Sept. 19, 2006
Western Release
North Dakota Release
Bellingham, Wash. - The Western Washington University Vikings (1-2, 0-1) meet the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux (3-0, 1-0) in a North Central Conference contest Saturday, Sept. 23 (11 a.m. PT) at Alerus Center (12,500 cap., AstroTurf) in Grand Forks, N.D.
It is the third straight nationally ranked foe for Western, which has split a pair of home games the last two weeks, losing 38-10 to No.20 Nebraska-Omaha in its NCC debut after upsetting No.15 Washburn, 16-13. The Vikings opened the season with a 28-23 loss at Humboldt State.
North Dakota, ranked No.4 in this week's American Football Coaches Association/NCAA II Top 25, was the preseason favorite of both the media and coaches to win the NCC championship.
The Fighting Sioux have not disappointed, trouncing No.13 Winona State, 49-2, at home last Saturday after opening with road victories over Central Washington, 28-14, and Division I-AA No.3-rated Northern Iowa, 35-31.
North Dakota, which tied for the NCC title last year, is the third of four straight 2005 national playoff teams that Western faces. Next week's opponent, Minnesota-Duluth, reached the first round of the Division II playoffs.
SERIES HISTORY
Second meeting. Western trails 1-0. The Vikings lost 47-7 at North Dakota last season.
NCC PRESEASON POLL
Western was picked to finish eighth among nine teams in the 2006 preseason NCC coaches poll and last in the media poll. North Dakota was the first-place pick in both polls.
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 6:05 p.m.
The game also can be heard live on 96.1 The Fox (KQHT-FM) with Dan Hammer providing the play-by-play and color analysis from former North Dakota quarterback Tony Stein. Tank McNamara provides sideline analysis.
WEBCAST
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 of playing home football games at Bellingham's Civic Stadium. The facility has undergone numerous renovations over the years. The Vikings have a 118-83-7 (.582) record there. Last year, Western was 1-3 at home, its first losing record at Civic Stadium since 1990 (2-3).
2005 RESULTS
Western finished 4-6 and tied for second in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference at 3-3. Washburn finished 9-3, winning its first MIAA title and reaching the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.
WESTERN REPORT
The Vikings play their third of four consecutive opponents who reached the NCAA II playoffs last season. The visit to North Dakota is the only one of those games on the road, and Western's only road game of September.
Senior quarterback James Monrean triggers the Western offense, which has not committed a turnover the last two weeks. Monrean is 45-of-78 passing for 538 yards, having thrown for over 200 yards in each of the last two games, and has two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The top target has been sophomore Travis McKee, who has 12 receptions for 160 yards despite missing the season opener with a shoulder injury. Senior Kellen Alley has six catches for 107 yards, including both of Western's two touchdown receptions.
Junior running back Calvin McCarty has 240 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 65 carries, and has added 10 receptions for 140 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.
Anchoring the offensive line is senior tackle Brandon Torrey, a first-team all-GNAC pick last season, and senior guard Peter Van Datta.
Leading the defense is junior middle linebacker Shane Simmons, who forced the fumble that gave Western the ball for the winning score against Washburn. Simmons has an NCC-leading 32 tackles, including four for loss, with 27 of the stops being unassisted. Outside linebacker Taylor Wade has 11 tackles, including a sack.
Junior end Ryan Conwell has 10 tackles, including four for loss.
Junior strong safety Steve Davis and senior free safety Todd McClellan anchor the secondary. Davis is second on the team in tackles with 22 tackles, McClellan has 14 stops.
Western's three interceptions have all been by true freshmen, as corners Chayce Elliott and Danny Van Datta, and safety Caleb Jessup each have one.
On special teams, sophomore Robby Smith, has made an immediate impact. He is 5-for-5 on field goals, including the game-winner against Washburn when he was named the Don Hansen's Football Weekly national Player of the Week. Smith also has made all four extra-point attempts, and has sent two kickoffs for touchbacks.
Freshman Craig Garner is averaging 22.0 yards on nine kickoff returns, and McClellan is averaging 12.5 yards on four punt returns.
WESTERN INJURY REPORT
Fullback Matt Clark (fractured bones in foot) and cornerback Ocie Moore (torn knee ligaments) suffered injuries in the Nebraska-Omaha contest. Clark is out indefinitely and Moore will miss the rest of the season.
NORTH DAKOTA REPORT
The Fighting Sioux have a perfect record after three games despite a tough schedule that included travel to Central Washington and Northern Iowa, the No.3 team in NCAA I-AA, before playing their home opener against NCAA II No.13 Winona State and rolling to a 49-2 victory.
UND has two senior quarterbacks, both with extensive experience. Reed Manke has started all three games this season, completing 55-of-82 passes for 762 yards with nine touchdowns and one interception.
Manke, the school's career leader in completion percentage (65.6 percent), is also a running threat, rushing for 119 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries this season.
His backup, Chris Belmore, started all but two games in 2004 and 2005 and is eighth in school history in career passing yardage (3,972).
The key offensive weapon is junior wide receiver Weston Dressler, who has 24 catches for 346 yards and six touchdowns, leading the NCC in all three categories. He had nine grabs, three for scores, last week against Winona State, and had the game-winning 50-yard reception with less than a minute to play in the upset of Northern Iowa.
The 5-8, 165-pound Dressler is also a return threat, averaging 10.4 yards on 11 punt returns, and he ranks seventh in UND history in all-purpose yardage (3,537).
Freshman running back Ryan Chappell ran for 121 yards on nine carries in the victory over Northern Iowa, but has just two carries in the other two games. Junior Brandon Strouth, who rushed for 756 yards and four touchdowns in 2004, has seen the bulk of the carries.
Defensively, the Fighting Sioux have an astounding 20 sacks (minus-155 yards) in their first three games, including 10 last week.
Senior outside linebacker Steve Brennan has five of those sacks. Senior nose guard
Adam Wolff, senior defensive end Jared Enger and freshman outside linebacker Bobby Stroup each have four.
Junior cornerback Donovan Alexander leads UND in tackles with 21. Sophomore safety Rory Manke has two interceptions.
Junior punter Brent Halfmann is averaging 41.7 yards an attempt, and Chappell had an 82-yard punt return against Winona State.
NORTH DAKOTA AT HOME
North Dakota is 36-5 in its sixth season at the Alerus Center, a 13,500-seat indoor stadium. The Fighting Sioux have won 24 of their last 25 games on their home turf.
THE FIGHTING SIOUX IN THE PLAYOFFS
North Dakota has made the NCAA II playoffs in six of the last eight seasons, including 2001, when the Fighting Sioux won their first national championship as they rallied from a late four-point deficit to defeat Grand Valley State MI 17-14 in Florence, Ala. North Dakota was the national runner-up in 2003, losing 10-3 to Grand Valley State in the title game. In all, the Fighting Sioux have made 12 NCAA II playoff appearances.
FIGHTING SIOUX HEAD COACH DALE LENNON
Dale Lennon (North Dakota, 1985) is in his eighth season (72-20) as North Dakota head coach and is 83-29 overall in 10 years. With a school-record .780 winning percentage, one NCAA Division II title, two NCAA II championship game appearances, four NCC titles and three NCC Coach of the Year awards, he already has cemented his legacy in the annals of Fighting Sioux football.
His 70 career wins rank third on the school's all-time list. A former defensive coordinator at North Dakota from 1990 to 1996, Lennon also was the head coach for two seasons (1997-98) at University of Mary (12-9). In 2001, he guided the Fighting Sioux to a 14-1 record and the program's first national championship with a 17-14 win over Grand Valley State.
Lennon was named the AFCA Division II Coach of the Year. In 2003, he directed North Dakota to a 12-2 mark and a berth in the national championship game, and in 2004 the Fighting Sioux went 11-3 and advanced to the national semifinals.
SIMMONS AND SMITH AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
Linebacker Shane Simmons and placekicker Robby Smith were both ranked second nationally last week among NCAA II statistics leaders in field goals per game (2.0) and solo tackles per game (10.5), respectively. Simmons also was fourth nationally in total tackles per game (12.0).
VIKING NOTES
All three of Western's pass interceptions this season have been made by true freshmen as corners Chayce Elliott and Danny Van Datta, and safety Caleb Jessup each have one.
The Vikings rank second in the NCC in red zone offense, scoring four touchdowns and converting four field goals in nine opportunities (.889).
Western led the NCC in third-down conversions at 48.3 percent (14-of-29) after its first two games.
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.
The last time Western defeated a top 15 ranked opponent was on Oct. 23, 1999 when they upset Chadron State, 26-14, at Bellingham.
Smith, the first player signed by Coach Ross, has converted all five field goals and all four PAT tries this season. Western made just one in all of 2005.
Smith's three field goals against Washburn 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.
Running back Calvin McCarty's three rushing touchdowns versus 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.
FOOTBALL-ONLY NCC MEMBER
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 VS. NEBRASKA-OMAHA
Nebraska-Omaha 38, Western 10 (Civic Stadium - Bellingham)
Running back Kyle Kasperbauer rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries as University of Nebraska-Omaha scored on all five of its first-half possessions and went on to a 38-10 victory over Western in a NCC game at Civic Stadium.
Western fell to 1-2 with the loss. Nebraska-Omaha, ranked No.20 nationally, improved to 2-1. The game was the NCC opener for both teams, and the debut NCC contest for Western, which joined the conference as an affiliate member in football.
Kasperbauer led a Maverick rushing attack that rolled up 414 yards on 53 attempts. UNO had a 500-288 advantage in total offense.
Quarterback Zach Miller added 130 yards and a touchdown rushing on 12 carries and was 5-for-5 passing for 78 yards and a touchdown for the Mavericks while playing just the first half and the opening series of the third quarter.
Western, which crossed midfield twice in the first half but failed to score each time, reached the scoreboard on a 23-yard field goal by Robby Smith with 1:11 left in the third quarter. The Vikings also scored on a 12-yard pass from quarterback James Monrean to wide receiver Kellen Alley early in the fourth period.
Monrean completed 19-of-32 passes for 225 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. He was 13-of-21 for 173 yards in the second half. Wide receiver Travis McKee was the top target with eight catches for 117 yards.
UNO opened the scoring just seven minutes into the game as Miller threw a swing pass to wide receiver Troy Kush, who sprinted down the right sideline for a 36-yard touchdown, capping an 8-play, 79-yard drive.
The Mavericks scored again on their second series. Kasperbauer took an option pitch, got a huge block from wide receiver Casey Hausman, and ran into the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown to conclude an 8-play, 67-yard march.
UNO then broke the game wide open with two quick touchdowns in the first five minutes of the second quarter. First, Miller slipped two tackles in the backfield and ran for a 73-yard touchdown, then Kasperbauer added a 15-yard score 3:23 later.
Andrew McCawley completed the first-half onslaught with a 29-yard field goal, giving the Mavericks a 31-0 lead at halftime, and Kasperbauer tacked on a 13-yard touchdown run on the opening series of the second half, his final carry of the day.
LAST YEAR VS. NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota 47, Western 7 (Alerus Center - Grand Forks, N.D.)
Western fell to nationally ranked North Dakota, 47-7, in a non-conference game before a crowd of 10,681 in the 40th annual Potato Bowl game at the Alerus Center. The defeat was the most lopsided for the Vikings since a 49-0 setback to Pacific Lutheran in 1986.
North Dakota, ranked No.4 in the AFCA/NCAA II Top 25, improved to 4-0. Quarterback Chris Belmore completed 12-of-15 passes for 175 yards and four touchdowns, two each to Weston Dressler and Dan Grossman, while playing just a little more than a half.
The Fighting Sioux had a 514-208 edge in total offense and did not have a turnover, while Western had four turnovers.
North Dakota was forced to punt on its opening series, then scored on its next five possessions, reaching the scoreboard just over nine minutes into the first quarter on a 52-yard field goal by Jeff Glas.
The Fighting Sioux extended the lead to 10-0 in the final minute of the first quarter when Belmore hit Dressler on a curl route, and Dressler sprinted up the middle of the field for a 55-yard touchdown.
North Dakota then added to the lead with three scores in the second quarter, as Grossman caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Belmore to cap an eight-play, 53-yard drive; Glas connected on a 48-yard field goal that bounced in off the crossbar; and Dressler scored on a 3-yard pass from Belmore in the final minute of the half, giving the Fighting Sioux a 27-0 lead at halftime.
In the opening half, North Dakota had a 266-98 edge, and the Vikings did not have a play from scrimmage longer than 12 yards.
Western's defense held on the opening possession of the second half, and a short punt gave the Vikings the ball in North Dakota territory, but Western quarterback James Monrean was intercepted on the next play by Digger Anderson, and one play after that, the Fighting Sioux put the game completely out of reach as Belmore hit Grossman on a post pattern for a 57-yard touchdown.
The Fighting Sioux extended the margin to 41-0 on a 2-yard run by Chris Beatty, who rushed for 121 yards on 19 carries, before Western scored midway through the third quarter. Running back Jake Carlyle scored on 1-yard run on fourth down, a play set up by a 51-yard pass from Monrean to slotback Brett Upchurch.
Glas then completed the scoring with a 26-yard field goal late in the third quarter and a 29-yard three-pointer in the fourth period.
The Vikings were without preseason All-America wide receiver Andy Olson and running back Duncan Sherrard, Western's leading rusher each of the last three seasons, because of injuries.
NEXT GAME
The Vikings return home to host University of Minnesota-Duluth in an NCC contest on Sept. 30 (1 p.m.) at Bellingham's Civic Stadium. The Bulldogs, who entertain Central Washington on Saturday, are 2-1 overall and 0-1in league play after losing 27-14 at No.11 South Dakota last week. In 2005, Minnesota-Duluth tied for the NCC title and reached the first round of the NCAA II playoffs.
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 BIS 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.
