New head coach Bill Heber wasted little time getting the Oilers on the practice field Aug. 12. He held a midnight practice -- under the lights, obviously. "The kids were real excited about that," said Heber, whose troops went from midnight to 2 a.m., 9 to 11 a.m. and 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. the first day of drills. "I saw a thing in the newspaper six, seven or eight years ago where Farrell did that," Heber said. "I thought it was a great idea. I said if I ever became head coach, I'd do that." Heber, who served as defensive coordinator under former head coach Paul Stamm, inherited several returning starters from last year's 5-4 team. He'll be searching for a quarterback, however. Juniors Cody O'Brien and Matt Kulinski, last year's jayvee signal callers, are working out there. Returning starters on offense are Steve Drozdo, who has been moved from tackle to tight end; TE Tom Schwab (part-time), HB Corey Schwab, Z-backs Mike Karnish and Nick Woods, fullbacks Eric Sabin and Jack Watson (part-time), split end Joe Sundo and guard Chris Szabat. Returning defensive regulars include Drozdo, Mason Marsh and Tom Schwab (part-time) at end, Szabat at tackle, Sabin and Watson (part-time) at inside linebacker, Woods at outside linebacker, Karnish and Sundo (part-time) at cornerback and Kris Tawney at safety. Other returning lettermen are DE-C/OT Josh Freeman, OT Jeff Twombly, ILB-OG/OT Matt Dempsey and OG-ILB Corey Tarr. There are 65 players on the team -- 14 seniors, 25 juniors and 26 sophomores. The Oilers  scrimmaged St. Marys on Saturday, Aug. 17. They will host Kittanning at 7 p.m.  Friday, Aug. 23, in their second scrimmage. --- Heber, by the way, is a former Oiler football player as are three members of his staff: Mark Cochran, Chris Delmonaco and Tim Reed. Another former Oiler, Tiger LaVerde, is beginning his second season as Franklin's head coach. His staff includes two former Oilers: LaVerde's brother, Matt, and Pete McIntyre. Posted: 08.12.02; updated: 08.13.02