Efficient Irish run down Tornado.

Byline: Adam Jude The Register-Guard

The way their defense is playing of late, it might not matter who is playing quarterback for the Sheldon Irish these days.

But it certainly doesn't hurt that sophomore Jordan Johnson is settling in as Sheldon's next great signal-caller.

The sixth-ranked Irish limited North Medford to just 41 second-half yards and Johnson accounted for three touchdowns and 278 yards in an efficient 38-10 Southwest Conference football victory Friday night at Sheldon.

And the beat goes on for Sheldon (7-1, 3-0 SWC), which won its 54th consecutive conference game and moved into sole possession of first place after Grants Pass lost to South Medford.

"It wasn't flawless," Sheldon coach Marty Johnson said, "but we're getting better, and that's the important thing at this point in the season."

Jordan Johnson, the coach's son, completed 10-of-15 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran for 112 yards and a touchdown as the Irish totaled 436 yards. North Medford (2-5, 0-3) finished with 187 yards total.

Sheldon senior Zach Todd rushed for 128 yards on 21 carries, including a 39-yard scoring run midway through the first quarter.

Sheldon began its next possession at its own 1-yard line, setting Jordan Johnson up for perhaps the defining drive of his young career. After two plays netted no yards, Johnson dropped back deep in the end zone and threw a 19-yard strike to Tyler Martell for a first down.

Todd was then stopped for a nine-yard loss before Johnson put together a run of 36 yards, a pass to Curtis White for 49 yards and a one-yard TD run, giving him 105 yards on that one drive.

"Every week I'm just getting more and more comfortable playing the game at the varsity level," said Johnson, who split time at quarterback early in the season before taking over as the full-time starter before conference play began. "I just trust the offensive line that they'll protect me."

The Black Tornado cut it to 14-7 when backup quarterback Matt Maurer completed his only pass attempt of the game for a 20-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Silafau.

Brandon Baker scored on a two-yard run to give the Irish a 21-7 lead, but North Medford's Alex Russell kicked a 38-yard field goal as the first half ended to cut the lead to 21-10.

That proved plenty of motivation for the Irish defense heading into the locker room.

"The first half we started off real slow - everyone could see that," said Todd, a starting defensive back. "We knew we had to step up in the second half. This was our last game on this field as seniors."

You can't argue with the second-half results: 41 yards for North Medford and only one first down, which came on the first play of the third quarter. What followed for the Black Tornado were five punts and one failed fourth down in six second-half possessions.

Johnson added a two-yard TD pass to White and a nine-yard pass to Matt Carman to round out the scoring for the Irish.