You couldn’t have blamed Reese Peden for forgetting what it felt like to score a touchdown.

Sidelined two-plus seasons with a shoulder separation, the speedy North Medford High tailback raced 88 yards for a touchdown on a kickoff return to open the second half of Friday’s game against Crater. With the Black Tornado already leading 28-7, the dazzling runback ruined any hopes of a Comets’ comeback as North Medford went on to a 41- 14 victory.

"I was excited for myself, but even more excited for my teammates because they threw me some great blocks," says Peden, an unpretentious senior. "No one even laid a hand on me."

Peden suffered a badly separated right shoulder on Oct. 31, 2002 — Halloween night — when he made a tackle during the North Medford-South Medford junior varsity game.

Peden had already played in the North-South freshman game that day and had experienced a couple of "stingers." But getting moved up to the JV game was a big deal, and so he said nothing to his coaches.

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"My doctor told me later that those stingers were warning signs," he says.

Peden, who was playing linebacker at the time, made one last tackle before his shoulder gave out.

After hurting it again during wrestling season — he was a state champion in middle school — Peden underwent surgery the following summer. He didn’t turn out for football again until this season, and, as luck would have it, suffered the same fate when his shoulder slammed to the ground during a scrimmage four days before the Tornado’s season-opener against Lakeridge.

However, the injury wasn’t as serious, and after getting fitted for a shoulder brace, he finally took the field in a game on Sept. 23 against Ashland. Peden didn’t see much action that night, but he rushed nine times for 45 yards against Crater in addition to running back kicks.

North Medford coach Rod Rumrey likes to use Peden as a change-of-pace back for Ryan Folsom — the SOC’s second- leading leading rusher with 559 yards — and is also employing some two-back sets with the hard-nosed Folsom lining up at fullback and Peden at tailback.

Peden is the fastest player on the team.

"Having them both back there at the same time adds some deception," Rumrey says. "You’re not able to just key on one guy."

Peden says his hi-tech brace, which cost $300, prevents him from raising his arm beyond a certain level and he’s confident it will keep him in one piece the rest of the season.

"It’s always in the back of my mind," he admits of a possible recurrence, "but that doesn’t stop me from going all-out on every play. I feel like I owe that to my teammates."