HERE AND THERE; WARRIOR FOOTBALL ON THE AIR

That "On The Air" sign is being lit up again for Wayne High Schoolfootball action.

Dave Berk, whose younger brother, Jeff Berk, was a star offensivelineman at Wayne, has created a Web site that will broadcast allWarrior games this fall, home and away, with Berk handling the play-by-play.

Coach Jay Minton and his Warriors pried the lid off the 2003campaign last week at Cincinnati Oak Hills, and travel to FairfieldFriday night.

According to Berk, publisher of the Web site, the address isOhioPrepScene.com .

He said Wayne football games have been a broadcast rarity since1999, when Dayton's WONE-AM (980) followed the team through the statebig school championship showdown in Canton.

"Our aim is to promote Ohio high school sports," said Berk, a WestCarrollton resident.

"We have been working on this since December and so far our growthhas been great.

"During this time we have helped many parents and athletes learnabout (college) recruiting and how the process works."

"We have an excellent working relationship with Wayne and Minton,and I wanted very much to help the football program reach a newlevel. So, all 10 regular season games will be on the Internet, live,and fans can listen in just like radio."

Fans equipped with Windows media can listen to the Warriorcontests by going to www.OhioPrepScene.com and clicking on the storyfor that week's game.

"Once the fans open the story they will find a link to click andMedia Player will open up,' Berk said. `The broadcast will begin whenwe hit the air. The company we are using to stream the game live alsodoes the Dayton Dragons game live over the Internet."

According to Berk, the pregame, which will include comments byMinton, will start at 7 p.m. with kickoffs set for 7:30.

He also said the games "will be archived and re-broadcast for upto 60 days after the season. Our goal is to put Wayne football on thenational map and we feel we can also build a stronger Wayne alumni."

Jeff Berk starting

3rd year at WVU

Jeff Berk was heavily scouted while at Wayne, but the formerWarrior lineman didn't exactly attract a slew of scholarship offers.

Berk, a starter on the Warrior team that made it to the statefinal in 1999, is launching his fourth season at West VirginiaUniversity, where he received a full-ride scholarship and currentlyhas 16 straight Mountaineer starts behind him.

The 6-foot-5, 285-pounder was redshirted his freshman year andwill be a junior in the upcoming season.

In his third year at WVU, Berk played a major role in helping theMountaineers have one of the best rushing attacks in the nation. WVUfinished 9-3 and then lost to Virginia in a bowl battle.

According to brother Dave, Jeff has been moved to left tackle andis replacing Lance Nimmo, who was drafted by the Super Bowl championTampa Bay Buccaneers.

"So far he's adjusting to the switch very well, from what I hear,"the older brother said.

Jeff, who is preparing to start work on his masters in education,is married to the former Julie Rhodes, a Stebbins High Schoolgraduate.

"Jeff wants very much to become a coach," the older brother said.

Contact Mickey Zezzo at 236-6032 or lzezzo@msn.com.

Dayton Daily News