Second half surge before half helps Ireland separate in battle for league leaders
North Medford proved early on that it was certainly not a pushover on Friday night in a South/Central Football Conference co-leader’s battle against Sheldon.
But for the first loss of the season to apply to the top-ranked Irish, Black Tornado head coach Nathan Chin knew his team would have to be near-perfect at Spiegelberg Stadium.
Unfortunately for Chin and company, North Medford’s second-quarter scoring drive stalled at Sheldon’s 1-yard line, followed by an interception and fumble later in the quarter, so Ireland scored twice in the space of seconds and closed the final. became 42-. 6 wins.
“It was just a mistake that eventually came to some degree of demise,” Chin said. “We didn’t run. That was a big key for us. We didn’t run to the end against a good team. It can’t be.”
Sheldon (7-0, 5-0 SCFC) opened the scoring with a 74-yard touchdown pass from Brock Thomas to Tatum Twiotey, but North Medford (4-3, 4-1) had the lead. I fought back with a patient and powerful drive.
Senior running back Ty Pugliano interrupted an 84-yard drive, spurred by two big connections from JT Knobloch-Scott to brother AJ Pugliano, on a 3-yard TD run after a blocked PAT. It’s now 7-6.
“It’s definitely the kind of start that we wanted and that’s the kind of physical that we wanted to play,” Chin said of an early response. I think we did well, we were able to put our hats on our hats and run the ball and get behind people. completed well and our guys did a good job making runs after the catch.”
Sheldon immediately hit back with a 56-yard TD reception by Zach McEwen, and North hit the same landslide that took South Medford a week earlier when a botched kickoff sent Ireland quickly into the red zone. He seemed to have a hard time seeing
Thankfully, senior defensive back DeAndre Card perfectly read a trick pass by receiver (and backup QB) Cade Welch, stepped in front of Thomas for an interception, and returned to Sheldon territory.
Ty Pugliano tucked behind penalty blocks from Connor Trinca and Terrell Kim on the left to put North down to Sheldon 1, only for North to score a fourth and -goal.
Both teams’ defenses carried over in the ensuing couple series, but an interception by Nikko Clem on a pass that was too high towards AJ Priano energized Sheldon and gave the Irish 64 yards capped at one. The TD run by Thomas responded with a drive of 21-6 with 47.6 seconds remaining in the first half.
On North’s next play from scrimmage, the snap past a still unprepared Knoblock Scott, Sheldon recovered just outside the Tornado goal line. Merriman picked up the momentum from there to go 28-6 on the next play.
“You can’t give an explosive team in the offensive shortfield,” Chin said. “We needed to be able to score when we got to the goal line and we went for the goal on 4th down. We didn’t, so when we threw the pick and fiddled with the snap, they scored 14 points, which actually turned into a 21-point swing.”
That swing deflated a bit from North’s sail into the locker room.
“Recovering is hard,” Chin said. to get back there. “
An interception by Mana Tuioti on the first drive of the third quarter led to a 17-yard TD pass by Thomas, who later added a 43-yard score to his brother for the final tally.
Knobloch-Scott had 107 yards on 12 of 22 passes and two interceptions, AJ Pugliano had 49 yards on 5 passes and Ty Pugliano had 56 yards on 13 runs, but the second half I wasn’t feeling well and didn’t play offense. Alexander Angulo picked up where he left off for 39 yards on 11 carries and 29 yards on three catches.
“Regardless of which side of the ball, the guys up front did a really, really good job putting the quarterback under pressure and blocking,” Chin said. “It’s fun to watch.” And we have to develop it further.”
“I am proud of the children who fought and fought,” he added. “This is definitely not the result we wanted, but I think we can learn and learn a few things from here. should be utilized for
Thomas went 19-for-33 for 357 yards and Tatum Tuioti caught four balls for 142 yards.
Sheldon 1414140—42
North Medford 6000—6
S — 74 passes from T. Tuioti Thomas (Graziano kick)
NM — T. Pugliano 3 runs (kick block)
S — 56 passes from Z. McEwen Thomas (Graziano kick)
S — Thomas 1 run (Graziano kick)
S — Merriman 1 run (Graziano kick)
S — 17 passes from Peters Thomas (Graziano kick)
S — 43 passes from T. Tuioti Thomas (Graziano kick)
Have an idea for a story?Sports Editor Chris Henley can be reached at phone number 541-776-4488, khenry@rosebudmedia.com or via Twitter @Kris_Henry
Photo by Denise Barrata. His AJ Priano of North Medford Jr. will face Sheldon in the first quarter.
Photo by Denise Barrata. North Medford’s senior running his back Ty Pugliano makes his way to the end his zone against Sheldon.
Photo by Denise Barrata. Sheldon’s Brock Thomas was cornered and incomplete to avoid a sack by North Medford’s AJ Prigliano.
Photo by Denise Barrata. His JT Knobloch-Scott for North passes a completion early in the first quarter against Sheldon.
Photo by Denise Barrata. North Medford defenders Jeremiah Robins (9) and Ty Carpenter (1) drive Sheldon quarterback Brock He Thomas out of bounds on the North Medford sidelines.
Photo by Denise Barrata.North Medford’s DeAndre Card flew over Sheldon’s ball carrier Luke Leighton after being knocked short of the goal line by Antonio Martinez
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