April 2007
Seven Join Bulldog Football Huddle
Monday, April 30 2007
Seven high school 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.
Peter Arneson is a 6’0”, 180 lb wide receiver from Spokane, Wash. He will graduate this spring from Lewis and Clark High School. He was a two-year letterman in football and a three-year letterman in baseball. “Pete is a talented receiver who will be a great fit in our offensive,” said recruiting coordinator Travis Domser. “He catches the ball well and does a good job making plays happen after the catch.” From the classroom Arneson was selected to the honor roll. He is the son of Martha and Dale Arneson and plans to major in education.
Dan Biegel is a 6’3”, 225 lb defensive lineman from Billings, Mont. He will graduate this spring from Billings West High School. Biegel earned All-Conference and All-State honors as a defensive lineman. Biegel took first place at the Big Sky Games Power Meet. “Dan is a big strong athletic defensive lineman from a well coached program,” added Domser. “He plays with great intensity and is very explosive. Dan was a priority for us this recruiting season and we are very excited that he chose Western!” Biegel plans to major in business. He is the son of David and Teri Biegel.
Nicholas Lee Campbell is a 6’2”, 245 defensive lineman from Graham, Washington. He will graduate this spring from Graham Kapowsin High School. Campbell earned All-Conference honors and was selected the MVP of his team. “Nick is a very good defensive lineman from a very tough conference in western Washington,” said Domser. “He is a kid who plays at a high level of intensity, and will be a great fit in our defense.” Campbell also participated in track and was selected his team’s MVP. Off the football field, he was selected to the All-State Choir and was selected for a choir that performed in Europe and at Carnegie Hall. Campbell will major in environmental science. He is the son of James and Karen Campbell.
Mike Fisette is a 5’10”, 180 lb running back from Kuna, Idaho. He will graduate this spring from Kuna High School. In his senior season, he rushed for 1005 yards and six touchdowns on 174 carries. Fisette was selected his team’s Offensive MVP. He earned All-Conference honors and was selected to play in the Shiners East-West All-Star game. “Mike plays with a lot of heart,” Domser said. “He is a fierce competitor with the speed to break big plays and the size and strength to run people over.” Fisette plans to major in business administration. He is the son of Mike and Melinda Fisette.
John B. Godinet is a 6’1”, 225 lb defensive lineman from Sandy, Utah. He will graduate this spring from Jordan High School. Godinet earned All-Region honors. “Brad is a tough hard nosed player,” said Domser. “He will be a good defensive player down the road for us. Brad is a very physical player and brings a lot of intensity with his game.” Godinet also earned All-Region honors in wrestling. From the classroom, he was selected to the honor roll. Godinet is the son of Site Godinet and plans to major in education.
Kraig Kessler is a 5’9”, 165 lb defensive back from Klamath Falls, Oregon. He will graduate this spring from Henley High School. Kessler earned All-Conference honors and was named his team’s Most Inspirational Player and Defensive Back of the Year. In his senior season, he recorded 160 tackles, two quarterback sacks and four interceptions. “Kraig was an all league defensive back in a very competitive league in Southern Oregon,” noted Domser. “He plays with a great motor and has a knack for being around the football. Kraig is a great student and will be a good addition to our program, both on the field and in the classroom.” Kessler also participated in baseball and wrestling. From the classroom, he maintains a 3.6 GPA and was selected to his school’s Grand Honor Roll. He is the son of Dale and Lisa Kessler and plans to major in wildlife biology.
Brandon Trowbridge is a 6’2”, 200 lb strong safety from Sidney, Neb. He will graduate this spring from Chandler High School of Chandler Ariz. He earned All Region honors on both offense and defensive. On defense, he recorded 48 tackles and five interceptions. Offensively, he had 22 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 236 yards and six touchdowns on 45 carries. “Brandon is a very talented skill position player from a big and competitive high school in Ariz.,” Domser said. “Brandon has good size and speed and we are very excited about his potential. We think he can be a big play guy for us in the future.” Trowbridge plans to major in business. He is the son of Michael Trowbridge and Michelle Vigil.
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White Edges Black in Spring Scrimmage
Monday, April 30 2007
The White team came from behind to edge the Black team 23-21 in the annual University of Montana Western Spring Football game.
The Black team scored on the game’s opening offensive play of the game when Keali’I Perbera hit Craigh Cornelius on 70 yard touchdown pass.
The White team tied the game on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Kekoa Crowell to Bryce Hafso.
The Black team took 14-7 lead with a Perbera to Ollie Urich touchdown pass and extended the lead to 21-7 after a Matt Cutler to Craigh Cornelius 20 yard touchdown pass.
Two interceptions by the White team defense led to a touchdown and a field goal to cut the Black team lead to 21-16. Jerry Schmitz caught a 20 yard scoring strike from Henry Keomalu and Brad Hollen’s 16 yard field goal caught the lead to five as the third quarter ran out.
Keomalu hit Omar Rodriguez with a seven-yard touchdown pass for the game winner at the 11-minute mark of the fourth quarter.
Black Team Offensive Stats
Passing
Keali’li Perbera 11 of 17 for 165 yards, two touchdowns, one int
Matt Cutler, 3 of 10 for 28 yards, one touchdown, one int
Receiving
Craigh Corneilus, four catches for 115 yards, two touchdowns (70 & 20)
Ollie Urich, three catches for 17 yards, one touchdown (11)
Chris Wells, two catches for 23 yards
Sean Cavallini, one catch for 18 yards
Keahua Bowman, one catch for seven yards
Colton Woods, three catches for 13 yards
Rushing
Chris Wells, four carries for 29 yards
Tyler Edwards, eight carries for 80 yards
Jordan Clary, two carries for 16 yards
White Team Offensive Stats
Passing
Kekoa Crowell, 11 of 16 for 125 yards, one touchdown
Henry Keomalu, 7 of 14 for 128 yards, two touchdowns, two ints
Derrick Pluff, two catches for 53 yards
Jerry Schmitz, two catches for 22 yards, one touchdown (20 yds)
Kahai Sevilla, three catches for 18 yards
Michael Guelff, two catches for 12 yards
Omar Rodriguez, two catch for 25 yards, one touchdown (7 yds)
Bryce Hafso, two catches for 26 yards, one touchdown (6 yds)
Jeff Schultz, one catch for 40 yards
J.Q. Kenyon, one catch for 17 yards
Jacoby Covington, three catches for 36 yards
Kaleo Igarta, one catch for four yards
Rushing
Derrick Pluff, six carries for 37 yards
Jacoby Covington, five carries for 22 yards
Kaleo Igarta, two carries for four yards
Dean Anderson, one carry for three yards
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Red, White and Black Scrimmage Set for April 28
Wednesday, April 25 2007
The University of Montana Western football team will conclude its 2007 spring practice schedule with the Red-Black Scrimmage Saturday, Apr. 28. Kickoff is 11 a.m. from Vigilante Field. The game is part of the annual Alumni Weekend festivities.
The Bulldogs return 15 starters from a year ago (eight on offense, six on defense and one specialist). Of those starters, three earned All-Conference honors last season.
The spring game is a chance for Lee and his staff to get a look at a lot of the younger players under game-like conditions and to allow the players to see how far they've come and how much further they have to go. For the fans, it gives them the chance to see a small preview of what to expect when the Bulldogs kickoff the 2007 season.
“The players came into spring with a very positive attitude. They worked very hard over the winter in the weight room and brought that same intense work ethic into spring.” said Lee. ”Spring practice is about developing our players, improving technique and establishing depth in all positions. There has been great competition at all positions and between the offensive and defensive units.”
There is a bit of a battle at quarterback between Senior Keali’I Perbera (5’9”, 170) and transfer Kekoa Crowell (6’1”, 195). Perbera came into spring as the incumbent at the position. Last year, he was used mostly in a reserve capacity, but did start a couple of games. He was 29 of 56 passing for 348 yards and two touchdowns. Crowell comes to Montana Western from Orange Coast Community College. Last season, he threw for 1336 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns.
The running back position is a strength of the offense because of the quality of the players there and the depth at the position. The team’s two leading rushers return. Junior Derrick Pluff rushed for 347 yard and two touchdowns and caught 19 passes for 132 yards. Senior Kaleo Igarta rushed for 131 yards on 37 carries and caught 18 passes for 159 yards. Freshman redshirt Chris Wells (5’10”, 190) has had a good spring and adds talented depth to a position already rich in depth.
The Bulldog receiving corps is another strength on offense due to the experience, talent and depth at that position. Two starters return including one All-Conference player. Junior Michael Guellf (5’7”, 160) earned All-League honors last season after catching 37 passes for 444 yards and two touchdowns. The other returning starter is senior Jeff Schultz (6’1”, 210). Sophomore Craigh Cornelius (5’10”, 160) and sophomore Kahai Sevilla (5’5”, 150) were part-time starters a year ago. Cornelius was third on the team in receiving with 30 catches for 378 yards and two touchdowns. Sevilla caught 15 passes for 154 yards and one touchdown. Both players were the Bulldog’s kick and punt return specialists. Junior Omar Rodriguez also returns from last year. Rodriguez caught 16 passes for 216 yards and one touchdown. Transfer Sam Weicks (6’0”, 180) has also been impressive in spring drills. Weicks transfers from Santa Ana College.
The offensive line returns all five starters from a year ago. Sophomores Kaleo Roback (6’2”. 310) and Stetson Spooner (6’2”, 270) started last year as true freshmen. The other returning starters are juniors Isaiah Dela Pena (6’1”, 260) and Andrew Rose (6’2”, 265) and senior Zack Parks (6’2”, 265) The coaching staff’s main concern with the offensive line is developing depth. That depth will come from last year’s redshirt class and several talented transfers.
The kicking game belongs to junior Brad Hollen (6’2’, 184). Hollen earned All-Conference honors last year as a punter. He averaged 40.3 per punt. With his toe, he was second on the team in scoring as he hit 5 of 8 field goals and 18 of 20 extra point tries.
Defensively, the strength of the team is on the defensive line and in the linebacker corps. There is a lot of talent as well as depth at all positions.
Senior Reggie West (6’0”, 260), Juniors Sean McKinney (6’3”, 230) and Brian Timmonds (6’4”, 230) and sophomore Mike Kirby (6’3”, 216)) all saw extensive playing time last year on the defensive front. Add to the mix, talented redshirt freshmen Aaron Azevedo (6-1, 290) and Saul Collins (6-1, 295) and transfer Brandon Park (6’1”, 270) from Yuba College. Timmons and McKinney each recorded two quarterback sacks last year.
At linebacker, sophomores Amini Taufoou (6’2”, 195) and Andrew Ridgeway (6’2”, 208) were both starters last year and fellow sophomores Brad Bingham (6’3”, 220), Max Black (6’1”, 200) and Keola Tom 5’10, 230) all saw extensive playing time as freshmen last year. The talented linebacker corps just got better with the return of sophomores Chad Schria (6’1, 220) and Jake Hayes (6’2”, 210) and the addition of Drake Kula (6’0”, 210). Hayes and Schria sat out a year for personal reasons and Kula transfers from Dixie College.
The question mark on defense is in the secondary. Graduation carved a big hole in the Bulldog secondary. Senior Adam Ridgeway (5’9”, 178) is the lone returning starter from last season. Ridgeway was sixth on the team in tackles with 43. There is a bit of help with Senior Albert Distajo (5’10”, 185) moving back into the secondary after a year as an outside linebacker. Distajo led the Bulldogs and was second in the Frontier in tackles with 38 unassisted and 60 assisted. He earned All-Conference honors. The spring had provided good competition at cornerback. Junior Matt Pancich (5’8”, 165) and senior David Lawson (6’0”, 185) both saw some playing time at cornerback last year. Redshirt freshman Juan Ramirez (5’10”, 170) has had an outstanding spring and made things interesting. The challenge in the defensive backfield is not so much filling the holes left by graduation, but finding the depth to carry through the season.
The Bulldogs open the 2007 season at Eastern Washington of the Big Sky Conference on Friday, Aug. 31.
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Bulldogs Sign Montana Stars
Monday, April 9 2007
Thomas Ackerman, a 6’2”, 180 lb defensive back from Billings, Mont. and Brandon Schmaus, a 6’3”, 191 lb wide receiver from Kalispell, Mont., have signed Frontier Conference/NAIA letters of intent to play football for the University of Montana Western, according to head coach Tommy Lee.
Ackerman earned 1st team All-Conference and All-State honors as a safety and All-Conference honors as a running back. He led Class AA in interceptions with seven, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Ackerman was selected to play in both the East-West Shrine All-Star game and the Knights of Columbus Badlands Bowl All-Star game. He was a finalist for the Old Spice Red Zone Player of the Year for high school football. In addition to football, he also participated in basketball and baseball. Ackerman will graduate this spring from Billings Senior High School. He is the son of Charles and Joni Ackerman and plans to major in secondary education.
Schmaus caught 23 passes for 448 yards and six touchdowns in 2006 as the Braves advanced to the Class AA semi-finals. His yards per catch average were 19.5 yards per catch. Schaus will graduate this spring from Flathead Valley High School. He is the son of Brian and Cherri Schmaus.
“These are two very talented student athletes who are outstanding young men with excellent character.”said Lee. “Both players will make a huge impact in our football program. We are very happy that two of the best high school prospects in Montana have chosen Montana Western to continue their academic and athletic careers.”
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