Locker To Be Inducted Into Pacific Northwest Hall of Fame

Former Western Washington University football all-star running back Pat Locker will be inducted into the Pacific Northwest Football Hall of Fame at a luncheon on Wednesday, Apr. 30 at the Lake City Elks in Bothell.

Locker, who was named the Vikings' Football Player of the Century for 1900-99, became the first player in Northwest collegiate history to run for 4,000 career yards in 1979, finishing with 4,049.

That season, Locker was named the Offensive Player of the Year in the state of Washington, first-team Kodak College Division I All-American, second-team NAIA Division I All-American, and honorable mention United Press International All-Coast.

Locker, who set 12 school records, was the WWU Athlete of the Year in both 1976 and 1979, and was twice named Whatcom County Sports Personality of the Year. He was a four-time Little All-Northwest, NAIA District 1 all-star and all-Evergreen Conference selection.

A 1989 inductee into the WWU Athletic Hall of Fame, Locker's jersey number 24 was retired. A graduate of Ferndale High School , Locker is a Windermere real estate professional. He is the uncle of current University of Washington quarterback Jake Locker.

CWU's Hemphill Named To AP Little All-American Team

Central Washington defensive back Chris Hemphill (Gardena, Calif. - Junipero Serra) has been named to the Associated Press Little All-America third team, released Thursday (Dec. 13) by the AP.

Hemphill, who played free safety for the Wildcats in 2007 following his transfer from the University of Washington, adds Little All-American honors to a resume that also included Daktronics, Inc. Division II all-Northwest Region second team accolades and an honorable mention all-North Central Conference selection in 2007.

As a senior, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Hemphill finished third on Central Washington's team with 75 tackles, including 10 in each of his final two postseason games against Nebraska-Omaha and Grand Valley State. He also had five interceptions.

Hemphill is Central's first Little All-American since former Wildcat defensive end Jacob Galloway earned third team honors in 2004. Former CWU defensive back Jason Patterson (2001) and wide receiver Brian Potucek (2002) have also previously been named first team Little All-Americans.

Hemphill was just one of two players from the Northwest selected to the team, which honors NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA players. The only other player selected was Willamette offensive lineman Brandon Bennett, who was selected to the second team.

Three Selected For Cactus Bowl All-Star Game

Stray	Simmons

Linebackers Bret Stray (Sammamish, Wash. - Skyline HS) from Central Washington and Shane Simmons (Kent, WA – Kentlake) of Western Washington and CWU running back Johnny Lopez have been selected to play in the 2008 Valero Cactus Bowl all-star game in Kingsville, Texas.

The Division II all-star game will be played Jan. 11, 2008, at Javelina Stadium in Kingsville, Tex.

Stray started all 13 games for Central Washington this fall, playing an outside linebacker position as part of the Wildcats' 3-4 defense. A three-year letterman, Stray finished ninth on this year's team with 53 tackles, but ranked second in tackles for losses with 10 ½ .

He also led CWU with 5 ½ quarterback sacks and three fumble recoveries, one of which he returned for his only collegiate touchdown on Oct. 27 against Augustana.

Lopez (Federal Way, WA - Kennedy) rushed for 1,230 yards and 13 touchdowns, becoming the 10th player in school history to rush for more than 1,000 yards.

Simmons led the North Central Conference (12.5 avg.) and ranked fourth nationally in total tackles, and was ninth nationally in solo tackles (6.3 avg.).

He had double-figure stops in nine of 10 games. That included a career-high 18 versus Minnesota Duluth when he was named co-NCC Defensive Player of the Week.

In Western's 18-15 win over St. Cloud State, Simmons forced a fumble in the final seconds after the Huskies drove inside the WWU 25-yard line. He also had 11 tackles and a fumble recovery in the Vikings' 28-21 upset of NCAA Division I-FCS UC Davis in their season opener.

Stray and Lopez are the ninth and 10th CWU seniors to be selected to play in the Cactus Bowl. Previous participants have include wide receiver Brian Potucek (2006), running back Emilio Iniguez and defensive lineman Dustin Hawkins (2005), punter Joe Smith and wide receivers Moses Lewis and Jake Roberts (2004), defensive lineman Lance Gibson and defensive back Jeremy Jacobs (2003).

