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Benson shrine to include McLean By Greg Stiles Much has been written and said about Cliff "Chief" McLean�s contributions as an elementary and junior high school coach in Medford. Now, the 87-year-old retired educator, is being honored for his prowess on the basketball court and baseball field. On Dec. 8, McLean will be among the 15 charter inductees in the Benson High Hall of Fame in Portland, where he graduated in 1932. He was an all-state performer in 1931 and 1932 and was the state�s player of the year in 1932. McLean was twice an all-city baseball selection as well in 1931-32. Howard Hobson was McLean�s coach all four years at Benson. When Hobson was hired to coach basketball at Southern Oregon Normal School in Ashland, McLean and a couple of his teammates followed. Hobson coached at Southern Oregon three seasons, beating Oregon six times out of the eight games played. The Ducks subsequently hired Hobson, and he brought McLean along for his senior season. McLean lettered for Oregon during the 1935-36 season as the Ducks reversed their fortunes against the Raiders, winning all four games en route to a 20-11 record. Three years later, Hobson�s "Tall Firs" won the NCAA championship. "I was very lucky to play for Hobby," says McLean, who now lives in Ashland. "I had the same coach all the way through high school and college. He was my idol. He was a great technician and was way ahead of his time." Basketball players Richard Washington, A.C. Green and football player Bill Gray are among the inductees. NEWBERG HIGH IS known for its wrestling, and North Medford tailback Phil Ouellette could tell there were a few grapplers on the field in last Saturday�s Class 4A state quarterfinal at Autzen Stadium. "They�d get one your legs and pull up, just like a wrestler, and you couldn�t get away," Ouellette says. North won, 34-21, and plays Churchill at 3 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals at Autzen Stadium. DATING BACK TO their meeting for the state championship on a soggy Friday night after Thanksgiving in 1977, Churchill and North Medford have clashed five times in the state playoffs. That first meeting ended in a 7-7 deadlock and a shared championship. The next year, Medford defeated Churchill, 14-8, in the quarterfinals, but the Lancers ended the Tornado�s 11-game winning streak with 27-14 semifinal victory in 1979. As snow tumbled to the Spiegelberg Stadium sod, the Tornado dealt Churchill a 12-7 first-round playoff setback in 1984. Then in the final game before the Medford split into two high schools, the Tornado edged Churchill, 14-13, for the state championship. THE ONLY THING standing between Jesuit and its first appearance in the state finals since 1968 is Tualatin, coached by Craig Hastin, the former coach at Medford and Ashland high schools. The Timberwolves are, like most of Hastin�s teams, rock-solid on defense and conservative on offense. Tualatin has outscored its three playoff opponents 72-7, allowing the lone touchdown in a 17-7 win over Roseburg. Tualatin reached the semifinals in 1998, losing 37-20 to Roseburg. Prior to moving to Tualatin in 1993, Hastin�s Tigard team tied Roseburg, 14-14, for the 1990 title. Jesuit has averaged more than 50 points in its three playoff wins, including last Friday�s 55-20 romp over Central Catholic. Jesuit advanced to the semifinals twice in the 1990s. Roseburg rebuffed the Crusaders, 35-7, in 1996, and Ashland bounced them 21-14 in overtime two years ago. THE ANNOUNCED CROWD at Friday�s Central Catholic-Jesuit quarterfinal game at Hillsboro Stadium was 9,763. But Oregon School Activities Association of assistant executive director Tom Welter says the figure didn�t include people who entered through the pass gate. "There were easily 10,000 people there," Welter says. "The great thing was that there were 10,000 people in a 10,000-seat stadium and not 10,000 in a 40,000-seat stadium (like Reser or Autzen stadiums in Corvallis and Eugene)." Hillsboro Stadium had temporary seating added this year to accommodate Portland State University, which played its home games there while Civic Stadium was being remodeled. Century High calls the stadium home as did Central Catholic this season. Welter says the stadium will be reduced to 6,000 seats by next year because seating renders the underlying baseball and soccer fields unusable. THE FIRST COACHES and media polls of the high school basketball season were released Monday. In the Class 4A girls coaches poll, each of the nine districts was represented by one voter. Crater, with just two first-place votes, was No. 1 ahead of defending champion Westview, which had six first-place votes. In the Associated Press media poll, only four votes were cast and the top three, in order, were Westview, Oregon City and Crater No. 3. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4483, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.