Bill Singler, South Medford football

Coming off a runner-up showing in the Columbia Cup, South Medford will look to springboard from that 13-game experience into hopefully another extended run in the Class 6A state playoffs this fall.

The Panthers return a loaded and experienced backfield as well as several key components from a defense that pitched four shutouts a year ago.

“I really like our defense,” said South Medford head coach Bill Singler, who enters his 27th season at the helm. “We’re going to lean on them, especially early in the year. We’re going to have to wait for our offense to come together a little bit with our inexperience and new starters on the offensive line.”

“The expectations offensively right away are a little tempered,” he added. “We know what our identity is going to be in running the football, but we have to find who are going to be the guys that are going to be blocking up front, and it takes a little bit longer for lines to jell and come together.”

South Medford played 13 games last season for the first time since finishing as the 6A state runner-up to Clackamas in 2017. The makeup of each playoff run was vastly different considering last year was the second time the Oregon School Activities Association broke its state brackets into two tiers, with the top 16 teams making it into the championship bracket and the next 16 teams playing for the Columbia Cup.

Still, Singler said there was considerable value throughout the second-tier playoff run that hopefully will be helpful for the Panthers as they move into the upcoming campaign.

“It’s a great experience for the team, for the school, for the families and for coaches to keep coaching,” he said. “Whether you’re coaching seniors, juniors or sophomores, it doesn’t matter. Everybody’s getting some work in practice and getting in games in some shape or fashion.”

“I thought the Columbia Cup for us was a great experience, it’s where we belonged,” he added. “We didn’t belong in the top 16 playing for a state championship — we weren’t that caliber of a team — but I think it showed that we were a next tier team and that’s OK. There are very few teams in this state south of Portland that are going to compete for a state championship.”

As much as that has historically been the case, the OSAA and football coaches came together to tweak the state playoff format once again in the offseason, where the six 6A league champions and the next six highest ranked teams from the 28 qualifying teams will make up a 12-team open championship bracket.

The remaining 16 qualifying teams will be placed in the 6A championship bracket, which essentially replaces the Columbia Cup.

Only Sheldon and South Medford have reached a championship final outside of the Portland-area schools since the state went to six classifications in 2006. The last large-school team to win a state title south of Eugene was Ashland when it beat Roseburg in 1998.

“I’ll tell you what, until we beat those Portland teams, right now we’re just kind of on the next tier and on the outside looking in,” said Singler. “There are some really good Portland teams up there and a lot of them just reload each year. They have more of a population base, they’ve got more kids to choose from and a lot of them transfer around up there to different schools to find a spot.”

South Medford built its fortunes last year on a senior-dominant group of offensive linemen and a prolific rushing attack that saw three players run for at least 745 yards and four score at least eight rushing touchdowns.

Seniors Bridger Foss and Kameron Rague return from that group, which set a program record with 3,364 total yards rushing to finish ahead of the 1998 tally of 3,252 under Larry Walker, albeit in one more game played.

Foss carried 100 times for 867 yards and eight TDs and also led the team in receiving with 21 catches for 270 yards and four more scores. Rague rushed 105 times for 745 yards and eight TDs despite missing some time due to injury.

The Panthers also saw promising results from junior Wes Boyd last season, while junior Kellen Lefebvre and senior J.T. Dalton can also fit into the backfield mix.

“It’s exciting to have four or five backs that can all go in the game and play,” said Singler. “A lot of people would love to have the depth we have at running back, I know that.”

The other beauty of that RB corps is how much of a triple threat each can be in terms of running, receiving and blocking.

“For us in our offense, when you can have that kind of versatility it just gives you another dimension,” said Singler. “It forces a defense to have to cover a back out of the backfield, which sometimes is not easy to do.”

“I think they’re all very respectful of each other and what each can bring to the table,” he added. “We try to rotate them in there the best we can and give them all an opportunity.”

None of it will matter if the Panthers can’t get a push in the trenches.

“We have a good set of skill group guys returning, it’s just that we’re a little limited in experience with the line group,” said the coach. “We have a lot of seniors in the mix again, but all those kids played JV last year or they were backups on the varsity. When you have a veteran offensive line, it makes a world of difference. These guys kind of have to come of age pretty quickly.”

Another key position that requires a quick learning curve will be at quarterback, where junior Makana Brown takes over after making a spot start last year against Grants Pass. Brown did not throw a single pass in that contest but availed himself well by handling the pressure and making good decisions.

“He’s been working real hard this summer throwing the football and delivering the football,” said Singler, “but he gives us a dual-threat quarterback, which I think goes very well with what we want to do in our offense.”

Having an in-line tight end returning in senior Dasan Jackson also expects to help South Medford grind out yards when necessary.

