Sept. 12, 2006

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington Release / Listen Live

UPCOMING GAME: Western Washington University Vikings (1-1, 0-0) vs. University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks (1-1, 0-0) in a North Central Conference contest Saturday, Sept. 16 (1 p.m.) at Civic Stadium (3,500 cap., FieldTurf) in Bellingham, Wash.

It is the NCC opener for both schools, with Western making its debut in a league considered to be one of the strongest in NCAA Division II.

The Vikings upset No.15 Washburn, 16-13, in their home debut last Saturday as Robby Smith drilled on a 40-yard field goal, his third three-pointer of the game, with 2.7 seconds on the clock. The win was the first for new head coach Robin Ross, who had been a Division I assistant for most of the last 30 years.

The last time Western defeated a top 15 ranked opponent was on Oct. 23, 1999 when they upset Chadron State, 26-14, at Bellingham.

The Vikings began the season with a 28-23 loss at Humboldt State. In that contest, running back Calvin McCarty ran for 139 yards and three touchdowns.

Nebraska-Omaha, ranked No.20 in this week's American Football Coaches Association/NCAA II Top 25 (dropped from No.10), lost 31-0 at No.2 Northwest Missouri State last week. It was the first time in 12 years that the Mavericks had been shut out. Nebraska-Omaha won its home and season opener, 29-19, over Nebraska-Kearney, intercepting three passes and holding the Lopers to 19 yards rushing.

Nebraska-Omaha, which tied for the NCC title last year, is looking for its third consecutive league crown and its 11th straight winning season.

This is the second of three straight nationally ranked teams Western faces. Next week's opponent is No.4-rated North Dakota.

SERIES HISTORY: Third meeting. Series tied at 1-1. Western upset then No.23-ranked Nebraska-Omaha, 31-21, at Bellingham in 2004 after Mavericks won, 52-28, at Omaha, Neb., in 2003.

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 12:35 p.m. The KBAI broadcast can also be heard on the Internet at wwuvikings.com.

The game also can be heard live on KOZN (1620 AM-Omaha, NE) with David Gustafson providing the play-by-play.

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 WWU Vikings 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 students. For ticket information, contact the WWU Athletic Department at 360-650-2583 (BLUE).

CIVIC STADIUM: Western 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 119-83-7 (.586) record there. Last year, Western was 1-3 at home, its first losing record at Civic Stadium since 1990 (2-3). The Vikings are 1-0 at home this season.

2005 RESULTS: Western finished 4-6 and tied for second in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference at 3-3. Nebraska-Omaha finished 8-3, tying for the NCC championship and being ranked No.16 in the final national poll. It was the 10th straight winning campaign for the Mavericks, who lost 24-21 to Saginaw Valley State in the opening round of the NCAA II playoffs.

WESTERN REPORT: The Vikings make their NCC debut by facing the second of four consecutive opponents who reached the NCAA II playoffs last season.

Western's offense in the first two weeks has been focused around junior running back Calvin McCarty, a transfer from Reedley College. McCarty has rushed 55 times for 210 yards and three touchdowns, and has also been the top receiver with eight catches for 126 yards. He ran for 139 yards and three touchdowns in the Vikings' season-opening loss at Humboldt State, the first three-touchdown rushing game by a Western player since 2002.

Quarterback James Monrean has completed 26-of-46 passes for 313 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He threw for 215 yards in the victory over Washburn. Sophomore wide receiver Travis McKee saw his first action of the season against the Ichabods and had four receptions for 43 yards, including a critical 22-yard catch on the final drive of the game.

Anchoring the offensive line is senior tackle Brandon Torrey, a first-team all-GNAC pick last season, and senior guard Peter Van Datta.

On defense, head coach Robin Ross has made stopping the run a priority, and that has borne fruit in the first two games. The Vikings are allowing just 84.5 rushing yards a game and just 2.7 yards an attempt on the ground.

Leading the stop unit is junior middle linebacker Shane Simmons, who forced the fumble that gave Western the ball for the winning score against Washburn. Simmons has 24 tackles, including four for loss, with 21 of the stops being unassisted. Outside linebacker Taylor Wade has eight tackles, including a sack.

Junior end Ryan Conwell, who missed much of last season with an injury, has returned to form quickly. He has nine tackles, including three for loss, and has knocked down two passes. On the other end, senior Matt Overton has seven tackles and an interception.

Junior strong safety Steve Davis and senior free safety Todd McClellan anchor the secondary. Davis is second on the team in tackles with 14, and McClellan has nine. True freshmen corners Chayce Elliott and Danny Van Datta each had an interception against Washburn.

On special teams sophomore Robby Smith, a transfer from Ventura JC, has made an immediate impact. He is 4-for-4 on field goals, including the game-winner against Washburn. He has also made all three extra-point attempts, and has sent two kickoffs for touchbacks. Freshman Craig Garner is averaging 27.5 yards on two kickoff returns, and McClellan is averaging 14.7 yards on three punt returns.

NEBRASKA-OMAHA: The Mavericks are the two-time defending NCC champions and have posted 10 straight winning seasons. UNO is 1-1 overall, and was shut out for the first time in 12 years last week in a 31-0 loss to No.2 Northwest Missouri State (last whitewash was 33-0 at St. Cloud State in 1994). Despite the lopsided score, UNO was only outgained 365-313, but failed to score in four trips into the red zone.

With career passing leader Brian Masek graduated, two quarterbacks have shared time in running the Maverick offense, which returns just three starters. Junior Zach Miller, who saw action in every 2005 game as a backup, has started both games this year. He is UNO's leading rusher with 145 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries, and has also completed 11-of-16 passes for 103 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The backup, redshirt freshman Greg Wunderlich is the leading passer, having completed 18-of-30 passes for 207 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Leading the running backs is senior Kyle Kasparbauer, a part-time starter last season who has rushed for 133 yards on 33 carries in 2006.

A key cog in the Maverick offense is senior tight end Zak Herold, a first-team All-America choice by D2football.com and CollegeSportsReport.com last year, when he had 32 receptions for 465 yards and five touchdowns. Herold, also an outstanding blocker, has eight receptions for 88 yards this year. Another receiving threat is sophomore wide receiver Troy Kush, who has eight catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns.

Junior tackle Ben Hochstein, a first-team all-NCC pick last year, leads the offensive line. Another returning starter is junior guard Randall Jantzen.

Six starters return on defense for UNO where the big graduation loss was 2004 All-American and three-time all-league choice senior inside linebacker Taiwo Onatolu. The other three linebackers return, led by senior Kenny Onatolu, who has led the Mavericks in tackles the last two years and was a first-team all-NCC pick last season. He had 14 tackles in each of the games when the Vikings and Mavericks met in 2003 and 2004.

Also returning at linebacker are senior Bobby Danenhauer, who has 11 stops this season and was a second-team all-league pick last year, and senior Antwain Woods.

Junior safety Randy Kush, who had nine interceptions and was a second-team all-NCC pick in 2005, leads UNO in tackles with 12 and also has an interception. Senior safety Jason Jones, who has 10 tackles, is in his third year as a starter and has eight career interceptions. Anchoring the line are senior tackle Tarvis Woods and junior nose guard Amp Ferg.

On special teams, senior punter Don Grafton, who is in his fourth season as the regular, averages 39.9 yards and has placed four of his seven kicks inside the 20. Kasparbauer is the top return threat, averaging 23.0 yards on four kickoff returns.

SMITH AND SIMMONS ARE NCC POWS:

Two Western players, sophomore placekicker Robby Smith and junior linebacker Shane Simmons, earned NCC Player of the Week honors as they had key roles in the Vikings' 16-13 upset of No.15-ranked Washburn last Saturday.

Smith was the Special Teams Player of the Week; and Simmons shared the Defensive Player of the Week honor.

Smith, a transfer from Ventura JC (Calif.), made all three of his field goal attempts, none bigger than the 40-yard game winner he hit with 2.7 seconds left in the game.

It was the first time that a Western player had connected on three field goals in a contest since Michael Koenen booted four on Nov. 3, 2001 in a 46-14 win over Western Oregon. Koenen now handles all the kicking duties for the NFL Atlantic Falcons.

Smith was the first player signed by Viking first-year head coach Robin Ross.

Simmons had 11 tackles, 10 unassisted, including three for losses of nine yards. He also forced a fumble that set up the game-winning drive.

WWU INJURY REPORT: Wide receiver Matt Wilson missed last week's game with a knee injury, but is expected back this week.

VIKING NOTES: Robby Smith, the first player signed by Coach Ross, already has converted four field goals this season. Western made just one in all of 2005 ... Smith's three field goals 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 handles all the kicking duties for the NFL Atlanta Falcons ... McCarty's three rushing touchdowns against Humboldt State were the most by a Western player since 2002 ... Quarterback James Monrean was a second-team all-GNAC pick last year, throwing for 2,322 yards, the sixth-best single-season mark in Western's history, and had 19 touchdown passes ... Western ranked 25th nationally in passing offense in 2005, averaging 251.7 yards a game ... Sophomore defensive tackle Junior Aumavae, a first-team all-GNAC pick last year, anchors the defensive line ... The Vikings, who are making their NCC debut this fall, have won league titles in four of the last six years and six crowns in the last 10 seasons.

