Complete Great West Football Weekly Release in PDF Format
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Complete Cal Poly Weekly Release in PDF Format
Complete UC Davis Weekly Release in PDF Format
Complete Northern Colorado Weekly Release in PDF Format
A pair of Great West football players (Cal Poly's Jordan Beck and Northern Colorado's Vincent Jackson) have been selected to take part in postseason bowl games.
For the first time in over 50 years, Cal Poly will have a football player in the East-West Shrine Game.
Cal Poly senior linebacker Jordan Beck, on The Sports Network's Buchanan Battle list for the second straight year, has accepted an invitation to play in the 80th annual game, scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 15, at SBC Park in San Francisco.
Cal Poly's only other East-West Shrine Game participant was Stan Sheriff, a center and linebacker who played in the 1954 contest after a stellar four-year career (1950-53) with the Mustangs.
Beck holds Cal Poly's single-game, single-season and career tackles records. He broke the single-game mark with 23 tackles in a game at Montana a year ago and also set the single-season mark with 128 tackles in 2003. Beck surpassed the career mark of 326 in the Idaho State game earlier this year and currently has 400 tackles with three regular-season games remaining.
University of Northern Colorado senior wide receiver Vincent Jackson has been selected to participate in the 56th annual Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 29, 2005.
The Senior Bowl is the nation's most unique football game and football's premier pre-draft event, annually featuring the country's best senior collegiate football stars and top NFL draft prospects on teams representing the North and South which are coached by the entire coaching staffs from two National Football League teams.
The Widefield High School product has also been accepted to play in the East-West Shrine Game. Jackson has also received invitations to play in the Las Vegas All-American Classic and the Hula Bowl but both of those contests are held on the same day - Jan. 22, 2005.
Two players from Southern Utah and one each from North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Cal Poly earned Great West Football Conference player of the week honors for their performances in games on Saturday, Nov. 13.
Three players share offensive player of the week honors -- Cal Poly wide receiver Darrell Jones, Southern Utah quarterback Casey Rehrer and North Dakota State quarterback Steve Walker -- while Southern Utah linebacker Nick DiPadova picked up defensive player of the week honors for the second time. South Dakota State punter Neal Bainbridge was named special teams player of the week.
Cal Poly wrapped up the inaugural Great West Football Conference championship Saturday with a 31-0 victory over Northern Colorado in San Luis Obispo, CA. Also on Saturday, North Dakota State defeated host UC Davis 25-7 while Southern Utah was a 23-17 double-overtime winner over South Dakota State in Cedar City, UT.
Games scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 20, include one Great West Conference matchup -- South Dakota State (5-5, 1-3) at Northern Colorado (2-8, 2-2) -- along with three non-conference contests -- Cal Poly (8-2, 4-1) at Sacramento State, Idaho State at Southern Utah (5-5, 2-3) and UC Davis (6-3,
3-2) at Portland State. North Dakota State (8-3, 2-3) has completed its season.
Jones (5-8, 185, Sr., San Rafael, CA) caught 10 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown -- a 68-yard pass from Anthony Garnett in the second quarter -- as No. 18 Cal Poly shut out Northern Colorado. Jones broke the school record for career receptions (he now has 172) and surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in receiving yards this season (now 1,020).
Rehrer (6-0, 185, Sr., Orem, UT) completed 18 of 26 passes for a career-high 315 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 29 yards and another sccore on 15 carries in Southern Utah's double-overtime win over South Dakota State. His rushing touchdown came on fourth and goal from the one in overtime. He did throw two interceptions, however. His 15 yards passing are the sixth-most in SUU history and his TD pass was the 20th of the season, an SUU record. He now holds SUU single-season records for completions (224), yards passing (2,544), TD passes (20), and passing attempts (333).
Walker (6-1, 198, Fr., Lockport, IL) completed 15 of 20 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns in leading North Dakota State over No. 20/21 UC Davis. He connected on 10 of 14 passes in the first half as the Bison built a 22-0 halftime lead. Walker threw TD passes of 24 yards to Travis White, 29 yards to Charles Wiest and 50 yards to Marques Johnson. He finished the season completing 47 of 60 passes (78.3 percent) for 705 yards, 10 TDs and no interceptions. Walker started the final three games of the season.
DiPadova (6-0, 210, Sr., Woodland Hills, CA) tallied a career-high 17 tackles, including eight solo stops, a forced fumble, four tackles-for-loss and 2.5 sacks in Southern Utah¹s double-overtime win over South Dakota State. Both of his solo sacks came in overtime, one in each extra period, with the second the first step in effectively pushing the Jacks out of scoring position. His 17 tackles were the most by a Thunderbird since Steve Smith had 22 at Arkansas State in 2001 and the most by a Thunderbird at home since 1990.
Bainbridge (6-3, 175, So., Ethan, SD) punted six times for a 48.5 average in South Dakota State's loss to Southern Utah. He had three punts inside the 20
-- to the three, six and 10 -- and he had a 64-yard kick which was a touchback.
