PREP FOOTBALL

Eagle Point wins but still loses in SSC finale

Eagles edge Ashland to force playoff tiebreaker, but Grizzlies and Klamath Union secure final berths

By By Josh McDermott

for the Mail Tribune
November 07, 2009

EAGLE POINT — As Ashland football players awaited a final result from Friday's Crater-Klamath Union game, head coach Charlie Hall appeared hesitant as to what to proclaim in his postgame speech.

Grizzly players were confused, disappointed, but still ready for some good news that might turn their night around after a 28-20 loss to Eagle Point put their playoff hopes in a tailspin.

Then the announcement was made, the team breathed a collective sigh of relief, and Hall even managed half a grin — no doubt excited to add the most successful Southern Sky Conference loss in school history to his resumé.

The Grizzlies (4-6, 2-2 SSC) needed a Crater win — coupled with their loss that successfully didn't exceed eight points — to force a three-way tie for second place with Klamath Union and Eagle Point. When that was secured, Ashland escaped with a tiebreaker that landed them the third and final playoff spot in the SSC. KU will be the No. 2 seed.

The Grizzlies will have a home playoff date with Wilsonville next Friday.

"We get a second chance, and that doesn't happen very often," Hall said. "We'll see what we can do with it, but hopefully it wakes us up and we realize what we can do if we play with urgency all the time."

Up 22-20 with the ball at Ashland's 33-yard line and 14 seconds remaining, Eagle Point executed a double-reverse pass that found receiver Aaron Foster, who bobbled the ball before bringing it in for a touchdown.

The Eagles needed an extra point to extend their winning margin to nine points and effectively knock Ashland out of the playoff picture completely under the newly instated Azzi plan, but junior Christian Morrison was able to find a path through the offensive line and dive on the attempt to essentially save Ashland's season.

If the Grizzlies would have lost by nine, Eagle Point would have outscored them by one in the Azzi point system, which is based on the margin of victories in games between the teams tied with each other. As it was, the Grizzlies and Eagles tied, which forced a second tiebreaker based on points allowed against the teams in question.

The Grizzlies appeared to have put the tiebreaker in their favor on the previous drive before it was spoiled by the double-reverse pass.

Down eight with under two minutes remaining, quarterback Jake Scarminach took the Grizzlies on a clutch drive after struggling to develop any kind of rhythm or chemistry with his receivers all night.

The junior connected with senior receiver Mason Costantino four times — the only four successful plays of the drive — on a slant, out, receiver screen and finally a fade pass that hit the 6-foot-2 target in the end zone to cap a 65-yard drive.

The Grizzlies failed to tie the game on a two-point conversion attempt.

"We seem to play with so much more urgency late in the game, which is disappointing because it'd be nice to see what we can do if we played like that all the time," Costantino said. "The first half was just so unemotional; they wanted the game more."

Scarminach finished the game 12-for-23 with a pair of touchdowns and interceptions, and a lateral pass gone wrong that resulted in a fumble and an eventual Eagles touchdown in the first half.

Three first-half turnovers by Ashland opened the door for Eagle Point to score three unanswered touchdowns and go into halftime with a 22-6 edge.

Austin Marlia led Eagle Point (4-6, 2-2) with 130 rushing yards on 18 attempts, while Steven Josephson added 77 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.

Costantino had 120 yards on nine receptions, while Clinton Murphy had a game-high 12 tackles and an interception for the Grizzlies.