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Ashland revels in second chance Sluggish start leaves Grizz uphill battle in bid to repeat By DON HUNT Zach Hassell sat on a locker room bench at Crater High with his head buried in his hands. Much of the football season had already been an exercise in frustration for the Ashland quarterback, who had to sit out the opening four weeks with a sprained ankle. And frustration turned to misery on Oct. 22 when Hassell and the Grizzlies suffered a 24-14 loss to Crater, crippling Ashland's state playoff hopes. Hassell was so distraught he couldn't talk. As his teammates headed for the shower, he sat on the bench, motionless and melancholy. But football can be a fickle game, and these days both Hassell and his teammates are feeling pretty good about themselves. Ashland (5-4) has won two straight since that inglorious night and travels to No. 6-ranked West Linn (8-1) for a first-round state playoff game on Friday. Kickoff is 7 p.m. In Friday's other playoff games involving SOC teams, North Medford (7-2) meets North Bend (6-3) at Spiegelberg Stadium, Roseburg (8-1) hosts Lakeridge (6-3) and Grants Pass (6-3) travels to Benson (5-4). "It's a whole new season," says Hassell, who has passed for 408 yards and five touchdowns the past two weeks in leading the Grizzlies to impressive wins over Eagle Point (28-0) and North Medford (33-22). "We're back to playing Grizzly football." Hassell is looked upon as the team leader but he couldn't truly function in that role when he stood on the sidelines for the first month of the season while recovering from his injury. But two days after the loss to Crater, Hassell met with the seniors and had a heart-to-heart talk. "We just talked about how we had to come together as a team and not act as individuals," Hassell says. "That was one of the great things about last year -- the sophomores and juniors felt comfortable being around the seniors. Everyone got along great. We needed to create that same atmosphere on this team." Hassell admits he's gotten tired the past two weeks while playing fulltime at quarterback and linebacker. The plan was to have him concentrate on defense upon his return, since sophomore Mike Allen was rapidly developing into a top-notch quarterback. But Allen was diagnosed with mononucleosis the day Ashland lost to Crater. So much for Hassell getting a breather. "You've just got to suck it up and keep playing," Hassell says. "It's a matter of pride." One of Hassell's biggest challenges at quarterback has been to stay on an even keel emotionally and not get down on himself when he makes a bad play. "I'm a perfectionist and when I make a bad throw or a bad decision then I beat myself up mentally," Hassell says. "But coach (Jim) Nagel keeps telling me to just relax and move on. I'm getting better." A case in point came last Friday when the Grizzlies led North Medford 14-0 late in the first period and were on the verge of scoring again. Faced with a fourth and one play at the North 12-yard line, Nagel called a play-action pass. It was a good call -- Kris Pavilionis was wide open in the end zone -- but Hassell overthrew him by a couple of feet and the Grizzlies came up empty. On Ashland's next possession, Hassell fumbled the ball away. But he wound up throwing for 210 yards and one touchdown while running for another score in the win. "I handled those things better than I would have last year," says Hassell, who finished third in the Southern Oregon Conference passing efficiency ratings. In West Linn, the Grizzlies will meet a team that has rattled off seven straight wins since a 59-36 loss to Tigard. The Three Rivers League champion Lions run what's known as a "fly" offense. The scheme involves one of two slotbacks -- called sweepers -- going in motion at full speed prior to the snap. The ball is then handed off to the sweeper or faked and handed off to the fullback up the middle or to the other sweeper on a counter play. Or, the quarterback fakes the run and passes the ball. "There are four basic plays," says West Linn coach Ron Chappell, who learned the offense from a high school coach in California and picked up some pointers from Willamette University coach Mark Speckmana. "There's a lot of deception involved, and while timing and ball-handing are crucial, it's not really a high-risk offense. We don't have a lot of turnovers because we practice it so much." Making the offense click are senior sweepers Joey McCollum, the state's No. 3-leading rusher with 1,350 yards and 22 touchdowns, and Mickey Rosendahl, who has 800 yards and averages a whopping 14 yards per carry. Nagel is most concerned about the cat-quick McCollum, who is also the Lions' point guard in basketball. "He looks like he runs about a 4.2 40 (yard dash)," Nagel says. "It looks like he's broken at least one run of 50 or more yards in every game. "He doesn't break a whole lot of tackles but you've got to catch him first." West Linn quarterback Jason Beaudoin has thrown rather sparingly -- he's completed 60 of 110 for 900 yards -- but 13 of his passes have gone for touchdowns. Chappell says the Lions' biggest strength might be their offensive line, an all-senior group that averages 220 pounds. Guard Jordan Edwards (6-3, 235) and tackle Matt Raivio (6-1, 260) lead the way. Defensively, West Linn is led by senior tackle Caleb Freeman (6-1, 225), an all-conference performer since his sophomore year, and cornerback Ray Kauffman, a district hurdles and javelin champion in track. "With Kauffman at one corner and McCollum at the other, we feel good about our secondary," Chappell says. "And they'll need a good game Friday because we know how well Ashland can throw the ball." Chappell has watched video of the Grizzlies' upset win over North Medford. "It's pretty scary watching them on film," Chappell says. "You can tell they've got real good team speed, and defensively they fly to the ball." LAKERIDGE AT ROSEBURG -- Roseburg coach Thurman Bell was fully expecting to meet Oregon City in the first round of the playoffs and run into his son Mark, the head coach of the Pioneers. But Oregon City upset Lakeridge 18-7 last Friday, creating the Roseburg-Lakeridge matchup. "He (Mark Bell) promised me he wouldn't do that," Thurman Bell says. The Pacers wound up as the No. 4 representative of the Three Rivers League but were ranked as high as No. 4 in the state early in the season before losing a couple of close games and a couple of their best players. Lakeridge quarterback Jon Knokey sat out the loss to Oregon City with a broken ring finger on his throwing hand and isn't expected to play against the Indians. "They're still a dangerous team," Thurman Bell says. "They bring in another kid (Rory Magner) who's 6-6 and can really wing it." Roseburg has won eight straight since a season-opening loss to Beaverton. The Indians defeated Lakeridge 28-14 in the quarterfinals of last year's playoffs. GRANTS PASS AT BENSON -- The Cavemen have not played particularly well since losing wide receiver Gabe Barbee to suspension and linebacker Matt Major to injury four weeks ago. Barbee was the best athlete on the team and Major was Grants Pass' leading tackler. Coach Tom Blanchard is trying to revitalize an offense that mustered only 220 yards and seven points against South Medford last week. "More than anything, we need our offensive line to get after people so that we can run the football," Blanchard says. Benson is coming off a 14-7 loss to Jefferson but the Techmen have a number of skill position players who can bust the big play, Blanchard says. "I don't think they can sustain a drive against our defense but they've got some kids who can take it the distance on one play," Blanchard says. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.