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Ashland completes undefeated season By DAVE DAUGHERTY CENTRAL POINT -- Jim Nagel has a feeling his Ashland Grizzlies could be a team of destiny -- a thought that should strike fear into the minds of prep football teams around the state. On a rainy Friday night at Dutch Meyer Field, Nagel's Grizzlies completed their perfect run (7-0) through the Southern Oregon Conference by overcoming the stubborn Crater Comets and their bullish tailback Brad Ralph, 31-19. Already assured of the SOC's No. 1 playoff berth after last week's win over South Medford, Ashland will host Salem's McKay High, the Valley League's No. 3 representative next Friday at Walter A. Phillips Field. "I was happy at times with our performance," said a relieved Nagel, whose team finished the regular season with a 9-0 mark. "They (Crater) didn't roll over for us. They played really hard." Hard-nosed was the term that best described the performance of Ralph, who carried the football an astounding 42 times for 173 yards on the night. Ralph had 112 yards on 28 carries in the second half alone. "I had no idea he had that many carries," said Comet coach Randy Heath, who wrapped up his first season with a disappointing 4-5 mark. "He goes full-blast from start to finish. It was just a gutty effort on his part." Ashland took an early 7-0 lead at the 5:23 mark of the first quarter when senior quarterback Jimmy Werbin broke the goal line on a two-yard keeper to end a relatively easy nine-play drive. Crater answered back three minutes later when fullback Scott Toney broke untouched up the middle for a 25-yard score on a fourth and one call. Brent Foster's PAT evened the score with 1:53 to play in the first quarter. Six plays later the Grizzlies took a 14-7 lead when fullback Joel Smith scampered 6 yards to paydirt after Werbin hooked up with Ryan Goodman for 36 yards and Jay Kuester for another 19 on crucial pass plays. The completions to Goodman and Kuester settled down Werbin, who misfired on his first four pass attempts of the night, partly due to a sloppy field and bad technique. "I just needed to get used to the field conditions," said Werbin, who completed 13 of 26 passes for 201 yards. "I just needed to figure outwhat their defense was going to bring at me." Ashland extended its lead to 17-7 in the second quarter when Sean Schorovsky nailed a 23-yard field goal to cap a seven-play 45-yard drive. Crater refused to go away, cutting the lead to 17-13 on a Ralph 1-yard plunge after two critical, but questionable Ashland penalties on the kickoff that gave the Comets a first and 10 from the Grizzlies' 29-yard line. But Ashland bounced right back with a nine-play, 62-yard drive that was capped by a Werbin 5-yard touchdown pass to tailback Kris Pavilionis. "I just take directions from the guy in the press box (Nagel)", said Werbin, who was 10-of-20 passing for 163 yards in the first half. "I just had to step up and throw." Crater missed a golden opportunity to start the second half, when an incredible 19-play drive that ate up over eight minutes of the third quarter stalled when Foster misfired to receiver P.J. Pardee on a fourth and four play. On that drive Ralph shouldered almost all of the load, carrying the ball 14 times. "That was an awful long drive, but they had a lot of work cut out for them getting two and three yards a pop," said Nagel. "One of the trademarks of this team is they get the job done when they have to." The Grizzlies' defense got the job done one series later after Crater's Mike Jacobs picked off Werbin, stopping Ralph for no gain on fourth and one. The Grizzlies' offense took advantage of the defensive stand, when Werbin scored his second touchdown of the night on a 1-yard keeper. Werbin again showed his poise on the 11-play, 55-yard drive, hitting Kuester for 21 yards and Pavilionis for 18 more on a swing pass on a key third-and-13 play. "This team (Ashland) likes to win," said Werbin. "I knew they (Crater) were a physical football team -- they're very physical." The Comets -- and Ralph -- had just enough gas left in their tanks for one last score. Ralph carried the ball each time on the 10-play drive, including the clincher from 9-yards out with 25 seconds to play. "I never thought I would carry the ball that many times in one game," said Ralph. "I don't know if coach went into the game thinking I would carry the ball that many times, but I'm glad he did." Though his team isn't quite at the level he would like it to be just yet, Nagel knows the Grizzlies will be ready to turn up the heat for the playoffs. "Every week these kids have amazed me," said Nagel. "They really stepped it up tonight and destiny is what we seem to have with this group." And for a youthful team that wasn't supposed to be in this position (9-0), Ashland's playoff foes just might be in for more than they bargained. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford,