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I-AA Top 25 and Big Sky Conference Results; BSC Standings, Schedule
NAU vs. PSU: Vikings lose another in final seconds (The Oregonian).
NAU vs. PSU: Safety sparks defense (Arizona Daily Sun).
NAU vs. PSU: Ernster finds redemption (Arizona Daily Sun).
MSU vs. SDS: Nine lives and counting; Cats hit FG in closing seconds to win
(Great Falls Tribune).
EWU at WSU: Eastern Rolls Past Weber State (EWU).
CSU at ISU: Hornets lose at Idaho St.
---
Dickenson, Lions drop Stamps (The Montana Standard).
Same goal, new faces for Griz basketball (Kaimin).
***
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***
Big Sky Conference Results
Montana St 27, South Dakota St 24
Eastern Wash 51, at Weber St 7
Idaho St 29, Sacramento St 24
NAU 21, Portland St 20
Other
Sam Houston 20, Northern Colorado 7
New Hampshire 33, Hofstra 27
Maine 35, Northeastern 26
Big Sky Conference Standings
Conference Overall
W L PF PA W L PF PA
UM 3 0 97 71 6 1 221 171
MSU 3 0 68 54 5 2 142 144
EWU 4 1 212 95 5 3 285 182
NAU 3 1 116 92 4 3 170 151
PSU 1 3 96 93 3 4 186 134
ISU 1 3 86 112 2 5 176 227
Sac 1 3 55 98 2 5 108 232
WSU 0 5 84 199 0 8 144 296
Big Sky Conference Schedule, October 30
Montana at Portland St
Montana St at NAU
Eastern Wash vs. Sacramento St
Idaho St vs. Weber St
Montana Schedule (3 0, 6 1)
Oct 30 at Portland St
Nov 6 Northern Arizona
Nov 13 Sacramento St
Nov 20 Montana St (104th Mtg)
Northern Arizona Schedule (3 1, 4 3)
Oct 30 Montana St
Nov 6 at Montana
Nov 13 at Idaho St
Nov 20 Northern Iowa
Eastern Washington Schedule (4 1, 5 3)
Oct 30 Sacramento St
Nov 6 Cal Poly
Nov 13 at Montana St
Montana State Schedule (3 0, 5 2)
Oct 30 at NAU
Nov 6 at Sacramento St
Nov 13 Eastern Wash
Nov 20 at Montana
Portland State Schedule (1 3, 3 4)
Oct 30 Montana
Nov 6 Idaho St
Nov 13 at Weber St
Nov 20 UC Davis
***
I-AA Top 25 Results
1. won Southern Ill 27, at SW Missouri 3
2. won Ga Southern 42, at Citadel 7
3. won Delaware 31, #14 Wm & Mary 28
4. idle Montana
5. LOST Wofford 17, at #23 Appalachian St 38
6. won Cal Poly 13, at N Dakota St 10
7. won Furman 10, at Elon 0
8. LOST S F Austin 14, at Texas St 17
9. LOST Northwestern St 14, at Nicholls St 40
10. won Western Ky 31, Indiana State 9
11. won Sam Houston 20, Northern Colorado 7
12. LOST Jacksonville St 13, at Tenn Tech 16
13. won James Madison 26, at Richmond 20
14. LOST Wm & Mary 28, at #3 Delaware 31
15. won New Hampshire 33, Hofstra 27
16. won Lehigh 40, Bucknell 17
17. won Hampton 52, at #20 SC State 36
18. won Colgate 41, Holy Cross 7
19. won Maine 35, Northeastern 26
20. LOST SC State 36, #17 Hampton 52
21. won Penn 17, at Yale 7
22. won Harvard 39, at Princeton 14
23. won Appalachian St 38, #5 Wofford 17
24. won Villanova 41, Towson 6
25. LOST UC-Davis 15, at Southern Utah 19
***
NAU 21, Portland St 20
Vikings lose another in final seconds
NORM MAVES JR., The Oregonian
http://www.oregonlive.com/vikingsfootball/oregonian/index.ssf? /base/sports/1098618953168250.xml
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Can the same heart break twice and still keep beating?
Apparently so. Especially if it's behind a Portland State football jersey.
For the second consecutive week, the Vikings dominated a team on the road
for most of a game. For the second consecutive week, a beaten team climbed
out of a hole and stole a win from PSU.
This time it was Northern Arizona, which scored 11 points in the last 7:02
for a 21-20 win Saturday.
Northern Arizona's Paul Ernster kicked a 48-yard field goal with 12 seconds
left for the win.
Until then, PSU hadn't trailed. Last week at Montana State, the Bobcats tied
the score on the last play and won in overtime.
"If there truly are football gods," said PSU coach Tim Walsh, "they sure
aren't with Portland State."
Through nearly 53 minutes, the Vikings all but owned the Lumberjacks. Their
offensive line shoved the home team all over the field, running backs Joe
Rubin and Ryan Fuqua ran through holes, and the PSU defense stopped
everything the Lumberjacks tried.
The only blemish was letting Philo Sanchez run for a 50-yard touchdown in
the third quarter.
PSU outgained the Lumberjacks 388-339 and held the Lumberjacks' runners to
130 yards on the ground.
But in the last 7:02 the Lumberjacks got, in order, an improbable safety, a
touchdown drive that included a fourth-down conversion, a missed two-point
conversion, an onside kick, and, finally Ernster's game-winner.
It started running away from the Vikings in the middle of the fourth
quarter. They led 20-10, and not even the left upright PSU kicker Eric Azorr
hit on a 42-yard field goal attempt with 10:30 left seemed to matter.
They faced a third and 11 on their 6-yard line. The play collapsed and
quarterback Joe Wiser circled back looking for clearance to get rid of the
ball.
He stepped on the end line for a safety with 7:02 left.
"The play got eaten up," Wiser said. "I tried to get around and throw it
away. I didn't feel that deep. I felt I still had room."
The ensuing Lumberjacks drive went 60 yards and ended with 2:06 to go when
Roger Robinson scored from the 3. Jason Murrietta's two-point conversion
pass missed, and it looked as if PSU had slipped away.
But Ernster kicked a bouncing onside kick that teammate Eric Iverson caught
on a dive to give Northern Arizona another life.
Murrietta moved his team to the PSU 31-yard line in four plays, and with 17
seconds to go, Lumberjacks coach Jerome Souers sent Ernster out.
"I went out there really nervous," the kicker said. "I had a thousand things
on my mind."
The Vikings called a timeout to let him think about it. Ernster used it to
pray.
"I asked for the strength to do what I can do," he said.
The snap was high, but Iverson pulled it down and Ernster was perfect.
"I never thought we'd lose," Walsh said. "The message I gave to the team is
that who says that everything's going to be fair, whether it's football or
other things you do.
"But for the second straight week we played hard and played well. They need
to be rewarded for that."
Maybe someday -- when the football gods are in a better mood.
***
NAU vs. PSU
Safety sparks defense
By KEITH JIRON, Arizona Daily Sun
http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?story ID=96708
Northern Arizona's defense turned in perhaps the play of the season midway
through the fourth quarter of its Big Sky showdown with Portland State at
the Skydome Saturday.
Lumberjacks defenders, who both sparkled and stubbed their collective toes
throughout the afternoon, came up big just when the partisan NAU crowd
needed them most.
Down 20-10 with a little over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter,
NAU's defense pulled a rabbit from its hat with a safety of Portland State
quarterback Joe Wiser.
NAU then scored 11 unanswered points down the stretch -- including a 48-yard
game-winning field goal from Paul Ernster -- to pull out a 21-20 victory.
Jacks senior linebacker Vince Henman, who finished with a game-high 12
tackles, including three sacks, credited a new scheme dreamed up especially
for this game by defensive coordinator Corey Batoon.
"We ran a pressure that we hadn't run all year. It's real tough to pick up
from the outside edge because we've got three guys coming into one gap," he
said. "So the (offensive) tackle's got to make up his mind about who he's
going to block. Then the running back has to pick up someone else, so
someone's always free.
"It's amazing how Coach Batoon knew exactly what the they were going to do,"
Henman added. "I came off the edge and nobody blocked me, so I was able to
get back there and luckily help knock him out of bounds for the safety."
A despondent Wiser, still looking a little dazed after the game, broke down
the play which started the ball rolling for the hosts.
"Our (passing route) got eaten up and I had a man in my face on the
backside. So I tried to get outside and throw it away," he said. "I didn't
feel like I was that deep in the end zone. I thought I had (more space to
play with). That was obviously the (impact) play of the night."
The bright spots were many for Jacks defenders: Six sacks. Five tackles for
a loss. Four broken up passes and an interception. 14 players had at least
one tackle.
But it wasn't all good news for Jacks fans.
It seemed like for every big play the defense produced for most of the first
half, it gave up one to Portland State.
"The Vikings have some big-play players in the backfield and the have some
receivers who can be a handful," NAU coach Jerome Souers said. "It seemed
like we were (getting beat) pretty consistently in the first half, so we
were concerned.
"I know in the second half Coach Batoon made a couple of nice adjustments
and that gave our kids a better chance." he added.
Those adjustments, along with some strong words in the locker room at
halftime played a key role in motivating the boys for the second half,
according to Henman.
"In the first half, it wasn't really missed assignments, it was just not
being aware of where the ball was, or who was in the game," he said. "But we
took care of that at halftime. The coach came in and we got a good little
yellin' at.
"That changed our attitude. We came out there and shut it down a lot better
than we did in the first half," Henman added.
NAU linebacker Sean Sovacool, who also provided big-time pressure on Wiser
on that fourth and long play, said it was a matter of time before he and his
boys put their stamp on the game.
"The clock was ticking tonight, and a lot of guys stepped up and made plays
when they needed to," he said. "We knew we had to be aggressive today
because it was no secret what they were going to try to do.
"They were going to shove it down our throats with the run, we just had to
shove back. And we ended up doing it."
***
NAU vs. PSU
Ernster finds redemption
By ED ODEVEN, Arizona Daily Sun
http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?story ID=96706
The look on Paul Ernster's face said it all: pure, unconstrained joy.
The Northern Arizona senior kicker donned that look after tasting the sweet
morsels of redemption. He drilled the game-winning, 48-yard field goal with
12 seconds remaining to lift the Lumberjacks to a 21-20 victory over
Portland State Saturday at the Skydome. Earlier in the game, Ernster had
missed a 32-yard field goal.
"When I went out there, I had about a thousand things going through my
head," Ernster said. "As a kicker, we dream about this. This is what we do:
We go out there to win games.
"I went out there and I was thinking about everything. ... I prayed. ... I
just cleared my head and just swelled my leg and thankfully it went where it
was supposed to."
Portland State (3-4 overall, 1-3 in the Big Sky Conference) got the ball
back, but on the game's final play, Vikings quarterback Joe Wiser was picked
off by NAU safety Eric Iverson.
"You always hope that you can get a happy ending out of that kind of deal,
and that's what we got tonight," Lumberjacks coach Jerome Souers said.
Ernster's night, like the rest of his team's, changed from disappointment to
relief, frustration to euphoria.
"I think Paul Ernster's day was kind of how the day went," Souers said.
"Struggle, struggle, struggle, struggle and you get a chance to get it done
in the end and he came through.
"I just told him to take a deep breath out there," Iverson added, recalling
the pre-kick pep talk. "Take a deep breath all day long. It's all in you."
Iverson downplayed the fact that the Jacks' final snap was high. He said it
was "in the range that I can put it down."
NAU (4-3, 3-1) never led until that game-winning kick.
"The emotions that we have going right now, I haven't felt this good in a
long time," Lumberjacks linebacker Vince Henman said. "This is a huge win.
This is exactly what we needed to get going, to get our team going. We've
got three more conference games. We are going to take this win into next
week and hopefully do the same thing."
NAU trailed 20-10 after Ryan Fuqua's 55-yard touchdown run with 2:45 left in
the third quarter. Through three quarters, the Jacks had been outplayed at
the line of scrimmage and only had possession of the ball for 14:40.
In all three facets of the game, the Lumberjacks picked up their play in the
final quarter in the comeback win.
It started by forcing PSU to punt on the first possession of the fourth
quarter.
It continued when NAU got a lucky bounce after a failed drive of its own --
PSU's Eric Azorr, who had drilled two first-half field goals, hit the
crossbar on a 42-yard attempt and the ball bounced away, keeping the score
20-10 in favor of the Vikings.
It went into overdrive on PSU's next possession when NAU's speedy defense
chased Wiser in the end zone on a third-and-11 play from the Vikings 6.
Facing pressure, Wiser stepped on the back line of the end zone as NAU
produced a safety. That cut the lead to 20-12 with 7:02 remaining, and,
suddenly, it was a one-possession game.
Roger Robinson, who had been held to 46 yards on 18 carries, came up with
his biggest run of the season moments later, scoring on a 3-yard carry with
2:06 to go. Jason Murrietta's two-point conversion pass to Ramen Green was
deflected by a PSU lineman.
But it was no time to panic. The Lumberjacks went for an onsides kick on the
next play. Ernster's bouncy kick landed into the hands of a diving Iverson
at the NAU 45, and the Jacks' comeback hopes were still alive.
"I was just thinking give me one more shot," Murrietta said of the Jacks'
last drive. "Give me the ball one more time and I'm going to convert.
"All I needed was one more shot to get it done."
Given that golden opportunity, Murrietta guided the Jacks downfield. He
completed four successive passes - two to Josh Hamlin; a big 18-yarder to
Green, who made a 23-yard fourth-down grab on Robinson's scoring drive; and
a 3-yarder to Simirone Wade. That brought the Jacks in field-goal range.
They called a timeout, their last, with 17 seconds left before a
second-and-17 play from the 31.
Souers said he'd seen too many teams try to get a few more yards in that
situation and had it backfire on them. That's why NAU went for the kick
right away.
"I'm glad Jason trusted me to throw the ball to me and I was able to convert
... get some first downs and help us win," said Green, a Sinagua High School
graduate who finished with a season-high two catches for 41 yards. "That's
what it's all about: us winning and keeping us alive in the conference
race."
NAU trailed 13-3 at the half. Azorr had two first-half field goals and Joe
Rubin added a 1-yard scoring run on the Vikings' second drive after a
22-yard Ernster punt gave them the ball at midfield.
The Jacks cut the deficit to 13-10 with 6:22 left in the third quarter on
Philo Sanchez's 50-yard TD run. It appeared the play was dead after Sanchez,
a 5-foot-7 junior, had picked up just a few yards and was surrounded by
Vikings. But Sanchez, like his entire team Saturday night, never quit,
exemplified by a bone-crushing block on the play by Robinson downfield.
"You just try to keep your feet moving and try to break tackles and get as
much as you can," said Sanchez, who finished with four carries for 81 yards
and threw a 42-yard pass to Jeremy Thornburg in the first quarter for good
measure.
Souers said, "I swear for a small guy he has a huge heart, and that run was
on sheer guts."
Vikings coach Tim Walsh had to shake his head and ponder the what-ifs after
his team's second fourth-quarter collapse in as many weeks.
"If there are football gods, I don't think they are with Portland State
right now," he said.
"I don't want to take anything away from the team that we played, because
they had more points than we did. But for large percentages of the game they
were outplayed."
But when it mattered most, the Lumberjacks made the plays they had to make.
***
Montana St 27, South Dakota St 24
Nine lives and counting
Cardiac Cats hit field goal in closing seconds to win yet another squeaker
By SCOTT MANSCH, Great Falls Tribune
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20 041024/SPORTS/410240328/1006
BOZEMAN — Montana State football fans have rejoiced in recent weeks, but
Saturday they were simply relieved.
For the second time in three weeks, E.J. Cochrane's field goal in the final
seconds lifted the Montana State Bobcats to victory, this time a 27-24
nonconference triumph over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.
Quarterback Travis Lulay led another game-winning march in the final
seconds, as was the case the past two Saturdays here, but this time it was
different.
This time, Lulay's heroics didn't bring the Bobcats back from a deep
deficit.
This time, the Bobcats escaped after blowing a seemingly safe two-touchdown
lead in the closing moments.
"It's kind of bittersweet," said Lulay, who set a career high for the second
straight week with 411 yards passing. "We feel like we had a lot of chances
to put the game away."
South Dakota State scored with 1:12 to play to narrow a 14-point deficit to
seven, then recovered an onside kick and scored with 49 seconds left on Brad
Nelson's 44-yard pass to Brian Janecek.
Janecek outfought MSU safety Toph Grenfell for the ball to complete an
amazing turn of events and stun what was left of 11,307 chilled, wet fans at
Bobcat Stadium.
But 49 seconds remained, and that was enough for Lulay. The junior
quarterback, who brought MSU from way back against both Weber State and
Portland State on recent Saturdays, quickly maneuvered the Bobcats into
scoring range with completions to tight end Blake Wolf and tailback Justin
Domineck.
"I always think there's enough time for our offense," said MSU defensive
back Ryan Force. "There's always a chance when Travis has the ball."
With about 20 seconds left, Lulay looked for his receivers to the right
before turning to his left and lofting an accurate spiral toward receiver
Chaz Guinn. It was a curious decision, since Guinn had caught only two
passes all day and moments before had failed to gather in an onside kick
that would have secured the triumph for the Cats.
Guinn held onto the ball this time.
"He kept his head in the game and made a huge play when we needed it," said
Lulay of the 28-yard completion.
Three plays later, Cochrane banged the winning field goal through from 22
yards to start the celebration.
Cochrane also was the hero two weeks ago against Weben State when he
converted the game-winner from 47 yards away on the last play of the game.
But Saturday, the senior kicker also missed a pair of long field-goal
attempts and dropped a snap from punt formation that led to an early scoring
chance for the Jackrabbits.
It was one of several particularly unsightful plays by the Bobcats.
"I'm glad we won, but enough of that tomfoolery," Kramer said. "I don't want
that to occur anymore. We've got to play better. If we're going to be a 5-2
ballclub that's going to catapault itself forward, we cannot continue to
live this way."
In fact, the Bobcats are 5-2 overall following their fourth victory in a
row. South Dakota State, affiliated with the Great West Conference and in
its first year of making the transition from NCAA II to I-AA status, fell to
4-3.
"We never panicked, even though they scored the two touchdowns late," Kramer
said.
That was the good news. The bad, though, was just as obvious as the Bobcats
sputtered thanks to a maddening series of major penalties, turnovers, and
late defensive breakdowns.
The Bobcats lost two fumbles, including an almost comedic play when Cochrane
dropped the snap in punt formation and kicked it inadvertently the wrong way
while trying to pick it up, and were penalized eight times for 95 yards.
Four of the penalties were major personal fouls.
"(It was) excruciating to win the game after we had so many silly penalties
that were major infractions," Kramer said.
"We (couldn't) stand the prosperity of taking the first drive and scoring."
Lulay engineered a sharp drive on MSU's first possession of the game,
tossing a 4-yard touchdown pass to Rick Gatewood.
South Dakota State responded with a 78-yard march of its own, taking
advantage of a personal foul penalty that bailed the team out of a
2nd-and-17 hole, and tied the score on a 1-yard dive by backup quarterback
Andy Kardoes.
Though MSU dominated the rest of the half, the scored was tied at 7 at
halftime. And Montana State fans were glad of it, because the Jackrabbits
blew a big chance when defensive lineman Joey Abell returned Cochrane's
gaffe to the Bobcat 14 early in the second quarter.
"The margin of victory was provided by our defense in the second quarter
after E.J. dropped the ball," Kramer said. "Had they scored at that time, we
might have felt like the roof was caving in. ... For us, the whole thing
began in the second quarter when our defense went out there and held them
after E.J. dropped the rock."
The Bobcats, notoriously slow starters all season, began the second half as
quickly as the first as Lulay led the team to two quick scores. Using the
no-huddle offense, the junior quarterback displayed uncanny accuracy and hit
tight end Blake Wolf for a 2-yard score to cap one drive. Cochrane's 47-yard
field goal game the Cats a 10-point lead later in the quarter.
"We tend to get too sophisticated coming out of a huddle," Kramer said. "We
have all these motions and shifts ... And when we're in our
line-of-scrimmage offense, we don't have all that stuff and we don't
penalize ourselves."
Montana State's defense was clearly in control at that point, despite some
hard running by SDSU halfback Anthony Watson, a 220-pounder who finished
with 81 yards on the ground. The Bobcat defense came up with six sacks of
SDSU quarterback Brad Nelson, two each by Chad Gluhm and Ray Sebestyen, and
through three quarters limited the Jackrabbits to just 115 total yards.
"It's one of the hardest-playing defenses we've seen," said Watson.
Gluhm said a Bobcat defense that didn't record a sack last week showed
improvement against SDSU. "We had a lot to prove, getting pressure on the
quarterback," he said. " I think we got that done — except for the last two
minutes."
Nelson, who through three quarters was 8-for-19 for 58 yards, suddenly got
hot. He led the Jackrabbits on a 74-yard drive that resulted in a short
field goal.
Lulay answered, though, with a 33-yard TD pass to Gatewood as the Bobcats
went ahead 24-10 with 4:57 to play. The Bobcats then forced a quick punt and
appeared to be on the way to a fairly impressive triumph.
But Cochrane narrowly missed a 47-yard field goal with 2:10 left, and Nelson
went right back to work. He moved effectively in the pocket and completed
five of eight passes on an 69-yard drive, capped by an 18-yard TD pass to
Chris Molitor with 1:12 to play.
The obvious onside kick ensued, but it bounced off MSU's Guinn and Justin
Kubesh recovered with 1:12 left. Two plays later Nelson threw another pretty
pass to Janecek that tied it.
"They remind me of ourselves," said Lulay, "because they never gave up."
Jackrabbit coach John Stiegelmeier was asked if the onside kick and TD grab
by Janecek were just as he'd drawn it up.
"It's what we've drawn up in our program. And that's belief," Stiegelmeier
said. "Those things don't happen if kids don't believe. ... That's a
prerequisite to any success."
In the end, though, Lulay was the one with a smile on his face.
"He's a winner in bold letters, that's what he is," Stiegelmeier said. "He's
first class."
Lulay finished 33-of-51 for 411 yards. Wolf caught 11 balls for 137 yards,
while Gatewood hauled in nine for 126 as the Bobcats outgained the
Jackrabbits 457-302.
"Travis played outstanding," said Kramer. "He was just peerless today."
Bobcat fans, of course, might be wondering if their team is one day going to
win without the final-second theatrics.
"It's getting scarily routine," said Lulay.
The Bobcats, 3-0 in the Big Sky Conference, travel to Flagstaff, Ariz., next
Saturday night for a big conference clash against Northern Arizona. South
Dakota State, which is scheduled to play the Montana Grizzlies in Missoula
next September, travels to second-ranked Georgia Southern on Saturday.
***
Eastern Wash 51, at Weber St 7
Eastern Rolls Past Weber State
Eastern Wastington University PR
http://www.ewu.edu/x15709.xml
Eagles score 28 points in an 8:53 span in the second quarter en route to
44-point rout
Like it has so many times this year, the Eastern Washington University
football team got on a roll in the first half of its Big Sky Conference
football game Saturday (Oct. 23) against Weber State. Like their season, the
game simply snowballed on the Wildcats.
The Eagles scored 28 points in an 8:53 span in the second quarter, and went
on to defeat winless Weber State 51-7 at Elizabeth Dee Shaw Stewart Stadium
in Ogden, Utah. Eastern scored its five first-half touchdowns on two
touchdown runs, an interception return, a blocked punt recovered for a
touchdown and a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown by junior scoring
machine Eric Kimble.
"Special teams scored twice and the defense scored, so all of the sudden our
offense didn't have to do a lot," Eagle head coach Paul Wulff said.
"Sometimes games happen like this -- it was a lot of fun."
In Eastern's last five victories, they have enjoyed fast starts -- and
Saturday was no different. Eastern has scored 223 points in those five wins
outings, with 159 of them scored before halftime.
The win -- Eastern's fifth in its last six games -- kept the Eagles in the
chase for the Big Sky Conference title. The Eagles are now 4-1 in the
conference and 5-3 overall. Montana and Montana State lead the pack with 3-0
records, and both EWU and Montana must play Montana State in November.
The Wildcats are 0-8 this season overall and 0-5 in the Big Sky after an 8-4
finish a year ago (3-4 in the Big Sky).
With senior running backs Darius Washington and Reggie Witherspoon nursing
injuries, sophomore Dezmon Cole received the first start of his career. He
finished with 199 yards, including 67 on a touchdown run on Eastern's first
offensive play of the second half. True freshman Toke Kefu added 89 yards
rushing.
"It doesn't surprise me," Wulff said of the 2003 graduate of North Thurston
High School in Lacey, Wash. "He had a great fall camp, and just didn't get
the opportunity yet this year. We know he has some ability. If he realizes
he's the guy that day, he's going to play well."
Eastern's other offensive standouts this season -- quarterback Erik Meyer
and Kimble -- hardly broke a sweat. Meyer completed 5-of-7 passes for 68
yards and Kimble caught just one pass for four yards. In all, Eastern
out-gained Weber State in total offense 416-147, with Eastern rushing for
295 yards.
"We were really lucky," Wulff said. "Darius couldn't play for us today and
Erik took some pretty good hits last week, so it was nice to win this game
and stay fairly healthy."
"We were able to play a lot of backups, and a lot of kids made plays that
aren't starters. That's a tribute to our depth. We've had a lot of kids
injured and nicked up this year, and some other things that have happened,
but we keep playing well. I think it shows a lot about the depth in our
program and where we are headed."
Defensively, the Eagles were dominating with junior linebacker Joey Cwik and
defensive end Tom Finnerty both recording three quarterback sacks. Cwik, who
led the Eagles with 10 total tackles, entered the game with just three sacks
in his 29-game career. With a relentless blitz, Eastern finished with nine
-- five in the first half -- after having just seven all year entering the
game.
"I thought the defense played great," Wulff said. "We've seen them come
along and play better, particularly the last three weeks. I was very pleased
with their performance."
The Eagles nearly recorded the school's first shutout in their last 191
games, but Weber State scored with 4:43 left. Eastern hasn't had a shutout
since defeating Stephen F. Austin 3-0 in 2003. The 44-point winning margin
was Eastern's best against a I-AA team since opening the 1994 season with a
61-7 victory over Cal Poly.
Interestingly, that was Cal Poly's first-ever game at the I-AA level, and
they are now unbeaten and ranked sixth in the nation. Eastern hosts the
Mustangs on Nov. 6 at Woodward Field in Cheney, Wash., a week after the
Eagles host Sacramento State for Homecoming on Oct. 30.
Eastern out-gained Weber State 178-38 in the first half, but led just 7-0
after the first quarter. Toke Kefu scored on a 21-yard return with 7:45 left
in the period to cap a five-play, 47-yard drive.
