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Ouellette makes his return North Medford�s offense has been running at something less than full speed for the past three weeks. So it�s understandable that Black Tornado coach Rod Rumrey is excited to see his 5-foot-7, 160-pound senior tailback Phil Ouellette dashing about in preparation for Friday night�s second-round Class 4A playoff game against Glencoe. Ouellette pulled his hamstring early in the third quarter of North�s 64-6 rout of Klamath Union on Oct. 20. "Phil looks like he�s back 100 percent," Rumrey says. "I�m talking to him petty much after every play in practice. Every once in a while, he tells me he�s frustrated, that he doesn�t have the same feel as he did three weeks ago. "To me, he looks awfully ready to go." Ouellette rushed for 758 yards on 97 carries in North�s first seven games. He averaged 7.8 yards and scored four touchdowns. Justin MacLauchlan (64 carries, 485 yards, 5 TDs) and Curtis Stout (45-374,10) carried the rushing load while Ouellette sat out wins over Grants Pass, Ashland and Lincoln. "I think Phil would�ve been ready to go last week, but we held him out until he could come back as a full-time player," Rumrey says. "Phil is a real leader. He�s the kind of guy that brings a lot of belief into the huddle. I have a lot of faith in Just MacLauchlan and Curtis Stout, they did a great job. But Phil�s our No. 1 tailback. We missed him more than I thought we would. Having him back is a real boost to our offense." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.