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--> --> Oct. 28: AHS water polo team on to state By Larry Berteau Ashland Daily Tidings EUGENE - It was water polo for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the Ashland High boys club team over the weekend. The Grizzlies, co-champs of the Southern League, splashed into the postseason conference tournament by feasting on Albany, 14-2, in a Friday afternoon tilt at the Albany pool. Saturday morning, the Grizz gobbled up a tough, overdone Sheldon club, 7-5, in the Willamalane Pool in Eugene. The dinner engagement, a foodfight with South Eugene for an automatic seed in the state tournament, turned in the Axemen's favor, 9-4, despite the contest not being decided until the dessert course. The Grizzlies could have been accused of playing with their food in the Albany opener, resting at the period stops with leads of 4-0, 6-1, and 11-1 before tidying up. Junior Michael Stout was the rudest of guests, forking the hosts for six goals. Senior captain Brian Westerberg, junior Daniel Armitage, and junior Arron Nelson shared six goals equally. Sophomores Geoff Berteau and Andrew Del Carlo rounded out the meal with one score each. The breakfast menu made for more difficult choices as Ashland never led Sheldon by more than two goals. Nelson scored before the coffee got cold, firing the first salvo off a Stout assist barely 30 seconds into the contest. Stout added another goal off an assist from junior Nate Jessop to knot the affair at 2-2 after one period. Senior goalie Kyle Asher blocked four Sheldon attempts in the second period while Jessop and Westerberg netted goals off assists from Stout and sophomore Caleb Salmond, respectively, for a 4-2 lead at intermission. Westerberg added a second goal in the third, and Armitage and Westerberg held off the hosts with fourth-period goals for the 7-5 win - advancing the Grizz into the league championship contest with their nemesis and co-champion Axemen. After hanging out in the neighborhood between meals - 9 a.m. breakfast game, 8 p.m. championship game - the Grizz still managed to strike. Armitage picked up a pair of first-period assists with Nelson and Westerberg on the scoring end for a quick 2-0 lead. South managed to tie it 2-2 before the first buzzer, and added an early goal in the second for its first lead. But Stout chowed down at the 1:25 mark off a length-of-the-pool assist from Asher, a tap-in, to tie the match briefly at 3-3. Another South Eugene goal upped the lead to 4-3 at halftime, and two goals in a grueling third period put Ashland at the foot of the table, facing a 6-3 deficit. Nelson found Armitage with 50 seconds before the end of the third to give the Grizz a shot, trailing 6-4. But finally, the pot boiled over and the Grizz were forced to settle on a trip to the subtournament next week in order to make it to the state tourney the following week. The Grizzlies drew Aloha in the subtourney at Corvallis, and must win to advance to state. Grizz keeper Asher was named co-MVP of the league, sharing the award with Sheldon's Eric Knight. Nelson and Stout also picked up first-team honors, with Westerberg, Foley and Jessop being named to the second team. AHS Girls Water Polo The Grizz girls saw their season come to an end at Albany, dropping a 12-5 contest to Sheldon on Friday and bowing out of the league tourney. Senior Keely Zodrow prevailed to the end, scoring three goals and adding three steals to pace the Grizzlies' effort. Junior Michelle Smith and freshman Ashley Roda netted a goal each in a supporting role. Zodrow's work did not go unnoticed as she was selected to the first-team all-league squad. Smith earned second team honors. 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