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This Tyson's a real knockout Photos by Bob Pennell Tyson George has proven to be a stalwart on both sides of the ball for Ashland High's football team. Ashland lineman has stood firm in rugged campaign By DON HUNT There were only a few minutes remaining in Ashland High's opening football game of the season. The Grizzlies trailed Roseburg 28-0 and any hope for a victory had long disappeared. Faces were long and frowns were prevalent along the Grizzly sideline. Tyson George: caged aggression. But out on the field Tyson George was still delivering teeth-rattling, bone-jarring, head-crunching hits to Roseburg running backs. And he's been doing it all season long. In a year tainted by injuries, inconsistency and a 4-4 record, George has been the Grizzlies' Rock of Gibraltar from his defensive end position. George is also a starting guard on offense. "Tyson is as intense as any lineman I've ever been around," says Ashland coach Jim Nagel, whose Grizzlies meet North Medford tonight (7:30) at Walter A. Phillips Field. "He puts out 100 percent from the opening kickoff until the final buzzer, and if the game goes overtime then all the better. "That's just his nature. He loves to play the game." George is far and away the team leader in unassisted tackles (32), assisted tackles (26), tackles for losses (11) and sacks (seven). The Grizzlies may be in danger of missing the state playoffs for the first time in 15 years _ they need a win over North Medford and a Crater loss to Roseburg to clinch a berth _ but George is having an MVP-like season. "He had a great year last year but he got overshadowed a little bit by some of the other kids," Ashland line coach Tim Brown says. "But not this year. Tyson has been like a bull out there." The 6-foot-1, 212-pound George has good size and better than average speed for a defensive end, but it's his knack for knowing where the ball is going that sets him apart. Time and again, George is able to sniff out draws, screens and reverses, plays that are designed to deceive. "He's a tough guy to fool," nods Brown. "Sometimes he's the only guy in the way from the other team breaking the big one. He's saved us quite a few times." George revels in throwing running backs for a loss, but nothing compares with belting an opposing quarterback to the turf, he says. "Most of the time they never see me coming," George says. "Hitting them from the blind side, that's a defensive lineman's dream." George and the rest of the Grizzly defense will have its work cut out tonight, however, when it faces North Medford quarterback Nate Mayben, the best scrambler in the SOC. Mayben sidestepped a half dozen Grants Pass defenders last week before firing a long touchdown pass, drawing comparisons to former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton. "Shutting him (Mayben) down is the key to us winning," George says. "He's a guy you're probably not going to get a big hit on because he's so slippery. We'll just keep going after him and hopefully catch up to him a few times." When George first started playing football in the fifth grade, he was a quarterback and current Ashland QB Zach Hassell was one of his receivers. But George decided he didn't like all that running around that backs are required to do. Besides, he was one of the biggest kids in his class and wasn't opposed to being ornery. "I've always liked the hitting aspect of football," George says. "As a lineman, you don't have to go far to find it." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.