NCC PRESEASON POLL: Western 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 (1-1) 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. This past season, 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.

Pat Behrns (Dakota State College, 1972) is in his 13th season (88-50) as Nebraska-Omaha head coach. During his tenure the Mavoricks have won five NCC titles and have participated in the national playoffs five times. UNO has recorded 10 consecutive winning seasons, more than any other program in the NCC, being ranked among the top 20 seven times during that stretch. He is the Mavericks' all-time career leader in wins with 87 and his .640 winning percentage is the best of any coach in school history. He has had eight players earn All-America honors, including 2003 national rushing leader Justin Kammrad, who was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy. Behrns also spent six seasons as the head coach at North Dakota from 1980-85, and had five winning seasons with the Fighting Sioux.

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 last 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:

Sept. 9 at Bellingham, Wash. - Western 16, Washburn 13 Vikings stun No.15 Ichabods as Smith hits field goal with 2.7 seconds left

Robby Smith kicked three field goals, two of them in the final 2:32, including a 40-yarder with 2.7 seconds left, lifting Western to a 16-13 upset of nationally ranked Washburn at Civic Stadium.

The game was the home opener for the Vikings, who improved to 1-1 on the season. Washburn, ranked No.15 in this week's American Football Coaches Association/NCAA Division II Top 25, fell to 1-1.

It was also the first win for new Western head coach Robin Ross, who had been a Division I assistant for most of the last 30 years.

The Ichabods had taken a 13-10 lead on the opening play of the fourth quarter, as quarterback Jordan Brill threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ben Ramsey. A two-point conversion pass failed.

Smith tied the game with 2:32 to play, hitting a 33-yard field goal set up by a 32 yard completion from quarterback James Monrean to running back Calvin McCarty.

Washburn then moved the ball to nearly midfield, but on a second-and-1 play, Western linebacker Shane Simmons dislodged the ball from Ichabod running back Trent Hearn, and safety Steve Davis recovered, giving the Vikings the ball at their own 49 with 1:51 left.

After the fumble recovery, Western moved 28 yards in four plays, with the key play a 22-yard completion to wide receiver Travis McKee, setting up Smith's game-winning field goal.

Washburn had a 414-279 edge in total offense, with Brill completing 15-of-29 passes for 330 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Wide receiver Sam Sissom had seven receptions for 214 yards for the Ichabods. Monrean completed 17-of-29 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown for Western. McCarty had five receptions for 79 yards and rushed 25 times for 71 yards.

Western took a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter on a 24-yard Smith field goal that capped a nine-play drive.

Washburn appeared to take the lead twice on its next possession, but a pair of Brill touchdown passes were both called back by penalties, and on the first play of second quarter, Connor Sabel missed a 35-yard field goal.

The Ichabods took a 7-3 lead on the opening possession of the second half. Two plays after a short punt and a penalty gave Washburn the ball on the Western 36, Brill connected on a 31-yard pass to Sisson to the 1, and Hearn plunged over for the touchdown.

The Ichabods reached the Western 10 on the following series, but on second-and-7, Brill was intercepted in the end zone by Viking cornerback Danny Van Datta.

Western took a 10-7 lead later in the period, Monrean throwing a 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kellen Alley.

Simmons had 11 tackles to lead Western's defense. Ten of those were unassisted, and three were for loss.

Smith and Simmons were named North Central Conference special teams and defensive Player of the Week, respectively.

LAST MEETING WITH NEBRASKA-OMAHA:

Sept. 18 at Bellingham, Wash. - Western 31, Nebraska-Omaha 21Vikings use big first half to upset No.23 Nebraska-Omaha

Quarterback Steve Nichols completed 28-of-41 passes for 276 yards, with four touchdowns - two each to wide receiver Andy Olson and tight end Nick Yoney - and one interception, and running back Duncan Sherrard keyed the rushing attack with 113 yards on 21 carries.

Nebraska-Omaha entered the game ranked No. 23 in the AFCA/NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll.

The Vikings jumped to a 21-0 lead and led 24-6 at halftime after a first half in which they ran 58 offensive plays to just 14 for the Mavericks, who came into the contest averaging 44.7 points and 429.0 yards of offense a game. Mixing runs and short passes, Western had scoring drives of 14, 16, eight and 11 plays in the opening half, during which Nebraska-Omaha had the ball just 4:05 of the 30 minutes.

But the Mavericks opened the second half with an 11-play, 80-yard drive capped with a 20-yard touchdown run by Jamar Day. A two-point conversion pass to Day from quarterback Brian Masek narrowed the Western lead to 24-14, and seven minutes later, Masek, who was 12-of-21 for 183 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, hit tight end Zac Herold for a 13-yard score to narrow the margin to 24-21.