Eastern missed a field goal early in the second quarter, but on the next
play Eastern's Nate McFarlane intercepted a pass and returned it 24 yards
for a touchdown with 12:41 left in the half. Just two minutes later, Kyle
Long scored when he recovered a loose ball in the end zone after a blocked
punt by teammate Gregor Smith.
The landslide continued. After a 16-yad punt return by Kimble, Cole scored
on a 20-yard run to end a short, four-play, 45-yard drive. Eastern closed
the scoring onslaught when Kimble returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown.
It was the ninth-longest in school history.
Kimble, ranked second in NCAA Division I-AA entering the game with a 17.7
average, now has two punts returned for a touchdown this season and three in
his career. He now has 31 touchdowns in 29 career games, including 10 this
season.
The Eagles gained a measure of revenge with the overwhelming victory. Last
year, Weber State handed the Eagles a humbling 35-23 home loss. Nick
Chournos rushed for 194 yards -- including 174 in the second half in the
first of two-straight Big Sky Conference losses to start the season for EWU.
But he had just 81 on 21 carries in the rematch.
Weber State head coach Jerry Graybeal took on his former school for the
seventh time Saturday. Graybeal spent 17 seasons at EWU from 1982-97,
including his last 10 as defensive coordinator. Four of his current
assistants (Rick Redden, J.D. Sollars, Steve Correa and Ray Williams) were
also previously coaches and/or players at EWU.
Graybeal's Wildcats edged the Eagles 27-23 in his first game against Eastern
in 1998, but the Eagles won the next four meetings before Graybeal prevailed
in Cheney last season.
***
Idaho St 29, Sacramento St 24
Hornets lose at Idaho St.
By Mark Liptak, Sacramento Bee
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/11201132p-12116926c .html
POCATELLO, Idaho - Artistically, the game was not a success. However, Idaho
State will happily take its ugly 29-24 Big Sky Conference victory Saturday
over visiting Sacramento State.
How bad was it for the Hornets? They forced six turnovers but scored only
seven points as a result. They were sacked five times, converted only 2 of
14 third-down situations, turned the ball over four times, committed eleven
penalties and had only 37 net rushing yards in 29 attempts.
Yet despite the offensive problems, the Hornets (2-5, 1-3) held a 10-8
halftime lead over the Bengals (2-5, 1-3).
Ultimately, the missed chances proved to be the difference, a fact not lost
on Sac State coach Steve Mooshagian.
"I thought it was like Christmas out there with the way we were giving them
gifts," he said. "I thought we were the better team today, but the better
team doesn't always win.
"I give Idaho State credit. They hung in and scored 22 points on our
turnovers. We made enough mistakes to lose the game. ... We had plenty of
chances to win."
Things fell apart for the Hornets in the third quarter. Idaho State failed
to convert a third-and-five, but Sac State was called for a helmet-to-helmet
hit on Brett Shelton, then an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was tacked on.
Given new life, the Bengals eventually scored, Mark Hetherington passing
eight yards to Akilah Lacey. A two-point conversion gave Idaho State a 16-10
lead, and the Hornets didn't lead again.
"That penalty was inexcusable," Mooshagian said.
Thirty-nine seconds later, Hornets quarterback Ryan Leadingham was under
pressure and tossed the ball into the hands of Bengals safety Marcell
Lagrone, who took it back 25 yards for a 22-10 Idaho State lead.
The Hornets tried to make a game of it in the fourth quarter. Tailback
Tyronne Gross, playing most of the game because starting halfback Ryan Mole
did not make the trip due to illness, scored from one yard out to cap a
six-play, 52-yard drive.
"Ryan had been sick all week long, he didn't get a lot of work, and we
thought it best that he stay home," Mooshagian said. "No question, not
having our number one tailback hurt us tonight."
Later in the fourth quarter, Sac State linebacker Jimmy Ellingson forced an
Idaho State fumble. Brent Webber recovered the ball and returned it 35 yards
for a touchdown, pulling his team within 29-24 with 1:22 to play.
The Hornets' ensuing onside kick, though, was recovered by Sale Key, a
former Mesa Verde High School standout, and the Bengals were able to run out
the clock and secure their first conference victory.
Despite the loss, the performance of Hornets defensive back Ramon Payne
couldn't be overlooked. It was an incredible night for the senior from San
Jose. He intercepted three passes, giving him five in the last two games. He
also had two sacks, forced two fumbles, recovered one of them, and had three
tackles for losses to go with five solo stops and three assists.
"If he's not the Defensive Player of the Week, the award is a travesty,"
Mooshagian said.
