Document text
North Medford's special teams have been, well, pretty special By DON HUNT Kickoff team. Kickoff return team. Punt team. Punt return team. Collectively, they are the special teams of football. Those who fear full-speed, helmet-to-helmet contact need not apply. Not many fans pay much attention to special teams because they get on the field for only a handful of plays each game. And yet they can have a huge influence on a game's outcome. Just ask the opponents of North Medford High. In the past two weeks alone, the Black Tornado has blocked a punt for a touchdown, returned a punt for a touchdown and returned three kickoffs for scores on the way to 62-30 and 45-0 victories over Ashland and Crater, respectively. The Tornado (5-2) will next showcase its extra special special teams Friday night at Spiegelberg Stadium when it plays host to Eagle Point (2-5). In other SOC games Friday, ninth-ranked South Medford (6-1) travels to seventh-ranked Grants Pass (6-1), Klamath Union (2-5) journeys to No. 2 Roseburg (6-0), and Ashland (2-5) ventures to Crater (1-6). All games begin at 7:30 p.m. "We take a lot of pride in our special teams," says North Medford assistant coach Chris Parnell, who coordinates the daredevil units. "They're no place for wimps, and we've got some wild and crazy guys on them." The North coaches hand out helmet stickers with lightning bolts on them to anyone delivering a crushing hit or block each week. Several players earned them last Friday. The most deserving went to Kyle Jensen, who knocked down three Crater players, enabling Tyler Engle to dash 76 yards to paydirt on a punt return. "That was a big-time block," North Medford head coach Beck says. Speaking of blocks, North Medford has smothered five punts this season, with Novie Bier falling on one of them for a touchdown in the win over Ashland. The Tornado patterns its punt rushes and kickoff return teams after the Washington Huskies and their coach, Rick Neuheisel. "We've watched a lot of film on them and the University of Colorado (where Neuheisel was prior to Washington)," Beck says. "They do a lot of neat things that we've picked up on." The Tornado spends nearly 30 minutes per day working on its special teams, including extra points and field goals. "We break down into individual groups and work on the fundamentals," Parnell says. "Then we look at how the other teams line up and attack what they're doing. "We've got some different schemes. Some work and some don't." North Medford is a solid favorite to defeat Eagle Point, although the Eagles got the Tornado's attention with their 27-19 victory over Ashland last Friday that snapped a five-game losing streak. Beck is especially impressed with Eagle Point running back Victor Shelton, who has run for 337 yards and six touchdowns in just four games. "He's not real fancy but he runs hard and breaks tackles," Beck says. North Medford has a fine back of its own in Manny Alegria, a senior speedster who has run for 416 yards and nine touchdowns since cracking the starting lineup one month ago. Alegria also has a touchdown reception and two kickoff returns for scores, giving him 12 touchdowns in his last three games. The Tornado needs a win over Eagle Point Point and a victory over South Medford next week to advance to the state playoffs. "We've had some of our best practices of the season this week," Beck says. "Our kids know what the task is." ASHLAND AT CRATER - Pride and a love for the game are the only incentives remaining for these two teams as winning records and state playoff berths went by the wayside a couple of weeks ago. Crater tailback Dan Casey was held to 50 yards on 25 carries in last Friday's 45-0 loss to North Medford but should find some big running lanes against a Grizzly defense that is yielding 263 yards on the ground. On the other side of the ball, Ashland quarterback Cameron Voget will work against a Crater pass defense that is the worst in the SOC. Voget has thrown for 818 yards and nine touchdowns this season despite missing two games, but he was intercepted four times during last Friday's 27-19 loss to Eagle Point. KLAMATH UNION AT ROSEBURG - Roseburg running back Rod Cope needs just 23 yards to reach the 1,000-yard plateau, and he won't need more than a carry or two to reach it against the struggling Pelicans. Cope ran for a career-high 203 yards during last week's 26-21 victory over Grants Pass to take over the SOC rushing lead, and he had a 77-yard touchdown run called back. Roseburg tight end/defensive end Joe Newton will miss Friday's contest against KU after suffering a strained medial collateral knee ligament against Grants Pass. Newton could also miss the Indians' final regular season game against Ashland, but should be ready for the first round of the playoffs on Nov. 9. "It's not as serious as we first thought," Roseburg coach Thurman Bell said. "Joe wants to play right now, but we've got to be prudent about this." The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Newton is among the most highly recruited players in the state. Klamath Union has lost four straight since a 28-13 victory over Eagle Point on Sept. 21. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.