|
Heil a big catch for South The standout basketball player is one of the best receivers in the state heading into tonight's showdown with North Medford By Don Hunt Fall practice was just a couple days away and South Medford High senior Ryan Heil still hadn't decided whether or not to play football. An all-conference point guard in basketball, Heil hadn't been on the gridiron in three years. He worried about getting hurt. He questioned how much of a contribution he could make after being gone for so long. He wondered how the rest of the football players would accept someone who had left the sport when times were tough. Heil huddled with Panthers basketball coach Dennis Murphy to get his opinion. Go for it, Murphy said. It was one of the best decisions Heil has ever made. Eight weeks into the season, the standout wideout has put up some staggering statistics: 42 catches, 845 yards and a state-best 15 receiving touchdowns. He's also having the time of his life as the seventh-ranked Panthers prepare to meet cross-town rival North Medford Friday night at Spiegelberg Stadium. "If I would have known how much fun this was going to be, my decision to play would have been a lot easier back in August," Heil says. "I just never understood how much of a thrill it is to run out of the tunnel in this stadium and play under the lights. "Basketball's a rush, but the atmosphere in football is awesome. It's like you're playing in a state playoff game every week." Heil's spectacular play has confounded conventional wisdom, which says a person can't lay off a sport for three years and then tear it up upon his return. South Medford coach Bill Singler, an all-state wide receiver for Medford High in 1969-70 who went on to earn all-Pac-10 Conference honors at Stanford, is as thunderstruck as anyone. "I expected him to contribute and be a quality player because he's got talent and athleticism, but I certainly didn't think it would come this easily for him," Singler says. "I mean, shoot, the kid had to learn how to run routes, how to take a hit, how to shield a defensive back from the ball, how to block and all the other stuff receivers do. "For him to have 15 touchdowns and be closing in on 1,000 yards in eight games - that's mind-blowing." Prior to this fall, Heil hadn't played receiver since he was an eighth-grader at Hedrick Middle School. He played some quarterback that year and then took snaps full time when he was a freshman at South. But at 5-foot-10 and 142 pounds, Heil was as frail as a pretzel. Basketball had always been his favorite sport and he knew he had a chance to break into the starting lineup as a sophomore. He didn't want a football injury to get in the way. "I was pretty wimpy back then," says Heil, who has since grown to 6-1 and 165 pounds. Ever since Heil hung up his football jersey, Panthers quarterback Boomer Marshall has been on him to come back out. The two have been best friends since elementary school, when they ruled the flag football, AAU basketball and Little League baseball leagues while playing on the same teams. They also spent several years serving as ball boys for the South High football team. "Boomer never gave up on me," Heil says. "He kept telling me how much fun I was missing out on." Singler was also persistent in pursuing Heil, telling him he had a jersey number saved whenever he decided to turn out. Heil wasted little time in making an impact for the Panthers this fall. He caught three passes for 48 yards and one touchdown in the team's season-opening, 43-19 victory over Del Norte, then exploded for eight catches, 181 yards and four TDs in a 44-2 romp over Redmond the following week. He's been humbling defensive backfields ever since, most recently making a pair of tough touchdown grabs last Friday in the Panthers' 48-27 victory over Grants Pass. Heil's superlative season is beginning to draw the attention of college football recruiters. He attended the Oregon State-Arizona game in Corvallis last month, compliments of the Beaver coaches. "I always thought that basketball would be my sport in college," Heil says, "but now I'm realizing it could be football. I'm going to keep my options open." Heil hasn't suffered any serious injury playing football this season - just a sprained middle finger on his left hand that required a splint. A joke going around the locker room these days is that maybe Heil shouldn't go out for basketball because an injury in that sport could jeopardize his football career. "We're waiting to spring that one on Murph," Heil says with a laugh. Murphy may not see Heil for quite some time, anyway. Thanks in large part to their star wideout, the Panthers are a good bet to qualify for the playoffs and stay on the football field for another few weeks. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail dhunt@mailtribune.com |
|
Mail
Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc.
| Dow
Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy
| Contact
Us |
