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Reserve steals spotlight photo by Drew Fleming Backup tailback carries Indians past Grizzlies By Don Hunt ASHLAND � All Rod Cope needed was a chance. The backup tailback came off the bench to account for 181 of Roseburg�s 292 yards in total offense and scored all four of his team�s touchdowns Friday night to spark the Indians to a 29-17 victory over Ashland before a jam-packed crowd at Walter A. Phillips Field. Cope, a 6-foot-1, 165-pound junior, didn�t enter the game until midway through the second period when starting tailback Conway Bixby went down with an ankle injury. "We knew the young man�s talent � it was just a matter of waiting his turn," Roseburg coach Thurman Bell said of Cope. "We planned to get the ball in his hands even with Bixby healthy, and tonight Rod really stepped up when we needed it." Bixby skirted right end for a 36-yard touchdown the first time he touched the ball for the game�s first touchdown, breaking two tackles along the way. By the time he was finished, he had rushed for 108 yards on 15 carries and three touchdowns, caught three passes for 73 yards and another score and, for good measure, tacked on a two-point conversion run. The super sub had quite a night. "I�m just here to back up Bixby," a humble Cope said. "He�s been the starter for three years and he�s a great back. "It sure was fun, though, to get out there and contribute." Despite Cope�s heroics, Ashland twice had the lead and might have won the game had the Grizzlies not fumbled the ball away a couple of times and committed some costly penalties. After Cope scored on a spectacular catch-and-run play covering 56 yards on a swing pass late in the third period that gave the Indians a 21-17 lead, Ashland�s Noah Hayes-McKiernan ran the kickoff back 85 yards for an apparent touchdown. But the score was nullified by a clipping penalty and on the following play Hayes-McKiernan fumbled and Roseburg�s Kellan Walker recovered at the Indian 25. Roseburg then dominated, holding the Grizzlies to a minus-15 yards of total offense in the fourth period. "The touchdown getting called back really seemed to kill our momentum, and of course the fumble right after that made it even worse," Ashland coach Jim Nagel said. "If we score that touchdown it might have been a different game, although they certainly got the best of us in the fourth quarter." With tackle Ben Holtey leading the way, the Grizzlies played reasonably well on defense. And they got a fine performance on offense from senior halfback Mac Contreras, who rushed for 87 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. But junior quarterback Mike Allen suffered through a miserable night, completing only 4 of 19 passes for 25 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Allen had a couple of passes dropped, but several others were either overthrown or underthrown. "I was expecting a much better performance," Nagel said. "I�m at a loss to explain it. He (Allen) can throw and throw accurately, but tonight it just wasn�t there." Nagel went to Cameron Voget late in the first half and the 6-foot-2, 205-pound junior promptly led the Grizzlies on a 59-yard, eight-play touchdown drive. Voget attempted only two passes and didn�t complete either one, but he rambled 13 yards for a first down on a third-and-one play and then went 12 yards for the touchdown on a quarterback rollout that tied the game 7-7 at the half. Nagel likely would have again turned to Voget in the second half, but he played the entire game on defense and then his backup at linebacker � Brandon Clark � was forced into duty at cornerback when Ryan Goodman and Ryan Decker were both hobbled with injuries. "We were so thin on defense that we just couldn�t afford to use him (Voget) on offense in the second half," Nagel said. "He definitely did some good things when he came in at quarterback. "It�s a situation we�ll have to re-evaluate." The Grizzlies got a break to start the second half when Cope made his one mistake of the night, bobbling the kickoff that the Grizzlies� Paul Morris recovered at the Roseburg 16. Contreras swept left end for 12 yards on the next play and then banged over left tackle for the score three plays later, giving Ashland a 14-7 lead. But then back came Cope, first making a spectacular 25-yard run on a sweep play in which he broke three tackles, and later scoring on a 6-yard run that made it 14-14 with 5:25 remaining in the third period. The Grizzlies came right back with another nice drive, advancing from their own 38 to the Roseburg 4, with Contreras� 38-yard burst doing most of the damage. But they had to settle for Goodman�s 20-yard field goal, and that wasn�t enough to keep Cope and Co. from at bay. "I thought we did a lot of good things," Contreras said. "We made too many mistakes to beat a good team like Roseburg, but we can build on this. "We�re going to win a lot of games." 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