Other nominees:
Offense -- Northern Colorado wide receiver Vincent Jackson. Defense -- Cal Poly linebacker Jordan Beck, North Dakota State linebacker Jayd Kittelson, Northern Colorado free safety Reed Doughty and UC Davis linebacker Dan Elbanna. Special Teams -- Cal Poly punter Tim Chicoine, Southern Utah wide receiver/kick returner Justin Walterschied and North Dakota State punter Mike Dragosavich.
This Week's Action
South Dakota State at Northern Colorado - Greeley, CO - 12 pm (MT)
The University of Northern Colorado Bears will close the 2004 season on Saturday
against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in the final game of the Great West's inaugural season. The Bears will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday prior to the game as 14 seniors are honored with their parents. The Jackrabbits enter the final game of the season at 5-5 in their first season as an NCAA Division I-AA squad. SDSU is 1-3 in Great West play this season.
UC Davis at Portland State - Portland, WA - 12 pm (MT)
UC Davis reaches the midway point of its football transition from NCAA Division II to
I-AA when it concludes the 2004 season at Portland State. The Aggies are finishing the second of a four-year reclassification process and are ineligible for postseason play during that time. UC Davis is also looking to . nish the regular season with a win, something it's done 10 times in head coach Bob Biggs' previous 11 seasons. The Aggies will be playing Portland State for the first time since 1996 and are playing the Vikings in Portland for the fifth straight time in the brief all-time series.
Idaho State at Southern Utah - Cedar City, UT - 3 pm (MT)
Southern Utah remains at home this week as the Thunderbirds host Idaho State. The non-conference clash will be the season-finale for both teams. The Thunderbirds (5-5, 2-3 Great West Football Conference) will be looking to notch their first winning season since the 2000 squad posted a 7-4 mark. SUU is coming off the first home overtime game in the school's history, a 23-17 double OT win over South Dakota State last Saturday. The game was just the second overtime affair in SUU football history, joining the Thunderbirds' 42-34 loss at Hampton in 2000. Idaho State (3-7, 2-5 Big Sky) is also coming off a win after posting a 24-17 home win over Northern Arizona last week. The Bengals fell behind 17-0 in that one before storming back for a win in their home finale.
#18 Cal Poly at Sacramento State - Sacramento, CA - 4:05 pm (MT)
Cal Poly (8-2, 4-1 Great West), which snapped a two-game losing streak and captured the inaugural Great West Football Conference championship with a 31-0 shutout over Northern Colorado last week, wraps up the regular season Saturday with a non-conference game at Sacramento State (3-7, 2-5 Big Sky). Cal Poly, which had fallen to UC Davis and Eastern Washington the last two weeks, kept its NCAA Division I-AA playoff hopes alive with its win over Northern Colorado on Senior Night in Mustang Stadium. Sacramento State dropped a 52-21 Big Sky Conference decision to Montana in Missoula last Saturday.
Last Week's Games
Cal Poly 31, Northern Colorado 0
Senior wide receiver Darrell Jones broke Cal Poly's career receptions record and senior running back Geno Randle rushed for a career-high 186 yards and two touchdowns as the Mustangs clinched the inaugural Great West Football Conference championship Saturday night with a 31-0 victory over Northern Colorado before 7,985 in Mustang Stadium.
Jones caught 10 passes for 126 yards and one touchdown for Cal Poly, which improved to 8-2 overall and 4-1 in Great West games. Northern Colorado fell to 2-8 and 2-2.
Jones now has 1,020 receiving yards for the season and his 172 career catches broke the old mark of 169 set by Kamil Loud from 1994-97.
Randle garnered his sixth career 100-yard game on the ground, netting his yards on 16 carries. He became the first Mustang to rush for a pair of touchdowns in a game this season, scoring on runs of 73 and 76 yards.
Mustang junior quarterback Anthony Garnett completed 12 of 20 passes for 153 yards and one touchdown, a 68-yarder to Jones in the second quarter. Garnett also ran one yard for a touchdown late in the second quarter.
Senior placekicker Byungwoo Yoon kicked a 32-yard field goal, also in the second quarter.
Cal Poly posted its first shutout since the 2002 season when the Mustangs blanked Humboldt State 30-0 in Mustang Stadium.
Northern Colorado running back Andre Wilson netted 64 yards on 17 carries while Nick Hager, who replaced starter Tony Christensen in the third quarter, completed 15 of 30 passes for 137 yards.Walter Payton Award candidate Vincent Jackson caught five passes for 98 yards for the Bears.
Defensively, Buck Buchanan Award nominee Jordan Beck led the Mustangs with 14 tackles, including a sack, and returned an interception 31 yards, his fourth theft of the season. Fellow linebacker Kyle Shotwell added nine tackles.
Cal Poly had five sacks, including two by Chris Gocong, another Buck Buchanan Award candidate who entered the game No. 2 in Division I-AA with 12.5 sacks.
Northern Colorado linebacker Ryan Palmer collected 18 tackles and recovered a Cal Poly fumble.
North Dakota State 25, UC Davis 7
Steve Walker threw for 227 yards and three touchdowns in the first half as North Dakota State University upset No. 20 UC Davis 25-7 before a crowd of 6,720 at Toomey Field on Saturday, Nov. 13.
