Varsity 541

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Black Tornado begins season with bang

North Medford scores four first-half TDs and allows only seven first downs

for The Mail-Tribune
September 12, 2009

TROUTDALE — North Medford made quick work of its first opponent in the 2009 season by dismantling Reynolds, 35-0, in a game that was all but over at halftime.

The Black Tornado set the tone on its first offensive play of the night when quarterback Brian Reese hit Cory Haggans in stride on a slant pattern toward the middle of the field. Reynolds linebacker Daniel Walsh was the only green jersey in the area, but his diving attempt came up only with shoelaces as Haggans broke loose for an 83-yard touchdown.

"Brian made a nice pass, and I just had to keep my feet and get to the end zone," Haggans said. "It was a great way to start the game."

North Medford nearly broke open another big play on its next snap when running back Colin Sowers took the handoff and appeared as if he had been dipped into a bottle of invisible ink. He dodged half the Raiders' team before running out of space along the sideline. Rather than step out of bounds, Sowers cut back across the width of the field, pushing down a pair of tacklers on his journey, which finally ended inside the 15.

A holding penalty brought the play back to midfield, but Sowers and the Black Tornado found paydirt several plays later on a 6-yard surge through the middle.

North Medford had a 14-0 lead as some of the home crowd was still searching for their seats.

The Black Tornado extended the margin to 28-0 by halftime after senior Derek Major intercepted a pass at midfield and jumped over a tackler before making his way through a narrow alley toward the end zone. That gap along the sideline began to close when Major hit the 5-yard line and went airborne to beat a pair of Raiders over the goal line.

The leap drew an unsportsmanlike flag from the officials that had the North Medford coaching staff looking for an explanation.

"I got some good blocks down the sideline, but I saw a couple more coming after me and I thought I might get tackled," Major said.

North Medford used its ground game to drain the clock in the second half, adding its only points after the break on a 62-yard interception return by Steven Petersen.

The Tornado defense dominated the game, finishing with four sacks and trapping runners behind the line numerous other times. Reynolds managed only seven first downs, and five of those came in a meaningless fourth quarter.

Reese completed 14 of 20 passes for 307 yards.