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GP has eveything except veteran QB By GREG STILES GRANTS PASS -- The Grants Pass Cavemen lost two Southern Oregon Conference games last year, one to the state champion and one to the state runner-up. With a win over Ashland or Roseburg, the Cavemen would have avoided the most agonizing loss of all -- the coin flip that kept them out of the state playoffs. The SOC had just three playoff berths last year and a three-way tie for second place meant somebody stayed home. The Cavemen lost out. "What we've talked about was making sure this disappointment didn't happen again, where the head coach lost a coin flip" says 14-year coach Tom Blanchard. "Our determination is not to get into that position again and you do that by winning one of those games." The SOC has four of the state's 32 playoff berths in 1999, but five of the eight schools look to have playoff-caliber rosters. "It's like a few years ago when I thought we had a pretty good team coming back," Blanchard says. "I looked around and everybody else did too." Not only do seven players return on offense and eight on defense, but the key elements of Grants Pass' SOC district championship track team tip the speed scale in the Cavemen's favor as well. Jake Zeliff, the SOC triple jump champion, is one of many all-around athletes. "He's got tremendous potential as a decathlete," says Blanchard of the senior tight end/defensive end. "He's not even 17 yet. He's going to be a real key for our team. He could be a dominant player in the conference." The offensive line rivals Roseburg's as the biggest in the conference, and the defense figures to be downright ornery. A pair of returning 294-pound tackles -- second-team SOC all-star Mike Delagrange and Ben Adams -- anchor the front and center Derek Ely is no lightweight at 240 pounds. "Delagrange has very quick feet and with that size big schools are going to look at him," Blanchard says. "We're trying to get Mike into shape to play both sides of the ball. He can really dominate. We've got a lot of fast little backs that might hide right behind him." Senior Gabe Barbee is one of the team's most versatile players, lining up at wide receiver, cornerback, handling punt snaps and returning punts. "He's the kind of kid that never comes off the field," Blanchard says. "We count on him to be a big-play kid and make something happen." There is no loss for skilled position players. Robbie Lesher is on the slight side, but Blanchard rates the senior cornerback the toughest kid on the team. "Everybody feeds off him when he makes a big hit on special teams and defense," the coach says. "He was the one who made that great hit to start the second half against North Medford last year. He doesn't seem to worry about his body. While that might be an OK quality in a football player, I never possessed that. I kind of admire it." Junior Parker Lane blossomed into one of the SOC's top sprinters as a sophomore. He placed third in the 100 meters and second in the 200 at district. Lane will show up in the backfield out wide and return to his starting free safety role. "There's hardly anyone in the conference faster than him and he's bigger and stronger," Blanchard says. "He competed well against the other schools as a sophomore and that makes a kid gain confidence. When a kid has confidence, he can do things you don't expect." Fullback Jesse Lara, both a standout blocker and pass catcher, returns to the lineup after having a broken collarbone prematurely end his junior season. Brandon Hamada led the team with 385 yards rushing on 65 carries. Blanchard's wide-open passing attack might be tempered with more play-action passing because of the abundance of speedy backs. The key will be finding a quarterback to take advantage of the big guys up front and quick ones in the backfield. Senior Jay Slack and junior Nathen Olson are the primary candidates. "We didn't really have the numbers in our senior class last year," Blanchard says. "But we have two pretty good classes back-to-back with our juniors and seniors. I think our defense will be our strength while we're getting our quarterback some experience." First-team all-conference linebacker Len Nuanez returns to a unit that topped the SOC with 14 more takeways than turnovers last year and ranked No. 2 in total defense, surrendering 242.3 yards per game. Cavemen at a glance COACH : Tom Blanchard (14th year, 78 wins, 51 losses). ASSISTANTS : Rick Alves (defensive ends), Skip Davidson (running backs), Neil Fendall (cornerbacks, free safeties), Grant Martinsen (inside linebackers, defensive coordinator), Kelly Marval (center, guards), John Musser (tight ends, tackles), Jim Tardieu (interior defensive line), Mark Watson (strong safety, outside linebackers), Marty Zottola (quarterbacks, receivers). 1998 LEAGUE RECORD : 5-2 (tied for second, SOC). 1998 OVERALL RECORD : 6-3. PREDICTED FINISH THIS YEAR : Fourth. 1998 REGULAR SEASON SCORES Grants Pass Opponents 12 Central Catholic 18 6 Ashland 20 19 South Medford 0 35 Crater 7 57 North Eugene 14 28 North Medford 6 21 Eagle Point 0 7 Roseburg 42 48 Klamath Union 6 RETURNING STARTERS OFFENSE (7) : Wide receiver Gabe Barbee (5-10, 163, sr.); fullback Jesse Lara (5-9, 170, sr.); running back Brandon Hamada (5-7, 145, jr.); kicker Jay Slack (6-2, 141, sr.); center Derek Ely (6-2, 240, sr.); tackle Ben Adams (6-2, 294, sr.); tackle Mike Delagrange (6-6, 294, sr.). DEFENSE (8) : Inside linebacker Len Nuanez (6-2, 210, senior); tackle Mike Delagrange; cornerback Gabe Barbee; end Jake Zeliff (6-3, 191, sr.); cornerback Robbie Lesher (5-7, 151, sr.); free safety Parker Lane (5-10, 163, jr.); end Brian Richard (6-2, 181, jr.); inside linebacker Matt Major (5-11, 218, sr.) OTHER NOTABLES Quarterback Nathen Olson (5-11, 163, jr.); running back/strong safety Armando Lara (5-9, 165, jr.); wide receiver/defensive back Josh Kempfer (5-10, 159, sr.); running back/outside linebacker Eddie Blay (6-0, 201, sr.); running back/defensive lineman Robert Costa (5-9, 188, sr.); running back/linebacker Kim Ray (6-5, 185, sr.); tight end/outside linebacker Cameron Whipp (5-9, 185, sr); linebacker Evan Goulette (5-10, 193, jr.); lineman Joe Looney (6-5, 285, sr.); lineman Jason Kenyon (6-2, 242, sr.); tight end/strong safety Roy Blower (5-9, 155, sr.); wide receiver/defensive back Mike Allee (5-10, 165, sr.); wide receiver/defensive back Matt Metler (5-10, 140, sr.). 1999 Schedule Sept. 10 At Crook County, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17 KLAMATH UNION, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24 At Ashland, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1 At Roseburg, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 8EAGLE POINT, 7:30 Oct. 15 CRATER, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22 BEND, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29 At North Medford, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5 At South Medford, 7:30 p.m. FOOTBALL 99 Index Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.