*** ***
Dickenson, Lions drop Stamps
By The Montana Standard
http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2004/10/24/sportscollege/hj jfijhfjiigjd.txt
VANCOUVER, B.C. (AP) — Duncan O'Mahony kicked a 28-yard field goal with nine
seconds left in the game as the B.C. Lions managed to claw out a 19-17 win
over the Calgary Stampeders in a battle of the best and the worst teams in
the CFL West Friday night.
Quarterback Casey Printers replaced Dave Dickenson late in the fourth
quarter with the Lions trailing 17-14. The Stampeders had scored 17 straight
points in the second half to erase a 14-0 B.C. lead.
Dickenson threw first-half touchdowns to Jason Clermont and Frank Cutolo.
An earlier B.C. drive in the fourth quarter had stalled when Antonio Warren
fumbled near the goal line and the Stampeders
recovered.
On the next series, forced to punt from his end zone, Clinton Greathouse
conceded two points, making the score 17-16 Calgary.
Linebacker Brian Clark returned an interception 67 yards for a touchdown
while quarterback Khari Jones threw a 20-yard touchdown to Nik Lewis for
Calgary (4-13).
Jones had a rocky start, completing just two of nine passes for 1 yard and
an interception in the first half.
Dickenson hadn't started since re-injuring his left knee in a July 2 loss to
Saskatchewan, forcing him to undergo his third surgery since December. In
his absence Printers led the Lions to a 8-3 record.
Dickenson completed 20 of 32 passes for 230 yards but also tossed his first
two interceptions of the season — one leading to Clark's touchdown.
*** ***
Same goal, new faces for Griz basketball
Danny Davis, Montana Kaimin
http://www.kaimin.org/viewarticle.php?id=2998
Like a high school girl who dreams of going to the prom, the University of
Montana basketball team hopes to be dancing come March. Montana kicked off
the second Larry Krystkowiak era with practices last Saturday. Krystkowiak,
a star during the mid-80s for Montana, became Montana’s 25th head basketball
coach in the wake of the departure of Pat Kennedy, who left Missoula to take
over the basketball program at Towson University. “It’s been good,”
Krystkowiak said of the first week of practice. “First two or three days
it’s been a little bit sketchy, but the guys are settling in.” Montana is
coming off a year in which it posted a 10-18 record, which included a 6-8
record in the Big Sky Conference. After starting the conference schedule
with an abysmal 2-7 showing, Montana rallied off five straight conference
victories and was on the cusp of grabbing the 2nd seed in the tournament.
However, in a game against Northern Arizona, Montana missed two free throw
attempts at the end of regulation that would have guaranteed them a victory.
They eventually lost to the Lumberjacks by two points in overtime. The loss
dropped Montana to 6th place in the final regular-season standings. Montana
would then lose a 74-73 heartbreaker to Idaho State in the opening round of
the Big Sky Conference tournament to end its season. “(We went) out with a
disappointing season last year so it feels good to start the year with some
intense practices,” junior guard Kevin Criswell said. Montana has had plenty
of time to think about last season and is eager to start this year’s
campaign. “It feels good,” said UM junior forward Corey Easley. “We’ve been
working hard all summer and we want to get back on the court and playing.”
Montana has been able to adapt quickly to the off-season changes that
included a new coaching staff (assistant coach Wayne Tinkle is the lone
holdover from the Kennedy coaching staff) and a handful of new players.
“It’s new for everybody,” Krystkowiak said. “They’re expected to adapt and
they’ve done well so far. They’ve been very willing to learn and try to do
the right thing, so I couldn’t ask for more.” Montana welcomes two junior
college transfers, as well as three freshmen in Jordan Hasquet, Matt Martin
and Andrew Strait. Krystkowiak said it was too early to project whether the
trio would get some playing time this year or be required to sit out the
season as a redshirt.
Despite the changes in the organization, there are many familiar faces on
the roster. Montana returns its two leading scorers from last year, in
Criswell (12.3 points per game) and senior Kamarr Davis (14.1 ppg). Montana
will also get some experience from Easley, as well as sophomore guard Brian
Lynch, sophomore forward Matt Dlouhy and junior center John Seyfert, who all
played in at least 16 games last year. Although the make-up of the team may
have changed, their goals have not. Montana is aiming to capture its first
Big Sky Conference championship since 2002 and get an invitation to the NCAA
championships. “That’s the main goal,” Criswell said. “It’s how we’re going
to get to the NCAAs and it’s what we have to strive for.” Montana will kick
off its exhibition season Nov. 4 with a game against the University of Great
Falls. Tip-off at Dahlberg Arena. is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
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