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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels August 30, 2004 RV Pop Warner grows up By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Greg Reeser's baby is learning to walk, and will be doing so on FieldTurf this fall. In a deal orchestrated in part by the Rogue Valley Pop Warner league commissioner and founder, RVPW will hold its 2004 league championship games at Medford's Spiegelberg Stadium, with the winners advancing to the first-ever Oregon state championships at Eugene's Autzen Stadium. The move caps a massive joint fundraising effort in which Reeser of Ashland and Willamette Valley Pop Warner commissioner Fred Banks teamed up. According to Reeser, buying a day at the University of Oregon stadium alone cost Pop Warner $6,000. That's steep, he said, but well worth the price. "It's a big reward for all the effort," said Reeser, who's spearheaded RVPW's expansion from four teams in 1996 to 30 this season. "It's kind of the crown jewel. After this, what are you going to do?" The Rogue Valley Pee Wee and Junior Pee Wee championship games will be played Nov. 13 and the state championships are scheduled for Nov. 21. At Autzen, players will have access to the locker rooms and RVPW will have access to the jumbotron and scoreboard. Also, ESPN Films will tape the Midget championship game for a later broadcast on ESPN2 - this is a benefit for Willamette Valley teams only, however, since RVPW does not field a Midget division. The move represents a huge upgrade in postseason venues. Last season, league champions from Oregon advanced to regionals, which were played at rundown high school facilities in the Bay Area. "We started talking about an improved venue right after the regionals, and we decided that a state championship at a nice stadium would be a much better reward for our champions," Reeser said. Spiegelberg, recently resurfaced with FieldTurf, was discussed as an option from the beginning, as was another high-quality high school facility at Cottage Grove. That wasn't true of Autzen, however. "Autzen was a dream," Reeser said. "It was perceived to be unattainable, so we didn't think about it right away." The RVPW season kicks off at 10 a.m., Sept. 11 with games all across the Rogue Valley, including three - Pee Wee, Junior Pee Wee and Mighty Mites - in Ashland. Thanks to the continued support of Ashland High head football coach Dave Coldiron as well as first-year AHS athletic director Karl Kemper, all three Ashland Pop Warner teams play their home games at Walter A. Phillips Field. Phillips Field, the site of Ashland High home games, is generally considered the best regular season Pop Warner facility in the Rogue Valley. - To make donations to RVPW, contact Greg Reeser at 482-1863. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams