ARCATA — Their practice t-shirts say, “Almost is Over.” And though that saying applies to last week's end to fall practice camp, it holds a more significant meaning in the minds of the Lumberjack football players. But more on that later.
Humboldt travels for its season-opener this week, heading to San Luis Obispo for Saturday's game against NCAA Division I FCS Cal Poly. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
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 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 featured on the game viewer. The feature can be found at
http://www.sidearmstats.com/humboldt/football/.
Lumberjack Links
Humboldt State's roster, current statistics, player bios and other information can be accessed through the
HSU football web site.
Ticket Information
Ticket purchases for Cal Poly's games can be made in person at the Ticket Office, over the phone, or online. The best available individual game tickets are online at
http://www.nmnathletics.com, 24 hours a day, with online sales ending midnight the day before a game.
Coach Rob Smith
Entering his third year as the Lumberjacks' head coach,
Rob Smith's Lumberjacks have posted a 7-14 record through the program's transition. Before coming to HSU, Smith guided the very successful Western Washington University football program for 17 years. During his career as the Vikings' head coach, Smith's teams posted a cumulative record of 109-62-1 for a .640 winning percentage . His wins total and winning percentage are the best in school history.
Head-to-Head
HSU's last trip to San Luis Obispo, in 2004, ended in a 42-7 loss for the Lumberjacks. Humboldt State is 8-11 all-time against the Mustangs.
Lumberjack Notes
Last year's 5-5 mark was a significant improvement, the strongest indicator perhaps the fact that HSU led going into the fourth quarter of all but one of its losses. That's also the origin of the “Almost is Over” slogan adopted by the players. …A solid scrimmage that was missing several key components to the Jacks' lineup still allowed a fair assessment for Smith and his staff. …Junior Mike Proulx gets the start at quarterback, hoping to pick up where he left off in 2009. In the Jacks' season-finale against Dixie State, he completed 26 of 42 passes for 299 yards and four touchdowns. The week before that, Proulx had completed 30 of 45 passes for a career-high 359 yards and three touchdowns. …HSU benefits from the return of several players who missed last year due to injuries. Defensive lineman Justin Hornsby, defensive back Kevin Cooper and wide receiver Kevin Miles are among the impact players back for 2010…
Injury Report
Center Taylor Boggs was held out of practice with an illness last week, but should be good to go for Saturday. Most of the Jacks' maladies are of a similar nature, and barring any damage suffered in practice this week, they enter the opening game at full strength. …”We held a lot of players out of the scrimmage for precautionary reasons,” Smith said. “Every one of them would have been able to go if it were a game week, and every one of them practiced today. We've really been fortunate in coming through camp with very few injuries. But that's a testament to the conditioning the players did during the summer. They came in this fall, prepared for the pounding.”
Mustang Notes
Cal Poly is ranked No. 25 in the preseason FCS Coaches Poll. … Coach Tim Walsh's Mustangs, 4-7 a year ago, expect to be much improved in 2010. They're led by senior wide receiver Dominique Johnson, selected to the College Sporting News' 2010 Preseason FCS All-American second team. Johnson caught 43 passes for 741 yards and six touchdowns last season. …Troubled by injuries during fall camp, the Mustangs managed only one full scrimmage. However, Cal Poly benefited by its academic quarter system which won't see the beginning of classes until well into September. The Mustangs were able to fit in six double-practice sessions in the past three weeks. …The Mustangs run an option offense that keeps opposing defense's off balance. “We tried to simulate that in preparing for them, but that's difficult because they're speed in executing it is much more than we can simulate,” Smith said. “How well we adjust to them is key to being able to limit their offense.”
Coach Smith's Pregame Assessment
“Cal Poly started strong last year, and struggled a little down the stretch, but they were right there in every one of those games. They have good reasons to expect a successful season. We know we have our work cut out for us.” … “To be competitive, we have a number of areas we'll have to play extremely well in. We have to be sound in the kicking game. We have to limit penalties and take care of the ball. In short, we can't beat ourselves.” …I have a great deal of confidence in our returning players and the leaders we have this year. At the same time, I'm excited to see what some of our new players who have come to our program with great credentials.” … “It's our first game, and it happens to be against a very good opponent. That's a challenge. But in reality, our student-athletes should be motivated simply by the fact that it's our first game. This is what they've prepared for last winter in conditioning, what they worked hard for through spring ball, and what they spent their summer preparing for. With all that work behind them, there are only 11 Saturday's in the fall that they have a chance to make it worthwhile.”
