Document text
Photo by Andy Atkinston Ashland tight end Austin Mason (18) has a knack for making big plays. Sturdy Mason stands tall for 11-0 Grizzlies By DON HUNT Two guards, two tackles and one running back, weighing a combined 1,200 pounds or so, barreled around the perimeter directly at Mason. Another running back, ball in hand, followed the mass of humanity. This was Churchill's bread-and-butter play in their double wing offense, the one that had consumed huge chunks of yardage a week earlier when the Lancers totaled more than 500 yards during a 50-20 rout of Central Catholic. Mason lowered his 6-foot-3, 194-pound frame as much as gravity would permit and then made like a helicopter blade as the wall of players slammed into him. Mason didn't make many tackles, but he knocked out most of the interference, allowing Grizzly linebackers Joel Smith and Zach Hassell to stop the Churchill running backs for minimal gains. "It was pretty scary the first time or two, but then it got to be fun seeing how many of their blockers I could wipe out," says Mason, who was moved from his normal defensive end position to cornerback against the Lancers. "My job was to keep containment -- not let them get to the outside -- and close down the hole so the rest of our guys could make the tackle." Mason was Ashland's unofficial MVP in its hard-fought 13-6 victory over Churchill in the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs, and he's sure to be in the thick of the action again tonight when the Grizzlies meet Sunset of Beaverton in a quarterfinal matchup at Eugene's Autzen Stadium. Kickoff is 6 o'clock. "Mason's a very good athlete, one of the best on the team," Ashland coach Jim Nagel says. "Without some of the big plays he's made -- on both sides of the ball -- I doubt that we'd be in this position." "This position" is laudable: 11-0, Southern Oregon Conference champions and in the third round of the state playoffs. Although the Grizzlies are an over-achieving group to some -- they were picked to finish third in the SOC and weren't expected to challenge for a state championship this season -- Mason is a big reason why they are making a run for their third title under Nagel. Not only is Mason a first-team, all-conference defensive end, he's also a first-team, all-conference tight end. And a pretty fair punter to boot. Mason's athleticism was never more evident than when he lined up to punt against Churchill. After the snap from center sailed over his head, Mason scooped up the errant ball, dodged two would-be tacklers and still got the punt off. On a night when field position meant everything, that play alone was worth plenty. "I juked one guy to the inside and the other guy to the outside," Mason explains, "and then just punted the ball as fast as I could." Mason was also a major contributor on offense. He caught only four passes for 56 yards on the rainy, windy night, but one of them went for Ashland's first touchdown and another went for a crucial first down that set up the Grizzlies' winning score. The TD catch came the play after Mason dropped a sure touchdown. "My hand was real muddy the play before when I dropped that pass," Mason says. "I had put my hand in the mud in my three-point stance and didn't realize it until it was too late. "But Jimmy (Werbin, the Ashland quarterback) came right back to me and I caught the next one." Mason has been a clutch receiver for the Grizzlies all season, and admits he'd rather be out on pass patterns than in the middle of the trenches blocking. "I never get invited to the hog feeds," Mason says in reference to the weekly barbecues put on by the linemen. "I used to be a halfback. When they look at me the last thing they see is a lineman." If Mason put on another 20 or 30 pounds he would certainly look more like a lineman. But then he wouldn't be as quick and agile in basketball, where he's a starting forward for the Grizzlies. Or as fast in track, where he's a hurdler. Mason placed in both the discus and the 300-intermediate hurdles at last spring's SOC district meet, finishing third in the former and sixth in the latter. "If you're going to be an athlete, I think it's important to be well-rounded," Mason says. "The only reason I play sports is to have fun." And just how much fun was it having all those Churchill behemoths heading your way? "I'm not sure I'd want to see that every week," Mason concedes. "But we won the game and I was still standing at the end. For one night it was fun." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford,