April 2006
Red, White and Black Scrimmage Set for April 29
Friday, April 28 2006
The University of Montana Western football team will end their spring season with the playing of the Red-White-Black scrimmage, Saturday, April 29. Kickoff is 11:00 a.m. from Vigilante Field.
When Bulldog coach Tommy Lee opened spring drills, he had several goals.
“I am very pleased with the results,” said Lee. “Our kids got a ton of reps this spring. We got the opportunity to see what they can do and how they are going to fit in the fall. We are anxious for Saturday to put the team in a game-type situation. It is a great time to evaluate.”
The Bulldog coaches held a draft earlier in the week to divide the team into a Black team and a white team. The offensive line will wear red and will alternate between the two teams.
“The two teams are very even,” added Lee. “It should be a very competitive scrimmage. When you divide the team you sometimes lose continuity because you don’t have everyone together as they would be for a real game. But, the draft makes it fun and challenging. It is more of an individual thing, We want to look at individual performances.”
Lee used the spring season to give his young team as many reps as possible he wanted to look at the depth at several positions and to find one quarterback to tabbed the starter in the fall.
“I feel a lot better about the offensive line now,” added Lee. “It was definitely an area of concern going into spring. Our transfers combined with the guys coming back have looked good and made excellent progress. Our linebackers have accomplished a lot this spring. We lost all our starters from last year. Our linebackers are all young, but they made great strides in their progress.”
Last season, the Bulldog offense struggled with consistency at quarterback. Lee alternated between two quarterbacks last season trying to find one starter. Both struggled at times as evident by 24 interceptions to only 20 touchdowns.
“Both our quarterbacks have made strides in their decision making which should lead to less mistakes being made,” said Lee. “You can’t throw 24 interceptions and expect to win too many games. That in its self showed our lack of consistency. Hopefully the last scrimmage will help find our starter for the season, if not, we’ll wait until after two-a-days in the fall. I have never been a two-quarterback guy.”
The Red-White-Black Scrimmage will be played with four 12-minute quarters. There will be no kick returns. There will be punts, field goals and p.a.t. Instead of a kickoff, the team that wins the toss starts from the 20-yard line. With a punt, there will be no attempted blocks. The receiving team will start from where the fair catch was made. After any score, there will be an attempted PAT and if the team is in field goal range, field goals will be attempted.
The Bulldogs will open the 2006 season on Sep. 9 at home against MSU-Northern.
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Spring Football Update
Friday, April 21 2006
The University of Montana Western football team is more than half the way through the spring season. Head coach Tommy Lee will see just how far the Bulldogs have come and where they need to go in a 100 play situational scrimmage Saturday, Apr. 22. The scrimmage is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at the practice field at Vigilante Park.
“Spring has gone very well for us,” said Lee. “We are a very young football team. We have only 16 upperclassmen out of 70 players out for spring ball. We are getting a good look at the young guys, giving them lots of reps. I have been very pleased with progress made. We may be a young team overall, but we have some very talented players. That is the exciting part. With as competitive as the Frontier Conference is, our guys will have to grow up in a hurry. This spring we concentrated on the offense and defense we plan using this fall. Going into the spring, we were concerned about our lack of depth on the offensive and defensive line. We brought in a couple of transfers that have helped, and come the fall there will some freshmen competing for back-up positions because of the lack of numbers. Now, with what I have seen thus far in the spring, I am not as concerned. The guys we brought in and the guys we have returning are doing very well this spring. I have pleased with the progress both the offensive and defensive lines have made this spring. ”
Last year, the Bulldogs used two quarterbacks, Travis Blome (5-11, 180) and Justin Hartman (6-1, 200). Both quarterbacks had good games and bad games. The season ended with Blome as the starter.
“I have always been a one quarterback coach,” added Lee. “The thing we had last year is not a situation we want to have. Hopefully, we want to come out of the spring, and if not then, certainly after two-a-days in the fall, with one guy. The big problem we had last year was the lack of consistency by either one of the quarterbacks. Both have the ability, but the thing that we were concerned about was the amount of interceptions. Poor decisions was the big reason. That is an area we have really worked on, making better decisions. They have had a good spring, along with red-shirt freshman Jensen Cabanaero. What I am looking for out of one of those three is consistency, being a leader and making good decisions.”
Three starters return from the receiver corps. Jake Larsen (6-1, 175) will return for his senior season. Larsen set a new school record for receiving yards in a game. Jeff Schultz (6-1, 210) and Travis Hartman (5-10, 170) were also starters last year.
“This will be my sixth season,” said Lee. “This may be the best receiver corps we have had. We have speed and ability. These kids are an excellent group. In addition to the starters returning, we have young players who had playing time last year, plus a group of talented players who redshirted last year. There is a nucleous of eight receivers I feel very comfortable with. I feel the same with our running backs, lots of talent and depth. The skill guys I am not concerned with.”
Tyler Cress (5-10,200) and Derik Pluff (5-11,185) both saw limited playing time last year due to injury. Transfer Kaleo Igarta (5-10, 190). All three have looked very good thus far in spring drills.
Defensively, Lee is concerned about the youth of the linebacker corps with five players graduating last year. The talent is there, but the experience is not. In the defensive backfield, cornerback Dustin Johnson (5-10, 160) is the lone starter returning. At the other corner, Cooper Murakoa (5-10, 160) and David Lawson (6-0, 185) have had a great spring. At safety, Adam Ridgeway (5-9, 175) has looked this spring, as has Keali’I Perbera (5-9, 170). Perbera moved from quarterback to safety in the off-season. Aric Harris (5-10, 170) will also see action in the fall, but has had limited playing time this spring as he recovers from off-season surgery.
“I think we will be okay in the secondary,” said Lee. “I am concerned with the youth of our linebacker corps. Our linebackers are all redshirt freshmen. They are all quality guys, but will have to grow up quickly. The other concern on defense was our defensive line. A couple of transfers have come in and filled the holes and is not such an area of concern.”
The Bulldogs will play their White-Black scrimmage on Saturday, Apr. 29.
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Bulldog Football Signs Six
Wednesday, April 19 2006
Six student athletes have signed Frontier Conference/NAIA letters of intent to play football at the University of Montana Western according to head coach Tommy Lee. Three are from Montana and three from Idaho.
Max Black is a 6-1, 197 lb linebacker from Pocatello, ID. He earned All-Area honors this past season. In addition to football, he also participated in basketball and track. From the classroom, he maintained a 3.75 GPA and was selected to the honor roll. Black will graduate this spring from Highland High School and plans to major in business at Montana Western. He is the son of Gary and Teresa Black.
Richard Cork is a 6-1, 210 lb defensive lineman from Thompson Falls, Mont. He earned All-Conference honors as both a fullback and a defensive tackle. In addition to football, he also participated in track. Cork will graduate this spring from Thompson Falls High School and plans to major in health and human performance. He is the son of Kim and Terry Cork.
Patrick Evers is a 5-8, 185 lb running back from Darby, Mont. He earned All-Conference and All-State honors as both a running back and linebacker. In his senior season, he rushed for 1076 yards. On defense, he recorded 71 unassisted tackles, 76 assisted and 7 ½ quarterback sacks. Evers also competed in wrestling where he earned All-Conference honors. He will graduate this spring from Darby High School and plans to major in biology at Western. Evers is the son of Barbara Goodwin and Scott Evers.
Sam Lancaster is a 6-1, 193 lb defensive back from Weiser, ID. He earned All-Conference honors as both a defensive back and quarterback, and All-State honors as a defensive back. In his senior season, he passed for 790 yards and 13 touchdowns, and rushed for 700 yards and 11 touchdowns. Defensively, he recorded 42 quarterback sacks and five interceptions. He was selected to play in the East-West Shrine game and the All-Idaho Senior All-Star game. Lancaster also participated in basketball, track and baseball. From the classroom, he maintained a 3.5 GPA.
Joey Ray is a 6-7, 253 lb defensive end from Charlo, Mont. He earned All-Conference and All-State honors. Ray was selected to play in this summer’s Treasure State All-Star game. He also earned All-Conference and All-State honors in basketball and track. In basketball, He was selected to the All-Mission Valley team and to Sheraton Classic basketball tourney. In track, he holds the school record for the shot put. He also served his school as Student Body Vice-President. Ray will graduate this spring from Charlo High School and will major in computer science at Montana Western. He is the son of Beth Ann Plummer and Neil R. Ray.
Bruce Suedin is a 5-8, 195 linebacker from Weiser, ID. He was selected the Most Valuable Player in 3-A and the offensive and defensive MVP of his league. On offense, he rushed for 1700 yards and 20 touchdowns. Defensively, he recorded 60 solo tackles, 58 assisted tackles and ten tackles for loss. Suedin also competed in wrestling. He was the 189 lb state champion his junior year and state runner-up his senior year. Suedin will graduate this spring from Weiser High School and is undecided on his major. He is the son of Mike and Melaine Suedin.
“This is another fine group of student athletes,” said Lee. “They all come from great high school programs and know what it takes to win. I am really looking forward to seeing them in the fall and how they fit into our scheme.”
-WESTERN-
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