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Cavaliers dropkick Ashland By Cliff Pfenning CLACKAMAS � The Ashland Grizzlies football season came to a quick end after a long bus ride Friday night at Clackamas High School. Ashland gave up three touchdowns in a span of four minutes, 15 seconds during the third quarter and lost 36-6 to the Cavaliers in the first round of the Class 4A football state playoffs. The Grizzlies threw four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns, and gained just 234 yards of offense in the game. "We didn�t come off the bus," said Ashland senior receiver Brandon Clark. "They�re a lot better than we thought. "We made mistakes and they�re a good team and they converted on them." Ashland, which lost to a Three Rivers League team in the first round of the state playoffs last year as well, ended its season at 7-3. Clackamas, the No. 2 seed from the Three Rivers, improved to 8-2 and will play top-ranked Central Catholic in the second round next week. "I�m disappointed for our seniors," Ashland coach Jim Nagel said. "We just have to get after it and do a better job next year." Ashland trailed 16-0 in the second quarter when it drove 70 yards for a score using its two-minute offense. Quarterback Cameron Voget completed two fourth-down passes in the drive, one for 26 yards to Ryan Decker to reach the Clackamas 15. On fourth down from the 15, Voget found Mac Contreras in the end zone for a touchdown with 32 seconds left in the first half. The Grizzlies forced a fumble on the Cavaliers� first drive of the second half to keep their momentum going, but that ended quickly. Clackamas defensive back Chris Kosmas intercepted a short pass and ran 39 yards for a score to boost the Cavaliers lead to 23-6. After a short Ashland punt, Clackamas quarterback Jake Spellmeyer and receiver Grant Baker hooked up for a 43-yard touchdown pass play on first down for a 30-6 lead. And on Ashland�s ensuing possession, Clackamas defender Brandon Aregger stepped in front of a short pass and ran it back 63 yards for a score. In 4:15, Clackamas padded its lead by 20 points. "They were prepared for what we had," Nagel said. "They had a good pass rush all night and we couldn�t get a consistent running game going. "We got beat by a team that was better prepared than we were." Clackamas defensive coordinator John Arntson said the Cavaliers coaching staff used their expectations of Nagel�s coaching ability to form a defensive game plan against the Grizzlies. "We figured they probably watched us against Oregon City and Oregon City ran a lot of draws and screens and were very successful," Arntson said. "We figured coach Nagel picked up on that, so we were ready." Clackamas finished the game with just 251 total yards, only 17 more than the Grizzlies. Senior Noah Hayes-McKeirnan ran for 79 yards on 13 carries and Contreras had 57 yards on 10 carries to lead Ashland. Voget and back-up Bryan Clevenger were a combined 11 of 26 passing for 128 yards and four interceptions. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.