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Civil War is in the players' blood By LANDON HALL The Associated Press EUGENE -- It doesn't take long for players at Oregon and Oregon State who grew up in other places to get an idea of how much the Civil War means to both schools. Usually it takes just one game between the archrivals, or one hit delivered in the bone-chilling late-November rain. Players who were born in this state, however, know all about the rivalry, and how much it means. "Remember the zero-zero game?" senior cornerback Justin Wilcox asked, referring to the infamous 1983 edition of the Civil War. ``I was there." Wilcox, whose father Dave was a lineman at Oregon in 1962-63, and whose brother Josh was a tight end from 1993-96, estimates that Saturday's game at Autzen Stadium will be his 14th or 15th Civil War, either as a fan, a ballboy or in uniform. Quarterback Joey Harrington, who grew up in Portland, also was raised a Duck. "I guess it wasn't very vocal. It was just always implied that you didn't root for the Beavers, you were always rooting for the Ducks," Harrington said. The hands-down winner of the grudge match has to go to Andy Maurer, father of Oregon State tight end Marty Maurer. Andy Maurer, who played at Oregon in the late 1960s and went to the NFL, said he called Ducks coach Mike Bellotti and told him to take a look at his son. Oregon didn't offer Marty Maurer a scholarship. Last season, Maurer did a lot of the blocking that sprung teammate Ken Simonton for four touchdowns in the Beavers' sensational 44-41 double-overtime win. "I still take it personally," Andy Maurer said. "If I tell my alma mater I have a player who can play at the Pac-10 level, I should have credibility. They said I don't have credibility. They said I didn't know what I was talking about." Isn't this getting a little too personal? "I can take it personally if I want," Andy Maurer said. "Coach Bellotti and the Ducks have proven themselves, being the most winning franchise in the Pac-10 in recent years, and I know that my little opinion has no impact. "In the counseling work I do, I've learned a lot about anger management, and I realize, I'm angry and I'm the only one who cares. But they told my son he couldn't play, so nuts to them." When Oregon State coach Mike Riley offered Marty Maurer a scholarship, the Maurer household threw all of its green and yellow Ducks items in the trash. "You look up to your dad, look at him as the mold," Marty Maurer said. "You walk like him, imitate him. And he'd always given us little Duck pencils to take to school, Duck shirts, stuff he trashed as soon as I signed." Oregon running back Reuben Droughns wants in on the action, too. He was on the sidelines for last season's Civil War after suffering a broken leg against UCLA five weeks earlier. As a junior college transfer, Droughns is now a senior but is playing his first game against Oregon State. Still, he can sense the game is special. "This is our family right now," said Droughns, who is from Southern California. "Once you sign that letter of intent, you joined part of their tradition. Whoever is their enemy is my enemy." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.