Indians get a rush in victory over South Eugene

EUGENE — The Roseburg Indians executed their game plan and were rewarded with an important Southwest Conference football win on the road Friday night.

Sophomore fullback Lucas Corder scored three touchdowns as the Tribe employed some ball control to defeat South Eugene 24-21, improving to 4-3 on the season and 2-1 in the SWC. Roseburg has all but clinched a Class 6A state playoff berth, since the Axemen and North Medford are both 0-3 in the conference.

“It was a big win for this bunch,” said Roseburg coach Thurman Bell. “The kids came to compete, and played with a lot of heart and emotion. I’m very pleased.”

The Indians ran the option with success, finishing with 163 yards rushing. They ran 21 more offensive plays than the Axemen, who turned the ball over three times and committed seven penalties for 85 yards.

Senior Jordan Radford had Roseburg’s first 100-yard rushing game of the season, gaining 103 yards on 28 carries. Corder added 41 yards on 10 attempts, including touchdown runs of 2 and 20 yards.

Bell praised the play of the offensive line, consisting of center Bradlee Stone, guards Seth Melvin and Jordan Guthrie, tackles Brady Whitman and Jason Bennett, and tight end A.J. Royal.

“Our plan was to eat up some time and keep the football, and we were having success,” Bell said. “We dominated the clock and those kids up front did a really good job.

“Lucas Corder is one of our young kids who are improving every week. Physically, he has it and gave us that inside punch we need. He had quite a night.”

Corder also caught a 3-yard TD pass from Jake Johnson with 4:05 remaining in the third quarter. Corder’s 20-yard TD run and a point-after kick by Lucas Walker gave the Indians a 24-13 advantage with 2:37 left in the contest.

South Eugene answered with a scoring drive, with Justin Goode catching a 19-yard pass from Dustin Haines with 1:11 to go. Haines connected with Lokombo for a two-point conversion, making it 24-21.

The Axemen attempted an onside kick, but Roseburg’s Derek Priestley recovered. Johnson took a knee and ran out the clock.

Whitman, an end, and inside linebacker Joe Hennricks led the defensive effort with seven tackles apiece. Strong safety Tony Castro made a pair of interceptions and Whitman recovered a fumble for the Tribe.

“It was the best defensive game we’ve had all year,” Bell said. “We played solid across the board.”

Johnson completed 9-of-14 passes for 115 yards and Gideon Sharp caught three balls for 72 yards.
“Penalties killed us tonight,” said South Eugene coach Travis Johnson. “That’s discipline, and we’ve been doing it all season.”

Roseburg will host South Medford next Friday. The Panthers handed No. 5 Grants Pass its first loss of the season Friday, winning 44-22 at Spiegelberg Stadium.

Roseburg 7 3 7 7 — 24
S. Eugene 0 7 0 14 — 21

1st: R — Corder 2 run (Walker kick). 2nd: R — Walker 27 field goal; SE — Lokombo 6 run (Labrada kick). 3rd: R — Corder 3 pass from Johnson (Walker kick). 4th: SE — Coleman 56 pass from Haines (kick blocked); R — Corder 20 run (Walker kick); SE — Goode 19 pass from Haines (Lokombo pass from Haines).

Rose. S.E.

First Downs 12 6

Total Net Yards 278 305

Rushes-Yards 48-163 20-121

Passing Yards 115 184

Comp-Att-Int 9-14-0 14-21-2

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1

Punts-Avg. 2-37.5 3-32.0

Penalties-Yards 5-35 7-85

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Roseburg, Radford 28-103; Corder 10-41; Johnson 10-19. South Eugene, Sullivan 7-84; Lokombo 6-32; Lapite 3-9; Haines 4-(-4).

PASSING — Roseburg, Johnson 9-14-0, 115. South Eugene, Haines 14-21-2, 184.

RECEIVING — Roseburg, Sharp 3-72; Corder 2-19; Royal 1-14; Davis 1-3; Priestley 1-5; Castro 1-2. South Eugene, Coleman 5-107; Lokombo 3-35; Sullivan 3-15; Goode 2-32; Greenwood 1-4.

TACKLES (leaders) — Roseburg, Whitman 7; Hennricks 7; Guthrie 6; Priestley 6; Weaver 5; Sharp 5; Castro 4; Bennett 4.