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South starts fast, tips Vikings Photo by Jim Craven South Medford's Ethan Wallenberg, left, and North Salem's Roberto Manzo battle for control of the ball. By GREG STILES The answer was blowing in the wind Tuesday afternoon at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park. The question was which team would take advantage in the second round of the Class 4A boys state soccer playoffs? Visiting North Salem won the toss, but managed to give away the farm when it elected to have the wind at its back in the second half. South Medford couldn't have been in better shape if someone had given the Panthers a "Get out of jail free" card and scored twice in the first 17 minutes en route to its second consecutive 2-0 playoff victory. The triumph propelled South Medford into a quarterfinal road match Saturday against top-ranked and defending state champion South Eugene, a team they tied 1-1 earlier in the season. The Axemen defeated Reynolds, 6-1. "If we won the coin toss, we wanted to have the wind at our backs in the first half," South Medford coach Dave Potter said. "We were overjoyed to have it even without winning the coin toss." The ball fluttered around like a balloon as the wind swept south to north, leading directly or indirectly to seven cornerkicks in the first half. South Medford converted on two of junior Craig Tomlins' first five corners. The third attempt -- just 4:44 into the contest -- taken from the left corner curled like a putt on a wicked downhill green, just over North Salem goalkeeper Brodrick Franklin's hands. Thirteen minutes later, Tomlins' kick from the right corner hung up in front of the goal and was headed in by lanky senior forward Ethan Wallenberg. "Craig really put some good ones (corner kicks) in there tonight," said Wallenberg. "We really didn't score too many off headers early. But lately, one out of every two goals has come that way." It looked as if the Panthers might score at will from that point. But neither team found the goal again. "Before the game, Craig Tomlins was practicing more corner kicks than ever before," Potter said. "He noticed how the wind was blowing and we got two goals and almost got two more." Despite all his warm-up shots from the corner, Tomlins figured he'd have to put his knowledge on hold until the second half. North Salem, the No. 4 team out of the Valley League had scored early in its 2-1 upset of Pacific-8 champion Tigard last Saturday. South figured the Vikings would go on the offensive if given the chance. "That was a surprise," Tomlins said of North Salem's choice to wait on the wind. "We knew against Tigard they scored early and then packed it back in the box. We knew we couldn't allow them to do that against us." Thanks to the wind and South's defense, junior goalie Kyle Hadley was a lonely man for the first 40 minutes. The only time he touched the ball until the final two minutes of the half was when a defender kicked the ball back to the box so he could launch a punt with the wind. But the Panthers proved superior even without the gale to their back. North Salem coach Rich Swartzentruber told his team there was no guarantee the wind would last 40 minutes at the half. He also expected the flow of corner kicks would reverse. The Vikings got one -- with about five minutes to play. "We didn't benefit and that was partly our own doing," Swartzentruber said. "We hoped to have the advantage late in the game, but we didn't. We needed to execute well and we didn't. "I think the fact we got down right away had an effect on how we played. I don't think we passed or played with poise like we have. Giving up two goals early was detrimental." Without the expected spurt of offense the Vikings took more chances and the game became more physical. Four yellow cards were doled out in the half. Try as it might, North Salem just couldn't penetrate the Panthers' defense and wound up with three shots in the second half. "What I told the boys was that rule No. 1 was that we would allow no corner kicks," said Potter. "They ended up getting one at the end of the game. What we wanted was to give them as many throw-ins as they needed, had to or they wanted." Potter marveled at his team's defense, noting more than 57 minutes passed during the second 40-minute half because of injuries and substitutions. "Our ball possession was good enough that we were able to play a composed game," Potter said. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.