A year ago, the Panthers passed for only 815 yards on 274 attempts and struggled to making much headway on downfield throws, although receiver Mike Duclos came on strong toward the end (12 catches, 150 yards) and fellow senior Ajani Ingram showed signs of his big-play potential with three TDs and 26 yards per reception.

“We just have to practice it more and trust it more and know that we have to take some chances in the throwing game to keep people a little more honest,” said Singler of the passing game.

Defensively, senior Grady McQuillan sets the tone with his quick, aggressive play at defensive end while junior Isa De La Torre headlines a host of athletic and explosive Panthers who will rotate in the trenches. Jacob Dalton will look to move from linebacker to defensive end to give South another playmaker on the edge.

The most experience rests in the secondary, where South Medford can turn to returning starters like Foss, Rague, Wyatt Jennings, Landon Westphalen, Duclos and Ingram.

At linebacker, Boyd, Jackson, Brown and J.T. Dalton each gained good experience last year as they rotated into the mix and junior Eric Toney could be a key factor on the inside.

“I think our defense has the ability to be a really physical and athletic defense,” said Singler, “and then has the skill in the secondary to spread out and cover some of those receivers in those spread offenses.”

PANTHERS

HEAD COACH

Bill Singler (27th year, 159-109)

GENERAL INFORMATION

ASSISTANTS: Jason Bauer (assistant head coach/running backs), Chris Parnell (defensive coordinator/defensive backs), Damian Jackson (offensive line), Mike Tejada (JV head coach/defensive coordinator), Matt Boudreaux (receivers), Freddie Taulani (linebackers), Sam Woods (defensive line), Skyler Gosson (defensive backs/receivers), Sean Johnston (freshman head coach), Dave Alonzo (freshman), Mike Johnston (freshman), Logan Emonds (freshman), Joey Martinez (freshman), David Read (freshman).

2023 LEAGUE RECORD: 4-3 (fifth, SCFC)

2023 OVERALL RECORD: 9-4.

2023 RESULTS

SOUTH MEDFORD OPPONENTS

42 Mountainside 28

24 Del Norte 6

35 McNary 0

21 South Salem 45

28 Sprague 19

0 Sheldon 27

33 Grants Pass 14

35 Roseburg 0

0 North Medford 10

Columbia Cup Playoffs

34 Jefferson 0

35 North Salem 0

51 Clackamas 33

21 Sunset 34

RETURNING STARTERS

OFFENSE (5): Running back Bridger Foss (5-10, 185, sr.), running back Kameron Rague (6-1, 200, sr.), receiver Ajani Ingram (5-9, 155, sr.), receiver Mike Duclos (6-1, 170, sr.), tight end Dasan Jackson (6-2, 195, sr.).

DEFENSE (7): Defensive end Grady McQuillan (6-1, 190, sr.), linebacker Jacob Dalton (6-0, 205, sr.), defensive back Wyatt Jennings (5-8, 160, sr.), defensive back Bridger Foss, defensive back Kameron Rague, defensive back Ajani Ingram, defensive back Mike Duclos.

OTHER NOTABLES

Quarterback/linebacker Makana Brown (6-1, 180, jr.), running back/linebacker J.T. Dalton (6-0, 200, sr.), running back/linebacker Wes Boyd (5-10, 200, jr.), receiver/defensive back Landon Westphalen (6-2, 155, sr.), lineman Isa De La Torre (5-11, 255, jr.), lineman Brody McHenry (5-11, 180, sr.), lineman Jesus Flores (5-7, 220, sr.), lineman Landon Hull (6-0, 220, sr.), lineman/placekicker Keegan Thonstad (6-3, 220, jr.), lineman Jedi Robertson (6-2, 260, jr.), lineman Andres Rojas-Cortez (6-3, 250, sr.), lineman Jonathan Hermant (6-2, 285, sr.), running back/defensive back Kellen Lefebvre (5-10, 170, jr.), quarterback Kohen Carpenter (5-8, 155, sr.), quarterback Tanner Scheid (6-0, 160, sr.), lineman Alex Diaz (6-2, 230, jr.), running back/linebacker Eric Toney (5-10, 185, jr.), receiver/defensive back Angel Cortes (5-7, 135, sr.), receiver/defensive back Sammy Huxtable (6-0, 175, jr.), receiver/defensive back Cade Siewert (6-2, 170, jr.).

2024 SCHEDULE

Aug. 30 at Lake Oswego, 7 p.m.

Sept. 6 at McNary, 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 NORTH SALEM, 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 at South Salem, 7 p.m.

Oct. 4 GRANTS PASS, 7 p.m.

Oct. 10 at Sprague, 7:15 p.m.

Oct. 18 SHELDON, 7 p.m.

Oct. 25 at West Salem, 7:15 p.m.

Nov. 1 NORTH MEDFORD, 7 p.m.