FOOTBALL: CENTRAL IS UNANIMOUS PICK TO DEFEND TITLE

The Central Washington University football team, with 15 returning starters and a pair of preseason Division II All-Americans, is a unanimous choice to defend its Great Northwest Athletic Conference football title according to the 2009 GNAC preseason coaches' poll.

Central, which has won four of the previous six GNAC championships including each of the past three (in 2004, 2005, and 2008), was tabbed as the top team in the conference by each of the four coaches. The Wildcats are also ranked 14th nationally in the preseason by both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and D2football.com. Western Oregon was second in the voting with 12 points, while Dixie State (seven points) and Humboldt State (five points) rounded out the poll.

The Wildcats, who have won 31 all-time football conference championships and who have qualified for the NCAA Division II postseason each of the past two years, have six returning starters on offense, eight on defense, and they also return senior kicker/punter Garrett Rolsma (University Place, Washington/Curtis High School).

Among the returnees are preseason All-Americans Johnny Spevak (Edgewood, Washington/Puyallup High School) and Courtney Smith (Stockton, California/East Union High School). Spevak, the Wildcats' record-setting wide receiver with 91 receptions for 1,442 yards and 20 touchdowns last season, was a first-team preseason All-American by both Sporting News and D2football.com. Smith, a standout kick returner and cornerback who earned first-team all-GNAC honors at both positions last year, was named a second-team preseason All-American by D2football. com earlier this month.

The biggest question mark for the Wildcats is at quarterback, where redshirt freshman Ryan Robertson (Sammamish, Washington/Eastlake High School) and senior transfer Cole Morgan (Seattle, Washington/Ballard High School) are in a heated battle to replace current Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Reilly under center. Robertson was the Wildcats' third-string quarterback last season but did not play. Morgan has spent time both at Washington State and at Western Washington but appeared in just one game for WWU in 2008.

Central returns most of its top receivers from last season—Spevak, Mike Waller (Pomona, California/Todd Beamer High School), and four others who had at least 10 catches each last season. Sophomore Jamal Weems (Seattle, Washington/Cleveland High School), senior Sam Togar (Tacoma, Washington/Lakes High School), and sophomore Justin Helwege (Sammamish, Washington/Eastlake High School) are among that group, as is senior running back Jerome Morris (Los Angeles, California/Jefferson High School), who also led CWU with 509 rushing yards last season.

Although Morris was the Wildcats' leader on the ground last season, two newcomers—senior Randall Eldridge (Lynnwood, Washington/ Lynnwood High School) and junior Bryson Kelly (Mukilteo, Washington/Kamiak High School)—are in the running for the starting spot. Eldridge was a first-team all-GNAC selection while playing for Western Washington last fall, while Kelly played at Santa Ana College in California.

The offensive line has two returning starters—seniors Tony Quirk (Ellensburg, Washington/Ellensburg High School) and Ryan Stokes (Renton, Washington/Kentridge High School). Quirk has started a team-best 36 consecutive games at right tackle, having not missed a start since the beginning of the 2006 season, while Stokes enters this season with 21 career games played and eight starts. Washington State transfer Andy Roof (Spokane, Washington/East Valley High School) is slated to start at left guard, while two newcomers—junior James Meeks (Oakland, California/ Bishop O'Dowd High School) and redshirt freshman Joey Tivnan (Centralia, Washington/Centralia High School)—are the likely starters at left tackle and center, respectively.

The defensive unit, which returns eight starters, may be the Wildcats' greatest strength in 2009. In addition to those returning starters, Division I transfers Matt Ah You (Rancho Cucamonga, California/Lone Peak High School) and Prince Hall (Moreno Valley, California/Moreno Valley High School) from Brigham Young University and the University of Alabama, respectively, are new to the mix. Senior Marcus Ford (Sacramento, California/Grant High School) moves into the starting spot at nose tackle after backing up Mitch Reffett last season, and sophomore Anthony Stewart (Seattle, Washington/Rainier Beach High School) slides into a starting cornerback role this season.

Senior Buddy Wood (Chattaroy, Washington/Riverside High School), flanked by the combination of Ah You and Hall as well as either junior Adam Bighill (Montesano, Washington/Montesano High School) or senior Matt Snell (Yakima, Washington/East Valley High School), anchors a strong linebacking trio. The three-year starter has led the Wildcats in tackles each of the past two seasons and was named as one of five team captains earlier this week by his peers.

Smith and senior safety Jerome Williams (Seatt le, Washington/Ballard High School), who join Wood, Spevak, and Quirk as team captains, lead an experienced defensive backfield. Williams will enter his fourth season in the secondary, including his third as a starter, and will be joined by returning starter Taylor Breitzman (Valley Springs, California/Calaveras High School) at the safety positions.

On special teams, where Central was tops in the GNAC in kick return average, kick scoring, kick coverage, and punting average, the Wildcats have experienced players at every position. Rolsma is in his fourth year at kicker and his third at punter. He enters the 2009 season having made 66 consecutive extra-point attempts and having set a school record with 108 kick-scoring points last season. Smith anchors a potent kick return squad and will be joined by Williams in returning kickoffs, while Spevak was a second-team all-conference punt returner last season.

The Wildcats' 2009 schedule is a challenging one. After five difficult non-conference games—a trip to Mesa State College and defending national champion University of Minnesota Duluth, home games with West Texas A&M University and Azusa Pacific University, and a visit to Division I-FCS foe Idaho State University—Central will play a six-game GNAC schedule including Battle in Seatt le VII against Western Oregon University on Oct. 17 at Qwest Field in Seattle.