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KU will be looking to beat Ashland for the first time since 1984 By DON HUNT Wayne Amos had plenty of time to tinker with a new offense as he sat at home last spring recuperating from quadruple bypass surgery. The Klamath Union High football coach plugged in a couple of video tapes he had on Willamette University, which has enjoyed ample success using the fly offense in recent years. The more Amos studied it, the more he liked it, and the more he became convinced it would be a good fit for his Pelicans. The coach and his players are still learning the fly on the fly, but they've created quite a buzz in Klamath Falls to start the 2001 season. The Pelicans will bring a 2-1 record into Walter A. Phillips Field Friday night - including a 1-0 mark in the Southern Oregon Conference - when they take on the struggling Ashland Grizzlies. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. In other games involving SOC teams Friday, Crater (0-3) plays host to No. 2-ranked Roseburg (2-0) and North Medford (2-1) entertains Grants Pass (3-0) at Spiegelberg Stadium. "We don't have a lot of big kids but we've got some quick kids and the fly offense is made for a finesse team," Amos says. "We started at square one last spring but the kids are starting to get the hang of it. "It's been fun." And funner still to get off to a winning start. The Pels have been the epitome of ineptitude for more than a decade. They've suffered through 11 straight losing seasons since they last went to the state playoffs in 1989, and they've endured four winless campaigns in that span. They also haven't beaten Ashland since squeaking out a 10-8 victory in 1984. But a fast start punctuated by last Friday's 28-13 win over Eagle Point has the Pelicans thinking positive. "This is unfamiliar territory for our guys, but we've got a good group of seniors leading the way," Amos says. "It's fun to go out on the field and know you've got a legitimate chance to win." The Pelicans could easily be 3-0. They led cross-town rival Mazama 19-0 at halftime in their season-opener and still led in the final seconds when they gave up a big play on fourth down that cemented a 23-19 defeat. "That's one of the toughest losses I've been around, but the kids bounced back real well," Amos says. The fly offense features a single running back and two slotbacks, one of which goes in motion at full speed across the formation. The quarterback will then hand the ball off to the slotback, fake it to him and hand it to the tailback, or fake it to both and pass the ball. There are other variations, but the idea is to spread the field and give backs and receivers opportunities to go one-on-one. The Pelicans' tailback is senior Brad Mejia, the No. 3 rusher in the SOC with 371 yards and the conference's top scorer with 53 points. Mejia nearly gave Amos cause for another bypass operation when he ran a fake punt on his own volition from the Klamath 21-yard line in the opening moments of last Friday's game. The coach's anxiety eased considerably, however, when Mejia raced 71 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback Jeff Mortenson has chipped in with 201 yards and six touchdowns through the air while operating the Pelicans' new attack. Although KU's line is smallish, it has a couple of solid anchors in center Jimmy Johnson (6-2, 230, sr.) and tackle Dominiac Rodriguez (6-0, 215, sr.). Ashland, meanwhile, has labored to a 1-2 start and is coming off a disconcerting 38-7 loss to South Medford last Friday. The Grizzlies have been powerless to stop the run - they're giving up 322 yards per game on the ground - and they haven't been a whole lot better at running the ball themselves. If the Grizzlies can't correct those fatal flaws, they're in for a long season. And coach Jim Nagel knows it. "We're spending most of our practice time in those two areas, at the expense of nearly everything else," says Nagel, whose team ranks last in the SOC in total defense (397.0) and next-to-last in total offense (221.0). "I wish I had a magic formula, but if you don't block and don't tackle it's tough to win football games." SOUTH MEDFORD AT EAGLE POINT - Unbeaten South Medford earned its first victory over Ashland in seven years last Friday and shows no signs of slowing down. Junior tailback Andres Reed, who ran for 227 yards and three touchdowns against Ashland, should have another big night going against an Eagle Point defense that ranks seventh in the SOC in run defense. But what makes the Panthers difficult to defend is their balance - they've totaled 605 yards rushing and 661 passing in their three games, and quarterback Boomer Marshall has ascended to the top of the passing rankings. "They don't do anything real sneaky but they're fundamentally sound at whatever they do," Eagle Point coach Mike Johnston says. "And they've got good talent at the skill positions." Fullback Victor Shelton returned to the Eagles' lineup last Friday following a shoulder injury and ran for 109 yards in a 28-13 loss to Klamath Union. ROSEBURG AT CRATER - No. 2-ranked Roseburg will likely suffer a letdown following last Friday's 47-0 rout of North Medford, but will it matter? Roseburg tailback Rod Cope ran for 183 yards against the Black Tornado and could have an even bigger game against a porous Crater defense. The Indians won last season's matchup, 53-7, and has claimed the last six meetings between the two teams. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.