North Medford senior tight end A.J. Pugliano dives in for a score against Grants Pass Friday evening at Spiegelberg Stadium.

Over and over, the message remains the same from North Medford football coach Nathan Chin.

Focus on the week at hand and devote all your energies toward that game plan, and good things will come of it once all is said and done.

Rarely is that concept more important than when you enter a game as a prohibitive favorite, as the Black Tornado did a week ago against Grants Pass and most certainly will do again Friday night when they travel to play Roseburg in South/Central Football Conference action.

Ninth-ranked North Medford (4-1, 3-0 SCFC) is seeking its fifth straight victory after a season-opening loss to Tigard, while Roseburg (1-4, 0-3) finds itself in the midst of a four-game losing streak.

“That’s the narrative and I’ve been preaching this since I got here,” said Chin. “These kids are hearing this same message going on three years, to really focus on a week-by-week basis and the process through the week of preparation. These kids are really buying into that and they’re doing a great job with it. It’s fun to see them see the benefits coming out of that come Friday nights.”

A week ago, the Black Tornado recorded its second 41-0 win of the season and lowered already impressive team defense numbers in shutting out the Cavemen. North enters Friday’s game allowing only 99 yards on the ground and 173 overall, and has held teams to an average of 12 points per game.

Overshadowed a bit by the frenzied pass rushers the Black Tornado has at its disposal has been junior safety Tate Snyder, who now boasts five interceptions and finds himself among the Class 6A state leaders in that category.

“Tate does a good job back there kind of playing that high safety,” said Chin. “He has great instincts as far as reading what the quarterback is doing. There’s only a handful of kids who have five picks on the season, so he’s right up there with them.”

The focus of Roseburg’s offense stands behind the running of senior all-conference returner Cayden Eckel, who has rushed 51 times for 271 yards.

Junior quarterback Owen Bentea has also shown flashes of positive growth in the backfield for the Indians, completing 48 of 90 passes for 483 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions. Kaden Austin leads the receiving corps with 20 catches for 226 yards, while Brody Robinson has pulled in three TDs.

Turnovers doomed Roseburg a week ago against Sheldon, when the Irish capitalized on four turnovers to carry a 43-6 advantage into halftime.

“They’re a talented group,” said Chin. “They play hard defensively and they mix it up and they run to the football, and that always makes for challenges when you’re going against a defense that plays like that.”

“Offensively, they’ve got Eckler and I think the quarterback is doing a nice job and they’ve got kids on the edges that can do some damage. We’ve got to play disciplined football.”

North Medford sophomore Traeger Healy came into his own a little last week by playing a role in four touchdowns and that continued development is vital given the level of playmakers and time to deliver he has supporting him on offense.

Healy has now completed 73% of his passes (78-for-107) for 1,105 yards with 12 TDs and only two interceptions. He has been vastly helped by a top-4 receiving corps of A.J. Pugliano, Connor Cesaro, Tony Martinez and Nolan Kelly that boasts a combined average of 14.7 yards per catch.

“The more snaps he gets, the better he’s going to get,” Chin said of Healy. “He has the ability, and him continuing to work and get the experience every single week is critical. He has a crew of guys around him — whether it’s the offensive line protecting him or if it’s a skill guy on the edge or the run game — if you can find and have that balance for a young quarterback, it’s critical. And then with him being mature enough to handle the tough situations, there’s a lot of positives that can come out of that. Now the goal is to continue to be able to move forward with that.”

Pugliano has 28 receptions for 388 yards and seven TDs, while Cesaro has pulled in 22 passes for 279 yards and two scores. Martinez and Kelly have specialized in big-play efforts, with the duo combining for 318 yards and three scores on only 17 catches.

In the backfield, Landyn Meeker continues to gain confidence alongside Healy and is up to 329 yards and four TDs on 55 carries, while Jeremiah Robbins provides a steady complement at 294 yards and five scores on 42 carries.