ARCATA — A very familiar foe that the Jacks saw only two weeks ago will take its turn as host when Humboldt State travels to Ellensburg, Wash. HSU is coming off a 34-3 victory over Southern Oregon while Central Washington came back from 21 points down to defeat Western Oregon, 23-21 in Seattle.
Central Washington was ranked No. 2 in this week's American Football Coaches Association national poll, and possesses a 8-0 overall record and 2-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference mark. Humboldt State is 4-3 in all games and 0-3 in conference.
On-the-Air
Every Lumberjack football game is broadcast live over the local airways on KATA, 1340 AM, beginning with the pregame show 15 minutes prior to game time. Bicoastal Media Sports Director J.B. Mathers describes the action and HSU Hall of Fame inductee Burt Nordstrom adds commentary. …Audio is also streamed live over the Internet through the hsujacks.com web site. The new UStream format allows an interactive chat between listeners during the webcast. The specific URL for access is located at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/humboldt-state-athletics.
Live Stats
All Lumberjack football home games can be tracked online by using the Live Stats feature on hsujacks.com. Real time statistics, drive progress and other information are included on the game viewer. The feature can be found at http://www.sidearmstats.com/humboldt/football/. …This week's game at CWU may or may not have LiveStats available, depending upon technology issues. Check the Wildcats' web site at http://www.cwu.edu/~sports/livestats.html for updates.
Lumberjacks Links
2009 Schedule
2009 Roster
Two-Deep
Head-to-Head
HSU trails Central Washington, 5-15 in the all-time series following a tough 34-27 loss in Redwood Bowl two weeks ago. Last year the Wildcats earned a 48-10 victory in Ellensburg and defeated the Jacks, 34-14 in Arcata. The Jacks have lost 15 straight games to the Wildcats, going all the way back to the 1997 season for HSU's last victory. Humboldt State completed that season with a 40-30 win over CWU on the road.
Weekly Awards
HSU's coaching staff has selected the following players for weekly honors: Offense – Corey Stollmeyer; Defense – Dawiet Haile; Special Teams – Chauncey Fagan; Offensive Scout – Jordan Kennedy-Smith; Defensive Scout – JJ Evans. Captains for this week's game vs. Central Washington are Mike Proulx and Elzie Gatson. Season captains are Taylor Boggs for offense and Bubba Reynolds on defense.
Lumberjack Notes
Heading into Saturday with a 4-3 overall record, Humboldt State has the rare opportunity to avenge its losses in the next three games. "We have a great opportunity to play every team that has defeated us," HSU head coach Rob Smith said. "That's one of the positive features of the scheduling with have in this league." …Reversing a trend that had plagued HSU season-long, the Jacks outscored their opponents, 14-0 in the fourth quarter to put away the game. Dawiet Haile contributed a great hit and tackle, and Justin Price had a key interception that limited the Raiders' hopes. The Jacks now hold a scoring edge over opponents in every quarter, but the total of six points in the fourth is the tightest gap. …Senior Corey Stollmeyer has been named Great Northwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for 129 yards and three touchdowns in the Jacks' win. Stollmeyer finished with 153 all-purpose yards and scored on runs of 14, 10 and three yards. Stollmeyer leads the GNAC in all-purpose running with 764 yards, including 202 rushing, 316 receiving and 246 on kick returns. …Sharing time at the quarterback position, HSU's Mike Proulx and Chris Bolt now rank No. 1 and 2 in the GNAC in yards per play. Proulx averages 7.5 yards per play while Bolt has gained 6.4. …Moving through the GNAC dance card for the second time doesn't precipitate many changes, Smith said. "Any change we make will be subtle," Smith said. "When you get to game eight in the season, it becomes less about changing preparation and more about the health of your players and who is available." …Injury was less of a concern than illness last week when 13 Lumberjacks were forced to miss practice because of the circulating flu virus. Smith estimated another 15 or so had milder cases that allowed them to still participate.
Injury Report
Senior running back Bobby Thomas is likely to return this week after being held out last week to continue recovery from a leg contusion. …Back on the field in his starting linebacker slot will be Mike Lynch, who has been heeling a calf injury. …Senior Daniel Wyatt was felled by the flu last week, and would have seen signifiant playing time in the backfield had he been healthy, …Defensive ends Luke Swangler and Jacob Taylor both sustained injuries last week, but are expected to be ready by Saturday.
Wildcat Notes
Central Washington came from behind for the second straight week, this time rallying against Western Oregon to remain unbeaten overall and in league. Kicker Garrett Rolsma connected on three field goals to spur the rally, including a 44-yarder with 32 seconds yet that provided the winning margin. …Cole Morgan and Ryan Robertson continue to share time at quarterback, and this game should be more of the same. …GNAC rushing leader Randall Eldridge was limited to 32 net yards on 18 carries by Western Oregon, with the Wildcats forced to the air in their comeback. Morgan was slightly more effective than Robertson, completing 12-of-29 passes for 219 yards. Wide receiver Johnny Spevak, who tops the GNAC in reception yards (81.2 per game) and is second in catches (6.2 per game), had six receptions for 104 yards vs. WOU before sustaining an injury during the fourth quarter.
Smith Says
"We face a great challenge this week, and that's something we're looking forward to. They're No. 2 in the nation, it's their senior day and homecoming. Those factors make it even more difficult than usual to play (Central Washington)." … "We're still a team that works very hard to prepare for all games. Saturday's win was a nice reward for the work this team puts in." … "We stalled out, offensively, in the third quarter. But our defense was consistent, and stepped up when we needed it to."
