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Ashland staves off a Pelican upset By Kris Henry ASHLAND � The Pelicans remain pesky but the Grizzlies simply remain better in Southern Oregon Conference football. Utilizing a big-play offense and a swarming defense, seventh-ranked Ashland jumped to a 35-8 lead and held on for a 42-30 victory over Klamath Union Friday at Walter A. Phillips Field. With five of their six touchdowns ranging over 30 yards, the Grizzlies finally found the scoring touch they�ve been looking for this season. "Tonight was a night to get our passing game going and we did that," said Ashland quarterback Cameron Voget, who completed 16 of 21 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns. "It was good play-calling and good execution." When Voget wasn�t busy abusing the Pelican defense, Ashland�s running backs were exploiting huge seams by the offensive line. Noah Hayes-McKeirnan scampered 47 yards to paydirt on the Grizzlies� first play from scrimmage, while backup halfback Tyler Haggard added a 64-yard TD late in the fourth quarter. Ashland (3-1, 2-1 SOC) finished with 466 yards of total offense, including 204 on the ground. Led by all-everything quarterback Jason Mortenson, KU put up some solid numbers of its own, albeit mostly against the Grizzlies� backups. Mortenson completed 17 of 30 passes for 269 yards and three TDs, while also rushing 24 times for 53 yards and a TD. "I was very impressed with Mortenson," said Ashland coach Jim Nagel. "He took some pounding tonight but there was no give-up in him." Hayes-McKeirnan sent an early message to the night�s fireworks when he took the team�s first handoff through the middle, cut left and outraced everyone to the end zone. "I was almost scared with that first run," said Nagel. "Sometimes when it comes so easy you have a tendency to be complacent and think the whole game is going to be that way." KU (1-3, 0-3 SOC) proved that wouldn�t be the case on the ensuing series, driving down to the Ashland 10-yard line before being stymied. After forcing a punt, the Pels marched down to the Grizz 17 but Brad Mejia mishandled a Mortenson pitch and Paul Morris pounced on the fumble to end the threat. Ashland then proceeded to inch down the field 82 yards with a blend of short passes and powerful runs by Mac Contreras, who capped the drive with a 1-yard scamper. The Grizz added another score with 1:33 to go in the half as Voget hit Ryan Goodman on a slant and the steady senior split the defense for a 43-yard TD. Undaunted, the Pelicans bounced back behind Mortenson�s 2-yard touchdown pass to Jared Leeper and a 2-point conversion run by the quarterback. But as the step returned to KU�s stride, Contreras and company removed it as the senior returned the ensuing kick 56 yards to the Pels� 31 with two seconds left in the half. Voget deftly tossed a 31-yard TD pass to Goodman inches in front of the back line to make it 28-8 at halftime. "That was a big play. It was good to get a little breathing room," said Nagel. Voget connected with Contreras on a 48-yard TD pass with five minutes to go in the third quarter before the Pels staged a run behind Mortenson�s improvisational skills. The senior quarterback scored on a 5-yard run, connected with younger brother Jeff on the two-point conversion and then hit Leeper for a 39-yard TD pass to make it 35-22. Merely trying to keep the clock going, Ashland then ran Haggard up the middle on three successive plays. The first two plays went backwards, but the third was a backbreaker as the junior cut left from the middle of the field and rumbled 64 yards to the end zone. Still not ready to give up, KU tacked on another touchdown from Mortenson to Patrick Bennett with 19 seconds to play. "I�ve got to give them credit, they battled us all the way," said Nagel. "They got something out of it to feel good about themselves and we got something out of it also. "We need to continue to get better. We�ve got some big games ahead of us." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.