Nebraska-Omaha reached the Western 38 early in the fourth quarter, but was forced to punt after a sack and a penalty, and the Vikings went 63 yards in seven plays, Nichols hitting Yoney on an 11-yard touchdown pass to make the score 31-21 with 10:09 left.

Interceptions by safety Rob White and linebacker Jeff Parks stopped the next two Maverick drives, and the Western offense was able to run out the last 3:19 of the game with a 10-play drive.

The Vikings had a 474-258 edge in total offense and a 44:06-15:54 advantage in time of possession. Olson had six receptions for 100 yards, slotback Chris Robinson added eight catches for 55, and Yoney had six grabs for 53.

Western opened the game by receiving the opening kickoff and marching 79 yards in 14 plays, putting the ball in the end zone on a 12-yard pass from Nichols to Olson. The drive took 6:28 and did not have a play of more than 13 yards.

The Vikings then put together an eight-minute scoring drive midway through the half, going 85 yards in 16 plays, the last a 13-yard pass from Nichols to Yoney. The following possession, Olson scored on a 20-yard toss from Nichols, and the Vikings had a 21-0 lead with 5:52 left in the second quarter.

Nebraska-Omaha got on the scoreboard late in the first half, as James Johnson blocked a punt, picked it up on the Western 13 and ran in untouched for a score. The extra point was missed, making the score 21-6, but the Vikings responded by going 60 yards in the final 90 seconds, and an 18-yard field goal by Michael Koenen gave Western a 24-6 lead at halftime.

Linebacker Craig Keenan had eight tackles for Western. Linebacker Taiwo Onatolu had 14 stops and an interception for Nebraska-Omaha.

NEXT GAME: The Vikings travel to North Dakota, ranked No.4 in the latest AFCA Top 25, for an NCC contest on Sept. 23 (1 p.m.) at the Alerus Center (13,500 cap.). The Fighting Sioux, who entertain Winona State on Saturday, are 2-0 overall and 1-0 league after posting wins over Central Washington 28-14 and NCAA I-AA national runner-up Northern Iowa 35-31. The Vikings lost to North Dakota, 47-7, in their only previous meeting last season also at Grand Forks, ND.

BATTLE IN SEATTLE: The fourth annual Wells Fargo Battle in Seattle for the Cascade Cup, presented by Comcast, takes place Sat., Oct 21 (6 p.m.) at Qwest Field in Seattle between arch-rivals Western and Central Washington University. Tickets will be priced at $35 reserved with Club access, $25 reserved and $15 general admission. They can be purchased through Ticketmaster, the Western Box Office or at the Qwest Field Box Office.

This is the first time that the contest will be the only meeting of the season between the two schools. Central won the first Battle in Seattle in 2003, defeating the Vikings 29-20 before 16,392 fans, a record for a non-NCAA Division I collegiate football game in the state of Washington. Western won the 2004 meeting, 28-21, with 11,458 in attendance, but the Wildcats bounced back for a 37-17 victory in 2006 with a crowd of 11,312.

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

QUOTES FROM WESTERN HEAD COACH Robin Ross ON:

WASHBURN WIN

"It was a great win in our home opener. Now, we've got people excited. It was a confidence booster for the team, and certainly something to build off of. Now, we put it to rest and move on to the next game."

"This was a quality opponent and we got a win and did some good things. But the focus has always been on us getting better every week, not on who we're playing. That's how we're approaching it. Last week, the focus wasn't so much on Washburn as on how we've got to get better at what we do. We're going to continue to do that."

DEFENSE

"We're doing a good job with our run sets and that's important. We kind of make it into a one-dimensional game and then try to pressure the quarterback and change up coverages to give the secondary a chance."

Robby Smith AND SPECIAL TEAMS

"I felt like the first thing we had to get was a way to score more points because without scoring points you can't win games. So, he was a high priority. (Eric) Tripp had been recruiting him all through high school and knew about him. We got him up here and got him signed to a letter of intent as soon as we could, and he's done what we expected him to do. Our kickoffs have been great. Last week they never crossed the 20-yard line on a kickoff. Last year, the average starting position after a kickoff was the 35-yard line. That's why we spend so much time on our special teams. I think it paid off Saturday in field position and scoring points.

NEBRASKA-OMAHA

"Even without seeing the numbers and just watching them on tape, you can tell that they're big and physical. They've got some good looking players. They run a lot of option and looking at their first-game stats, they were heavily run over pass. But I imagine they threw more being behind as much as they were against Northwest Missouri State."