Dec. 1, 2006

The Bottom Line - Week 13
By Chris Kelly

San Diego had the lead on UC Davis heading into the half 18-13, but the Aggies outscored the Toreros 24-9 in an impressive second half output en route to a 37-27 win over USD. The Aggies fell behind early as Torero quarterback Josh Johnson (344 yards passing) connected on some big passing plays but the Aggies seemed to have an answer each time keeping the game close. In the second half that answer was the trio of quarterback Jon Grant (24-39, 348 yds), wide receiver Tony Kays (10 grabs, 151 yards) and running back Marcus Nolan (28 carries, 167 yards). All three scored a touchdown during the second half as well. The win clinched the Aggies 37th consecutive winning season for UC Davis.

CK's Take: The Torores gave the Aggies all they could handle for about 2.5 quarters before finally fading and losing by 10 points. I have to give USD credit though - they came out and aggressively attacked the Aggies secondary and it worked helping to a five point halftime lead as well as a third quarter lead. Josh Johnson was impressive in the outing showing off some solid athletic ability, decent accuracy, and a big time arm. He had another big game throwing for 344 yards. However, the competition factor played a huge role on Saturday. The Toreros lack of playing anyone at all showed. Johnson was by far the best player in the Pioneer League but life was a little more difficult for him on Saturday against much stiffer competition. Despite the big passing day, his 70% completion rate throughout the season went out the window. The Aggies allowed him to throw for 344 but Johnson was under the 50% on the day throwing the football and the speed of the game being much quicker certainly showed throughout the afternoon. The Aggies consistently put pressure on the quarterback forcing quick throws that under duress that tended to sail off target. The other key for the defense: contain Johnson's rushing ability. They did. He was averaging 59 yards per game at 7.1 per carry. Against the Aggies, just 31 on 2.8 per carry.

Trailing by five points at halftime, Coach Bob Biggs delivered a spirited halftime speech. Somewhat out of character for Coach Biggs, his players responded in a major way with a lot more passion in the 2nd half. Offensively, the Aggies did basically what they wanted. Jon Grant had all the time he needed to pick apart the Torero secondary and find Tony Kays over and over again. But the UCD offensive line wore down the USD front and Marcus Nolan began pounding the football on the ground. Nolan rushed for 124 of his 167 yards in the second half. His loss will be big next season considering how well he came on in the back half of the season as the main guy out of the backfield.

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Listed below is my all-conference team as well as individual awards. CK's GWFC All-Conference Team OFFENSE
WR Tony Kays, Sr., UC Davis
WR Ramses Barden, So., Cal Poly
TE Jerimiah Wurzbacher, So., North Dakota State
OT Elliot Vallejo, Sr., UC Davis
OT Nate Safe, Jr., North Dakota State
OG Mitch Erickson, Jr., South Dakota State
OG Jake Erickson, Sr., North Dakota State
C Stephen Field, So., Cal Poly
QB Steve Walker, Jr., North Dakota State
RB Kyle Steffes, Sr., North Dakota State
RB James Noble, So., Cal Poly

DEFENSE DL Chris White, Sr., Cal Poly
DL John Faletoese, So., UC Davis
DL Justin Frick, Sr., North Dakota State
DL James Amos, Jr., UC Davis
LB Ramon Humber, So., North Dakota State
LB Joe Mays, Jr., North Dakota State
LB Kyle Shotwell, Sr., Cal Poly
LB Justin Kubesh, Jr., South Dakota State
DB Courtney Brown, Sr., Cal Poly
DB Craig Dahl, Sr., North Dakota State
DB Kenny Chicoine, Sr., Cal Poly
DB Jonathan Barsi, Sr., UC Davis

SPECIAL TEAMS
K Parker Douglass, Jr., South Dakota State
P Mike Dragosavich, Jr., North Dakota State
RS Larue Burley, Southern Utah

The offensive all-conference team loses just three to graduation, while the defense loses eight. As I look at the all-conference teams three names stand out as major losses to their respective teams and the conference in general: Tony Kays, Kyle Shotwell, and Kyle Steffes. Those guys were huge impact type players and they will be missed.

Offensive lineman of the Year - Elliot Vallejo, T, UC Davis

Elliot Vallejo, a transfer from UCLA, jumped into a starting tackle spot for UC Davis his sophomore year and struggled that season. What many people didn't know about Vallejo is that he was battling a bad hand injury and played despite the injury and pain. After surgery Vallejo came back and was extremely impressive in his junior season - so much so that he caught the eye of many scouts heading into his senior year. This season he followed it up with a dominating season. Vallejo has great size (6'7, 315), 32 consecutive starts, good feet, and was the anchor of a very good pass blocking line that allowed just 12 sacks this season. Vallejo could potentially be drafted in the 6th or 7th round of April's NFL draft. His fantastic play along the line earns him my Great West offensive lineman of the year award.

Co-Freshman of the Year - Ryan Shotwell, Cal Poly & Chris Carter, UC Davis.

When you lose stars like Kyle Shotwell and Tony Kays, teams need some of the youth to step up and Cal Poly and UCD appears to have emerging stars waiting in the wings. For Cal Poly, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree as Ryan Shotwell, younger brother of Kyle, had a great freshman season. From his defensive end spot, Ryan had 51 tackles, 9.5 for loss, seven sacks and ten quarterback hits. Will Ryan be the next Buchanan winner at Cal Poly? As for Chris Carter, it's not often you see a wide receiver step in and have as big an impact as Carter did this year for the Aggies. Carter amassed over 700 yards receiving and five touchdowns. Only one other freshman averaged more yards receiving per game than Carter (64 per game).

