By Randy Hammericksen

Former North Medford High athlete Mike Morrell has a vision of bringing amateur football to the Rogue Valley.

Morrell, an NAIA football All-American for Linfield College as a tight end in 1993, has been the driving force in founding the four-team Oregon Football League, which will begin play May 9.

"We're trying to attract some of the best former Rogue Valley high school players still in the area," says Morrell. "I don't just want heads in helmets out there. We want quality players to play good football. Based on the early response, I think it's going to happen."

The league will be made up of two Medford teams, one team from Klamath Falls and one from Roseburg. Each team is expected to have 35 players.

The season starts May 9. The league playoffs will complete the season in July.

Players must be age 18 or older. The cost is $125 per player. Morrell says league officials are negotiating with Eagle Point High to use Eagle Stadium for all games.

"We have had a lot more interest early than I thought we would, but we are still looking for players," says Morrell. "That's why we want to encourage players to try out at the league combine workout on the 28th."

Former high school all-stars from the Rogue Valley expected to play on Medford teams this season include Kerry Curtis, John McEwen, and David Sprague of North Medford, Mark Cromwell of South Medford and Robbie Cowden of Eagle Point.

Curtis, 21, who helped North Medford win the 1993 Class 4A state football championship, played two seasons of college baseball (for Portland State and Chemeketa Community College). He hasn't played organized, full-contact football since high school.

"I'm excited to get a chance to put on the pads and play again," says Curtis. "If this was going to be something similar to slow-pitch softball, I don't think I would have agreed to play.

"But with Mike Morrell out there, it tells me the quality of football will be pretty good."

In 1997, the Southern Oregon Timberwolves of Medford played in a semi-pro league in the San Francisco Bay area. Morrell played for the team.

But the team struggled financially and lasted just one season.

"This league is totally different from what that team did," says Morrell. "We learned a lot about how to put a league together based on the mistakes that team made. We have a league president (Doug Stone) and all teams are set up to help each other.

"We are a non-profit organization, which makes it good for sponsors. All money earned will be put back into the league."