Varsity 541

PREP FOOTBALL

South Medford looks to get back to winning ways

Panthers open playoffs at Oregon City; North Medford travels to No. 3 Canby

Mail Tribune
November 13, 2009

The past two weeks haven't exactly been too nice for the South Medford football team, so the Class 6A state playoffs couldn't have come at a better time.

The Panthers went from being ranked No. 3 in the state to the No. 3 seed out of the Southwest Conference in that same span, but that doesn't mean they feel like they're reeling heading into tonight's playoff opener at Oregon City. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

"We just kinda lost our swagger," says South Medford quarterback Josh Milhollin. "We played three very emotional games in Grants Pass, North Medford and South Eugene and all of those games came down to the wire. It's hard for a team to keep that intensity and emotion up. But it's the playoffs now and a new season. We get to create our own destiny now."

In tonight's other playoff games involving local 6A and 5A teams, North Medford is at Canby and Ashland plays host to Wilsonville.

Although last Friday's final score wouldn't provide insight, the Panthers (6-3, 3-2 SWC) were relatively pleased with how they were able to find a spark against top-ranked Sheldon following a 48-7 loss at Roseburg two weeks ago. South only trailed Sheldon 28-14 with seven minutes to go in the third quarter before the Irish surged to a 63-14 victory.

"Sheldon just put it into another gear and we can't put it in another gear like Sheldon," says South Medford coach Bill Singler. "That's the best team I've played in the 12 years I've been here. They've got it all."

Even though a short memory is always nice to have in any sport, senior defensive end Brett Wallan says the Panthers can't completely bury their recent outings.

"Any time a team puts up 63 points on you, it doesn't matter who it is, you've got to put that into motivation to go smash the next team," he says. "Losing by 41 the week before and 49 last week, that's a rough deal, but I think we're going to go into this game with more confidence than a lot of people think we're going to have. Oregon City's a smashmouth team, but I think we're ready for it this week."

Leading to that confidence is the fact that South Medford has already played seven playoff qualifiers among their nine opponents, posting a 4-3 record. Two of those wins came against league champions Lake Oswego and West Salem, and another against PIL runner-up Lincoln.

"We know how to win and know how to compete," says Singler, whose teams have advanced to the playoffs in seven of the last eight years. "We've just got to go up there, get off to a good start and get back to the brass tacks of football and worry about who we are and not who someone else is."

That someone else tonight is an Oregon City team that finished third in the Three Rivers League behind Lake Oswego and West Linn and is making its third straight trip to the state playoffs after a four-year layoff. Tonight's contest will be the Pioneers' first playoff game on their home turf in 13 years.

"They're a really, really solid group of football players," Oregon City coach Dane Iverson says of his team. "They're excited to have a home playoff game and just want to keep playing."

The sophomore-heavy Pioneers (4-5, 4-2 TRL) lost their first three games before rallying during the conference season. Oregon City has had to deal with its share of adversity this season, losing inside linebacker Austin Smith and outside linebacker Luke Morris to anterior cruciate ligament injuries midway through the season. Although he was lost in the fifth game of the year, Smith continued to lead the team in tackles until overtaken in the eighth week by outside linebacker Anthony Rhemrev-Field.

The Pioneers also learned Thursday that they will be without leading running back Thomas Coyle for the rest of the season after a bone scan revealed a stress fracture. Coyle had run for 1,149 yards and 11 touchdowns before missing last week's game against the Lakers.

"It's been tough," Iverson says of losing Coyle. "He's one of those really, really emotional guys in a real positive way. That probably hurts us even more than his football abilities."

The 5-foot-7, 171-pound Rhemrev-Field took his place last week and rushed for 114 yards and one score on 19 carries, while fullback Jean-Claude Guadiz (5-6, 205) scored on a 24-yard run to help the Pioneers rack of 220 yards on the ground overall.

