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Recent events add to Heat-Yakima rivalry By Kris Henry If there wasn�t one already, recent events have made a Southern Oregon Heat-Yakima Shockwave rivalry official. As two of the three Western Division teams in the National Indoor Football League, a budding rivalry was only natural. When former Heat coach Brett Wells signed on a few weeks ago to play for the Shockwave, the rivalry blossomed. When Larry Jobe was fired as Shockwave head coach Tuesday afternoon and hired as the Heat�s co-head coach Wednesday night, the rivalry hit full bloom. "I think this move pretty much solidifies Yakima as our rival," Heat co-head coach Eric Vanderwegen said Thursday. The move is a welcome one for Vanderwegen, who will return to the field as quarterback for tonight�s game between Southern Oregon (1-3) and the Shockwave (2-3) in Yakima. "I think it�s going to strengthen our staff tremendously," he said. "Being back on the field now, I have some other things to worry about, so bringing in Larry takes a lot of pressure off me. He�s going to bring some more stability to our sidelines, and it gives us another set of eyes when I�m on the field." Jobe found himself on Yakima�s chopping block thanks in part to an 0-3 home record and a personality conflict with Mitch Donahue, the director of football operations for Yakima and the Billings Outlaws. "It was not an unwelcome change," Jobe said a few hours after Tuesday�s firing. Donahue and Jobe said the decision to part ways was mutual, with both wishing each other well. Of course, Jobe also said at the time he didn�t intend to pursue another coaching job. So what made him change his mind? "This is just a good opportunity for me," said Jobe. "To work with Kevin (Wells, Heat owner) and play a bigger role in an organization that I feel I can have some impact on was too good to pass up. This is a good marriage to hook up with Kevin and his staff." Jobe was to hit the ground running at Thursday�s film session and planned to use the 8�-hour bus ride back up to Yakima to fine-tune preparation for tonight�s game. The Heat was to leave at 3 a.m. today. "It will give me a chance to bond with the team and spend some time with the players," he said. "Right now my primary goal is not to come in and make drastic changes as much as it is to get to know the players, the organization and do an evaluation of what our needs are and then try to address those needs next week." The good news for Heat fans is, although Jobe is 0-3 coaching in front of home fans, he�s 2-0 on the road � which technically will be the case tonight. "There would be nothing that would make me happier than to walk in there and hand that team its fourth home loss," said Jobe. The Heat and Shockwave were already primed for tonight�s game with the presence Brett Wells and a divisional race ripe for the taking. In the three-team division, Utah is 2-0, Yakima 1-2 and Southern Oregon 0-1. Vanderwegen said Wells� move to Yakima left a sour taste in the mouths of Heat players, although it was a completely legal pickup by the Shockwave. "There was some hard feelings with some of the players with how everything went down," said Vanderwegen. "Obviously he wants a shot at us and some of the guys here want a shot back at him." Although Wells spent three months preparing the Heat for the season-opener with Yakima, he never got to taste the fruits of his labor after the league suspended him the week of the opener for what it thought to be a probation violation resulting from a 1998 DUII conviction. Tina Johnson, NIFL operations manager, said the league�s executive committee reconsidered the situation a few days later on Wells� behalf and chose to lift his suspension after learning the coach had not violated his probation. "The situation that was explained to us originally with Brett was not the situation that came out the following week," she said. Kevin Wells, no relation to Brett Wells, refused to pay a $10,000 fine imposed by the league to keep his head coach on the roster. When asked to release Brett Wells from his Heat contract so he could sign with Yakima, Kevin Wells obliged. "I didn�t want to ruin this guy�s career," said the Heat owner. "That�s not the point. I never wanted ill-will with Brett at any point in time." For his part, Brett Wells said Tuesday he has moved on and considers it all a learning experience. He says tonight�s game stands to be an emotional one for him. "You have a certain love and emotional tie for people that put their family away for a couple hundred bucks a week," he said. "It�s going to be difficult because I was their leader; I wasn�t just a player sent away. Even if we beat them by 60 points, I�m going to feel bad to a certain extent." Make no mistake, Brett Wells does not waver over which team he�d like to see win. "I�m the consummate competitor," he said. "I want to kick their butts, but I wanted to do the same thing against Billings last week. It�s a big game, but it�s a big game for Yakima to go .500 (at 3-3)." Whatever insight on the Heat Wells had to impart to the Shockwave might be negated with Jobe�s presence on the Southern Oregon sidelines. "I think it�s going to be even less of a chess match than normal and more about playing football," said Vanderwegen. "By this point in the season, there�s not a lot of secrets out there any way. It�s just a matter of your athletes lining up and performing." And possibly remembering which coach to call upon. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.