Oct. 23, 2006

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -

Complete Release

UPCOMING GAME: Western Washington University Vikings (2-6) vs. Western Oregon University Wolves (5-2) in a non-league game on Sat., Oct. 28 (1 p.m.) at Civic Stadium (4,200 cap., FieldTurf) in Bellingham, Wash.

Last week, Western Washington lost 42-28 to arch-rival Central Washington in the fourth annual Wells Fargo Battle in Seattle for the Cascade Cup played before a crowd of 11,153 at Qwest Field.

It was the second straight loss for Western Washington which fell 42-10 the previous week to South Dakota, ranked No.14 in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25. It was the fourth nationally ranked opponent the Vikings have faced this season.

Three weeks ago, Western Washington rallied from a 14-point deficit in the final 5:07 to win 24-17 at St. Cloud State, scoring the winning touchdown on a blocked punt with 43 seconds to go. It was the first time that the Vikings had accomplished that feat in at least 40 years.

Prior to that, Western Washington lost 20-10 at home to Minnesota Duluth, ending a string of four games against 2005 NCAA Division II playoff teams. During that stretch, the Vikings nearly upset No.4 North Dakota, leading 20-13 at halftime and having the ball inside the Fighting Sioux 40-yard line with less than a minute to play in a 26-20 loss. And they split a pair of home games, losing 38-10 to No.20 Nebraska-Omaha after upsetting No.15 Washburn, 16-13, on a field goal with 2.7 seconds remaining.

Western Washington opened its season with a 28-23 loss at Humboldt State.

Western Oregon is coming off a 53-7 Homecoming victory over Southern Oregon last Saturday. That snapped a two-game losing streak for the Wolves, who had lost 28-21 at Central Washington and 29-21 to Humboldt State.

Western Oregon opened its season with four victories, beginning with road wins over Willamette, 42-0, and NAIA nationally No.7-rated Linfield, 28-14. The Wolves defeated Texas A&M Kingsville, 36-10, in their home opener and won 38-0 at Southern Oregon.

SERIES HISTORY: 45th meeting. Western Washington leads 26-18-0 after splitting a pair of meetings last year, losing 28-7 on Nov. 5 at Bellingham after winning 38-16 at Monmouth, Ore., on Oct. 15 The Vikings also split a pair of meetings with Western Oregon in 2004, winning 49-0 at Bellingham after losing 52-49 in four overtimes, the longest game in Northwest small college history, at Monmouth. The overtime contest at Monmouth was the third straight there for Western Washington, which lost 23-20 in 2003 (1 OT) and won 20-17 (3 OT) in 2002. Prior to last season's loss, the Vikings had won four straight meetings with Western Oregon at Bellingham. The Vikings have a 14-8-0 series advantage at Bellingham and a 12-10-0 edge at Monmouth. The series began in 1930.

RADIO: KBAI (930 AM-Bellingham) is broadcasting all Western football games live this season with sports director Doug Lange handling the play-by-play duties for the 11th consecutive season. Providing the color commentary for the ninth straight year is former Viking quarterback Jason Stiles. The pre-game show with host Mark Scholten begins at 5:30 p.m. The KBAI broadcast can also be heard on the Internet at wwuvikings.com.

All Western Oregon football games are carried live on KCCS (1220 AM) with Russ Blunck (10th year) making the call and "The Coach" Bear Blunck handling the analysis. They can also be heard via the internet at www.wouwolves.com.

WEBCAST INFORMATION: Viking football is back on the Internet for 2006. To listen to the live broadcast via the web, go to www.wwuvikings.com and follow the links. The web provides streaming audio of the KBAI 930 AM radio broadcast of Western athletic events. The audio stream is only available during event broadcast times.

TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets for Viking football cost $12 for reserved seating, $8 for general admission adults, $6 for students and seniors and $5 for Western Washington students. For ticket information, contact the WWU Athletic Department at 360-650-2583 (BLUE).

CIVIC STADIUM: Western Washington is in its 45th year of playing home games at Bellingham's Civic Stadium. The facility, built in 1961, has undergone a number of renovations over the years. The Vikings have a 119-86-7 (.578) record there. Last year, Western Washington was 1-3 at home, its first losing record at Civic Stadium since 1990 (2-3). The Vikings are 1-3 at home this season.

2005 RESULTS: Western Washington finished 4-6 and was second in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference at 3-3. Western Oregon finished 4-6 overall and placed third in the GNAC with a 2-4 record.

WESTERN WASHINGTON REPORT: Despite their 2-6 record, the Vikings have had some outstanding moments and seen young players emerge throughout the season.

Last week, it was freshman running back Craig Garner who took the step forward, rushing for 180 yards, the most by a Viking in 10 years, in the Battle in Seattle, knocking off runs of 59 and 52 yards, the latter for a touchdown.

On the season, Garner has run for 242 yards and two touchdowns on 42 carries, and figures to see more work as junior Calvin McCarty, the team's leading rusher with 492 yards and five scores, is out for the season with a foot injury.

Senior quarterback James Monrean has completed 125-of-202 passes for 1,371 yards with six touchdowns and seven interceptions. Sophomore Travis McKee has 29 catches for 416 yards and two touchdowns, and junior Brett Upchurch has 25 grabs for 289 yards, having 11 receptions in the last two games. Senior Kellen Alley has a team-high three touchdown catches.

The offensive line, led by senior tackle Brandon Torrey, a first-team all-GNAC pick last season, has started the same group in seven of eight games this season.

It is a measure of the season junior linebacker Shane Simmons was having that he has missed the last three weeks with a shoulder/neck injury but still leads Western with 56 tackles. He was averaging an NCC-high 11.2 tackles a game when forced out of the lineup. Junior outside linebacker Taylor Wade has 37 stops, including 3.5 for loss.

Western's defensive line has been led by junior end Ryan Conwell, who has 28 tackles, including a team and NCC-high 11.5 for loss. He shares the team lead in sacks at four with senior end Matt Overton. Overton leads the Vikings in passes broken up with four.

In the secondary, senior free safety Todd McClellan has 45 stops, three passes broken up and a team-high three fumbles forced. Junior strong safety Steve Davis has 43 tackles.

On special teams, sophomore Robby Smith is 10-of-16 on field goals, is perfect on 15 extra points, and has sent six kickoffs for touchbacks. Garner has provided a major threat on kickoff returns, averaging 24.7 yards on 23 returns.

WESTERN OREGON: At 5-2, the Wolves already appear headed for one of their best seasons in recent memory, needing just one more victory to match their best win mark of six in the last 20 years. They have done it in all phases of the game, averaging 34.1 points while allowing just 12.6.

Leading a Western Oregon offense that ranks in the top 10 nationally at 432.6 yards a game is senior running back Eliot Vinzant, who has rushed for 1,046 yards and 11 touchdowns on 172 carries this season (6.1 apc).

Vinzant had rushed for at least 100 yards in 13 consecutive games before being held to 46 last week against Southern Oregon. He is the first WOU back to post consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, and is just 164 yards short of the school single-season record of 1,210 set by Bill Volk in 1994.

Vinzant ran for 204 yards in the Wolves' first meeting with Southern Oregon this season and had 195 versus Linfield. Those are his top two career single-game efforts.

Junior quarterback Mark Thorson has completed 116-of-204 passes (57 percent) for 1,588 yards with 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He threw four touchdown passes last week against Southern Oregon. He is backed up by his brother, senior Ryan Thorson, who started nine games in 2003. They work behind an offensive line led by senior guard Ryan Belcher, in his fourth year as a starter.

The top wide receiver is senior Tyler Knudsen, who has 36 receptions for 449 yards and three touchdowns. His 132 career receptions rank sixth in school history.

Senior tight end Kevin Boss, who has received attention from NFL scouts, has 33 catches for 405 yards and five touchdowns despite missing last week's game with a shoulder injury. The status of the Lindy's preseason All-American remains indefinite for Saturday.

On defense, the Wolves have given up just six touchdowns in seven games and have posted two shutouts, the first time they have done that in a season since 1986, and they are among the national leaders in rushing defense, allowing just 66.1 yards a game. Some 20 players have been involved in a tackle for loss this season.

