Panthers win defensive battle

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VANCOUVER, Wash. — South Medford has a reputation for a high-octane offense. But the Panthers had to rely on their defense against a difficult out-of-state opponent Friday.

Patrick Thibeault scored two touchdowns and rushed for over 100 yards as South defeated Evergreen High of Vancouver, Wash., 17-0.

"Both offenses were not very sharp by any stretch of the imagination," said South Medford coach Bill Singler. "Our defense was terrific. Our defense kept us in the game. They were tackling, breaking up passes and flying all over the field making plays and being physical."

The Panthers were missing several starters and numerous others were limited in playing time because of injuries suffered in a season-opening victory against West Salem last week.

Starting linebacker and fullback Sam McLaughlin was relegated to place kicking duty, and linebacker Daniel Kinney was out, while E.J. Singler played sparingly on offense.

"We were out of sync on offense from the get-go," said the Panthers' coach. "We have a lot of guys that are dinged up. That doesn't help with an inexperienced quarterback."

Thibeault's 1-yard run in the first quarter accounted for the only score in the first half.

Then a late fourth-quarter, 13-yard touchdown run by the senior halfback gave South a 17-0 lead. The final scoring drive was set up on an interception by Austin Randle near midfield.

Thibeault carried the load for the Panthers' offense by rushing for 124 yards on 34 carries. Junior quarterback Josh Millhollin, in only his second varsity start, struggled with a 6-for-26 passing performance for 66 yards.

"We had some good field position but could never take advantage of it," said coach Singler. "We basically went to a one-back offense and had Thibeault carry the ball. He ran pretty well considering. They have some quick defensive linemen. They put a lot of pressure on our quarterback with blitzes."

The South defense was bolstered by the performances of lineman Riley Jackson, linebacker Jordan Lundgren and defensive backs Josh Havird and Cameron Kynard.

"This is the best defense I've had at South," said coach Singler, in his 11th year. "Evergreen is no slouch. They have athletes.

"Sometimes in a game, especially on the road playing a good football team, you have to go with the flow of the game," he added. "We just didn't want to turn the ball over and put our defense in a bad position. It tested our mental toughness. We found a way to win when in the past we might have lost this game."

South Medford 7 0 3 7 —17

Evergreen 0 0 0 0 —0

SM — Thibeault 1 run (McLaughlin kick)

SM — FG McLaughlin 24

SM — Thibeault 13 run (McLaughlin kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

South Medford — Thibeault 34-124.

Evergreen — Monk 11-75

PASSING

South Medford — Milhollin 6-26-0 66, Fitzsimmons 0-1-0 0.

Evergreen — Searcy 8-18-1-48; Thomas 5-15-1 48.

RECEIVING

South Medford — Thibeault 3-40, M. Singler 1-16, Sainez 1-8, Kline 1-2.

Evergreen — Monk 4-8, Smith 3-52, Hudson 3-22, Venable 2-17, Briggs 1-0

GRANTS PASS 48, CENTENNIAL 7 — At Gresham, Grants Pass rolled up 273 yards on the ground — including three rushing touchdowns from Criss Bowen — en route to the nonconference victory.

Bowen accumulated 136 yards on 13 carries for the Cavemen (2-0) and reeled off TD runs of 7, 27 and 46 yards. Jordy Romick amassed 123 yards on just six attempts thanks to a 68-yard scamper into the end zone.

Grants Pass 21 7 6 14 —48

Centennial 0 7 0 0 —7

GP — Fields 83 pass from Romick (Keefe kick)

GP — Bowen 7 run (Keefe kick)

GP — Bowen 27 run (Keefe kick)

GP — Tardieu 85 interception return (Keefe kick)

C — Thames 28 run (Miller kick)

GP — Bowen 46 run (run failed)

GP — Romick 68 run (Keefe kick)

GP — Reed recovered fumble in end zone (Keefe kick)

MCNARY 28, ROSEBURG 0 — At Roseburg, McNary's defense pressured Roseburg's backfield all night and the Celtics were efficient on offense to get the victory.

McNary 14 7 0 7 —28

Roseburg 0 0 0 0 —0

M — Austria 11 pass from Keffel (Keffel kick)

M — Boyd 92 pass from Keffel (Keffel kick)

M — Kuffen 68 run (Keffel kick)

M — Anderson 10 run (Keffel run)

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