Oct. 22, 2005

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -

JOE SUNNEN, THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

Special teams play has been anything but special for the Western Washington University football team this season.

That's a problem the Vikings hope to solve today against Humboldt State University at Arcata, Calif.

"Special teams is definitely an emphasis for this week," WWU coach Rob Smith said. "That's something that we need to get better at and hopefully we will be (today)."

The Vikings meet the Lumberjacks for the second time this season in the round-robin format of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

WWU (3-4, 1-2 GNAC) defeated Humboldt 21-16 at Civic Stadium on Oct. 1. The Lumberjacks started the season 3-0, but have lost three of their past four games.

"They're a talented team with a good defense," Smith said. "They are much improved. We know Humboldt is doing a good job preparing for us."

Humboldt State (4-3, 1-2) blocked a punt for a touchdown in its first meeting with WWU and also returned a kick for a touchdown that was called back because of a penalty.

"We were fortunate on that one," Smith said. "But he still made it to the end zone, we have to work on that."

Last week against Western Oregon the Vikings had two extra point attempts blocked and missed a third. They also failed to convert a two-point play after a touchdown.

At the Oct. 8 Battle in Seattle against Central Washington the Vikings also misplayed a punt that resulted in a Wildcats touchdown.

After so many breakdowns the Vikings spent more practice time than usual on special teams this week, with an emphasis on point after touchdown execution and field goals.

"We just have to keep working at it," Smith said. "You identify where the breakdowns are, if it's a personnel issue or a scheme issue, and then you correct them. There's no real magic formula. You just work."

Something that did work for WWU against the Lumberjacks in the first meeting was the running game. Senior Jake Carlyle ran for a career-high 175 yards as the Vikings rolled to 223 yards. WWU also passed for 278 yards.

"The real question is how many adjustments do we make and how many will your opponent make," Smith said. "At this point this is Game 8, what we do is what we do. Obviously you game plan a little bit, but what you do is look at what you did successfully against them last time and figure out what you're keeping and what you're changing."

Notes: Sophomore linebacker Brandon Elliot will make his first start of the season, replacing injured inside linebacker Adam Klingenberg. ... Defensive lineman Matt Overton could also start in place of Geoff Hise. The senior defensive end has been dealing with a calf injury. ... With one touchdown catch, Andy Olson will become the career leader in touchdown receptions at WWU.