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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us November 5, 2005 Grizzlies end with a ‘W’ By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings CENTRAL POINT — Dylan Steeves rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns and Josh Cornelius caught a lob in the end zone at the end of the first half as the Ashland High football team capped its season with a 21-7 win over Crater, Friday night at Dutch Meyer Field. The Southern Oregon Conference victory snapped Ashland’s five-game losing streak dating back to a Sept. 30 loss to Roseburg. The Grizzlies finish 5-5 overall and 2-4 in league play. “To finish with a win and to have that positive vibe going into the offseason, our kids are going to be excited about coming back,” Ashland first-year head coach Charlie Hall said. “There’s a lot of work to be done, but we did a nice job. It’s the first non-losing season in four years or so, so we kind of stopped the bleeding a little bit.” Cornelius hauled in Sam Littleton’s 18-yard fade pass with nine seconds left in the first half to give the Grizzlies the halftime momentum and a 6-0 lead. Jaxon Williams’ point-after off the mud-caked turf made it 7-0. Steeves added a 16-yard touchdown run with 9:43 to go in the game before Crater (4-6, 1-5 SOC) finally got on the board on Callen Hartzer’s seven-yard TD scamper at the 6:35 mark. Steeves bulldozed through a tackle to give the Grizzlies a crucial first down on the ensuing drive, then broke the game open with a spectacular 46-yard score on a sweep around the left end. On the long TD, Steeves was bottled up five yards deep in Ashland’s backfield before streaking around the corner and scoring behind a powerful downfield block by Cornelius. “It’s my last game, so I’m going all out on every single play; there’s nothing stopping me,” Steeves said of the run. He credited Cornelius with key block. Ashland’s defense, led by Nick Fitzpatrick (10 tackles, one sack) and Ryan Pittman (four and a half tackles, two sacks), held Crater to 136 yards of total offense, including just 27 through the air. Crater quarterback Brian Theis completed 3-of-9 passes with an interception — by Steeves. The Grizzlies gained 231 yards of total offense — 177 rushing and 45 passing — as both teams struggled to execute in sloppy conditions. Ashland started the season with four consecutive wins, including a 46-42 stunner over North Medford that had the Grizzlies thinking playoffs. But Ashland’s postseason aspirations were thwarted with a series of second-half collapses, culminating with last week’s heartbreaking 31-28 loss to Klamath Union. While the win stopped Ashland’s skid, it also put a positive finishing touch on the Grizzlies’ affiliation with the SOC. The conference will be disbanded next season, with both Crater and Ashland playing in a new five-team conference at the Class 5A level. “We definitely slipped and it felt really good — we needed that for next season,” said Cornelius, one of 16 seniors on Ashland’s 52-player roster. “With the whole new rankings and the teams going to different slots, this really helped our underclassmen as far as letting them have another step up in the league.” DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams