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Top-ranked Marshfield shackles Ashland, 28-9 By GREG STILES COOS BAY -- No wins, two losses. A strange circumstance indeed for the Ashland Grizzlies, who have been a benchmark team for the Southern Oregon Conference and won three state championships in the past decade. Top-ranked Marshfield jumped on the Grizzlies for two touchdowns in the first 2 minutes Friday night at Pete Susick Stadium en route to a 28-9 non-conference victory over the defending state champs. Despite losing back-to-back games for the first time since the fourth and fifth weeks of the 1994 season, there was no sense of panic in the Ashland locker room. "This definitely isn't a time to panic," said junior guard and linebacker Ben Holtey. "This was a non-conference game and the defense did well except for one play against the run. We'll get there." Even though the news got worse this week when it was learned that senior quarterback/linebacker Zach Hassell suffered a crack in his ankle that will keep him sidelined into October, the Grizzlies made progress Friday night. Sophomore quarterback Michael Allen drove the Grizzlies 39 yards in three plays just before halftime as Ashland pulled within 21-7. Then the Grizzlies pulled to within 12 points on the second play of the second half when Holtey felled Jason Enright in the end zone for a 1-yard loss. Unfortunately, that was the high-water mark for the Grizzlies. "We had the momentum at the half," said Ashland senior receiver Ben Thurman. "Once we got the safety and got the ball back, I was hoping we'd score again. But we couldn't get the job done." The Grizzlies hardly made it through their first series of plays before they trailed 14-0. The Pirates set up shop on the Ashland 47 thanks to Tyson George's 25-yard punt. On the second play from scrimmage, J.R. Benavidez rambled 43 yards on a reverse and Todd Lewis' PAT kick made it 7-0. Benavidez, a 5-foot-9, 145-pound senior transfer from Corpus Christi, Texas, has been clocked at 38.1 in the intermediate hurdles and is a 24-foot long jumper. Two plays later, he stepped in front of an Ashland receiver and again dashed to paydirt. The Pirates looked ready to turn the game into a rout when the Grizzlies went three-and-out on their next possession. But on third-and-four at the Ashland 12, Ryan Goodman wrestled down Benavidez as he tried to bounce outside. Lewis, the only returning starter from last year's 10-1 Marshfield team, pushed a 33-yard field goal attempt wide left. Lewis started at linebacker, but didn't play his usual tailback role on offense because of a minor knee injury. It wasn't until 2:34 was left in the first quarter that Ashland collected its initial first down when Mac Contreras broke free for 22 yards to the Ashland 42. By the time the Grizzlies registered another first down, the Pirates had extended their lead to 21-0. Again Ashland's defense played well enough to thwart the Pirates twice. John Croce sacked Marshfield quarterback Trevor Woods at the Ashland 40 to end one drive and pressure on Woods halted a second after three downs. But Woods and Enright sparked a 77-yard drive that might have knocked the wind out of some teams. Woods completed six of nine passes in the first half for 108 yards and finished 8 of 16 for 113 yards. His 7-yarder to Wade Mitchell in the front left corner of the end zone gave the Pirates plenty of breathing room. But the Grizzlies made things interesting -- with a little help from the Pirates -- in a hurry. Marshfield stopped Ashland cold on its next possession and Benavidez took off like a lightning bolt after snaring George's line-drive punt at the Marshfield 38. But another bolt -- applied by Ashland's Zach Williams -- separated Benavidez from the ball. "I didn't see the guy coming at all," Benavidez said. "I saw a hole and started forward and he just came out of nowhere. He kind of messed up my universe for a while." Contreras corraled the loose ball for the Grizzlies at the Ashland 39. Allen went to work with 1:05 left in the half. First he hooked up with Kris Pavilionis for 11 yards. A 25-yard completion to Ryan Goodman followed, giving the Grizz a first down at the Marshfield 25. Finally, Allen launched a long strike to Thurman, who outjumped defender Jason Vinyard for the ball. Sean Schorovsky's PAT was true. "We tried doing the two-minute drill and Mike called a play where I streak," Thurman said. "He threw it up and I went up in the air and got it." Ashland tried a fake punt on fourth-and-7 at the Marshfield 44 following the safety. Contreras was wide open in front of the Ashland bench, but couldn't hold on to Thurman's pass out of punt formation. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.