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Grizz must wait to shore up at QB By Don Hunt The Ashland High football team is sailing along with a 6-1 record, a No. 6 state ranking and a six-game winning streak. The Grizzlies have most of the components needed for a state championship run, namely a stern defense, a strong running game and the team speed needed to keep up with the Jesuits, Central Catholics and North Medfords of the football world. What the Grizzlies don�t have, as they prepare to meet Eagle Point Friday night at Walter A. Phillips Field, is stability at quarterback. Coach Jim Nagel thought he finally had the situation resolved last week when he promoted sophomore Bryan Clevenger to the starting role. Clevenger, who fired two touchdown passes and added a pair of two-point conversions in his only four attempts against Redmond a week earlier, completed four of seven tosses for 50 yards and a touchdown during last Friday�s 37-0 victory over Crater. Clevenger�s error-free performance would have earned him a second straight start against Eagle Point, but he hyper-extended his left knee against Crater and must now sit out until next Friday, when the Grizzlies meet North Medford in a game that will likely decide the Southern Oregon Conference championship. Cameron Voget, a strong-armed junior who has shown flashes of brilliance interspersed with periods of inconsistency, moves back into the starting slot. Voget is also a starting linebacker on defense and has been battling a knee injury of his own. "If Bryan were healthy he would start this week � he has earned the job," says Nagel, who has been searching for signal-calling steadiness since Jimmy Werbin led the Grizzlies to the 1998 state championship. The 6-foot, 165-pound Clevenger isn�t big and doesn�t possess the arm strength of many former Ashland QBs. But he�s an accurate thrower, knows how to read a defense and absorbs new information so quickly that the coaches have nicknamed him "The Sponge." He�s also uncommonly confident for a sophomore, Nagel says. "He just does all the little things that you like to see in a quarterback," Nagel says. "His footwork, his mechanics, his read progression, his touch on the ball � he�s very solid in all of those areas." But Clevenger will have to wait one more week to showcase his skills. What�s carried the Grizzlies during much of their win streak is their defense. They held Crater to just 19 yards last week and have moved up to second in the SOC in total defense. Tackle Ben Holtey has been the rock of the bunch all season but the Grizzlies have also been getting steady play from ends Zach Williams and Aaron Cate and linebackers Elijah Blessing and Paul Morris. "All those guys had outstanding games against Crater," Nagel says. Eagle Point, 1-6 following last week�s 50-21 loss to Churchill, is out of the playoff hunt but would like nothing better than to spoil Ashland�s SOC title hopes. The Eagles have played credibly on defense but their offense ranks last in the SOC in rushing (78.6) and next-to-last in total offense (211.6) and scoring (12.3). "If we can avoid mistakes and giving up the big play then I think we can be right in it," Eagle Point coach Mike Johnston says. In other games involving SOC teams Friday, Grants Pass (5-2) plays host to North Medford (6-1), Crater (0-7) entertains Klamath Union (1-6) and South Medford (3-4) meets North Eugene (1-6) at Spiegelberg Stadium. South Medford has its sights set on a winning season and a state playoff berth, and can achieve both by closing out the regular season with victories over North Eugene and Grants Pass. A victory over the Highlanders is the first order of business. South Medford hopes to revive an offense that has bogged down the past two weeks in losses to Roseburg and Ashland. Panthers sophomore quarterback Boomer Marshall continues to lead the SOC in passing yardage with 1,142, and sophomore wide receiver Ryan Benson ranks second in receiving with 29 catches for 400 yards. Crater, meanwhile, will likely need a victory over Klamath Union to avoid its first winless season since 1991. The Comets face Roseburg in their season finale. 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 � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.