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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels October 28, 2004 Grizz looking for first win since Sept. 17 By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Grizzlies Robby Bruce (33) and Chad Healy (81) take down a South Medford ball-carrier during last Friday's 17-7 loss to the Panthers. Andrew Mariman |Ashland Daily Tidings For Ashland High head football coach David Coldiron, the difference between a conference game and a nonconference game isn't much. In fact, it can be summed up in four words. "It's just like any game," he said. "We want to win." The Grizzlies may have their best chance to do that in quite a while Friday night, when they travel to Klamath Falls to take on the Klamath Union Pelicans (6-1). The nonconference clash kicks off at 7 p.m., at Modoc Field. While KU has just one loss, the Pels won't be confused with South Medford or North Medford anytime soon. That's because Klamath Union has played an independent schedule ever since dropping out of the Southern Oregon Conference prior to the 2003 season. In the Pelicans' first game against an SOC foe, previously winless Crater thrashed KU 18-0. While a dominant win would be nice, a win of any kind would suffice for the Grizzlies, who have struggled to be competitive since league play kicked off back on Sept. 24. Ashland's last win was a 48-13 romp of Cleveland on Sept. 17. Since, Ashland (1-6) has lost five straight. Three of those losses came against teams that, at the time, were ranked in the top-10, including last week's 17-7 loss to fourth-ranked South Medford. Each of those teams enjoyed a major size advantage against the Grizzlies. Klamath Union won't, which is reason for optimism as far as the Grizzlies are concerned. "We like the fact that size-wise, we match up with them," Coldiron said. "For the last five weeks in a row we've been underdogs on the O-line and D-line and that gets old real fast. So we're excited about that, but they've got some winning ways. They've found ways to win games. They know what winning's all about right now. We haven't won for a while so we gotta learn how to do that again." Klamath Union seems like the perfect remedy for a team on the ropes. Against Crater, the Pels gained just 86 total yards, including just 34 on the ground. Meanwhile, the Comets racked up 231 yards, including 192 rushing. Ashland has been victimized on the ground all season. The Grizzlies have tried to establish a running game every Friday night, but those attempts are usually met with giant defensive tackles. Heading into their final two games, the Grizzlies have gained 558 yards rushing compared to 1,392 through the air - not the kind of ratio a coach likes to see. Meanwhile, Ashland's opponents have gained 1,331 yards rushing and 1,004 passing. Those numbers could start to tilt more toward respectability Friday night, especially if a few key Grizzlies make a return from the injured list, as expected. Cornerbacks Jason Coburn and Dylan Steeves both will play against the Pelicans, as will Ashland tight end Jeff Skinner. Skinner leads the team in both receiving yards (531) and yards per catch (22.1). "It's not going to be 100 percent Jeff all the time," Coldiron said of Skinner's return. "He's going to be limited, but hopefully we'll have him back to full speed for (the Nov. 5) Crater game." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams