Writing the Pine: Ashland Sports Blog

By Joe Zavala

Ashland Daily Tidings

As expected, a running back had a monster day in Ashland on Friday.

The surprise may be who it was that ran wild.

Ashland junior Jon Volz exploded for a career-high 200 yards rushing and two touchdowns and the Ashland defense limited Willamette standout Jordan Visarraga to 98 yards as the Grizzlies bowled over the ninth-ranked Wolverines 49-12 in a Midwestern League romp at Walter A. Phillips Field.

Volz scored his first touchdown less than two minutes into the game to kickoff a lightning-quick start that put the Grizzlies ahead 21-0 midway through the first quarter. Willamette used two long drives to get as close as 21-12 early in the second, but Ashland and its deceptive rushing attack dominated the rest of its homecoming game.

The Grizzlies (3-1, 2-1 MWL) wound up with 462 yards of total offense, 342 on the ground, while holding the top offense in 5A football to zero points and 109 yards in the second half.

“We sort of took what they gave us,” Ashland head coach Charlie Hall said. “They kind of stacked the box a little bit early and we had some success running. I think running the ball is an attitude and our kids just got confident and they got aggressive, and they were intelligent about how they were blocking the different schemes. And Jon did an awesome job — his yards after contact were phenomenal.”

Coming into the game Volz’s top rushing performance was an 81-yard effort in Week 1 against Klamath Union. He topped that by halftime against the Wolverines (3-1, 2-1), gaining 96 yards on just nine carries, including a 47-yard burst on the Grizzlies’ second play from scrimmage that set the tone for the game.

The game had the look of a wire-to-wire blowout after Ashland took advantage of an interception, a three-and-out and a unsuccessful fake punt by Willamette to take a 21-0 lead when quarterback Danial White bolted 21 yards straight up the middle with 5:56 to go in the opening quarter.

White completed 8 of 16 passes for 90 yards and two TDs and also rushed for 83 yards.

Willamette briefly made a game of it with back-to-back long touchdown drives, with Visarraga’s 30-yard touchdown run capping a 90-yard march that cut the lead to 21-12.

But Ashland added another touchdown before halftime, then scored twice in the third quarter to put the game away.

After Volz’s 5-yard gut-buster completed the scoring and clinched his double century-mark day with 7:53 to go his accomplishment was relayed to the fans over the loudspeaker — to thunderous applause. Volz mostly shrugged it off, though, instead crediting the Ashland offensive line with clearing the way.

“The holes were ridiculous, I was loving it,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it without (the linemen). I’m honestly surprised, but now I see that our team can do it so I hope to see more of this running game in the future.”

Volz’s counterpart, Visarraga, who had amassed 378 yards in his first two Midwestern League games, finished with 95 yards on 26 carries against an Ashland defense that seemed to spend half the night in Willamette’s backfield.

Senior linebacker Andrew Blocher led that defense with seven tackles and a sack, one of three on the day for the Grizzlies. R.J. Atteberry and Mason Montgomery both had an interception, with Montgomery’s setting up Ashland’s second touchdown.

“Both our defense and the offense made a lot of technical mistakes,” Willamette head coach Dan Fritz said. “Ashland has good athletes and got after it, so I’ve got to give them the credit for being able to put us back on our heals a little bit. That got us pressing and making some mental mistakes that we shouldn’t have had.”

The first half had a little bit of everything, including a bizarre fake punt pass play that backfired on the Wolverines, and an end-around option touchdown pass from Ashland’s Jordan Thompson to Sam Geisslinger. The surprise 30-yard play came after back-to-back delay of game penalties against the Grizzlies, giving them a 28-12 halftime lead.

“I was afraid (Visarraga) was going to have 10 carries for 150 yards, but we made some nice adjustments and our kids played really hard,” Hall said. “It was a sweet homecoming win.”

Ashland 49, Willamette 12

At Walter A. Phillips Field

Willamette 6 6 0 0 —12

Ashland 21 7 14 0 —49

A — Volz 4 run (Wurfl kick)

A — Volz 28 pass from White (Wurfl kick)

W — Visarraga 40 run (Waggoner kick)

W — Visarraga 30 run (pass failed)

A — Giesslinger 30 pass from Thompson (Wurfl kick)

A — Thompson 1 run (Giesslinger pass from White)

A — Humphrey 29 pass from White (kick failed)

A — Volz 5 run (Wurfl kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

Wil Ash

First Downs 18 21

Rushes-Yards 41-109 41-342

Passing Yards 247 120

Comp-Att-Int 18-32-2 9-17-1

Total Yards 356 462

Punts 4-26 2-39

Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-0

Penalties-yards 5-45 9-81

Willamette — Visarraga 26-95, York 2-5, Leber 12-5, Giles 1-4.

Ashland — Volz 18-200, White 10-83, Chandler 8-43, Davies 2-13, Thompson 2-11, Montgomery 1-(-8).

Willamette — Leber 18-31-2 247, Waggoner 0-1-0 0.

Ashland — White 8-16-1 90, Thompson 1-1-0 30.

Willamette — York 1-61, Giles 5-60, Crownover 4-39, Edris 2-28, Hatefi 3-23, Visarraga 2-18, Ferguson 1-18.

Ashland — Humphrey 3-38, Volz 2-35, Giesslinger 1-30, Lime 2-18, Walters 1-(-1).

Don’t even try to figure out what the Ashland Grizzlies will do next week against Willamette.

The Grizzlies beat Churchill on Friday, on the road. It was a huge win against a legitimate Midwestern League title contender, and it came a week after top-ranked Marist delivered a 49-0 forearm shiver to Ashland’s MWL championship hopes right in front of all those pumped up Grizzly fans at Phillips Field.

Two weeks, two vastly different results. The lesson is that when it comes to high school sports, you just never know. Why? Because they’re high school kids. They have other things on their minds, like next week’s book report, and tomorrow’s date, and their hair, and their clothes, and whether or not they should pre-order Modern Warfare 3 or rent it first. Which is why I know Charlie Hall wasn’t kidding last week when he told me that road trips aren’t so bad. Not bad at all, actually. Less distractions.

Anyway, check out the stats from Friday’s game (thanks Ashland Football Club) and visit the excellent Midwestern League Web site to stock up on Willamette info.

Pitcher Brady Thomas and third baseman Brent Hegdahl will get one more chance to represent Ashland High School at next weekend’s 6A-5A Oregon All-Star Series. The annual baseball series – one game Saturday and a doubleheader Sunday – pits the best seniors from southern Oregon against the best from up north.

Thomas and Hegdahl will represent the south. Only two other players from the Southern Oregon Hybrid will be there – Grants Pass infielder Nathan Etheridge and Roseburg outfielder Micah Audiss.

Here’s the All-Star Series web site. Pretty cool event, and it’s at Goss Stadium (Corvallis) this year.

By Joe Zavala

Ashland Daily Tidings

In his 13 years as West Albany’s head baseball coach, Don Lien has learned to accept a hard truth about playoff baseball: the closer you get to the state championship game, the more likely chance will play a role in determining the outcome.

Sometimes, he says, it’s the difference between winning and losing.

“I think there are probably six teams in the mix that are pretty similar to each other,” Lien said after Thursday’s practice, the Bulldogs’ last before traveling to Ashland for today’s Class 5A state quarterfinal game, “and when you get that close, which team gets the breaks in the game is huge. I’ve had teams that I thought were going to go all the way and then a game has been decided by one break.

“I just think we’re getting to the point where breaks determine the game.”

Lien has at least two heartbreaking losses in recent years to point to as proof. In 2008, the Bulldogs fell 11-9 to Thurston in the 5A semifinals, and the following year they dropped another nail-biter to Thurston, 4-3, in the quarters (Thurston went on to win the title in ’09 and lost to Ashland in the ’08 championship game).

Lien hopes the breaks will fall West Albany’s way today when it faces Ashland (25-1) at North Mountain Park. The game is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m., with the winner advancing to face either Sherwood or Mountain View in the semifinals Tuesday.

Though both teams will be throwing their aces — Taylor Burner for West Albany (20-7) and Brady Thomas for Ashland — the game has all the makings of a slugfest. Ashland averages a whopping 10.5 runs per game (second in the state) and has scored 10 runs or more 14 times; West Albany averages 9 runs per game and has scored 10 runs or more 13 times.

“We have won games in all directions,” Lien said, “hitting home runs, by doubles, we’re able to handle the small ball game. We’re very versatile, probably one of the most versatile teams I’ve ever coached.”

West Albany is led by three first-team all-Mid Willamette Conference picks, including Burner, the league’s player of the year. The 5-foot-11 lefty throws a fastball in the mid-80s, according to Lien, and is comfortable with three pitches. It’s a combination that’s worked well for the senior — he’s 9-2 with a 1.69 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 62 innings.

Burner, along with fellow MWC first-teamers Jackson Ruckert and Nick Lebengood, has also been a beast at the plate. He’s batting .541 with eight homers and 42 RBIs. Ruckert is a .401 batter with two homers and four triples, and Lebengood bats .452 with four homers.

The Bulldogs, like the Grizzlies, showed off their offensive firepower in a first-round win Wednesday, creaming Hood River Valley 12-5 at Goss Stadium. Ashland beat The Dalles Wahtonka 13-8. The Bulldogs crunched five extra-base hits, the Grizzlies four.

“We both saved our aces to come at each other,” Lien said. “It might come down to whose ace stays on the mound longer.”

Ashland coach Don Senestraro was able to save Thomas (8-0) for today’s game, opting on Wednesday to go from starter Max Anderson to reliever Christian Morrison even after The Dalles Wahtonka scored six runs in the fourth to tie that game at 8-all.

Senestraro didn’t see that as a risky move, but in Corvallis, Lien knew he was taking a chance by starting junior Nolan Burright instead of Burner against Hood River Valley. It appeared to backfire when the Eagles scored three runs in the second to go ahead 3-1, but the Bulldogs scored three in the bottom of the inning and five in the fifth to win going away.

Can they put up those kind of numbers against the 6-foot-5 Thomas?

“I’ll be honest, we know nothing other than a YouTube video that we’ve seen on him,” Lien said. “But really, our nemesis is usually internal. Our guys have a great demeanor right now and I don’t expect that to change (today). But our focus is on us. The opponent is a factor that we can’t control.

“We haven’t peaked, but we’re playing very confident and we have a good team chemistry going right now, and that is valuable going into the playoffs. Our kids love to compete, and … they’re excited about coming to Ashland to play a good baseball team. You’ve got to beat the best to be the best.”

At first glance, Ashland-The Dalles Wahtonka certainly looks like an unfair fight. Ashland is 24-2 and No. 2 in the OSAA ratings, while TDW is 5-15 and No. 30. But look a little closer and you’ll see that The Dalles Wahtonka was forced to forfeit 10 games – six of those would have been wins – and is coming off a 2-1 win over PIL champion Wilson. That doesn’t necessarily mean Wednesday’s game will come down to the final inning, but I don’t think this is your typical 1 vs. 8 matchup.

It will be interesting to see how Ashland handles the Eagle Indians’ big lefty, Andrew Olsen. I talked to another reporter today who told me that Olsen is 6-foot-5, about 250 pounds, and throws in the mid 80s, which made me wonder about Olsen’s control since he has 30 strikeouts and 22 walks in 26 innings of work (those numbers include six innings against Wilson, during which he struck out one and walked five). Olsen’s likely to get the start Wednesday, with reliever Kenny Harris (3-6, 42 ER in 45 ip) ready to step in, as he did in the final inning at Wilson.

Batting wise, TDW’s stats do not compare to Ashland’s. The Eagle Indians are batting .286 as a team, led by Hunter Woods (.405), Jake Keller (.359) and Conner Mathisen (.333). Kenny Harris leads the team with three homers. The Grizzlies finished the regular season batting .377, led by Billy Hansen (.514), Brent Hegdahl (.508) and Ethan Schlecht (.500).

Defensively, the Eagle Indians have a stud behind the plate in Woods, who threw out three base runners in their play-in win.

Of course, none of those numbers will mean a thing once the game begins. Here’s a couple numbers that do matter: 80 percent. That’s the chance of rain for Wednesday. And 60%. That’s Thursday. The Weather Channel predicts a half-inch for Wednesday. Bummer. At least there’s shelter, right … for those 15 or so lucky souls who manage to squeeze in under the snack bar overhang.

Two singles players and three doubles teams will represent Ashland High in the OSAA Class 5A boys and girls state tennis tournaments, which begin today at the Portland Tennis Center (boys) and Tualatin Hills Tennis Center in Beaverton (boys).

Seniors Max Burt and Laurel Sager both will play first-round matches today in the singles tourneys, with Burt facing junior John Shotton of Crescent Valley and Sager taking on junior Hannah Anderson of Wilsonville. If Sager wins, she’ll face fourth-seeded Wilson freshman Maddie Samkutty in the second round.

In doubles action, the Ashland boys qualified their top two teams to state — Ian Murray and Carl Gorbett, plus Josh Harris and Grant Kahn. Murray and Gorbett will square off against Jordan Dowdle and Isaac Marshall of Sherwood in the second round, while the Harris-Kahn duo will face Jason Berney and Mason Browning of Cleveland in Round 2. Murray and Gorbett can earn a date with the No. 4-seeded team of Bo Hall and Liam Hall (Summit) should both teams advance to the quarterfinals.

Ashland’s top girls doubles team — freshmen Hannah Greenberg and River Davis — must wait to find out who they will play in the second round.

The state championship matches will be played Saturday. Brackets will be updated periodically at osaa.org.

By Joe Zavala

Ashland Daily Tidings

Defending 800-meter state champion Sam Jackson is the only Ashland High athlete who will be favored to snag an automatic berth to state when the District 1 track and field meet begins today at Summit High School in Bend.

The two-day event marks the first gathering of Special District 1 since the five-school league was formed following the latest OSAA reclassification. The schools that will compete there for Class 5A state berths are Ashland, Mountain View, Bend, Summit and Eagle Point.

Action begins at 1 p.m. today and continues at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Jackson, a junior, enters districts as the heavy favorite in the 800 after setting a personal record of 1 minute, 55.92 seconds, the top 5A mark, April 30 in the Grants Pass Rotary Invitational.

Only four more Grizzlies, all boys, enter the meet ranked in the top three among District 1 athletes in an event: Sam Cowan ranks second (45 feet, 9 1/2 inches) and Logan Hartrick third (45-1) in the shot put; Ian Wurfle is tied for the third-best mark in the 300 hurdles (41.61); and Ben Jackson, Sam’s twin brother, has the third-best time in the 800 (2:01.82).

The top two placers in each event will join those who meet qualifying standards — based on a four-year average of third place — at next week’s 6A-5A-4A state meet at Hayward Field in Eugene.

One Grizzly who has at least come close to meeting the qualifying standard in her event is high jumper Joy Harpham, a junior, whose 5-foot-2 leap is only one inch off the critical 5A mark.

Prep Tennis

The Ashland High boys will have two doubles teams and a singles player vying for Midwestern League titles when the district tournament concludes today at the Eugene Swim and Tennis Club.

The Ashland girls also will be well represented there, as its top-seeded doubles team and No. 4 seeded singles player, Lauren Sager, continue their quests for league supremacy.

Everyone playing today has already secured spots in the Class 5A state tournament by advancing to the final four at districts.

On the boys’ side, Ashland will be facing itself in the semis when Josh Harris and Grant Kahn take on teammates Carl Gorbett and Ian Murray for a spot in the championship match. The winner of that match will face a team from Churchill, which also advanced two teams to the semis.

The Ashland boys’ lone singles player still alive is No. 4 seed Max Burt, who will try to upset top-seeded Rasmus Alstermark of Springfield in his semifinal match. The winner of that will take on Marshfield’s Jon Massie.

In girls’ action, Ashland’s No. 1 seeded doubles team of Hanna Greenberg and River Davis, both freshmen, will take on the No. 3-seeded duo of Nicole Adkisson and Julia Barbarski of Churchill. Sager plays top-seeded Brittany Banna of Churchill.

Friday was a terrible day for me. First, our milkman nearly blew a gasket when he discovered that I brought the wrong number of bottles for our weekly pickup (“Now we have to do ANOTHER lid switch”). Then, my editor brought to my attention two typos – I somehow placed a needless apostrophe into the word “its” (the non-contraction version) twice in the same sentence - that made their way into my SOU football story.

Finally, I was heckled at the Ashland-South Medford baseball game. That’s right. Heckled.

Let me explain.

On April 23, I blogged an actual opinion. Bad Idea, I know. Anyway, I asked the question, “Are the Grizzlies really this good?” In my mind, I was measuring this year’s team against former versions, not the rest of the state as it stands in 2011. As in, are the Grizzlies better right now than they were at this point in 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007 (or for that matter, 2002, a scary-good team that had four first-team SOC all-stars, including the greatest Ashland slugger of all time, Bill Rowe)? It’s a legitimate question since Ashland’s record through 18 games bested what any of those teams were able to do, and that includes the 08 state championship team. My answer was no, and really, I didn’t think that opinion would raise a single eyebrow. The 2009 team is still No. 1 in my mind. Three top-tier pitchers, power everywhere, fantastic defense. One off day in the semis cost that team a state title. The 2008 bunch isn’t far behind. This year’s team compares favorably to the 2007 team and is on par with 2010.

Anyway, back to my terrible day. I arrived at Harry @ David Field about 30 minutes before the first pitch, unaware that the aforementioned blog had drawn the ire players and parents alike. I hopped on down into the visitor’s dugout, and immediately Ashland assistant coach Charlie Hall, who was standing close by, turned and offered a warning. At the time, I didn’t understand what he said and didn’t bother to ask, but after the game started it didn’t take long to connect the dots. Apparently, people do read this blog, and many of those people were wearing red and white on Friday.

The protests manifested themselves innocently enough: sarcastic cheers, sideways comments and even, after Ashland clinched the 7-3 win, a heckle from the Ashland fan section. Somebody blared: “What do you think about THAT, Joe?” Actually, I think that’s great. I’m a reporter, so I’m not supposed to root for teams. But I’m also human, and it would be disingenuous of me to pretend that Ashland baseball is just another program that I cover, one of 33. My son decided baseball was the sport for him as an Ashland Little Leaguer and continued to play for Ashland through his seventh-grade year. He was taught how to pitch by Ashland pitching gurus Chuck Thacker and Derrell Hegdahl; he was taught cutoff and rundown responsibilities by Paul Westhelle, currently an Ashland varsity assistant; and he was taught how to carry himself, how to compete, in short how to play Ashland baseball, by countless other volunteers who made it their business every spring to spread something called A-town pride. So again, I think it’s great that Ashland is piling up wins, and it doesn’t come as a surprise because this current group has always won, from Little League to American Legion. But that doesn’t mean this is the best Ashland team that’s ever taken the field, and it certainly doesn’t mean that these Grizzlies are seeing the same kind of pitching that those Grizzlies did. 

OK, here’s the sugar-coated version: most of the 6A pitchers that the Grizzlies are facing are not worthy of the Grizzlies. I believe that if Ashland competed as a 6A this year, it would probably win the Southern Oregon Hybrid, or finish a close second to Roseburg. But until those 6A coaches see the light and begin to put as much weight into the RPI rankings as they do conference standings, well, Ashland will continue to pound them into submission. And that’s not good for anybody, Ashland included. Like it or not, by advancing to the state semifinals four years in a row and to the state championship game twice the Grizzlies have raised the bar. Racking up regular season wins isn’t the goal here. Not anymore. This is a golden age for the AHS baseball program. Only the volleyball program and the football program have had comparable runs. The Grizzlies have earned the right to face the best pitchers out there, but that’s just not happening. All I’m saying is, if the Grizzlies do go on to claim the program’s second state title in June (a distinct possibility), don’t bend over backward to thank the rest of the Southern Oregon Hybrid.

After Friday’s 7-3 win over South Medford, I asked Panthers’ head coach Ray Smith how he thought the Grizzlies would fare had they competed this season as a SOH 6A. He praised Ashland’s talent and coaching staff, but couldn’t really answer the question. Why? He said that his starter that day, Kanin Campbell, ”is probably our fourth or fifth guy”.

How about the pitcher who relieved Campbell in the fifth, Ryan Luno?

“He’s a sophomore we just brought up from JV to maybe get a few innings in and help us out.” 

Uh huh. And the closer, Pat Alexander?

“That’s the first time he’s pitched this year.”

Anybody else glad the regular season is almost over?

In case you missed it, this story by Kris Henry of the Mail Tribune describes the confusing world Oregon baseball coaches live in. One season, a bat is legal, and the next it’s not. There’s a list. Better keep that list handy, lest you face South Medford, whose assistant coach works at Cascade Athletic Supply in Medford and can spot a banned bat (he sells them, after all) a mile away. Next on South Medford’s schedule – Ashland. The two teams square off Thursday at Harry & David Field in Medford. Ashland is 17-1 and, as of tonight, ranked third in the OSAA power rankings. The Grizzlies may move up if they beat the Panthers. 

It’s easy to blast the power rankings, but for teams like Ashland that have already clinched a conference title the rankings at least add some meaning to these late-season games.

The short answer is no. Yes, I realize 11 wins in a row is impressive no matter who you’re beating. But it’s worth mentioning that the Ashland High baseball team, which improved to 17-1 with today’s sweep of Eagle Point, is probably benefiting from its unfortunate status as an unofficial independent. Technically, the Grizzlies compete in a two-team league with Eagle Point. But really, the Grizzlies are on their own down here, and the net result so far is that Ashland is consistently facing pitchers that typically don’t see much action in games that actually mean something. Why is that? Because games against Ashland, of course, don’t mean a whole lot, unless you’re thinking ahead to the Sweet 16 and playoff seeding – in that case, beating Ashland can seriously improve your RPI standing. As of tonight, Ashland ranks second in the 5A OSAA power rankings, behind only undefeated Pendleton (14-0).

But don’t complain, Ashland fans, because here’s the good news: If the Grizzlies win their last six regular season games – their biggest obstacle is probably Thursday’s game at South Medford - they’ll probably finish in the top three in the final power rankings, which should pave a nice, smooth road to the championship game.