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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 24, 2005 Ashland�s Sam Littleton, right, breaks free from the tackle of North Medford�s Almier Barlow (80) for a first-quarter touchdown. Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman Grizzlies claw past Tornado Ashland’s Littleton-led offense carves up North for first win over Tornado since 1999 By KEVIN GOFF Mail Tribune The Charlie Hall era officially began three weeks ago for the Ashland football team. But the first-year coach’s true impact on the Grizzlies was felt Friday night in their Southern Oregon Conference opener. Ashland put forth a spectacular offensive display to ring up the team’s most substantial victory in five seasons with a 46-42 win over North Medford at Spiegelberg Stadium. The triumph was Ashland’s first over North Medford since 1999 and moved the Grizzlies to 4-0 on the season. Advertisement Ashland (1-0 SOC) had posted just one conference win over the past two seasons and hasn’t recorded a winning season since 2000, when it also last ventured to the state playoffs. "Not a bad way to start conference I’d say," said the offensive mastermind Hall amidst a throng of celebrating Ashland players and fans. "It seems like every week has brought a new chapter for these kids. Tonight is a brand new one." The game featured 682 yards of offense, two kickoff returns for touchdowns and only two punts by both sides. North Medford (1-3, 0-1 SOC) countered most of Ashland’s scoring blows on the ground, with Ryan Folsom gaining 145 of North’s 244 yards rushing on 23 carries. But the Sam Littleton-led aerial assault had the Black Tornado defensive backs’ heads on a swivel throughout most of the contest. "They played very well," said North Medford coach Rod Rumrey of the Grizzlies. "Every time we did something on offense they had an answer. We had a real difficult time putting something together." Littleton, a two-year senior starter, completed 13 of 17 passes for 223 yards and had a hand in six touchdowns — four passing and two rushing. His 24-yard scoring pass to Josh Cornelius at the five-minute mark put Ashland ahead for good as the Grizzlies’ defense bottled up a North Medford drive in the final minute to seal the win. "Unbelievable," said Littleton, who hooked up with Cornelius six times for 106 yards. "It’s like a dream beating these guys. We envisioned it all week and now, here it is. "We definitely had faith in ourselves, that we could do this. The coaches prepared us so we’d be ready for anything." Yet the way the contest started probably wasn’t what Ashland had in mind. North’s Charlie Bufalino took the opening kickoff at his own 25 and raced untouched up the middle 75 yards for a 6-0 lead. The Grizzlies quickly countered, however, and the shootout was on. On the second play from scrimmage, Littleton faked a reverse and launched a perfect strike to hit Cornelius in stride for a 60-yard touchdown. Littleton added a 1-yard keeper to give Ashland a 14-6 lead before North started to heat up. Folsom, a senior tailback, capped a seven-play, 63-yard drive with an 8-yard TD scamper. His two-point conversion run tied the game at 14-all midway through the second quarter. But the deadlock was short-lived. Ashland running back Dylan Steeves fielded the ensuing kickoff at his own 8-yard line, sprinted toward the middle of the field, broke two tackles, reversed back to the left sideline in front of the Grizzly bench and scooted the rest of the way for a 92-yard TD return. Steeves also rushed 18 times for 84 yards to lend some balance to Ashland’s attack. A North Medford fumble on a botched fourth-down snap set up another Littleton touchdown toss, this time to Aaron San Nicholas from 28 yards. Now in jeopardy of letting the game get away, North Medford leaned heavily on Folsom. The 5-10, 174-pounder carried seven times for 58 of the Tornado’s 73 yards on the next drive. He finished with a 5-yard touchdown off an option pitch to end the half with Ashland leading, 26-21. The Grizzlies racked up 174 yards in the first half and punted only once out of their first five possessions. "They definitely have some skilled players," said Rumrey. "We had a feeling they’d be able to do some things offensively, but we didn’t think it’d be like that." Littleton hit Cornelius for a 6-yard score on the first drive of the second half, before North scored two straight touchdowns on a Darren Bruhns 42-yard pass to A.J. Nichols and a Bruhns keeper from 37 yards out. Littleton, however, found Cornelius again with 3:32 left in the third quarter and followed up a Bruhns interception with a 5-yard touchdown run for a 46-36 lead. Folsom’s 4-yard scoring plunge completed a 76-yard drive that narrowed the gap to 46-42 with 5:34 to play, but Ashland whittled four minutes off the clock to leave North Medford with no timeouts and just under two minutes to work with. On North’s final drive, Grizzly defensive lineman Ryan Pittman clobbered Bruhns for an 8-yard loss to set up a third-and-long. The Tornado quarterback’s fourth-and-15 pass from his own 15 fell incomplete to give Ashland the win. The Grizzlies’ undersized defense gave ground to Folsom and Bruhns, who passed for 94 yards and rushed for 71 more, but held firm when Ashland needed it most. "We came out and hit hard and weren’t afraid of them," said Ashland senior defensive end Jamal Pautsch. "I have all the respect in the world for North Medford and I felt like it was a privilege to play here against them. "But like coach was saying before the game, we’re like a kid walking home from school getting bullied by a dog, and you have to use a stick to beat it away. Today, we beat that dog." Reach reporter Kevin Goff at 776-4483 or e-mail Grizzlies claw past Tornado ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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