Running back Cinque Chapman ran 22 times for 107 yards for the Bison (8-3), who finished with 410 total offensive yards. NDSU had lost the last two meetings to UC Davis, 23-14 in Fargo last season and 35-7 at Davis in 2002.
Jon Grant was 23-of-34 for 240 yards and Daniel Fells caught 5 passes for 90 for UC Davis (6-3), which failed to clinch a share of the first-ever Great West Football Conference championship. Cal Poly defeated Northern Colorado 31-0 on Saturday night to claim the conference title.
North Dakota State scored on two consecutive fourth down situations in the first period as Walker hit Travis White and Charles Wiest for 24 and 29 yards touchdown passes, respectively. The Bison, controlling time of possession for 12 minutes and 16 seconds on offense, racked up 170 yards to the Aggies' 5 yards in the first quarter.
North Dakota State caused UC Davis problems with a swarming defense. Jayd Kittelson led the defense with 12 tackles including one tackle for a loss. The Bison had five tackles for a loss including sacks from Isaac Snell, Justin Frick, Isaac LaVant and Alvin Robinson. Robinson also had three pass breakups.
After Jon Grant was called for intentional grounding to give North Dakota a team safety in the second quarter, Walker hit Marques Johnson for a 50-yard score. The Aggies had a chance to score with five seconds left before the half, but failed on a pass attempt as time expired.
Walker, who completed 15-of-20 passes against UC Davis, finished the season 47 of 60 passes for 705 yards, 10 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Davis finally got on board with a 7-yard run by Nelson Doris in the fourth quarter. But the Bison's running game behind Chapman and Kyle Steffes kept the Aggies on the field for the remainder of the game. Steffes rushed 20 times for 75 yards and recorded his first 1,000 yard season -- finishing with 1,055 yards.
After kicking 50 consecutive extra points, North Dakota State place kicker Cory Vartanian finally missed in the second quarter. Vartanian did hit a 46-yard field goal in the third quarter to put NDSU ahead 25-0. It was the longest outdoor field goal of his career.
Southern Utah 23, South Dakota State 17 (2 OT)
Gordon Reid ran seven yards for a touchdown in the second overtime to give Southern Utah University a 23-17 Great West Football Conference victory over South Dakota State Saturday night. With the win the Thunderbirds evened their record at 5-5 (2-3 in the GWFC) and gave themselves a shot at a winning record for the first time since the 2000 season going into next week's finale vs. Idaho State. SDSU saw its record drop to 5-5 (2-2 GWFC) with one game to go, at Northern Colorado next week.
South Dakota State took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 6-yard Anthony Watson run but the Thunderbirds answered back with a 33-yard Casey Rehrer-to-Jerome Eason pass late in the period to tie. SUU took a 10-7 lead early in the second period on a 37-yard Steve Pulver field goal, but SDSU answered with a 26-yarder of its own with 2:02 to play in the half.
That was all the scoring for either team until overtime, however, as SUU had a field goal attempt blocked and lost the ball on a fumble and an interception in the second half while SDSU missed a field goal and turned it over on a fumble.
In overtime South Dakota St. won the toss and elected to go on defense first. Southern Utah capitalized on its first possession, taking a 17-10 lead when Rehrer dove over the top on fourth-and-inches for a touchdown. SDSU answered with a 20-yard TD pass from Brad Nelson to Brian Janecek, however, after a pass interference call against the Thunderbirds on third and 16 kept the Jacks' drive alive.
On SDSU's ensuing possession Nick DiPadova got one of his career-high 17 tackles when he sacked Nelson for a five-yard loss on second-and-10, then Marques Harris and Sateki Nau got to Nelson for another five-yard sack. SDSU was forced to attempt a 52-yard field goal, but Parker Douglass' attempt was wide right.
Southern Utah took just three plays to ice it following the missed field goal, with Reid getting the score after Ryan Felipe ran it 17 yards to set the Thunderbirds up with first-and-goal at the seven.
"Wow, what a finish," SUU Coach Wes Meier said. "We've been in some close games this year but this one beats them all. It was a struggle all the way. We missed some opportunities offensively, but our defense did a great job keeping us in the game today. Then when we needed it the offense really came through in overtime, but both units really came through in overtime; the defense rose to the occasion too."
Southern Utah finished with 464 yards of total offense as Rehrer threw for a career-high 315 yards on 18-of-26 passing. It was the sixth-highest passing yardage total in SUU history. Freshman Braden Godfrey caught six of those passes for a career-best 124 yards, while Reid finished with a career-best 84 yards on the ground.
Watson paced the Jackrabbits with 110 rushing yards, while Nelson completed 19-of-31 passes for 198 yards.
Colin McDonough
Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations - University of Northern Colorado
Director of Media Relations - Great West Football Conference
251 Butler-Hancock Hall
Greeley, CO 80639
PHONE: 970-351-1065
CELL: 970-978-0970
FAX: 970-351-1995
www.UNCBears.com
www.GreatWestFootball.com
