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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 27, 2004 Hovland expects PSU to be good fit Prep Notebook By DON HUNT Mail Tribune High school football players will officially declare what colleges they’ll attend next fall when they sign national letters of intent on Feb. 5. But for North Medford’s Beau Hovland, the decision has already been made. The standout quarterback gave a verbal commitment to Portland State University a few weeks back. Hovland took his official visit last weekend, and felt even better about his decision to play football for the Vikings. "It’s a program that fits my style of play," says Hovland, who led the Black Tornado to a 12-2 record and a runner-up showing in the Class 4A state playoffs last fall. "Plus, it’s close to home." PSU returns 15 starters from last season’s squad that finished 4-7, including quarterback Joe Wiser, who threw for 2,497 yards and 16 touchdowns. Advertisement Wiser will be a senior in the fall. Hovland says he’ll redshirt and hopes to compete for the starting job in 2005. "I want to learn their system and get comfortable with college," Hovland says. "Most guys want to come in and play right away, and I’m no different. But you’ve got to be realistic in something like this." Hovland had a horrendous state championship game on Dec. 6, completing just 4 of 20 passes for 50 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions in the Black Tornado’s 18-6 loss to Tigard. Hovland hasn’t forgotten it, but his anguish was eased by his transition to basketball the following week. "That’s the great thing about being a three-sport athlete," says Hovland, who also plays baseball. "You’ve always got another sport and a bunch more games right around the corner." In his visit to Portland, Hovland was treated to a steak dinner at a fancy restaurant and then attended a concert featuring "Ying Yang." KYLE SINGLER is only the second freshman to make the varsity basketball team at South Medford High since the school opened its doors a little more than 17 years ago. Michael Harthun, an eighth-grader at Hedrick Middle School, is likely to become the third when he enters South Medford next fall. The 6-foot guard has extraordinary ball-handling and passing skills for someone his age, along with a pull-up jump shot that he splashes with regularity. Harthun had 36 points, 13 rebounds and three assists in leading his unbeaten South Medford AAU team to an 80-68 victory over Crater at a tournament at Crater last weekend. In the championship game, Harthun scored 21 of his team’s first 25 points, then settled into a more conventional point-guard role by setting up his teammates. Harthun, a son of former Crater High and Portland State standout Steve Harthun, scored 44 points in a game earlier this month. WHILE HARTHUN is often the talk of any youth tournament he enters, he found himself in a spirited battle Sunday against Crater eighth-grade standout Nick Brothers, who scored 30 points of his own. Crater High head coach Matt Meunier, who was among those in attendance to watch the Harthun-Brothers duel, has reason to feel optimistic about the future of his program. Not only is Central Point’s eighth-grade AAU team among the best in the Rogue Valley, but Crater’s ninth- graders are 15-0 and coming off a victory over South Medford. "It’s a good group of kids," Meunier says of his ninth-graders. "But you’ve got to keep things in perspective. South has a pretty good ninth-grader playing varsity (Kyle Singler), and some of the other schools (in the Southern Oregon Conference) have ninth-graders playing up (on junior varsity squads). "But if our kids stay with it and keep developing, the future definitely looks bright." CONTRARY TO WHAT some people might think, Rich Cable was not forced out as the Crater High football coach last week. In fact, his letter of resignation to district athletic director Dan Speasl came as a surprise. Give Cable credit for swallowing his pride and realizing he wasn’t the man to turn around a program that hasn’t had a winning season since 1994 and hasn’t advanced to the state playoffs since 1985. The Comets won just three games in his two years as the head coach. In fairness to Cable, he had some things go against him in his short tenure as the head coach, including a star player he kicked off for disciplinary reasons and a staff that didn’t measure up to those of most teams in the SOC. But ever the good soldier, Cable made no reference to those things when he resigned last week. He also said he’d be happy to assist the new head coach in any way he could. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Email Security Advertisement s