Offensive player of the Year - Kyle Steffes, QB, North Dakota State.

He should just be called Mr. Consistency. Kyle Steffes and 100-yard rushing games just go hand in hand. Here are Steffes rush totals game by game: 109, 153, 77, 100, 128, 86, 138, 126, 111, 127, 95. How consistent is he? Amazing. His consistency and toughness as a major weapon in the Bison offense make him my offensive player of the year. This season 1250 yard output is the third consecutive season Steffes went over the 100 yard mark. Throw in 13 touchdowns, a 5.3 per carry average, and 160 yards receiving and it's another great season for the Bison back. Steffes led the conference in all-purpose at 128 per game.

Defensive player of the Year - Kyle Shotwell, LB, Cal Poly.

The defensive player of the year for the third year in a row goes to a Cal Poly star - this year it's Kyle Shotwell. Shotwell was the key piece of a terrific Mustang defense that relies on their middle backer to be extremely productive. Shotwell, who registered 122 tackles and seven sacks, was just that over his entire career. Over the past three years Shotwell combined for an astounding 368 tackles which illustrates just how productive he's been within Coach Ellerson's defense. Shotwell's productivity can't be ignored at the next level, which hopefully will play a role in getting a shot to play in the NFL just like the middle backer that graduated before him, Jordan Beck.

Coach of the Year - John Stiegelmeier, South Dakota State.

There was no question in my mind that this award goes to the Jacks coach. What amazing is that Coach `Stig' wasn't even nominated nationally as a coach of the year candidate. NDSU head coach Craig Bohl was and deservedly so. And while Coach Bohl had a fantastic year, this award has to go to the Jacks head coach. The Jacks were basically left for dead after losing to Wisconsin La-Crosse at home then getting hammered on the road at Montana. But Coach Stig rallied his troops and kept them focused on getting back to executing the fundamental things teams need to do to win games. After nearly scoring a major upset at Northern Iowa, the Jacks went on a major run. They won seven games in a row including wins against Cal Poly and UC Davis. They also hung tough all the way in with a dominating North Dakota State. And the biggest reason he's my coach of the year is SDSU had no right to beating Cal Poly or UC Davis. They had no right to take NDSU to the wire in the FargoDome. And that's not an insult to the Jacks but testament to what Coach Stiegelmeier was able to accomplish this season. The reason the Jacks turned their season around is the fact that Coach Stig gets more out of his players than maybe any coach in the FCS. Seriously. They finished 2nd in the conference and I'd bet if you polled coaches to rank overall talent level SDSU would probably be lower than 2nd. The players buy into their coach's philosophy and they execute. Coach Stig did one heck of a job this season and he may not get the national run he deserves but he impressed me and a whole lot of Jacks fans, I'm sure.

Most Valuable Player - Steve Walker, QB, North Dakota State.

The Bison have the talented offensive line that dominates the opposition getting to the second level to bust big gainers. They have that consistent tailback that hits the hole hard for big gains and has proven great value with his hands out of the backfield. They have the wide receivers with a solid combination of speed and power designed to execute the "power west coast offense" (which I nicknamed it) to perfection. And even with all those tools, it's not without their catalyst, Steve Walker, does all the Bison success happen this season. Walker has grown into such a leader in the Bison offense and has complete control of his unit on the field. The guy is not loaded with tons of athletic ability, but has an unbelievable feel for the game, makes smart decisions at almost all times, and gets the most out of everything he has. He may have only thrown for 200 yards per game but that's only because Coach Bohl didn't need him to be a 300 yard passer in the power west coast offense. When he needed to have a big game throwing the ball (See: Ball State, 2nd half UCD game) Walker was more than up to the challenge. Without Walker, the Bison are 7-3. In the end, he ended up 185-288 (64%) for 2220 yards, and 16 touchdowns. More impressive was the fact he threw just four interceptions. For Bison fans, there can't be a much better feeling than finishing 9-1, having your quarterback recognized nationally as a Walter Payton candidate and the conference MVP. Well that is unless you take in the most exciting part: Walker's back next year.

Quick 07 Preview

Cal Poly

Top returner: RB James Noble (a passing game = 1400 rushing yards & a playoff berth)

Key Loss: The studs on defense: White, Shotwell, Brown, Chicoine Question: Can the Mustangs develop the much needed passing game?

North Dakota State

Top returner: QB Steve Walker (can he win the Payton in '07?)

Key Loss: Safety Craig Dahl

Question: Are they pre-season #1?

South Dakota State

Top Returner: Guard Mitch Erickson (NFL prospect, top returning GWFC O-lineman)

Key Loss: QB Andy Kardoes

Question: Who takes over for Kardoes?

Southern Utah

Top Returner: Tackle Matt Knight (one of the most underrated lineman nationally.)

Key Loss: Wes Marshall

Question: Will the youth mature into a conference competitor next season?

UC Davis

Top Returner: DT John Faletoese (does he become an All-American next season?)

Key Loss: Wide Receiver Tony Kays

Question: How do Aggies replace 5 key losses combined along both lines?

Coming up...

I'll be contributing to the site sporadically in the off-season with team previews and any conference updates. This column ends another season of covering the Great West - thanks to all those who contributed, all the SID's, and especially the all the passionate fans who make writing this each year very easy.

Comments. Questions. Email Chris at gwfcfootball@hotmail.com