Document text
North pulls away for Black and Blue Bowl win By Danny Penza Oct 29, 2022 12:18 AM A A 8 View all photos Lacey throws for three touchdowns in return to lead Black Tornado to first win over Panthers since 2019 As his team went into halftime up a touchdown on rival South Medford on Friday night, North Medford head coach Nathan Chin knew his team just had to stay the course. The thinking was that good things would, in due time, work out in the Black Tornado’s favor. Lo and behold, they did just that — and in a matter of minutes, too. North Medford quarterback Caiden Lacey connected with receiver Connor Cesaro for a pair of touchdown passes 61 seconds apart from each other, flipping the 37th annual Black and Blue Bowl completely in the Black Tornado’s favor. North rode that wave to a 35-0 win over the Panthers at Spiegelberg Stadium, claiming a win over its crosstown rivals for the first time since 2019. Friday night was also the first time since North’s 21-0 win in 2006 that the Black Tornado shut out South Medford in the Black and Blue Bowl. “It was huge, for sure,” Cesaro said of the big third-quarter momentum swing. “Our defense shutting South out in the first half was huge. We went into halftime and our coaches knew we were struggling on offense a little bit but knew we could get the ball moving. Our coaches made some great adjustments and put the ball in our playmakers’ hands.” With the win, North finished the regular season 6-3 overall and 6-1 in the South/Central Football Conference, a game behind league champion Sheldon. The Black Tornado, which entered the night ranked 13th in the Class 6A power rankings, won six of its last seven regular-season games after starting the year with losses to West Linn and Bend. South Medford, which entered Week 9 ranked 10th in the power rankings, fell to 6-3 overall and 4-3 in the SCFC. Seedings for the state playoffs freeze on Saturday. “I think we just had to stick with what we were doing,” said Chin. “We had to make some small adjustments, but the one thing is that South has great coaches and they have great plans. We made some small tweaks and our kids executed them extremely well. The kids did a great job just keeping on and staying the track.” The Lacey-to-Cesaro connection was responsible for the lone touchdown of the first half, a 12-yard strike that saw Cesaro work his way out of a couple of would-be tacklers before reaching the end zone. But it was on the first two drives of the second half in which the Black Tornado completely changed the tune of the game. North marched right down the field on its first drive of the second half following a South punt, taking advantage of a big 32-yard run from Ty Pugliano — who rushed for 150 yards on 18 carries — to put his team in Panthers territory. Two plays later, Lacey found Cesaro again, this time from 20 yards out to put the Black Tornado up 14-0. North didn’t waste any time after it got the ball right back following a South fumble. On the very next play, Lacey found Cesaro in stride on a looping 34-yard touchdown pass to push the Tornado’s lead to 21-0. In his return to the field after missing the last two games following being taken off on a stretcher against Roseburg on Oct. 7, Lacey had one of his best games of the season, going 14-of-21 for 202 yards and three touchdowns. “Of course I was a little rusty coming back, but I was just trusting my teammates to make plays for me, trusting Connor to make plays for me,” said Lacey. “I believe he’s one of the best receivers in the state, and I was just trusting him to do it. I can’t do it without my teammates.” “I can’t really express it ... it was emotional, but I’m just happy I got to be back with my teammates,” added Lacey. “It’s South vs. North, it’s the best rivalry in the state. I’m just happy to be back.” All three of those touchdown passes went to the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Cesaro, who finished with eight catches (one shy of tying a Black and Blue Bowl record) for 133 yards. North played much of the game without star tight end AJ Pugliano, who injured his knee fighting for extra yards on his lone catch of the night in the first quarter. Chin said that AJ Pugliano, who committed to the University of Oregon on Monday, will have to undergo tests before they know the extent of the injury. “I think he’s doing OK,” said Chin. “In the preliminary, we hope he’s fine.” It was a different kind of story for the short-handed Panthers on offense, who at one point in the fourth quarter had as many punts (7) as they did first downs. Senior quarterback Deacon Edgar was just 1-for-14 for 13 yards in the first half and found himself scrambling on a good portion of his dropbacks on the night. Edgar, who rushed for 44 yards on 10 carries, finished 8-of-26 for 92 yards and an interception, a one-handed grab by North’s DeAndre Card in the second quarter. South senior receiver Andrew Walker didn’t record his first catch of the night until 3 1/2 minutes into the third quarter. He finished with four catches for 45 yards. As a team, South rushed for just 48 yards on 24 attempts. “We were missing a lot of parts ... five starters,” said South Medford head coach Bill Singler. “It’s not easy to replace that in high school. ... We just couldn’t protect and (North) had a great scheme tonight. We weren’t up to the task.” Ty Pugliano added a short touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter, while an Alexander Angulo 16-yard TD run capped the scoring. Angulo rushed for 75 yards on seven carries. “Ty Pug, Diggy, they had some great runs,” said Cesaro. “Our O-line was blocking and Caiden had some great throws. Our coaching and our players stepped up big-time.” North Medford071414—35 South Medford0000—0 NM — Cesaro 12 pass from Lacey (Knobloch-Scott kick) NM — Cesaro 20 pass from Lacey (Knobloch-Scott kick) NM — Cesaro 34 pass from Lacey (Knobloch-Scott kick) NM — T. Pugliano 1 run (Knobloch-Scott kick) NM — Angulo 16 run (Knobloch-Scott kick) Reach reporter Danny Penza at 541-776-4469 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @penzatopaper. North Medford quarterback Caiden Lacey looks to pass the ball to teammate Connor Cesaro against South Medford at Spiegelberg Stadium on Friday. PHOTO BY: LARRY STAUTH JR North Medford receiver Connor Cesaro scores the first of his three touchdowns against South Medford at Spiegelberg Stadium on Friday. PHOTO BY: LARRY STAUTH JR South Medford running back Ryder Scheid tries to cut upfield for positive yardage against North Medford at Spiegelberg Stadium on Friday. PHOTO BY: LARRY STAUTH JR North Medford's Alexander Angulo (2) attempts to wrap up South Medford quarterback Deacon Edgar at Spiegelberg Stadium on Friday. PHOTO BY: LARRY STAUTH JR North Medford defensive back DeAndre Card stretches out to grab an Interception against South Medford at Spiegelberg Stadium on Friday. PHOTO BY: LARRY STAUTH JR North Medford’s Kellen Thomey fights through South Medford defenders at Spiegelberg Stadium on Friday. PHOTO BY: LARRY STAUTH JR North Medford defensive lineman Easton Abbott wraps up South Medford quarterback Deacon Edgar at Spiegelberg Stadium on Friday. PHOTO BY: LARRY STAUTH JR North Medford running back Ty Pugliano fights through South Medford defenders at Spiegelberg Stadium on Friday. PHOTO BY: LARRY STAUTH JR