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Ashland contingent gears for Oregon Bowl By DON HUNT The Ashland Grizzlies will have plenty of representation at the Les Schwab Oregon Bowl all-star football game Saturday in Portland. Bowl Facts What : 51st all-star football game. Who : Recently-graduated Class 4A high school players. When : 7 p.m. Saturday Where : Portland Civic Stadium. Gates open and football carnival begins at 4 p.m. Last year : North 20, South 17. Tickets: Reserved (Adults $10, Students 12-18 and seniors, 60-older, $7). General Admission (Adults $7, students and seniors, $5). Under-12 admitted free. Jim Nagel will serve as the head coach for the South team, and four Grizzlies off last season's Class 4A state championship team will join him -- quarterback Jimmy Werbin, tight end Austin Mason, center Roger Walsh and tackle Ryan Schorovsky. The 51st annual contest, known as the Shrine game until last year, matches the top high school senior graduates from the south and north ends of the state. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Saturday at Civic Stadium. The teams begin two-a-day practices Monday in Portland. Other players from the Southern Oregon Conference set to join the South squad are Crater wide receiver/defensive back Mike Jacobs, Crater running back Brad Ralph, Eagle Point running back Sean Johnston and Roseburg linemen Buck Forest and Byron Rinaker. North Medford lineman Jesse Gelsinger was also selected to the team but won't participate due to an injury. The South team boasts of six Division I recruits, including a trio of behemoths on the offensive line: Parade All-American Bryce Bohlander (6-7, 265), who is headed to UCLA; Joey Forster (6-5, 290), who is on his way to Oregon; and Matt Davis (6-5, 292), who is headed to Oregon State. The South squad also features 6-6, 220-pound tight end Tim Euhus, who will play at OSU this fall. Nagel hopes the beefy linemen can blast open holes for the South's other two Division I recruits -- speedy running backs Mark Jackson and Travis Burgher. Jackson is headed to Illinois while Burgher, a Marshfield High product, is headed to Boise State. While the South team is steeped in talent, it nonetheless looks like the underdog. The North squad will put nine Division I recruits on the field, including linebacker Matt Floberg, the state's defensive player of the year last season while starring for Jesuit. Floberg signed with Oregon. The North team will also showcase standout running back Luke Staley of Tualatin, who is headed to Brigham Young. The game will match two of the most successful head coaches in Oregon -- Nagel and North coach Ken Potter of Jesuit. Nagel has posted a 151-39 record in 16 seasons at Ashland, while Potter has registered a 97-36 mark in 11 years at Jesuit. Nagel, however, has had the upper hand when the two have gone head-to-head, winning all three matchups including a 21-14 overtime victory in the state semifinals last fall. The Grizzlies went on to beat Roseburg the following week, handing Nagel his third state championship. The all-star game returned to Portland last year following failed stints in Corvallis and Eugene. Now under the guidance of Pro Max, a sports event management company, and supported by corporate heavyweights Les Schwab, Nike and Fred Meyer, the Oregon Bowl looks to be on solid footing. It drew a crowd of 5,200 last year. Todde Greenough, the director of operations for Pro Max, said that Oregon Bowl officials are considering scrapping the current north-south format and establishing an all-star game against Washington in the future. "We think a football game between the two states would spark a lot of interest," Greenough said. "It would be an our backyard against your backyard type of thing." The interstate clash was on its way to reality, perhaps as soon as next year, when Washington officials backed out, Greenough said. "But we're not giving up on the idea," he said. The only drawback would be a reduction in participation. Oregon currently has 72 players participating -- 36 on each team -- and would likely go with a 48-man roster if it merged into one team, Greenough said. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.