Western Oregon Wins Rotary Bowl

Like a lot of games in 2007, Western Oregon's defense was stingy good, the special teams made big plays and the offense was good enough when it had to be to secure the win Saturday (Dec. 1).

Western Oregon had 75 yards in quarterback sacks, scored on a fumble recovery in the end zone and had 300 yards in total offense to defeat Colorado School of Mines 26-12 in the 22nd annual Dixie Rotary Bowl at Hansen Stadium in St. George, Utah .

The Wolves finished the season with a 9-2 record, only the fourth time in 78 years that they have reached nine wins in a season. The Orediggers ended up 7-5.

Slot back Shaun Kauleinamoku was named one of two Most Valuable Players in the contest, returning four punts for 59 yards, running a reverse in for a score from 24 yards out, and catching three passes for 49 yards and a touchdown.

AJ Montalvo was named the MVP for the Orediggers. He had an interception and 3 1/2 tackles for loss.

The Wolves defense, which did not give up a score until just less than 10 minutes remained in the game, took down Mines quarterback David Pesek eight times for 75 yards in losses. Victor Felipe had three of those sacks for 29 total yards, and fellow defensive end Justin Cuellar had a pair for a total of 10 yards in losses.

Western also had interceptions by JT Gilmore and Zach Christopherson and fumble recoveries by Gavin Romanick and Matt Buche. There were eight turnovers in the game, as the Orediggers picked off WOU quarterback Mark Thorson four times, two of them by Drew Ferrin. Montalvo and Ben Tiller had the other pick-offs.

Defenses from both sides ruled the day early and WOU's stop group set up the first score of the football game. A combined sack by Felipe and Matt Cox pushed the Orediggers back to their own two-yard line.

After the ensuing punt gave the Wolves field position on the 30-yard line, Thorson found Kauleinamoku six plays later for a one-yard score to make it 7-0 at the end of the quarter.

WOU special teams set up the next Wolves score after Tom Kastens fumbled a punt and Romanick recovered at the 24-yard line.

On the very next play, Kauleinamoku scored on a reverse to give the Wolves a 13-0 lead. Western added another score before the end of the half with a four-play, 48-yard drive and a 17-yard DJ Jackson touchdown run to make the score 19-0 at halftime.

Defensive sacks and interceptions were the rule in the third quarter before the Orediggers put together their best drive of the football game early in the fourth stanza.

After nine plays and 68 yards, Derek Dykstra caught a four-yard score from Pesek to make it 19-6. Mines went for two and did not score.

On their next possession, CSM drove to the Wolves 20-yard line, only to have sacks by Felipe and Anthony Marin push them back to the 38-yard line.

The Orediggers went for it on fourth and 23 and failed. Western Oregon then drove into Mines territory on their next possession, but had to punt. Dystra attempted to field it on the two-yard line, fumbled and Buche recovered it in the end zone to seal the win.

Colorado School of Mines got the final score with 15 seconds remaining on a two-yard run by defensive end-turned tailback Marin Richardson.

Dykstra finished with nine catches for 87 yards to lead all receivers. Pesek was 26 of 40 for 228 yards with two interceptions.

WOU's Thorson was 15 of 27 for 180 yards with a scoring toss and a season-high four intereptions. Brad Ching had three catches for 55 yards and Kauleinamoku had three for 49. Jackson led the Wolves on the ground with 50 yards on nine carries.

The Wolves finished the year on a five-game win streak and with the best record for a WOU team since the 1976 squad went 9-1.

Central Washington Loses In NCAA Quarterfinals

Johnny Spevak hauled in 10 catches for 134 yards and quarterback Mike Reilly threw for three touchdowns but top-ranked Grand Valley State raced out to a 27-0 first-half lead and eventually defeated the Wildcats, 41-21 in the NCAA Division II Northwest Region final Saturday afternoon at Lubbers Stadium in Allendale, Mich. (Dec. 1).

Central Washington finished the 2007 campaign with a 10-3 overall record, marking the sixth time in school history that the Wildcats have finished with 10 or more wins in a season.

Grand Valley State, who has won 40 consecutive games, improved to 12-0 on the season and will take on Northwest Missouri next weekend in the NCAA Division II National Semifinals.

Grand Valley State scored on its opening possession with a three-yard quarterback keeper by Brad Iciek, capping an eight-play, 66-yard drive, then added touchdowns on a 16-yard pass from Iciek for Antione Trent and two more Iciek touchdowns (5, 2) to take a 27-0 lead at the halftime break.

CWU scored three second-half touchdowns on passes of 17 yards to Spevak, nine to Brandon Stout and 22 to Charles Smith, but never got closer than 20 points.

Grand Valley State held the Central Washington running game to a 38 yards, its second lowest output of the season. Reilly threw for 275 yards completing 27 of 45, but was picked off twice.

The Lakers finished with 473 yards of total offense compared to CWU's 313. Iciek threw for 176 yards completing 14 of 22 passes. Blake Smollen rushed for 200 yards on 20 carries.

Seven Named To Northwest Region Team

Six players from Central Washington and one from Western Washington are among the 53 student-athletes who have been named to the Daktronics Division II Football All-Northwest Region team.

First team selections included CWU tight end Jared Bronson (Jr., Kent, WA - Thomas Jefferson) and Western Washington linebacker Shane Simmons (Sr., Kent, WA - Kentlake).

Five CWU players -quarterback Mike Reilly (Jr., Kalispell, MT - Flathead), wide receiver Johnny Spevak (So., Edgewood, WA - Puyallup), center Sam Himmelman (Sr., Mukilteo, WA - Kamiak), linebacker Buddy Wood (So., Chattaroy, WA - Riverside) and safety Chris Hemphill (Sr., Gardena, CA - Junipero Serra) -- all received second-team honors.

The six total selections of Central Washington players tied for the most in the Northwest Region. Nebraska-Omaha also had six players selected to either the first or second team, and UNO led all institutions with five first-team selections. Grand Valley State and North Dakota each had four players named to the first team.

Six Named To CoSIDA Academic District Team

Six football players who are affiliated with GNAC schools, including four from Central Washington and two from Western Oregon, have been named to CoSIDA All-District Academic teams.

All six will now be listed on the national ballot for consideration for Academic All-American honors.

CoSIDA Football All-District (Academic): Quarterback – Mike Reilly, CWU (Mechanical Engineering, 3.49, Jr., Kalispell, MT). Offensive Line – David Lambo, CWU (Graphic Design, 3.41, Sr., Woodinville, WA); Brett Rhodes, WOU (Physical Education, 3.57, Sr., Canby, OR). Linebackers – Buddy Wood, CWU (Exercise Science, 3.50, So., Chattaroy, WA). Defensive Backs – Zach Christopherson, WOU (Chemistry, 3.37, Sr., Portland, OR); Jon Rogers, CWU (History, 3.34, Jr., North Pole, AK).

Viking Placekicker Named National Player-of-the-Week

Western Washington University placekicker Josh Lider has been named D2Football.com National Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in the Vikings' 18-15 win over St. Cloud State University Oct. 5.

Lider, a sophomore from Bellevue (Sammamish), kicked four field goals, including a 35-yard game winner with 21 seconds remaining. He also had three pointers of 47, 34 and 20 in becoming the first North Central Conference kicker this season to have four field goals in a game.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Lider has made all eight of his field-goal attempts this season, tying the school record for consecutive three pointers set by current Atlanta Falcons punter and long field goal kicker Michael Koenen during the 2001-02 seasons.

Lider connected on three field goals in Western's season-opening win at NCAA I-FCS UC Davis. Lider was a squad member last year, but did not see any action after being a redshirt in 2005.

Western (2-3, 1-3 NCC) is at South Dakota on Saturday (2 p.m. CT) where the Coyotes have a 21-game home field winning streak

WWU QB Named National Performer of Week

Western Washington quarterback Adam Perry has been named the College Sports Report Division II Football National Performer of the Week for his effort in the Vikings' 28-21 victory at NCAA I-FCS UC Davis Sept. 1.

Perry, a junior from Longview (graduate of R.A. Long High School), completed 31 of 46 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns. It was the seventh best passing performance in school history.

In the first game at the $31 million new Aggie Stadium, Perry helped the Vikings convert 12 of 21 third-down conversions and pile up nearly 39 minutes of possession.

The Vikings, who were picked to finish last in the North Central Conference, have won their last four games, ending the 2006 campaign with three victories. They have a bye this week before beginning NCC play on Sept. 15 at defending league co-champion Nebraska-Omaha.