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Varsity 541 NEWS NOW Emergency services, Sept. 9 ... Climb to the upper world of Mount Bailey ... Arrest made in 2-year vandalism spree ... Emergency services, Sept. 9 ... Climb to the upper world of Mount Bailey ... Arrest made in 2-year vandalism spree ... PREP FOOTBALL South hosts No. 1 West Linn in marquee clash No. 4-ranked Panthers, Lions coming off impressive openers Comment By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Sep. 9, 2016 at 2:00 AM By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Sep. 9, 2016 at 2:00 AM » Social News South Medford head coach Bill Singler has emphasized scheduling tough nonconference opponents during his tenure over taking the easy way out. Well, they don’t come much tougher than his Week 2 opponent tonight at Spiegelberg Stadium. In one of the state’s marquee matchups, fourth-ranked South Medford will play host to No. 1-ranked West Linn in a game that’s sure to be electric with the amount of firepower on display. Kickoff is 7 p.m. “You want to just kind of eyeball the best team in the state,” said Singler, “and West Linn and Jesuit and Sheldon, in my mind, are the three top teams in the state. It’s going to be a tremendous challenge because they’re a seasoned, veteran football team.” In tonight’s other Class 6A matchups, North Medford plays at Shasta and Grants Pass is at Aloha. At the 5A level, Ashland plays at Summit in a rematch of last year’s state championship while Eagle Point hosts Ridgeview and Crater is at South Albany. Guided by former NFL quarterback Chris Miller, West Linn finished runner-up to Jesuit in last year’s 6A state championship and returns a host of players from that group who are hungry to take the next step. The Lions (1-0) opened their season with a 55-27 romp over a good Oregon City team, amassing 611 yards of total offense as senior quarterback Tim Tawa passed for six touchdowns and senior tailback Elijah Molden ran for 119 yards and one score. In contrast, South Medford (1-0) posted an eye-popping win last week in its own right, gaining a school-record 711 yards in total offense to go with a program-high in points during a 73-34 win at perennial 5A power Wilsonville. “We know it’s going to be a lot different environment than what we played in last week,” said Singler. “This is a football team in West Linn that through and through is loaded with great high school football talent. We’re not just talking skill position guys, we’re talking linebackers, linemen receivers ... whatever you want to talk about they’ve got talent at each of those spots and they’re big and they can move.” The Panthers, however, have their own highly-regarded players and a host of blue-collar performers who caught the eye of Miller in preparation for Friday’s return to Spiegelberg. Miller served two stints as head coach at South Eugene (2002-06 and 2013). “I have a lot of respect for Bill Singler,” said Miller. “He’s been there a long time and knows football well.” “You can tell (the Panthers) are coached well,” he added. “They have good technique, execute well and look disciplined.” Miller is well-versed in both starting quarterbacks, having worked with South Medford junior Robbie Patterson over the past few years in the offseason. “He’s a very talented young man and I wish him nothing but the best,” said Miller. Last week, Patterson completed 14 of 25 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns, while Tawa — coming off a year in which passed for 50 TDs — was 29-for-46 passing for 363 yards to nine different receivers. “He’s very bright and has a great handle on the offense,” Miller said of the three-year starter Tawa (6-foot, 182 pound). “He sees a lot on the field and suggests a lot of plays during drives so we’re putting more options in his hands.” Justin Altenhofen caught five passes for 113 yards and two scores last week, while Molden caught six passes out of the backfield for 54 yards and two TDs, Tyler Good caught six passes for 86 yards and one TD and Jake Meisen had four catches for 66 yards and one score. Molden, whose father Alex played in the NFL and was part of Oregon’s secondary with Chad Cota in the 1995 Rose Bowl, is a key to West Linn’s balanced attack. “Tawa’s a great quarterback and a great athlete,” noted Singler, “but he’s also got a really great cast of characters around him. With Molden at running back, you’ve got to commit people to the box to defend him or else with their line, he could get right into secondary in a heartbeat.” Miller said he’d like to see his team shore some things up with better tackling and fewer penalties, but the game plan remains the same no matter how much of a threat the Panthers pose. “We just need to be us and play the way we play,” said Miller. “We’ve got to play physical, play fast and utilize our athletes as well as a couple other action items we want to improve on from last week.” Any thoughts of South Medford coming into tonight’s game overly confident following it’s record-setting opener went out the window when it came time to prep for the Lions. “These guys are very humbled this week in preparation for West Linn because they’ve seen the tape and they’ve looked at the roster and seen the type of athletes they’re going up against, the size and speed and that kind of thing,” said Singler. “I think our kids will respond. Now how long we can respond, I don’t know. This is like facing Alabama at the college football level, you can have a great team but Alabama can come in and take the wind out of your sails like they did to USC.” The Panthers played a little of that Crimson Tide roll last week, with junior Kaleb Franklin opening the game with a 49-yard TD reception and then backing that up with a 30-yard interception return for a score. Franklin led the Panthers with five receptions for 154 yards, while junior Chase Cota got loose for five catches, 71 yards and one score. The biggest impact for South Medford, however, may have been in the trenches as the Panthers offensive line opened the door for two running backs to eclipse 150 yards rushing — Jaylin Parnell carried 18 times for 163 yards and two scores and Brandon Salamanca carried 27 times for 154 yards and one score. “We’re not really big up front but I was so impressed by our offensive line and how they got off the football and engaged and kept working,” said Singler. “They just didn’t hit and stop. That was good to see those kids play hard, and we’re going to need more of that.” 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 Sep. 9, 2016 at 2:00 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... Varsity 541 Photos Ashland vs. Mountain View North vs Fortuna Coach K Summer Competition at SOU U19 Memorial Day Challenge North Medford vs. Grant State Track & Field » More Photo Galleries Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications | Contact Us | Advertise | © Copyright Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.