Football | 8/25/2008 3:04:48 AM
his Week: Saturday, Aug. 30 @Portland State, PGE Park, 1:05 p.m.
2007 Final Record: 9-2
Tee it up: Western Oregon will take a step up to open the 2008 football season, tackling NCAA Division I FCS opponent Portland State on Saturday (Aug. 30) at PGE Park in Portland. Kick-off is slated for 1:05 p.m.
Listen in: You have a number of options to listen to the game live on the Wolves Radio Network. On the internet, link to the game from the Wolves website at www.wouwolves.com, or go directly to MidValleySports.Net. Four radio stations will also broadcast the on the Wolves Radio Network: KPJC 1220 AM (Salem), KLOO 1340 AM (Albany), KOHI 1600 AM (St. Helens) and KMVS 1610 AM (Monmouth). Russ Blunck and "The Coach" Bear Blunck will provide the call for the 12th consecutive season.
Reuniting: The Vikings and Wolves have not met since the 1977 season, when current PSU offensive coordinator and WOU alum Mouse Davis was the Vikings' head coach. Portland State won that game 34-22, but Western Oregon leads the all-time series, 11-8-1. Davis, who played for the Wolves (then Oregon College of Education) from 1951-54, is a member of the WOU Hall of Fame.
Streaking into 2008: Coach Arne Ferguson's Western Oregon football squad finished the 2007 season with a 26-12 Dixie Rotary Bowl victory over Colorado School of Mines on Dec. 1 in St. George, Utah. The Wolves finished the season with a 9-2 record and on a five-game win streak. They outscored their opponents 193-39 in those five contests.
To the nines: WOU's nine wins in 2007 was only the fourth nine-win season in 78 years of Western Oregon University football. The last one was a Bill McArthur club in 1976 (9-1). McArthur's 1975 squad also went 9-1, and his 1949 team holds WOU's top all-time mark at 9-0.
What's missing: Western Oregon lost 17 seniors off that successful 2007 club, including record-setting quarterback Mark Thorson, an experienced offensive line and two outstanding pass-rushing defensive ends in Casey O'Donnell and Victor Felipe. But the Wolves return 17 starters and 48 letterwinners for fourth year leader Arne Ferguson.
Arne's Assessment: "Our biggest challenge right now is to find guys to replace our 17 seniors. We have the talent to replace them, but the game experience and leadership elements take time to develop."
Done with doubles: The Wolves wrapped up pre-season camp with a two hour, 15 minute scrimmage on Friday at McArthur Field. "We still have a number of positions that are up for grabs," Ferguson said. "We needed to see those players in a game-like situation. I am pleased with what I saw, but we still need to play faster. When you go up against a team like Portland State, you are dealing with a different level of speed and depth. We want to see how we match up with them, but at the same time we really don't have anything to lose."
Ferguson facts: Head coach Arne Ferguson begins his fourth season at WOU as the program's leader. He has also spent nearly a lifetime at the school as a player and as an assistant coach. The Vale, Oregon native was a three-time All-CFA defensive back for the Wolves from 1986-88, and began his coaching career at Western in 1989. He has been WOU's defensive coordinator since 1997. In Ferguson's first season at the helm in 2005, he took over a program that finished 1-9 the year previous and pushed them to a 5-6 mark, finishing the season on a three-game win streak. In 2006 they finished 6-4, with all four losses coming by a total of 21 points. His career head coaching mark is now 20-12.
Conference clash coming: After Saturday's bout with the Vikings, Western Oregon will hit the road again to open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play at Western Washington (Sept. 6, 7 p.m.). The GNAC features football again in 2008, after a two-year hiatus. Each conference team will play each other twice for a total of eight games.
The coaches say: 2007 NCAA playoff participant Central Washington is tabbed to win the 2008 GNAC title, according to the league's coaches. The Wildcats, who will be in Monmouth on Sept. 13, are ranked as high as fifth in the national pre-season polls. Western Oregon is the No. 2 choice in the GNAC, followed by Western Washington, Dixie State and Humboldt State.
Oregon's team: Western Oregon has 98 players from the state of Oregon on its 2008 roster. 74 percent of the squad hails from the state, a percentage more than double of any other football roster in the Oregon University System. Here's the breakdown.
*Western Oregon 74%
*Portland State 32%
*Eastern Oregon 31%
*Southern Oregon 30%
*Oregon State 29%
*Oregon 16%
Verbage on the Vikings: Portland State, under former NFL boss and second-year leader Jerry Glanville, looks to improve on a 3-8 season in 2007. The Vikings return 11 starters, but Glanville and Mouse Davis also signed a bushel full of talented transfers and freshmen to rebuild the program into a Big Sky Conference contender. Glanville, who spent eight seasons in the NFL as a head coach with Houston and Atlanta, also serves as the team's defensive coordinator. Davis brings his Run-and-Shoot offense back to the Rose City, directing the 2007 Vikings to a national-best 360 yards of passing offense per game. PSU scored 68 points during a 73-68 loss to Weber State, the highest scoring game in NCAA history.
