Football | 9/23/2008 2:31:49 AM
This Week: Saturday, Sept. 27 @Humboldt State, 6 pm, Redwood Bowl
Last Week: WOU 34, Dixie State 27; Central Washington 48, HSU 10
Records: Western Oregon 2-2 (2-1), Humboldt State 1-3 (0-2)
On the road again: Western Oregon will play its fourth road game in the last five weeks when they travel to Arcata, Calif. this weekend to take on conference opponent Humboldt State. Start time at the Redwood Bowl is 6 p.m.
Series stats: The Wolves and Lumberjacks have met 25 times, with HSU holding a 13-12 all-time edge. The two clubs have met twice yearly since 2003, splitting ten games and winning five each. WOU won both games last season by a combined count of 91-3, but the Lumberjacks won both match-ups in 2006, giving the Wolves half of their losses during a 6-4 season. The two teams will also meet on Nov. 1 in Monmouth as a part of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference double round-robin format.
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.
Coach speak: You can listen in or watch the WOU Coaches Show live on Wednesday nights at Rick's Place in Monmouth (Main Street) on MidValleySports.Net at 8 p.m. Catch Steve Swart and David Olson when they interview Arne Ferguson and other guests each week.
Wolves dash Dixie hopes: Western Oregon's Ben Kuenzi crossed the goal line with the evening's final score with 3:32 left to help give the Wolves a 34-27 road victory over Dixie State on Saturday night at Hansen Stadium. The victory improved WOU's Great Northwest Athletic Conference record to 2-1 on the season.
Wolves replay: You can watch the replay of the Wolves-Rebels contest on CCTV channel 22 in Salem on Wednesday (Sept. 24) at 1 pm, Thursday at 11 am and Friday at 11 am. In Monmouth-Independence, the game will show on channel 17 on Tuesday at 9 pm, Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursday at 1 am, Friday at 9 pm and Saturday at 1 am. On channel 18, the game will be replayed at 3 pm on Thursday. For DVD copies of the game, email Russ Blunck at blunckr@wou.edu.
Halfway there: After Saturday's game at Humboldt State, the Wolves will be halfway through the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season. Here are the current standings, with conference record first and overall mark in parenthesis.
Central Washington 3-0 (4-0)
Western Oregon 2-1 (2-2)
Western Washington 1-1 (1-2)
Dixie State 0-2 (1-3)
Humboldt State 0-2 (1-3)
Opponent chart: Here is how WOU's opponents fared last weekend.
*Portland State (1-2) lost to Washington State, 48-9
*Western Washington (1-2) lost to Eastern Washington, 52-31
*Central Washington (4-0) defeated Humboldt State (1-3), 48-10
*Dixie State (1-3) lost to Western Oregon (2-2), 34-27
*Southern Oregon (1-3) lost to Willamette, 31-23
*Linfield (0-1) was idle.
National notes: GNAC opponent Central Washington dropped one spot in the AFCA Division II national coaches' poll, despite putting a 48-10 win over Humboldt State on the board. The Wildcats are ninth this week, after listing eighth on Sept. 16. Valdosta State (GA) is the top ranked team, with (2) Grand Valley State (MI), (3) North Alabama, (4) Abilene Christian (TX) and (5) Nebraska-Omaha rounding out the top five. Western Oregon is among "others receiving votes".
Matt's mention: Senior defensive tackle Matt Cox was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week for his work at Dixie State. The four-year starter and Salem native (North Salem HS) had nine tackles, including five solos in the 34-27 win over the Rebels. He also had 3.5 tackles for loss (totaling 22 yards), including 1.5 quarterback sacks. He had a huge QB sack on the first play of Dixie's final drive to help snuff out their final scoring opportunity. With 1.12 sacks per game (four total), Cox ranks ninth in NCAA Division II national listings.
Ditto for Dowd: Special teams star Jon Dowd was extra special in St. George, earning the GNAC's Player of the Week for Special Teams. The Corvallis native (Crescent Valley HS) had kick-off returns of 32, 27 and 29 yards, had four total tackles, two of them on special teams, and he forced a fumble. On the season, he leads the GNAC in kick-off returns with a 28.5 yard average.
