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S.O. Heat starting to come together By Don Hunt Indoor professional football in Medford is just around the corner. The newly-formed Southern Oregon Heat announced a 14-game schedule and the signing of its coaches and its first four players at a news conference Thursday at Lava Lanes Bowling Center. The Heat will begin play on Wednesday, March 28, at 7 p.m. against a team from San Francisco at its home venue, the Jackson County Expo in Central Point. The remainder of the Heat�s home games will be played on Thursday nights. Indoor football is contested on a 50-yard by 85-foot wide playing surface, the same dimensions as a hockey arena, complete with sideboards. With only eight players per team on the field at one time, the games are usually action-packed and high-scoring, Heat owner and president Kevin Wells said. "It�s not unusual to see 80 points go up in one game," Wells said. "It�s 50 yards of football fury." The four players under contract are Mike Morrell, a 6-foot-4, 252-pound tight end who graduated from North Medford High and Linfield; linebacker Freddie Taulani, a former Southern Oregon University standout and last year�s semipro Oregon Football League defensive player of the year; quarterback Eric Vanderwegen, a former player at College of the Siskiyous and Southern Oregon University; and defensive back Brett Wells, a former All-American at Oregon Tech who played with the Portland Prowlers and Idaho Stallions of the Indoor Professional Football League. Vanderwegen is also serving as the team�s offensive coordinator while Brett Wells, who is not related to the team owner, will serve as defensive coordinator. Jeff King, who has coached in the German and Spanish professional leagues, is the head coach. Ticket prices range from $15 to $30. Season tickets range from $99 to $179 for the Heat�s seven home games. Players will be paid between $200 and $300 per contest. "I have a real good feeling about this," said Morrell, who graduated from North Medford in 1989 and went on to star at Linfield. "It�s going to be a blast to play and fun to watch. "I think once people go to a game or two, they�re going to get hooked." The team will announce the rest of its 30-man roster in the next couple of weeks, Kevin Wells said, with the majority of the squad comprised of players from the Rogue Valley. "We�ve got a great pool of talent right here in the valley that we think can compete nationally in this league," Wells said. The Heat will practice two to three hours per day, four days per week. Wells will operate with a $370,000 budget the first year and hopes to average about 4,000 fans per game. Capacity is 4,200. Wells added that the team is prepared to lose money the first couple of years and still remain solvent. The Heat is part of the newly-aligned National Indoor Football League that has swallowed up teams from the American Indoor Football League. The 22-team circuit is broken into four divisions with the Heat belonging to the Western Division. Other Western teams are the Washington Shockwave and the Utah Express in addition to San Francisco. The winners of the four divisions will advance to a four-team tournament in late July. Most of the Heat�s road trips will be via bus, but it will fly to road games at Casper, Wyo., Tupelo, Miss., and Wheeling, W.Va., Wells said. 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 � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.