NCAA lists: Western Oregon finished the 2007 season with top-10 status in a number of NCAA Division II categories.
*4th, Team Pass Sacks (3.91 per game)
*4th, Rushing Defense (69.0 yards per game)
*4th, Scoring Defense (14.4 points a game)
*7th, Kickoff Return Defense (15.29 per return)
*7th Punt Return Defense (3.17 yards per return)
*8th, Fumbles Recovered (17 total)
*9th, Turnovers Gained (34 total)
Season Preview
Tough schedule, new faces are a challenge for Wolves in 2008
There wasn't much time last fall for head coach Arne Ferguson to enjoy one of the finest seasons in school history.
The Wolves finished the year 9-2 and on a five-game win streak, which included a season-ending 26-12 victory over Colorado School of Mines in the Rotary Bowl in December.
But Ferguson and his staff had the task of replacing 17 seniors from that squad and they quickly hit the road to work on that assignment. WOU signed over 40 talented newcomers last winter, and then added to that group with a handful of transfers in the coming months.
"We recruited well," Ferguson assessed. "This is as talented a group as we have ever had. But we still need to work these players into our system and get them game experience at this level, and that takes time."
Ferguson doesn't have much time, given that the first three weeks of the schedule are the most challenging of the season. The Wolves open at NCAA Division I FCS Portland State (Aug. 30), followed by a road trip to much improved Western Washington (Sept. 6) for the conference opener. No. 5 nationally ranked Central Washington then visits (Sept. 13) for WOU's home debut.
Offense
Among the biggest concerns for fourth-year head coach Arne Ferguson (20-12) is finding a quarterback to replace Mark Thorson, who completed his career throwing for 6,672 yards and 60 touchdowns.
Three quarterbacks, Brady Lovell (6-3, 195, So., Prairie City, OR), A.J. Robinson (6-1, 195, So., Redmond, OR) and Cory Bean (6-5, 240, Fr., Hillsboro, OR), split playing time in the spring, combining to complete 17 of 23 passes for 249 yards in the Alumni game.
Lovell completed six of nine passes for 91 yards, while Robinson was six of eight for 66 yards and Bean completed five of six for 92 yards.
Added to that group is Josh Riddle (6-0, 205, Jr., Salem, OR/McKay), who played in three games at Mississippi State completing 18 of 37 passes for 240 yards before sustaining a season-ending injury.
"We have four quarterbacks with four very different styles," commented Ferguson. "I am comfortable with any of the four. We can match different styles and packages with each one of them."
Elsewhere at the skilled offensive positions, the Wolves appear to be in fine shape.
WOU returns all of its running backs including Ben Kuenzi (5-10, 215, Jr., Salem, OR/McKay) and four of its top five receivers led by Isaiah Smith (6-4, 215, Sr., Roseburg, OR) and Sean Kauleinamoku (5-9, 185, Jr., Ewa Beach, HI/St. Louis HS).
Kuenzi led the Wolves with 722 yards and five touchdowns to earn second team D2football.com all-independent honors, while Tyler Wilson (5-10, 210, Jr., Dayton, OR) netted 457 yards and D.J. Jackson (6-1, 210, So., Portland, OR/Jesuit) rushed for 258 yards, averaging a team-best 5.5 yards per carry. Wilson is likely out for the season with an injury, but Oregon State transfer Patrick Fuller (6-0, 205, Sr., Covina, CA/Charter Oak HS) has looked impressive in camp and will also see time.
Smith caught a team-high 37 passes for 541 yards and Kauleinamoku had 36 receptions for 483 yards and was the Rotary Bowl MVP. Both players had six TD receptions accounting for 12 of WOU's 27 aerial six-pointers.
Also back are wide receiver Sean Fullerton (6-2, 200, Jr., West Linn, OR) and tight end Cory Dickson (6-5, 255, So., Corvallis, OR). Fullerton had 31 receptions for 365 yards and two touchdowns and Dickson caught 18 for 169 yards and four touchdowns. Jake Zeutenhorst (6-5, 215, So., Selah, WA), Chris Malcolm (6-1, 200, Sr., Los Angeles, CA) and Justin Ore (6-3, 190, So., Anchorage, AK/Dimond HS) are other returnees that will see more action this year.
A key addition is wide receiver Damario Ballard (6-6, 215, Jr., Thomson, GA), who caught 45 passes for 681 yards and eight touchdowns at the College of the Siskiyous.
