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Beaver fans not in the giving mood By TIM TROWER Mail Tribune In this season of giving, many Oregon State football fans won't give so much as an inch in their desire to see the Beavers defeat rival Oregon on Saturday in the 105th Civil War in Eugene. Never mind that the Ducks have a sliver of a shot at the national championship. Never mind that the Ducks have a quarterback very much in contention for the Heisman Trophy. "The Ducks have had a very good year," nodded Medford resident Jim Norfleet, an OSU alumnus and one of more than 100 fans at the Southern Oregon Beaver Huddle luncheon Thursday at Rogue Valley Country Club. "They deserve to be where they are. But if they happen to lose the game, they deserve that, too." Fourth-ranked Oregon is 9-1 and sits in the fifth hole in the BCS rankings. The right combination of a win by the Ducks on Saturday, losses by teams ahead of them and friendly computing would put them in the Jan. 3 title game at the Rose Bowl. Failing that, Oregon has nailed down a berth in the Fiesta Bowl as the Pacific-10 Conference champion. Meanwhile, a win by OSU would make it bowl eligible at 6-5. Greg Byrne, an associate athletic director at OSU who formerly headed the Southern Oregon Duck Club, has traveled with the Beaver Caravan around the state this week, making stops at Klamath Falls, Roseburg and Bend, among other cities. "There are Beaver fans who root for Oregon except for one game," said Byrne, alluding to the in-state matchup. "And there are those who will never root for the Ducks. But I have not come across a single person who truly calls himself a Beaver who wants the Ducks to win. The Beavers want to make the path to the Rose Bowl as difficult as possible for the Ducks." Speaking of the Rose Bowl, Dick Dunbar of Medford recalled when Oregon played Penn State in the 1995 Rose Bowl. "A lot of Beaver fans bought Penn State hats," he said. Dunbar's link to the Beavers is his daughter, Christin, a senior at OSU. He is a graduate of Cal State-Chico. "My observation is that it's an absolutely tremendous rivalry," he said. "You're either a Beaver or a Duck. There are very few people in between." A member of the country club, he said some peers' golf carts are painted the school colors of the Beavers or Ducks. Some golfers, their sensibilities offended, refuse to ride in rival chariots. "It's a lot of fun," said Dunbar. "It's a scream." Paul Evensen had as much reason as anyone to be at the luncheon, and his affection for Oregon State likely runs deeper than most. The 79-year-old former coach and athletic director at Medford High played for the Beavers in the 1940s. A two-way guard, he competed in 1942, then served in the military during World War II. He returned to coach Lon Stiner's program in 1946 and '47. Evensen was invited to the 1948 East-West Shrine All-Star Classic, where he served as a team captain. His West team suffered a 40-9 loss to the East, which was led by Heisman Trophy winner John Lujack of Notre Dame. During Evensen's playing days, the Beavers won two of three games against the Ducks. "As far as I'm concerned," Evensen said, "whenever we're playing Oregon, we're playing the enemy. If the Ducks get beat, I'm glad we can knock them out of something." Evensen, true to his nature as an old lineman, believes the Beavers will dominate the line of scrimmage on the way to victory. He noted their impressive wins over Washington and Northern Arizona the last two times out. "Evidently," he said, "they've come to life." Oregon State offensive coordinator Tim Lappano addressed the lunch crowd via speakerphone and offered some insights. On practicing, he said the Beavers have closed theirs the past couple weeks because they put in new wrinkles over the two-week span between games. "With as many people involved in this game as there are in the community," he said, "we don't want someone running to Eugene and telling what they've seen." They've also piped in loud music the past 11/2 weeks to replicate the noise level in Autzen Stadium. "We've made everyone in the neighborhood mad at us," he said. On the health front, the Beavers are in as good of shape as they've been, he said, particularly running back Ken Simonton, whose burst of speed seems to have returned. Simonton needs 113 yards to become the first Pac-10 back to rush for 1,000 yards in each of four seasons. Expecting the Ducks to crowd the front, Lappano said the Beavers may have to start out throwing the ball to loosen the defense. But getting Simonton the necessary yardage is something OSU would like to do. "We'll address that late in the game (if necessary)," he said, adding, "I really feel like we can run the ball on these guys, even with an eight-man front." On Ryan Cesca, last year's all-conference kicker, Lappano said the junior is struggling. In the last three games he's attempted field goals, Cesca has five misses in eight attempts, and only one was longer than 38 yards. For the year, Cesca is 10 for 16 on field goals, with a long of 47 yards, and perfect on 29 point-after kicks. Lappano expected the Beavers to end their Thursday practice with all of the other players in a semi-circle around Cesca and challenger Kirk Yliniemi, a sophomore. Yliniemi has made his only field goal attempt, from 21 yards, and is 5-for-5 on PATs. "We'll put a lot of pressure on them," said Lappano, "with a lot of noise and heckling, and see who can kick under pressure." Head coach Dennis Erickson will then decide on Saturday's kicker. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.