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52 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, April 7, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 5, 2005 Preps to play 10th football game Prep Notebook By DON HUNT Mail Tribune Oregon’s governing arm of high school athletics will allow schools to schedule a 10th football game beginning next fall. The Oregon School Activities Association will take a share of the revenue generated from all the extra games played around the state to start an endowment fund. One additional game will also be allowed in volleyball and boys and girls basketball. "We’re not sure exactly what the fund will be used for at this point, but it will go back to the kids and the schools in some form," OSAA sports information director Steve Walker says. "It could go to help with participation fees, reimbursing schools more extensively when they travel to state playoff events — that sort of thing. "The goal is to generate a nice nest egg and then use the interest money." Advertisement Ashland, Crater, Eagle Point and Grants Pass are among local teams which have scheduled endowment games, set to be played on Sept. 2. Ashland will host North Salem, Crater will entertain Marshfield, Eagle Point will host South Salem and Grants Pass will be at home against McNary. The two Medford schools already had games scheduled on that date — South Medford will host Tigard and North Medford will travel to Lakeridge — and thus won’t schedule endowment games until 2006. "Idaho went to an endowment game about five years ago and I believe it’s worked well for them," says Eagle Point coach Harry Hedrick, who scheduled Idaho opponents when he coached at Ontario. "Our kids were excited when they heard we had a 10th game. I think it’s a good deal, and I’m sure the fans will like it, too." Football practice won’t open any earlier than usual. Teams will simply have two weeks to prepare for their first games instead of three. Jamborees, which brought together several teams for brief encounters in an exhibition format, will become a thing of the past. Teams like South Salem, North Salem and McNary, which play in the 10-team Valley League, will get to play a nonconference game for the first time in more than a decade. The OSAA’s Walker envisions a time when one of the state’s bigger venues — such as recently renovated Reser Stadium in Corvallis — might host an endowment triple-header on Labor Day weekend. "What better way to kick off a high school football season?" Walker says. "That would be fun." The OSAA’s executive board will meet in May to discuss how much of the endowment game proceeds will go toward the fund. NORTH MEDFORD’S Ben Running is heading to Eastern Oregon University on a football scholarship. Running passed for 2,186 yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last season in quarterbacking North Medford to a 7-3 record. Running hopes to play quarterback with the Mountaineers but isn’t opposed to playing a different position, such as wide receiver or tight end. "Their starting quarterback is returning next season and so I may try out for something else," Running says. "More than anything, I just want to get on the field." Another Black Tornado standout — wide receiver/defensive back Drew Herrera — has signed to play at Southern Oregon. Herrera is expected to redshirt next season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL. ASHLAND HIGH distance runner David Morgan and Crater High’s Isaac Stoutenburgh will compete in a nationally-renowned high school meet in Salt Lake City, Utah, on April 23. The meet, featuring many of the top distance runners in the country, is sponsored by former world-class runner Gerry Lindgren. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Fasa Advertisement s