Complete Great West Football Conference Weekly Release in PDF Format
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Two players from Cal Poly and one from Southern Utah earned Great West Football Conference player of the week honors for their performances in games on Saturday, Oct. 23. It marks the second straight week that two Mustangs have been honored by the conference.
Southern Utah quarterback Casey Rehrer was chosen as offensive player of the week. Cal Poly cornerback Karl Ivory picked up defensive player of the week honors for the second time this season while fellow Mustang Tim Chicoine was named special teams player of the week.
Cal Poly defeated North Dakota State 13-10 while Southern Utah rallied to beat UC Davis 19-15 in Great West Football Conference games Satuday. In non-conference contests, Northern Colorado fell 20-7 to Sam Houston State while South Dakota State dropped a 27-24 decision to Montana State.
Games scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 30, include one Great West Football Conference matchup --UC Davis (5-2, 2-1) at Cal Poly (7-0, 3-0) -- and a trio of non-conference games -- South Dakota State (4-3, 1-2) at Georgia Southern, Montana Western at Southern Utah (3-4, 1-2) and Northwestern State
(La.) at North Dakota State (5-3, 1-3). Northern Colorado (1-7, 1-1) has a bye.
Rehrer (6-0, 185, Sr., Orem, Utah) completed 22 of 38 passes for 240 yards with one interception and two touchdowns to lead Southern Utah over UC Davis. He also carried the ball 14 times for 53 yards, resulting in 293 yards of total offense. Rehrer rallied the Thunderbirds to their first GWFC win, giving the team a 13-6 lead at the end of the first half by directing a six-play, 82-yard drive in 41 seconds, culminated by a 24-yard touchdown pass. He then gave his team the margin of victory with a 5-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter.
Ivory (6-0, 188, Sr., Ontario, CA) recorded his fifth interception of the season, tying a school Division I-AA record, and returned the theft 73 yards for a second-quarter touchdown, as unbeaten and No. 5/6 Cal Poly erased a 7-6 deficit and took the lead for good en route to its Great West victory over North Dakota State in the Fargodome. Ivory has two interception returns for touchdowns this season and also intercepted a Southern Utah pass in the endzone to preserve another victory. Ivory had six tackles, five of them solo and one for a loss, on Saturday.
Chicoine (6-0, 185, Fr., Huntington Beach, CA) finished with eight punts for 345 yards, a 43.1 average, in Cal Poly's win over North Dakota State. Five of his punts were downed inside the Bison 20-yard line and he had a long punt of 54 yards. Due in large part to Chicoine's punting, North Dakota State's average field position for drive starts was its own 27-yard line.
Other nominees:
Offense -- UC Davis quarterback Jon Grant and Northern Colorado running back Jahir Waterman.
Defense -- North Dakota State cornerback Matt Gorman, Southern Utah linebacker Mike Overly and Northern Colorado linebacker Thomas Smith.
Special Teams -- UC Davis punter Chris Shibel and Southern Utah wide receiver Andy Hadfield.
This Week's Action
South Dakota State at #2 Georgia Southern - Statesboro, GA - 1 pm (ET)
South Dakota State's (4-3 overall, 1-2 GWFC) excursion into NCAA Division I-AA football will take another step up the ladder this weekend when the Jacks face Georgia Southern in Statesboro. Most of the IAA polls have Georgia Southern ranked No. 2. Since losing its opener to IA Georgia 48-28, Georgia Southern has won seven straight, beating JC Smith 84-3, Wofford 58-14, Chattanooga 51-17, Elon 48-14, Western Carolina 38-16, Appalachian State 54-7 and The Citadel 42-7. The Eagles have outscored their opposition 375-88 since the opening loss, averaging 53 points per game. For the full season, GSU has outscored its opponents 403-126 including 113-27 in the first quarter and 138-16 in the second. Their first four home dates have drawn 67,224 fans, an average of 16,806 per game.
#15/16 Northwestern State at North Dakota State - Fargo, ND - 1 pm (CT)
North Dakota State University (5-3, 1-3 GWFC) is scheduled to host nationally-ranked Northwestern State (5-2, 1-1 Southland) at the Fargodome (18,700, turf) in Fargo. It is the 31st annual Harvest Bowl. The Bison have compiled a 26-1-2 in the Harvest Bowl. The lone loss was a 29-7 setback to Northern Colorado in 2002. It's the second straight nationally-ranked opponent for NDSU as the Bison are coming off a 13-10 loss to Cal Poly in Great West Football Conference action last Saturday. Nicholls State defeated Northwestern State 40-14 in a Southland Conference game last Thursday. The Demons entered the Nicholls State game with I-AA's top rushing defense.
Montana Western at Southern Utah - Cedar City, Utah - 6 pm (MT)
Southern Utah will be looking to put together back-to-back wins for the first time this season when the Thunderbirds host Montana-Western in a non-conference battle Saturday at 6:00 p.m in Eccled Coliseum. The Thunderbirds (3-4) are coming off a 19-15 win over then No. 25 UC Davis last Saturday in Cedar City. That win gave the Thunderbrids their first Great West Football Conference victory and also snapped a two-game skid. It was the fourth time in the previous five weeks SUU had faced an opponent ranked among I-AA's top-25 and was also the second win over a ranked team, including the 56-14 triumph over then-No. 23 McNeese State.
UC Davis at #5 Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo, CA - 6 pm (PT)
Cal Poly (7-0, 3-0 Great West), ranked No. 5 in both the ESPN/USA Today and
The Sports Network polls following a 13-10 Great West Football Conference victory
over North Dakota State last Saturday in the Fargodome, will host rival UC
Davis (5-2, 2-1 Great West) for another Great West game Saturday night. Cal Poly is riding an eight-game winning streak (including the 2003 season finale), longest active streak in Division I-AA. Harvard has won seven straight. UC Davis, which won its first five games of the season en route to a No. 21 national ranking in just its second year of transition to Division I, has lost two straight to fall out of the polls. The Aggies, who fell 22-19 to Stephen F. Austin two weeks ago, dropped a 19-15 Great West decision at Southern Utah last Saturday.
Last Week's Games
Cal Poly 13, North Dakota State 10
Karl Ivory returned an interception 73 yards for a touchdown late in the first half to lead No. 5/6-ranked Cal Poly to a 13-10 victory over North Dakota State University in a Great West Football Conference game played Saturday, Oct. 23, before a crowd of 11,834 at the Fargodome.
Ivory's interception was one of three for the Mustangs. Interceptions by Aaron Williams and Kenny Chicoine ended any comeback ideas for the Bison in the fourth quarter. It was the fifth interception and the second returned for a TD by Ivory this season. Jordan Beck led Cal Poly with eight tackles including 2.5 tackles for a loss.
The loss spoiled an outstanding defensive effort by North Dakota State, sparked by senior cornerback Matt Gorman. Gorman had two interceptions, a pair of pass breakups and four tackles. NDSU limited Cal Poly to 159 yards of total offense including 64 rushing. Jayd Kittelson and Dwight Summerville each had a fumble recovery, while Jayd Kittelson and Joe Mays recorded a quarterback sack.
The Bison had 271 yards of total offense. Tony Stauss completed 20-of-37 passes for 187 yards and three interceptions. Travis White led NDSU with eight catches for 96 yards. Kyle Steffes gained 67 yards on 10 attempts.
Steffes' 20-yard TD run capped an 84-yard drive that put NDSU ahead 7-0 with 5:15 left in the first quarter. Anthony Garnett scored on an one-yard run, but Byungwoo Yoon's kick was wide right and the Bison held a 7-6 lead with 4:23 left in the second quarter.
The only scoring in the second half was a 19-yard field by NDSU walk-on freshman Kyle Wilcox.
Southern Utah 19, UC Davis 15
Ilaisa Tuiaki caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Casey Rehrer to give SUU a 19-15 lead over UC Davis with 5:37 to play Saturday and the defense made the advantage stand up as SUU picked up is first Great West Football Conference win over the No. 25 (I-AA) Aggies. SUU improved to 1-2 in league play and 3-4 overall while UCD dropped to 5-2 and 2-1 with its second straight loss.
UC Davis took the early lead late in the first period on a one-yard quarterback keeper by Jon Grant but Andy Hadfield used all of his 6-foot-6 frame to block the extra point, leaving the Aggies with a 6-0 advantage. Southern Utah got field goals of 41 and 24 yards from Steve Pulver to tie the game midway through the second period, then took a 13-6 lead when Rehrer hit Ben Anderson from 24 yards out with three seconds to play in the half.
Davis pulled within 13-9 on a 22-yard Emanuel Benjamin field goal with 8:46 to play in the third, then toook a 15-13 lead after Nelson Freeman scored on a 12-yard pass from Grant. On the PAT attempt Hadfield again got in the way of the kick, leaving the Aggies with a two-point edge.
Southern Utah took the lead on Rehrer's pass to Tuiaki, but UC Davis drove the length of the field, reaching the SUU 14 before the offense came up short when Grant's pass to Tony Kays came up two yards short on fourth and five.
"Any win is a nice win but this one is particularly sweet since it was finally someone else who came up just short at the end," SUU Coach Wes Meier said, alluding to the fact that his team's four losses have all been by seven points or fewer. "Our offense made the plays when we needed them and the defense stepped up when we needed it."
Rehrer didn't have one of his best nights, as he lost a fumble on a bad pitch and threw an interception, but he finished with 240 yards on 22-of-38 passing and rushed for another 53 yards. Justin Walterschied and Jerome Eason both had 67 yards in receptions for the Thunderbirds, on six and four receptoins, respectively, while Nick DiPadova had 11 tackles and Steve Smith 10, including 2 1/2 sacks, to pace the defense.
Grant completed 25-36 passes for 234 yards but the SUU defense sacked him seven times and knocked down five of his passes. Mike Overly had two sacks, while Marcus Harris had 1 1/2 and Levi Erickson had another.
Overly and Harris also teamed up on a big play that led to SUU's winning score. Overly sacked Grant, forcing a fumble on the UCD 45 yard line, then Harris scooped it up and carried it to the Davis 16, setting up the final score.
Montana State 27, South Dakota State 24
Montana State kicked a 22-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to give the Bobcats a 27-24 victory over South Dakota State in non-conference football action Saturday.
EJ Cochrane's field goal - his second game winner in three weeks - put an end to an improbable comeback by the Jacks.
Trailing 24-10 after MSU scored on a 33-yard Travis Lulay to Rick Gatewood pass play with 4:57 to play, the Jacks tied it with a pair of touchdowns 23 seconds apart.
First, Chris Molitor scored on an 18-yard pass from Brad Nelson with 1:12 to play. Then SDSU successfully executed an on-side kick, getting possession when Justin Kubesh covered the loose ball.
And the Jacks tied it at 24 on a spectacular catch by Brian Janecek in the end zone, good for 44 yards from Nelson with 49 seconds to play.
But Lulay, who had a brilliant day for MSU, took the Bobcats 69 yards on eight plays to the game winning kick.
Lulay passed for 411 yards on the day with three TDs, hitting 33-of-51 attempts. He was 6-for-6 when MSU marched 65 yards on eight plays to score on its first possession of the game. On the winning drive, he was 4-for-4 including a 28-yard pitch to Chaz Quinn which put the ball on the SDSU 15 yard line. Justin Domineck gained ten yards on the next play.
MSU out-gained SDSU 457-302 for the game, but Nelson still finished 19-for-35 for 216 yards and 2 TDs.
SDSU had its best sustained drive of the day in the first quarter, marching 78 yards on 15 plays to tie the game at 7-7. But the Jacks were out-gained 195-71 in the first half, and 293-115 at the end of the third quarter.
Janecek caught four passes for 72 yards while Josh Davis had four catches for 42 yards.
Anthony Watson finished the day with 81 hard-earned rushing yards, on 19 attempts.
For MSU, tight end Blake Wolf caught 11 passes for 137 yards and Gatewood nine catches for 126 yards.
Sam Houston State 20, Northern Colorado 7
The University of Northern Colorado football team went up against the nationally-ranked Sam Houston State Bearkats on Saturday and came up on the short end of a 20-7 decision.
It was the third time this season UNC has faced a nationally-ranked opponent. UNC also came up short against No. 7 Montana (27-16) and No. 17 Maine (38-0).
No. 10/11-ranked Sam Houston State improved to 6-1, while Northern Colorado fell to 1-7 on the season. It was the seventh straight loss for the Bears. The Bears had not lost seven games in a row since the end of the 1977 season and the beginning of the 1978 season. UNC lost its last five games in 1977 and then lost its first two games of the `78 campaign.
The Bears used a strong ground game from backup running back sophomore Jahir Waterman. Waterman started in place of an injured Andre Wilson, who missed the game with a high ankle sprain. Waterman rushed 31 times for 131 yards in his first career start.
Waterman began the game with a bang as he ripped off a 34-yard run on the Bears' first-play from scrimmage. The Bears failed to turn the drive into points as junior Justin Zaitz's 39-yard field attempt sailed wide left.
The UNC defense held the Bearkats on their first possession of the game and forced a punt. The Bears then used the running exploits of Waterman to drive 86 yards in just over six minutes. Waterman punched it in from nine yards out for his first career touchdown to give UNC a 7-0 lead with 3:55 to go in the first quarter.
Waterman came into the contest having rushed for 81 career yards. Waterman rushed for 88 yards in the first two drives of the game on Saturday.
Sam Houston State put its first points on the board early in the second quarter on a 24-yard field goal by Lance Garner. Garner's three-pointer pulled Sam Houston State to within 7-3 with 12:51 to go in the second quarter.
UNC junior quarterback Tony Christensen hooked up on a 51-yard pass with senior wide receiver Vincent Jackson to put the Bears back into scoring position as the Bears went from their own 25-yard line to the Bearkats 24-yard line. Sam Houston State's defense came alive as the Bears entered the red zone and the Bears' offense had to settle for a 28-yard field goal attempt from Zaitz. However, Zaitz missed his second straight field goal as this attempt went wide right.
UNC came up big on a punt block on SHSU's next possession. The Bears' Reed Doughty blocked the punt to give the Bears the ball at the SHSU 16-yard line.
UNC moved the ball to the one-yard line with the strong running of Waterman. However, a false start penalty moved the ball back to the five-yard line and two incomplete passes later left the Bears with another short field goal attempt. But Zaitz missed his third field goal of the first half from 23 yards away and left the Bears holding a 7-3 lead.
Sam Houston State wasted little time in benefiting from the Bears' field goal issues. SHSU went 80 yards in two plays and scored on a 51-yard pass from Dustin Long to Jason Methenia. The Bearkats then led 10-7 with 3:17 to go in the second quarter.
UNC tried to respond to the Bearkat score, but Christensen threw his 13th interception of the game to SHSU's Byran Richmond. Richmond returned the ball 20 yards to the UNC 30-yard line.
The Bearkats upped their lead to 10 points on a 5-yard scoring strike from Long to Robert Garmon. The Bears looked to have Garmon bottled up at the two-yard line, but the Bearkat running back fought threw two tackles and punched the ball across the goal line. The score came with only 16 seconds left in the half and gave Sam Houston State a 17-7 lead going into halftime.
The third quarter was dominated by both team's defenses. UNC held on a pair of SHSU drives, while the Bearkats third quarter highlight came on an interception by Richmond, his second game, as the Bears drove inside the 20-yard line again. However on SHSU's first play after the turnover, UNC redshirt freshman defensive back Aaron Henderson intercepted a Bearkat pass. But the Bears could not do anything with the turnover and had to punt the ball back to Sam Houston State.
Sam Houston State mustered its longest drive of the second half on the ensuing drive and finished it off with a 26-yard field goal from Garner. The drive went for 81 yards and consumed 6:23 off the clock. The field goal was kicked with 14:05 to go in the fourth quarter and gave SHSU a 20-7 advantage.