Center Cory Perkins (6-0, 280, Sr., Salem, OR/McKay) and Dickson are the lone returning players that started on the offensive line in the Rotary Bowl.
Five other lettermen, Chester Anonson (6-1, 270, So., Monroe, WA), Jose Escobedo (6-5, 285, Jr., Nyssa, OR) , Ty Gieser (6-3, 280, Jr., Beaverton, OR), Hector Gonzalez (6-3, 300, So., Hood River, OR) and Alan Noble (6-3, 250, So., Estacada, OR) also return on the line.
Transfers Cody Feakin (6-6, 305, Sr., Scappoose, OR) from Portland State, Robert Oberst (6-6, 325, Sr., Aptos, CA) from Cabrillo JC and Michael Dyer (6-2, 310, Jr., Portland, OR/Grant) from West Hills JC and redshirts Jason Slowey (6-4, 295, Fr., Medford, OR/North Medford) and Clem Hurliman (6-5, 295, Fr., Nestucca, OR) will also play key roles, possibly as starters.
Defense
On defense, the Wolves return five of their top seven tacklers including linebacker J.T. Gilmore (6-4, 255, Jr., Lincoln City, OR), who led the team in stops with 122, nearly twice as many as anyone else. He also had seven tackles for losses of 20 yards and ranked second in interceptions with three to earn D2football.com second team all-independent honors.
Defensive tackle Matt Cox (6-0, 250, Sr., Salem, OR/North Salem) was a first team D2football.com selection after putting up some impressive defensive numbers, including 19 tackles for losses of 92 yards, 10 of them quarterback sacks. Overall, he had 62 tackles to rank third on the team and also had two fumble recovers, two forced fumbles and two blocked kicks.
Linebacker Andy Douglas (6-2, 225, Jr., Aloha, OR) and defensive backs Caleb Singleton (6-4, 200, So., Salem, OR/West Salem) and Andrew Jackson (6-0, 195, Jr., Portland, OR/Madison) were also among WOU's tackle leaders. Douglas ranked fourth with 58 tackles, eight of them for losses totaling 50 yards. He also swiped two passes.
Singleton and Jackson ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, with 45 and 43 tackles. Jackson made five stops for losses of 22 yards. Miguel Gonzalez (5-10, 180, Jr., Salem, OR/McKay) from the College of the Siskiyous will give a boost to the secondary.
Also back off of WOU's starting defensive unit are tackles Anthony Marin (6-0, 270, Sr., Salem, OR/McKay), who had 21 tackles (5 ½ for losses of 34 yards), linebacker Gavin Romanick (6-3, 225, Jr., Madras, OR), who had 34 tackles (5 ½ for losses of 18) and defensive back Bryan Huber (6-0, 170, Jr., Salem, OR/West Salem), who had 27 tackles and broke up six passes. Romanick tied for the team lead with three fumble recoveries.
Adding depth to the linebacker spots is Gerritt Vincent (5-9, 230, So., Hauula, HI/Kamehameha HS), Portland State transfer Ronnie Faavae (6-0, 275, Sr., Carson, CA) and Univ. of Houston transfer Keith Akina (5-11, 220, Sr., Hawthorne, CA).
Marin may move from tackle to shore up the defensive end position. Other possibilities at end include Justin Cuellar (6-6, 240, So., Independence, OR/Central HS), who had eight tackles including two sacks, true freshman Gavin Drake (6-3, 250, Fr., Portland, OR/Central Catholic HS) and John Malone (6-4, 240, Jr., Roseburg, OR). Oneste Robert (6-4, 295, So., Portland, OR/David Douglas), Kalani Zoller (6-4, 305, Fr., Marysville, WA) and Mike Petrovich (5-11, 240, So., Anchorage, AK/Dimond HS) all add depth to the tackle position.
Defensive backs expected to see time behind WOU's starters are Isaiah Buchanan (5-10, 175, Fr., Portland, OR/Grant HS), Tanner Grover (6-1, 205, Fr., Palmer, AK), Jon Dowd (5-11, 205, Jr., Corvallis, OR/Crescent Valley HS) and Cabrillo JC transfer Braden Bangay (5-8, 180, Jr., Aloha, OR).
Special teams
Among WOU's specialty team players, they'll need to replace place-kicker Bruce Voges, who made six of 13 field goals and 33 of 39 extra points and led the team in scoring with 51 points. But, both Dickson (35.3) and Juan Rodriguez (6-4, 190, Jr., Hermiston, OR), who averaged 35.6 yards per punt, return. Rodriguez also hit three of four extra point attempts and kicked off five times when filling in for Voges.
Sean Kauleinamoku averaged 8.8 yards per punt return last year, and returned one for a score against Texas A&M-Kingsville. DJ Jackson (19.1) and Chris Malcolm (22.0) were WOU's top kick returners last fall.