Josh jargon: Junior quarterback Josh Riddell threw for 264 yards in his third start at WOU, connecting on 21 of 34 passes. The former McKay High School (Salem) standout threw two of those for touchdowns, giving him nine TD passes on the season. He is now 56-for-95 in 2008 for 899 yards, with an efficiency rate of 157.5. Riddell played in three games at Mississippi State last season, which included a start at South Carolina, before an injury ended his year. He was 18-for-37 for 240 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Bulldogs.
Shaun likes St. George: Junior slotback Shaun Kauleinamoku has fond memories of Hansen Stadium in St. George, Utah. On Saturday, the Ewa Beach, Hawaii native had four catches for 86 yards, including a 49-yard catch and run for a score in the second half. He also had a key 29-yard grab on WOU's game winning drive late in the fourth quarter. Last year, at the Dixie Rotary Bowl, Kauleinamoku was named WOU's Most Valuable Player in the contest, tallying 163 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns during his team's 26-12 win over Colorado School of Mines.
Different targets: Quarterback Riddell found eight different receivers for his 21 completions against Dixie. Senior Isaiah Smith had five of those grabs for 68 yards, all in the first half. The Roseburg native lists fifth in the GNAC in receiving yards per game with 60.2, and also tops the Wolves in receptions with 12.
1-2 punch is back: Running backs Ben Kuenzi and DJ Jackson combined for 156 yards rushing, one week after being shut down against Central Washington. Kuenzi (Salem/McKay HS) totaled 89 yards on 15 carries (5.9) with a score, while Jackson (Portland/Jesuit HS) added 67 yards on 11 packs (6.1). That duo ranks second and third respectively in the GNAC in rushing, with 68.5 and 64.8 yards per game.
Defensive dots: Cornerback Andrew Jackson and middle linebacker JT Gilmore lead the Wolves and are tied for second in the GNAC in tackles per game with 9.5 (38 total). Outside linebacker Gavin Romanick is next on the ladder with 37 tackles, or 9.2 per contest. Romanick also paces the Wolves with two interceptions. Matt Cox is second in the GNAC in quarterback sacks with 4.5. He is tied for the league lead in tackles for loss with 1.75. Jackson and Miguel Gonzalez are tied for the GNAC lead in passes defended, with five break-ups and an interception each.
Ferguson facts: Head coach Arne Ferguson is in 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 22-14.
Lines about the Lumberjacks: Former Western Washington Hall of Fame coach Rob Smith is now the first-year leader of the Humboldt State squad, trying to turn around a program that went 2-8 a year ago. The Lumberjacks have losses to Sacramento State (45-13), Western Washington (30-14) and Central Washington (48-10), and they have a victory over Southern Oregon (15-14). Three of those contests have been on the road, and HSU will now settle in for three of their next four games at the Redwood Bowl. South Dakota transfer Bobby Thomas leads the ground game with 47.8 yards a contest, while three different quarterbacks have rotated in to run the offense. Redshirt freshman Mike Proulx is scheduled to get the start this week. On the defensive side of the ball, San Diego Mesa College transfer Guy Ricciardulli has three interceptions already this season, while former UNLV player Michael Lynch leads the way with 5.5 tackles for loss.
To the nines: WOU's nine wins in 2007 (9-2) 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. 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.
GNAC in Super Regional Four: The NCAA has announced that the four regional names (for football) have been officially changed. The former Northeast Region is now known as Super Regional One, the Southeast is known as Super Regional Two, the Northwest is Super Regional Three and the Southwest is Super Regional Four. Last year the five current GNAC teams competed in the Northwest Region, but were moved to the Southwest (now Super Regional Four) this fall. The region will also include the Lone Star Conference and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. Also making the move to the Southwest from the Northwest is Nebraska-Omaha, which is a now a member of the MIAA.
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%
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)
