ARCATA — One of the top teams in NCAA Division II visits Arcata this week when the Lumberjacks host Central Washington University at 6 p.m. Saturday in Redwood Bowl. Humboldt State is coming off a 31-10 victory over non-league foe Azusa Pacific and Central Washington defeated Dixie State College, 37-6 last week.
Central Washington was ranked No. 4 in this week's American Football Coaches Association national poll, and possesses a 6-0 overall record and 1-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference mark. Humboldt State is 3-2 in all games and 0-2 in conference.
Tailgate & Promotions
Humboldt State Athletics will host a tailgate prior to the game beginning at 4 p.m. and continuing until 6 p.m. Soft drinks and a variety of snacks will be provided. The location is the parking lot next to the Student Business Services building. …The first 160 fans arriving at the game wearing "Got Jacks" t-shirts will receive a free slice of Big Pete's pizza. …This week's National Anthem will be performed by local musical act Huckleberry Flint.
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/.
Lumberjacks Links
2009 Schedule
2009 Roster
Two-Deep
Head-to-Head
HSU trails Central Washington, 5-14 in the all-time series following last year's two losses. The Wildcats earned a 48-10 victory in Ellensburg and defeated the Jacks, 34-14 in Arcata. The Jacks have lost 14 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 – Brandon Hribar; Defense – Mike Lynch; Special Teams – Ryan Smart; Offensive Scout – David Kulp; Defensive Scout – Karl Nelson. Captains selected for the CWU game are Matt Devlin, offense, and Mike Lynch, defense. Season captains are Taylor Boggs for offense and Bubba Reynolds on defense.
Lumberjack Notes
Offensive productivity has been a generous resource in 2009, as compared to a rare commodity in 2008. In fact, through five games the Jacks have already put 147 points on the board this fall while last year's 10-game total was 169. The 2007 Lumberjacks scored only 141 points the entire season. The Jacks are averaging 29.4 points per game, nearly double last year's 15.4 average. …Another statistic indicative of success is the Jacks' ability to score once they've penetrated inside an opponent's 20-yard line. After moving into the "redzone" Humboldt State has converted 19 of 21 chances, including 14 of those opportunities into touchdowns. …"We have a number of players who have been in the system for a couple of years now, and as their understanding has grown we've become a more productive offense," HSU head coach Rob Smith said. "We also have a talented group of newcomers, especially on the offensive line." …HSU's league leaders in individual categories are Mike Proulx, pass efficiency (142.2), yards per completion (15.3) and passing yard per attempt (8.7); Bobby Thomas, rushing yards per game (78.6), rushing attempts (100) and rushing touchdowns (3); Kyle Schierholt, field goal percentage (77.8); and Wes Montgomery, interceptions (3). …Bubba Reynolds returned from the injured list in a big way last week, leading the Lumberjacks in tackles against APU with 12. Reynolds had tried to go the previous week despite a hip injury, but had to leave the game after a single play. …Senior wide receiver Matt Smith and senior slot receiver/running back Corey Stollmeyer are HSU's top receivers, with 24 and 17 catches, respectively. Junior tight end Matt Devlin has hauled in 15 passes for the Jacks. …Proulx will continue to hold his slot as the Jacks' starting quarterback, with backup Chris Bolt also seeing time on the field. That system has proved effective thus far, and HSU head coach Rob Smith sees the benefits of maintaining it. "They are two entirely different types of quarterbacks," Smith said. "We like the changeup it brings to our offense when we utilize both of them."
Injury Report
Starting center Taylor Boggs was forced out of Saturday's game after re-injuring an ankle that troubled him two weeks ago, but is expected to be ready to go Saturday. …Defensive end Derrick Garrett missed last week's game with an ankle problem and his status is uncertain for this week. …Justin Hornsby is still out of action because of a neck sprain, and his return at any time this fall has become unlikely. …Senior safety Wes Montgomery was unavailable last week because of a family health emergency. He is expected to return this week.
Wildcat Notes
Six tough games into the season, the Central Washington Wildcats have definitively answered all challenges on the way to posting a perfect record. Included in their victories are wins over then NCAA Division II No. 2 ranked Minnesota-Duluth (13-10) and Football Championship Subdivision Idaho State (33-22). Last week, the Wildcats opened the defense of their GNAC crown with a 37-6 win over Dixie State.…Redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Robertson has completed 102 of 175 passes for 1,051 yards, 13 touchdowns with six interceptions. His primary receiver has been senior wideout Johnny Spevak, who has a league-leading 39 catches for 501 yards and nine touchdowns. In Saturday's win over Dixie, Spevak Caught eight passes for 71 yards and two touchdowns, earning him GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors…Linebacker Buddy Wood is the Wildcats' top tackler with 49 total, including 26 solo tackles. …Central Washington has rolled to 26 consecutive wins over league opponents. …Blaine Bennett is in his second season as Wildcats' head coach. In 2008 he led CWU to its second straight NCAA Division II postseason appearance and was named GNAC Coach of the Year.
Smith Says
"We had a solid win, and those are hard to come by. Now we get ready to play what I believe is the best DII program in the country. For anyone to be ranked ahead of (Central Washington) doesn't make any sense." …"For Central, it starts with their talent. They added a number of DI transfers, and have great confidence coming off a few years of being the dominant team in the GNAC and one of top teams nationally. They've also developed great players in their program, like consensus All-American Johnny Spevac." …"We look at this week's game as a tremendous challenge. You want to play the best at your level, and we have opportunity to do that. I know very few people believe we have much of a chance to win, but you have to play the game. It's an opportunity to match up against the best, so we'll make sure we're fully prepared." …"It will be great to be home. It's been a tough stretch. I'd be surprised if ay team spent more hours on the road than we have. We look forward to playing in front of our fans."
