Document text
Pettibone is still close to game By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN Jacksonville's Jerry Pettibone will be in the stands Saturday at Autzen Stadium in Eugene for a historic Civil War football game. Pettibone -- Oregon State's head coach from 1991 through '96 -- had no problems coming up with tickets. Pettibone, you see, is an Oregon Ducks' season-ticket holder. And a Duck donor. What? How can this once-devout Beaver leader become a quacker backer? A dreaded Duck? Pettibone, 60, has become a friend of Duck football and head coach Mike Bellotti. He's a major supporter, as evidenced by the season tickets he purchased for his wife, Susy, and himself. He's also donates to the Duck Athletic Fund, and his daughter, Shanda, 21, attends Oregon. That's why Pettibone has, in essence, joined ranks with the enemy. "I really admire coach Bellotti and his coaching staff," says Pettibone, who is currently a director of college and university relations for the Jeld-Wen Inc. company of Klamath Falls. "They've all been supportive and nice to me since I left Oregon State." Pettibone, who resigned after the 1996 season with an OSU record of 13-52-1, says Bellotti was the first active head college coach to call him following his departure from OSU. "He was very positive and very encouraging to me," says Pettibone. "He told me some things I needed to hear at that time, and I appreciated it. "The other coach who stepped forward for me was (Arizona's) Dick Tomey. Dick and Mike are two close friends." Pettibone's feelings toward Bellotti and the Ducks warmed even more when Shanda enrolled at Oregon this fall. She is a journalism major and works for Oregon's student football support team (Team Work) on campus. She also is Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti's student aide in coordinating activities for the football team and staff with Team Work. Susy Pettibone says Shanda, who graduated from Crescent Valley High of Corvallis in 1996, bleeds Duck green. It's another unique story of Oregon families and blood lines to enter the Civil War rivalry. "There's no doubt who Shanda wants to win this game," says Susy. "She's a Duck all the way. Susy, like her husband, has mixed feelings about the game. "I used to get sick over this game when Jerry was coaching," she says. "I was so worried that we might lose to the Ducks or not have a good game. "At least I don't have to worry about that, but I don't know who I want to win, although Shanda's feelings mean a lot to us." Jerry Pettibone will see his first Civil War without feeling any pressure. He plans to sit back -- at ease with the world -- and enjoy two programs he cares about as they slug it out with major bowl implications hanging in the balance. For the first time since 1946, the Beavers and Ducks are both going to bowl games the same year. Both teams take 7-3 records into the 3:38 p.m. game. If other Pac-10 games play out as expected Saturday, the Civil War would be for third place and a likely berth in the Sun Bowl. The loser probably would go to Hawaii for the Aloha or Oahu bowls. However, if Stanford and Washington lose rivalry games, a Duck win puts them in the Rose Bowl. "It's an unbelievable matchup, and it's great for this state," says Pettibone. Pettibone, who had a 2-4 record against Oregon, beat the Ducks twice in Autzen Stadium. In 1991, Pettibone and all his seniors, were carried off the field by underclassmen in celebration of a 14-3 win. Two years later in Eugene, OSU stunned the Ducks again, 15-12. Oregon won four straight Civil War battles after that game, but the Beavers struck back last year with a 44-41 double-overtime under coach Mike Riley. Enter new head coach Dennis Erickson and the Beavers' startling success this fall. "Dennis has done a great job with the kids," says Pettibone. "He has a great coaching staff and a history of winning. That's what he needed to break through at Oregon State." Erickson has similar feelings of admiration for Pettibone, who has watched with pride as 10 of his former recruits start or play significantly for the Beavers of '99. "Jerry played a major role in the construction of the Valley Football Center (OSU's football locker room and office complex at the north end of Reser Stadium), and he recruited a lot of these kids," says Erickson. "He deserves credit for that." Defensive lineman Aaron Wells of the Beavers was a recruit of the Pettibone staff. "Jerry was a good coach, and he did a lot of character building," says OSU lineman Aaron Wells. "That's the legacy he left at Oregon State." Among the most prominent OSU players recruited by Pettibone Wells, lineman Aaron Koch, receiver Roddy Thompkins, lineman Terrence Carroll, linebacker Jonathan Jackson, offensive tackle Robert Sykes, receiver Robert Prescott, defensive tackle Shawn Ball, linebacker Darnell Robinson and linebacker Toalei Talataina. Pettibone hadn't attended an Oregon State game following his resignation in 1996 -- until last Saturday. He was in the stands at OSU's Reser Stadium, at the invitation of athletic director Mitch Barnhart, to watch the Beavers defeat Arizona and claim their seventh win. "I got to sit with an old friend and just enjoy the game," says Pettibone. "It was fun." Pettibone said in The Oregonian recently that he felt unappreciated and shunned by OSU officials after he left Corvallis to become assistant athletic director at Oklahoma in 1996. He spent one year at Oklahoma, and then was terminated in the wake of budget cuts in the department. He still has a lawsuit pending in that case. Pettibone worked for Jeld-Wyn out of an office in Norman, Okla., for one year before moving to Jacksonville a year ago. He lives near the center of the quaint and historic small town. "We love it here," says Pettibone. "The people are great and it's a beautiful little town. We can walk just a few blocks to lunch or shop downtown. It's very peaceful here." Peace was something Pettibone needed after six stressful years in Corvallis and two in Norman. "It's funny how things turn out," says Pettibone, who has seen Oregon play three games this season. Pettibone says he will never coach football again. "It's too much pressure," he says. "That's what got to me the most. I like working with the kids, but the pressure of winning at a place like Oregon State was hard. "After 30 years of coaching, including 12 as a head coach, I've had enough. The seven-day weeks, 16 hours a day, were too much." Instead, he's looking at this Civil War from a distance. "This is about as evenly-matched a game for a Civil War that I can imagine," says Pettibone. "Both teams are similar as far as explosive offenses, swarming defenses and solid kicking games. Usually in a game like that, it comes down to breaks, probably something that happens in the kicking game, that gives the edge to the team that wins." Pettibone says the Civil War invades family lives, for a few hours, but it's all in fun. "It's interesting because there are more couples split over this game than any I've ever seen in a rivalry," says Pettibone. "There are a lot of families where the husband is a Beaver and the wife a Duck." Pettibone, too, has divided interests. But one thing is certain: He's happy for the players he once coached. "I'm proud of those kids," says Pettibone. "They worked hard and hung in there with the program. Now, they're getting an incredible reward." For Pettibone, it's also a reward, of sorts. "I'm close friends with Dennis (Erickson)," says Pettibone. "It's pleasing for me because he's given me some credit for what's happening now. "But what's most satisfying is to see the kids I recruited have success." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.