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SUNNY Temp: 53 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 17, 2002 Prep Notebook O’Neill gives Panthers a leg up By DON HUNT Mail Tribune It’s rare to watch a high school kicker line up for a 47-yard goal, let alone boom it through the uprights. But South Medford’s Corey O’Neill made such a kick look routine last Friday during the Panthers’ 41-20 victory over Redmond. O’Neill also nailed a 36-yarder, went 4-for-4 on extra-point kicks and boomed the ball into the end zone for touchbacks on five of his seven kickoffs. O’Neill’s first love is soccer, and he manages to squeeze both sports into the fall season. South Medford football coach Bill Singler and soccer coach Dave Potter are more than willing to share the 5-foot-9, 170-pound junior. "There’s no doubt in my mind that he can kick a football at the college level if that’s what he focuses on," Singler says. "Why deprive the kid of opportunities? We don’t own Corey O’Neill." O’Neill’s 47-yard boot broke the school record of 45 yards set by Kirk Andersen in 1991. And O’Neill’s record-setting ways may not be over — he made a 55-yarder during a recent scrimmage and ripped through a 60-yarder one day while warming up. "We feel that we’re in scoring territory whenever we get past midfield," Singler says. "Corey is a big weapon for us." O’Neill is also a major threat on the soccer field. He had a hat trick during South Medford’s 5-2 non-league victory over Klamath Union last Tuesday and came back with two more goals Saturday in the Panthers’ 5-1 win over Woodburn. The two sports are rarely played on the same day, but O’Neill had to pull double duty on Sept. 6 when the soccer team played an afternoon match in Eugene and the football team played that evening in Canby. O’Neill arrived at the football game just in time for the kickoff. "That was a little hectic, but I have fun playing both sports," says O’Neill, who made 24-of-26 extra-point kicks and 3-of-5 field goals last season as a sophomore. "And I like staying busy." Singler believes that O’Neill could be a quality wide receiver or defensive back if he played football full-time. But that would require a full-time commitment at football practice, which O’Neill can’t do because of his overlapping soccer workouts. And he isn’t about to give up soccer. "I played football at Hedrick (Middle School) and it was so much fun I wanted to keep playing it in high school," O’Neill says. "But I’ve been playing soccer since I was 7." Kicking in each sport is doable, and, as Singler says, "He’s making two programs that much better." The Southern Oregon Conference restored some of its pride in football last Friday when it posted an 8-0 record, one week after going 1-7. The most notable win, of course, was North Medford’s 13-12 road victory over then-No. 3-ranked Lake Oswego. The Black Tornado’s swarming defense sacked Lake Oswego quarterback Mike Stutes five times and held a high-powered Lakers offense to just 208 total yards. The win was John Beck’s biggest at North since he took over the head coaching duties last season, but he won’t have long to savor it. That’s because the Tornado faces Roseburg Friday night at Spiegelberg Stadium in the conference-opener for both teams. Those of us who vote in the Associated Press high school football polls do so without ever watching many of the teams play. It’s an inexact process strung together largely by last week’s scores, strength of schedule and word of mouth. Nonetheless, a certain amount of research and scrutiny should go into the voting, or the polls can lose much of their credibility. I bring this up after seeing Lakeview inexplicably receive votes in the Class 3A poll the past two weeks. The Honkers have two wins — 46-0 over Chiloquin on opening night and 32-16 over LaPine last Friday. But Chiloquin is a Class 2A school that was picked to finish last in the Southern Cascade League, and LaPine, a 3A school like Lakeview, is expected to bring up the rear of the Sky-Em League. The Honkers’ program has been so far in the dumps the past couple seasons that it dropped out of the Skyline Conference to play a soft, non-league schedule. The team is better, but is it top-10 caliber? Hardly. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S