Rhemrev-Field has rushed for 400 yards and Guadiz another 150 as complements to Coyle. Senior quarterback Zach Roberts has also been a key factor for the Pioneers, completing 75 of 114 passes for about 1,200 yards and 12 TDs.

Oregon City also utilizes a two tight end set that features seniors Taylor Meyrick (6-5, 276) and Josh Walker (6-5, 202), who took over for Smith after his injury.

"They're a multi-dimensional team on offense," says Singler. "They have a lot of different looks you've got to prepare for."

Iverson says a key for his team will be in keeping the Pioneers' offense on the field. Last week, Oregon City opened the second half with a 16-play drive that lasted most of the third quarter. That drive included a pair of fourth-down conversions, including a 17-yard TD pass from Roberts to Charlie Poppen.

"We just need to get first downs and sustain our drives," Iverson says of the key for his team. "Our goal is to have 10- and 12-play drives each quarter. We have not played very well defensively and if we're going to have any success at all, that's keeping South's offense off the field."

Oregon City also features placekicker Taylor Belmont, who was a guard for the Pioneers' state champion girls basketball team last season. The former Punt, Pass & Kick regional champion also plays goalkeeper on Oregon City's soccer team and is an all-league infielder in softball. She set a career best last week with a 37-yard field goal against Lake Oswego.

The Panthers average 311 yards of total offense but are allowing 313 yards per game. Milhollin says the foot injury he sustained early against Roseburg has become more manageable, which is good news to South fans because he'll need to raise his level of play for the Panthers to have a shot in the postseason. Milhollin has completed 127 of 211 passes for 1,656 yards, with 16 TDs and only three interceptions.

Defensively, the Panthers expect to get key inside linebacker Nathan Thornton back for tonight's game.

Mario Sainez and Kevin Gilmore are averaging 4 and 5 yards per carry, respectively, while Allen Fitzsimmons is fourth in the SWC with 600 receiving yards on 40 catches.

NORTH MEDFORD AT CANBY — Pacific Conference champion Canby (8-1, 5-0) boasts a deceptive wing-T offense that has shown an ability to hurt teams through the air as much as the ground thus far.

Led by senior quarterback Josh Yoder, the third-ranked Cougars are averaging almost 37 points per game. Yoder completed 18 of 21 passes for 275 yards and three scores in a 41-26 win over Tualatin, then showed off his running skills with an 83-yard TD run and 215 more yards passing against Tigard two weeks ago.

Canby fullback Bryan Takano added an 84-yard TD run against Tigard, finishing with 130 yards on seven carries. Adam Bell also returned an onside kick for a score against the Tigers and hauled in five passes for 114 yards. Seniors Ryan Wall and Cody Smith have also been big playmakers for the Cougars.

"They're certainly well-deserving of their state ranking and conference champions for a reason," says North Medford coach Jeff Olson. "They deal with a lot of misdirections but one of the things that makes them even more dangerous is their ability to throw the football."

Hurting the Black Tornado's cause will be the loss of senior cornerback Steven Petersen, who was among the state leaders with six interceptions before suffering a complete break of his clavicle on the opening kickoff last Friday. Safety Cory Haggans will also be a game-time decision after suffering a chest injury against Roseburg, but North expects to get the services of Colin Sowers back to help strengthen the linebacker corps and the running game.

"They've been a really gutsy team all year in the way they've dealt with adversity," Olson says of his team. "We've dealt with it quite a bit and bounced back every week. We have no choice, other kids have to step up."

North Medford quarterback Brian Reese has shouldered the load on offense, completing 135 of 223 passes for 1,664 yards. He's thrown 13 touchdowns but has been intercepted 10 times.

The Black Tornado is making its first appearance in the state playoffs since 2005 — and first under Olson — but dealing with a tough SWC slate has given the No. 4-seeded team confidence heading into tonight's game.

"We've seen some good teams and we've competed with them," says Haggans. "We have one of the top defenses in our conference and that always helps you when you have that in the back of your head."

Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail khenry@mailtribune.com