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Prep competition has proven to be a real hit on new cable network By Don Hunt The best football matchup on television this weekend could be Nebraska-Colorado, Ohio State-Michigan or Penn State-Michigan State. Then again, the most entertaining game might be Friday night at 8 o'clock when two of the state's top high school squads - No. 1-ranked Jesuit and No. 9 McNary - square off at PGE Park in Portland. The game will be shown live on Action Sports Cable Network (Charter Cable Channel 75) as the second half of a Class 4A playoff doubleheader. The opening game between unranked Redmond and No. 6 Lake Oswego will also be shown live, starting at 5:30 p.m. Action Sports Cable Network is owned by Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen. It kicked off last July when it aired the Oregon Bowl and has since shown hundreds of high school and college games ranging from eight-man football to college volleyball. The station is also the Blazer cable channel. "The feedback has been very positive," says Bob Akamian, who does play-by-play for many of the games. "People like to watch high school sports, even if their own children aren't involved." Regional channels focusing on high school sports have popped up in other states, but ASCN is the first of its kind in Oregon. Akamian clearly remembers the station's first broadcast, when former North Medford coach Rod Rumrey led the South squad to a 24-17 victory in last summer's Oregon Bowl all-star football game. Former Black Tornado quarterback Kevin Foreman was the game's MVP. "I worked in Medford for one year (at Channel 10 in 1984) and so there was a connection there," says Akamian, who moved on to KEZI-TV in Eugene and then to Fox Sports Northwest before assuming his present job at ASCN. Several people have joined Akamian in the booth to do color for the football games, including former OSU coach Jerry Pettibone and former Oregon quarterback Chris Miller. Pettibone will be Akamian's sidekick Friday night. Akamian spent much of the summer calling athletic directors around the state to obtain schedules and plan what games the station would air. Although football has been the meat and potatoes of the broadcasts, the station has also shown high school and college volleyball, soccer and cross country and will continue to show virtually every sport throughout the school year, not to mention dance and drill and cheerleading contests. South Medford High picked up one of the better female soccer players in the Rogue Valley in the past couple weeks when Emily Smith transferred from St. Mary's. Smith, a junior striker and fullback, scored 17 goals in leading the Crusaders to a 10-2-1 record this past season and a berth in the Class 2A state playoffs. Smith was a third-team, all-state selection last season and was recently named to the District 6 all-star squad for the third straight year. "Emily will definitely be a big asset for our team," South Medford girls soccer coach Buzz Thielemann said. "She's played club soccer with several of our girls and so the transition should be easy. "We'll be thrilled to have her." Smith will play on a select team this winter that travels to Portland. Oregon has been a pipeline for Arizona State University's women's basketball team. The Sun Devils signed Crater High's Amy Denson and Wilsonville's Jill Noe to scholarships last week, which will give them four Oregonians on their roster . Beaverton High graduate Betsy Boardman, a sophomore post, and Crescent Valley High graduate Carrie Buckner, a freshman guard, are currently playing for the Sun Devils. Boardman started every game last season and averaged 111/2 points and just under five rebounds per game as Arizona State went 20-11 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Arizona State coach Charli Turner Thorne sounded thrilled to land Denson. In a press release sent out last week, Turner Thorne said: "From the moment I saw Amy play, I knew I had to have her. She's a strong, athletic 6-1 forward who grabbed every rebound, scored one-on-one in the post, stepped out and drilled 3-pointers and beat her player off the dribble. I guess you could say versatility is her middle name. "On top of all that, she's a leader who knows how to win. She will be one of those players who never plays like a freshman." Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.