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Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad September 8, 2005 Grizzlies face more speed in second preseason tilt Rex Putnam running back should challenge Ashland ‘D’ By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings ASHLAND HIGH SENIOR QUARTERBACK Sam Littleton throws a pass during Friday night’s 24-7 win over North Salem. Littleton completed 20 of 31 passes for 200 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Ashland next hosts Rex Putnam. Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings The Ashland High football team’s rush defense shut down North Salem’s speedy running back Adryan Allen last week. Now, the Grizzlies will be tested by another speedster, Rex Putnam’s Joevonte Mays. Mays, also a running back, leads the Kingsmen into Phillips Field for a Friday night clash that will serve as the second of Ashland’s three tune-ups prior to Southern Oregon Conference play. “I think it’s about game planning,” Ashland head coach Charlie Hall said when discussing what the Grizzlies need to work on most to get ready for their SOC opener, Sept. 23 at North Medford. “It’s about how does our personnel match up with their personnel; what are there tendencies offensively and defensively, how to call plays to attack those situations.” The Grizzlies are finished installing the offense and defense and now will work on carrying out game plans. They will also work on avoiding penalties, Hall said. The Grizzlies were flagged 12 times in the 24-7 win over North Salem, costing the team 100 yards. That was about the only statistic that disappointed Hall, but it’s one that must be addressed. “We’ve got to do a better job with procedure,” he said. “We’ve got to be able to stay onsides, we’ve got to be able to not hurt ourselves with penalties before the play even gets started.” Once the ball was snapped, the Grizzlies were usually just fine. Ashland outgained North Salem 305 yards to 170, forced three turnovers and ran out to a 17-0 lead before the Vikings narrowly avoided a shutout by scoring with seven minutes to go. The Grizzlies showed enormous potential on both sides of the ball. Possibly the biggest surprise was the performance by the Grizz defense. Ashland held North to 51 yards on 28 rushes, a measly 1.8 yards per rush average. Allen, one of the best backs in the state, managed just 33 yards on 12 carries. Rex Putnam at Ashland When/Where : 7 p.m. Friday night at Walter A. Phillips Field. At stake : Ashland will be looking to improve to 2-0; Putnam is playing its season-opener. Radio : KTMT (580-AM); pregame hits the airwaves at 6:30 p.m. Ashland also turned it up in the clutch, allowing North to convert just 3 of 11 third downs. Late in the first half North Salem threatened to make a game of it when Vikings’ quarterback Greg Rice hit receiver Robby Jackson at the 1. Sam Littleton and Robby Bruce teamed up to stuff Jackson on the spot, however, and the first half expired with the Grizzlies still nursing a 10-0 lead. “We just have people making plays and people flying around and when you have heart in the game, there’s only so much that can go wrong,” said Ashland receiver Josh Cornelius, who had five catches for 66 yards, both team highs. The offense also played well, showing a dimension that the Grizzlies have lacked for the past four years: a running game. Ashland didn’t have a huge rushing day, gaining 105 yards, but it picked up those yards in big chunks. That was especially true late, when the Grizzlies were trying to run out the clock. They did much more, gaining greater separation on the scoreboard thanks to a long drive that included seven running plays for 62 yards. Dylan Steeves got six of those carries and showed off his blazing speed while amassing 55 yards and the touchdown. After watching film, Hall says the Kingsmen, specifically Mays, will test Ashland’s speed. “The thing they do well is they do a good job of setting up their plays,” Hall said. They throw the ball, they throw the ball, then they run a screen pass. So, you’ve got to be really disciplined in what you’re doing. I think their quarterback is going to be a better quarterback than we saw last weekend; he stays in the pocket, he’s got a stronger arm than we faced, and it looks like their protection’s a little better. … We match up size wise with them pretty good, but I think they’re going to be a lot quicker (than North Salem). North, some of those bigger guys weren’t that quick.” Putnam will be playing its first game since finishing last season with its fourth straight 4-5 record. In a preseason coaches poll, the Kingsmen were picked to finish seventh in the eight-team Three Rivers League. Ashland was picked to finish dead last in the SOC’s coaches poll. Last season, Putnam edged Ashland 13-9 in Portland. After the season-opening blowout, Hall said his team must guard against overconfidence. “Our job is to handle success and handle adversity in a very positive way,” he said. “We had some success and we can’t let that go to our heads. It’s only one game and we don’t want to be a one-hit wonder, so we have to be humble about that and know that there are so many things we still need to improve on to become the good football team that we want to be.” Sports editor Joe Zavala can be reached at 482-3456 ext. 3020 or [email protected]. --> Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. 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