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Toney, Comets punish Grizzlies Photos by Bob Pennell Crater's P.J. Price (13) goes over Ashland's Jesse Jones (83) on a two-point conversion. Chris Pettegrew (36) helps. By DON HUNT CENTRAL POINT -- A month's worth of frustration and 14 years of futility against the Ashland High football team went by the wayside for the Crater Comets on Friday night. Workhorse tailback Scott Toney rumbled for 265 yards on 45 carries to spark the Comets to a 24-14 victory over the Grizzlies that snapped a four-game losing streak. Scott Toney (34) of Crater runs for 265 yards on 45 carries. Ashland's Jamie Gibson (25) and Mac Contreras (33) stop him. The game also marked the first time since 1985 that Crater has beaten Ashland. "That was a lot of fun," said Toney, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior who had a hand in all but 17 of the Comets' 62 offensive plays. "We basically just kept running the same plays over and over. Our line was awesome." Crater quarterback P.J. Price put the ball in the air only seven times, but hooked up with Josh Jones for a pair of touchdown passes. "It wasn't fancy, but the best way to beat Ashland is to run the ball and control the clock," Crater coach Randy Heath said. "We controlled the line of scrimmage and Toney had a heck of a night running the ball." The Comets (2-5, 2-3 SOC) came out in a power-I alignment, with fullback Tanner Hillyer lined up in front of Toney and halfback Chris Pettegrew stationed next to him. Crater hadn't been in the alignment too often this season but Heath hoped the power attack could help his team cut down on turnovers -- the Comets had suffered 18 in their first five games -- while keeping Ashland's high-powered offense off the field. The strategy worked to perfection. "I thought we could hurt them between the tackles but I sure didn't think we'd punish them the way we did," Heath said. "I thought we'd have to get out of it (the power-I) after awhile, but it kept working and we stayed with it. "The kids up front played a whale of a game." The game was scoreless after one period, but on the first play of the second period Toney sped 45 yards to paydirt that completed a 77-yard, five-play drive. "It was supposed to be a sweep to the right but Tanner (Hillyer) and Pettegrew kicked their guys out and I cut it up the middle,'' Toney said. "I never got touched." Ben Thurman blocked Brent Foster's extra-point attempt, but the Comets had set a punishing tone. Ashland, meanwhile, had more problems than just the Comets. The Grizzlies (3-4, 2-3 SOC) learned earlier Friday that starting quarterback Mike Allen was suffering from mononucleosis, and while he was cleared to play, he felt dizzy and queasy prior to the kickoff. Zach Hassell was thus forced to play quarterback and linebacker most of the game, and while he managed to complete 10 of 19 passes for 166 yards and one touchdown, he never found his rhythm until the second half when the Grizzlies trailed 17-0. To make matters worse, starting fullback Mac Contreras went down with a sprained ankle in the first period and never returned. "Allen hasn't been feeling well for the last three weeks and we thought he had the flu or possibly anemia," Ashland coach Jim Nagel said. "Then they (doctors) tested him again and discovered he has mono. "They think he's at the tail end of it and cleared him to play tonight, but I guess all the excitement made him feel sick. "But we have no excuses. They kicked our fannies up front and would have probably won, anyway." The score remained 6-0 until the 1:29 mark of the second period when Foster made it 9-0 after booting a 37-yard field goal. Ashland's Kris Pavilionis then fumbled the ensuing kickoff at the Grizzly 23-yard line, and the Comets were in business yet gain. Toney carried three straight times, advancing the ball to the 7, before Price hit Jones on a fade pattern in the corner of the end zone. Foster tacked on the PAT, and suddenly the Comets had a 17-0 lead. "The way we were getting handled up front we needed some big plays from our skill people and we weren't getting them," Nagel said. The Grizzlies finally got a break midway through the third period when Toney fumbled the ball away at the Crater 21. On the ensuing play Ashland fullback Ryan Jones raced the distance. But whatever hopes the Grizzlies had of staging a comeback were crippled when Crater went on a 63-yard, 9-play drive in the fourth period. The drive was capped by another Price-to-Jones touchdown pass, this one from 16 yards out. The score came with 6:25 to play and gave Crater a 24-7 lead. "I saw their cornerback (Ryan Goodman) cheating in," Jones said. "I routed him inside, broke to the outside and P.J. (Price) lofted the ball right to me. It was an easy catch." The Grizzlies came right back with their second touchdown -- a beautifully-thrown 61-yard bomb from Hassell to Pavilionis -- but failed to recover an onside kick that could have made things interesting. Ashland got the ball one more time and moved it from its own 20 to the Crater 47, but Chris Wright intercepted a Hassell pass to pound the final nail into the Grizzlies' coffin. Asked if he was tired after toting the ball 45 times, Toney smiled and said, "I wasn't thinking about getting tired. All I was thinking about was beating those guys wearing the white jerseys." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.