Sophomore tackle Anthony Marin has a team-high 6.5 sacks, sharing the team lead in overall tackles for loss with senior end Matt Jirges at 9.0. Senior linebacker Jeff Cloud leads the team in tackles with 42.

In the secondary, junior cornerback Jay Darden and junior free safety Zach Christopherson each have three interceptions, and as a team, the Wolves have intercepted 15 passes.

Junior placekicker Bruce Voges is 9-of-16 on field goals and 23-of-25 on extra points. Voges was named D2football.com national special teams Player of the Week for his performance against Central Washington two weeks ago when he tied a school record with five field goals from 24, 28, 29, 34 and 40 yards.

Redshirt freshman Josh Vanlue, a transfer from the University of Kentucky, is averaging 43.2 yards a punt, which ranks third nationally.

WWU PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS (by coaching staff) vs. Humboldt State, Washburn, Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota, Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State, South Dakota, Central Washington

Offense - McCarty, McCarty, Torrey, Monrean, McCarty, Perry, Upchurch, Garner

Defense - Conwell, Simmons, Aumavae, McClellan, Conwell, Aumavae, Davis, Schmit

Special Teams - Anderson, Smith, Bropleh, Smith, Garner, Elliott/Warren, Garner, Copsey

WWU INJURY REPORT: Running back Calvin McCarty (foot fracture) will miss the rest of the season, and middle linebacker Shane Simmons (shoulder/neck) may not return this year.

SMITH'S KICKING SUCCESS: Robby Smith, the first player signed by Coach Robin Ross, ranks second nationally in Division II, averaging 1.3 field goals per game. He had a string of successful field goals stopped at seven against Minnesota Duluth on Sept. 30, one short of the school record. But Smith bounced back, tying the school record with a 54-yarder versus St. Cloud State on Oct. 7. His three field goals against Washburn on Sept. 9, including the game winner from 40 yards with 1.7 seconds remaining were the most in a game by a Viking since Michael Koenen booted four on Nov. 3, 2001 in a 46-14 win over Western Oregon. Koenen now plays for the NFL Atlanta Falcons. Smith is second in the NCC in field goals, converting 10-of-16, and third in field goal percentage (62.5).

VIKING NOTES: Freshman running back Craig Garner, making his first start, ran for 180 yards on 19 carries (9.5 apc) against Central Washington, the most by a Viking since 1996. He had a touchdown run of 59 yards and another carry for 52, both of which doubled Western Washington's previous best run from scrimmage this season. He also recovered an onside kick and returned three kickoffs for 67 yards ... The fourth annual Wells Fargo Battle in Seattle for the Cascade Cup between arch-rivals Western Washington and Central Washington drew a crowd of 11,153. The contest has surpassed 11,000 all four years with the 2003 meeting being played before 16,392, a record for a non-NCAA Division I collegiate football game in the state of Washington.

Brandon Elliott was named NCC Special Teams co-Player of the Week for his performance in Western Washington's 24-17 victory over St. Cloud State. It was the first time in at least 40 years that the Vikings had come back from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit to win ... Western Washington is tied for first in the NCC in PAT kicking (15-of-15) and is second in red zone offense (83.3, 20-of-24). The Vikings rank third in time of possession (30:04), punting (32.9) and kickoff returns (21.5); and fourth in field goals (10-of-16) and third down conversions (46.6 percent, 43-of-103).

Western Washington, which lost the ball six times against Central Washington (three fumbles and three interceptions), had a three-game streak of no turnovers earlier in the campaign ... Placekicker Robby Smith was named Don Hansen's Football Gazette Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in the Vikings' 16-13 upset of No.15 Washburn. He and linebacker Shane Simmons were named NCC Special Teams and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively ... Prior to the Washburn upset, the last time Western Washington had defeated a top 15-ranked opponent was on Oct. 23, 1999 in a 26-14 win over Chadron State at Bellingham ... Running back Calvin McCarty's three rushing touchdowns versus Humboldt State were the most by a Western Washington player since 2002.

NCC PRESEASON POLL: Western Washington was picked to finish eighth among nine teams in the 2006 preseason North Central Conference coaches poll and last in the media poll. North Dakota was the first-place pick in both polls.

HEAD COACHES: Robin Ross (Washington State, 1977) is in his first year (2-6) as head coach at Western and brings three decades of coaching experience to his new post. He was the defensive coordinator for two of the finest Viking teams in school history in the mid-1990s.

Ross has spent most of his career as an assistant at the NCAA Division I-A level. He also coached in the National Football League, being the linebackers coach with Oakland for two seasons, helping the Raiders have the ninth-ranked defense in the NFL in 2000, when they were 12-4 and reached the AFC Championship Game.

Last year, Ross was linebackers coach at Oregon State University, where the Beavers led the PAC 10 in run defense, allowing 108.0 yards per game. He spent the previous four seasons as special teams coordinator and tight ends coach at University of Oregon. The Ducks won the 2001 PAC 10 championship, finishing second in the ESPN Coaches Poll after defeating Colorado in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl. He was also at Oregon as an assistant during the 1997 and 1998 seasons.

Ross came to Western in 1994 and in his first season, the Vikings led the NAIA Division II in scoring defense, allowing just 11.5 points a game and five times holding opponents without a touchdown. Western, which posted its first national playoff victory that season with a 21-2 triumph at No.1-ranked Linfield, ranked third nationally in rushing defense at 76.0 yards a contest and fifth in total defense (260.3) with 42 takeaways (26 interceptions, 16 fumble recoveries).

In 1995, Western finished 9-1, going 9-0 for the first undefeated regular-season for the school in 57 years and being ranked No.1 nationally in NAIA II for five weeks. The defense allowed 13.7 points a game, ranking seventh nationally in that category.

Immediately prior to coming to Western, Ross had been defensive coordinator at Iowa State University from 1987 to 1993. He has also been a defensive coordinator at Fresno State University (1996) and University of Cincinnati (1984 and 1985).

Ross, 52, began his coaching career at Long Beach State University in 1977. A graduate of Washington State University, where he also spent one season as a defensive line coach, Ross was a second-team all-PAC-8 pick as an offensive lineman. He was a 10th round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 1976, and spent one preseason with the Seattle Seahawks.

Ross, who is the 13th head coach in the 95-year history of Western football, is a graduate of El Rancho High School in Pico Rivera, Calif. He and wife Jean have been married for 25 years.

Arne Ferguson (Western Oregon, 1991) is in his second year (9-8) as head coach at Western Oregon after spending nearly 20 years with the Wolves as a player and a coach. Ferguson had been Western Oregon's defensive coordinator since 1997. He previously coached defensive backs and linebackers. Ferguson played for the Wolves from 1985 to 1988 and was a three-time all-Columbia Football Association all-star as a safety. He has been a coach with the Wolves since 1989, except for a one- year stint as a high school coach in 1992.

VIKINGS ARE FOOTBALL-ONLY MEMBER OF NCC: Western is a football-only member of the North Central Conference, one of the nation's most prestigious NCAA II alignments. The Vikings, along with arch-rival Central Washington, begin playing a full slate of eight NCC games this fall. The two schools had been competing as part of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The NCC, founded in 1921, currently has nine members in all, the others being Augustana SD, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State Mankato, Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota, St. Cloud State MN and South Dakota. Over the past three years, the NCC has had three of its member institutions leave to move up to NCAA Division I. North Dakota State and South Dakota State left after the 2003-04 academic year, and Northern Colorado left after 2002-03. In 2005, there was a four-way tie for the NCC title between Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota Duluth. North Dakota played in the NCAA II national championship game in 2003 and won a national title in 2001. The Vikings have played eight games (2-6) with NCC foes over the previous four seasons, splitting with Nebraska-Omaha and South Dakota State, losing three times to St. Cloud State and once to North Dakota.

LAST WEEK'S GAME:

Oct. 21 at Seattle, Wash. - Central 42, Western 28

Wildcats win Battle in Seattle for third time in four years

Quarterback Mike Reilly completed 19-of-26 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for a touchdown as Central Washington defeated Western Washington, 42-28, in the fourth annual Wells Fargo Battle in Seattle for the Cascade Cup, before a crowd of 11,153 at Qwest Field. It was also a NCC contest.

Western Washington running back Craig Garner rushed for 180 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, the most rushing yards for a Viking in a single game since 1996.

Central won the Battle in Seattle for the second consecutive time and the third year overall. It was the fourth straight victory over Western Washington for the Wildcats, who scored 21 points off three Viking fumbles.

Central took the lead for good midway through the third quarter. Immediately after a diving interception attempt by Western Washington's Steve Davis, Reilly scrambled and found Spevak for a 53-yard gain, setting up an 11-yard touchdown pass to Josh Boonstra. Reilly then connected with Spevak on a 2-point conversion, giving the Wildcats a 28-21 lead.

Western Washington reached the Wildcat 25 on the following series, but a fumble on a shotgun snap was recovered by Central linebacker Simon Iniguez to end the drive. The Wildcats then marched 62 yards in nine plays, capped by a 1-yard run by Johnny Lopez on the second play of the fourth quarter to take a 35-31 lead.

The Vikings narrowed the margin to seven, 35-28 on a 59-yard pass from quarterback James Monrean to wide receiver Travis McKee with 11:45 to play, but Central put the game out of reach with 4:45 left as Reilly connected with Brandon Robertson for a 15-yard touchdown.

Central had a 373-316 edge in total offense, as Lopez rushed for 117 yards on 13 carries, and Boonstra had eight receptions for 122 yards. The Wildcats jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Chris James recovered a Western Washington fumble, the first of six Viking turnovers, in the end zone for a touchdown just 79 seconds into the game. It was the second straight year James recovered a fumble for a touchdown in the Battle in Seattle. Reilly then scored on an 11-yard run on Central's first offensive series.

Western Washington rallied to tie the score in the second quarter, as Monrean threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Brett Upchurch, then scored himself on a 1-yard run on the following possession.

Central held a 17-14 lead at halftime after a 28-yard field goal by Garrett Rolsma, but Western Washington opened the second half in explosive fashion. Garner recovered an onside kick, then on the first play from scrimmage he burst down the right sideline for a 52-yard touchdown, giving the Vikings their first lead at 21-17.

A 24-yard Rolsma field goal narrowed the margin to one, setting up Reilly's go-ahead pass to Boonstra.

Monrean completed 12-of-22 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted three times. Upchurch had five receptions for 47 yards.

LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS WITH WESTERN OREGON:

Oct. 15 at Monmouth, Ore. - Western Washington 38, Western Oregon 16

Vikings get always-tough triumph in Monmouth

Running back Duncan Sherrard rushed for 158 yards on 25 carries and wide receiver Matt Wilson caught a pair of first-quarter touchdown passes as Western Washington defeated Western Oregon, 38-16, in a GNAC contest at McArthur Field.

It was just the Vikings second triumph at Monmouth, Ore., in their last five contests there.

Western Oregon fell to 2-5 and 0-3 in conference play despite the efforts of the GNAC's leading rusher, Eliot Vinzant, who had his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game with 144 yards on 21 carries, including a 43-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter.

Western Washington jumped to a 12-0 lead on its first two possessions.

The Vikings took the opening kickoff and went 75 yards in six plays, capped by a 19-yard pass from quarterback James Monrean to Wilson on a fourth-and-six play.

The following series, the Vikings went 99 yards in five plays, starting with a 39-yard pass to Andy Olson, and capped by Wilson, who had two touchdowns in his entire career before Saturday, getting a key block from Brandon Torrey and going 45 yards for a score on a screen pass one play after the drive had been kept alive by a Western Oregon personal foul.

After Vinzant's touchdown run, Western Washington scored again, with Jake Carlyle scoring from a yard out on a fourth-and-goal play. The Vikings, who missed extra points on their first two touchdowns, went for two, but Monrean's pass was intercepted by Jamil Wynn, who took it 100 yards for a defensive 2-point conversion, making the score 18-9. It was the first defensive two-pointer allowed by the Vikings since Portland State scored one in the 2000 season opener.

The Vikings put the game away with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns. Carlyle scored on a 3-yard run, then wide receiver Casey Dell reached the end zone on a 15-yard pass from Monrean.

Monrean completed 17-of-27 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns, passing for more than 250 yards for the sixth time in seven games as Western Washington, which did not commit a turnover for the first time since the opening game of the 2003 season, had a 467-405 edge in total offense.

Western Oregon scored midway through the fourth quarter, as backup quarterback Ryan Thorson threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kevin Boss, capping an 11-play, 92-yard drive; but Western scored the final points of the game, Monrean connecting with tight end Nick Yoney for a 14-yard score with just 1:25 to play.

Sherrard, who has led the Vikings in rushing each of the last three years but had not seen extensive action since suffering a knee injury in the opening week of this season, ran for 101 yards on 15 carries in the first half alone, helping Western Washington have a 287-156 edge in total offense at halftime.

Linebacker Brandon Elliott, who came in for injured Adam Klingenberg, had a team-high 11 tackles for the Vikings, including one of the team's three quarterback sacks.

For there performances, Sherrard and Elliott were named GNAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively.

Nov. 5 at Bellingham, Wash. - Western Oregon 28, Western 7

Smith era ends after 17 years as Vikings fall to Wolves

The 17-year tenure of Western Washington head coach Rob Smith ended on a down note Saturday as the Vikings fell to Western Oregon, 28-7, in a GNAC game at Civic Stadium.

Western Washington finished its season 4-6 overall and 3-3 in GNAC play.

It was just the third losing season during Smith's career. He finishes as the winningest coach in school history with a 109-62-1 record, with the victories being the third most all-time of any collegiate coach in the state of Washington.

Western Oregon is 4-6 overall and concludes GNAC play 2-4. Running back Eliot Vinzant paced the Wolves with 160 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries, his sixth consecutive 100-yard game.

The Wolves took control early, scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions. After Western Washington fumbled on the Western Oregon two on the opening series of the game, the Wolves moved 98 yards in nine plays, capped by a 10-yard pass from Mark Thorson to Tyler Knudsen. The key play in the drive was a 59-yard pass completion to Tyler Smith.

Western Oregon extended the lead to 14-0 on its next possession as Michael Ramirez scored on a 2-yard run. Another 2-yard run, this one by Vinzant midway through the second quarter, gave the Wolves a 21-0 lead at halftime. Western Oregon had a 222-70 edge in total offense in the first half, with 46 of Western's yards coming on the opening drive of the game. Another Vinzant touchdown run from three yards, just over 10 minutes into the third period, gave Western Oregon a 28-0 lead.

The Vikings scored with 9:44 left in the game, as backup quarterback A.J. Porter threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to slotback Brett Upchurch.

Porter, who saw extensive time with starter James Monrean hampered by an ankle injury, completed 9-of-16 passes for 159 yards. Upchurch had five receptions for 141 yards.

Western Oregon safety Bret Hughes had three interceptions, two of them in the end zone to kill Viking drives. He also had three interceptions in a 52-49 overtime victory over Western Washington in 2004. The Vikings committed five turnovers in the game, three of them deep in Western Oregon territory.

Western Oregon had a 443-360 advantage in total offense. It was the first time the Wolves had defeated the Vikings by more than four points since 1984.

Western Washington wide receiver Andy Olson , already the school's career touchdown reception leader with 31, took sole possession of the career reception record with 183 grabs for 2,990 yards. Olson had two catches totaling 13 yards on back-to-back plays in the second quarter, but reinjured a knee on the second grab and did not return.

Thorson completed 20-of-32 passes for 235 yards for Western Oregon, which concludes its season next week against Puget Sound.

NEXT GAME: The Vikings entertain Augustana College in a NCC contest on Nov. 4 (1 p.m.) at Civic Stadium in Bellingham. It will be the final home game for seven seniors. Augustana, which hosts Central Washington on Saturday, is 5-3 overall and 3-3 in league play. Also nicknamed Vikings, they lost 38-14 to South Dakota last week.

WEBSITE: For the latest results, statistics and updates, including reports on all Western athletic events, visit the Vikings website at wwuvikings.com.