half. But Mitchell used up most of his allotted quarters in the junior varsity contest on Thursday and Cunha too over. "We made too many mistakes and didn't play with much heart," Phoenix coach Joe Hagler said. "Our top three guys in the secondary were hurt and two of our lineman were out. It was a winnable game, but three fumbles and ab interception hurt us bad." North Valley .......7 13 6 0 -- 26 Phoenix .................7 0 0 0 -- 7 Pho -- Dawson 1 run (Kennedy kick) NV -- Wright 9 pass from Phelps (Milburn kick) NV -- Sutherland 16 run (Milburn kick) NV -- Sutherland 39 run (kick failed)NV -- Milburn 8 run (run failed) Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.