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--> --> Sept. 26: All eyes on Ashland's defense By Bobby Heiken Ashland Daily Tidings For three weeks now Ashland head football coach Jim Nagel has said he has spent the week of practice working on fundamentals with his defense. After giving up 342 yards on the ground to South Medford last Friday, the Grizzlies may never get off square one during practice. "It's pretty much more of the same," Nagel said. "It comes down to a couple things. First somehow we have gotten into some bad habits and second we are not physically strong enough. We can't do anything now about being strong enough, that should have been taken care of in the offseason. But we can try to break the habits and improve our technique." Ashland (1-2, 0-1 Southern Oregon Conference) will host Klamath Union (2-1, 1-0) Friday night, with the Grizz in desperate need of a pickup after last week's 38-7 trouncing by the Panthers. The Pelicans kicked off the SOC season with a 28-13 victory over Eagle Point last Friday and are playing with a new-found confidence - and a new offense. Head coach Wayne Amos has brought in the fly offense - make famous in the Northwest by Willamette University - and has been putting up impressive numbers on the ground. In the past three games, the Pelicans have gained 722 yards on the ground, a figure that ranks second in the SOC. Senior Brad Mejia is third in the SOC with 371 yards rushing. His 53 points leads the SOC. Ashland meanwhile has given up 950 yards rushing in three games. "They've got some big play guys," Nagel said. "With the fly offense you've got certain assignments. And if you don't get your assignment, you are in trouble." KU also brings a stingy defense to the matchup. The Pelicans are allowing a meager 185.7 yards per game and trail only Grants Pass (171.3) in that category. That doesn't fare well for Ashland especially in the running game. The efforts of seniors Ty Haggard and Jesse Broerman have resulted in only 187 yards rushing. The Ashland offense wasn't helped much last week by an offensive line that had senior quarterback Cameron Voget running for his life and taking hit after hit. "All we can do is try to get better and hope things change," Nagel said. "You've gotta make a block and you've got to be able to make tackles." Meanwhile, several strings are on the line for the Grizzlies. In danger is a string of 16 straight playoff berths that may not reach 17. And the Pelicans have not beaten the Grizzlies since 1984. Add to the mix the fact that the Grizzlies are banged up. "The injuries are pretty much off and on," Nagel said. "Haggard didn't practice Wednesday and we've got a cold bug going around. Those are just the things you've got to deal with." Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing