Central Washington Put On Alert As Hungry Pirates Land In Yakima
One team enters the season riding the wave of a national championship.
The other still is dog paddling through the undertow of a 1-8 season.
So why is Whitworth College football coach John Tully so upbeat about the Pirates’ opener against NAIA Division II co-champion Central Washington University on Saturday in Yakima?
“It’s always great to play a team that just won the national championship,” the second-year Whitworth coach said. “We’d rather play them at the beginning of the year. That’s when they’re not sure what to expect.”
The Wildcats, ranked No. 4 in the Top 25, probably will see two Whitworth quarterbacks, a pair of sophomores with freshman eligibility.
Tully said 6-foot-5, 202-pound Rob Leslie of Gig Harbor, Wash., will start, but Casey Doyle (6-2, 185) of Aberdeen, Wash., also will play. Both played well in last Saturday’s 27-12 win over the alumni team. Doyle, however, has been practicing this week with a sore shoulder.
Tully plans to rotate as many as six players in the backfield. Brian Bratonia (5-9, 173) will start at tailback, while Julio Torres (5-10, 228) and Brice Stanly (5-8, 198) will share time at fullback.
“We’re looking forward to seeing where our guys are at,” Tully said. “Yes, it’s a very, very tough game.”
And one Central Washington is not taking for granted.
That lesson was learned two years ago when Central entered the season ranked No. 3 and quickly dropped after losing its opener by one point to an unranked and ignored Eastern Oregon State College team.
“It’s a good motivator for them (Whitworth),” said coach Jeff Zenisek, whose team compiled a 10-3-1 record last year and tied Findley (Ohio) in the national title game.
“They’re a nobody in the rankings and at 1-8, they probably think we’re looking over this game to next week against (No. 20) Willamette.”
The Wildcats graduated only 13 seniors and return seven players on offense, including the entire line. Although first-team All-American wide receiver Kenny Russaw (5-8, 185) returns for his senior year, the team will be without its biggest star of 1995, quarterback Jon Kitna.
Kitna, the NAIA’s all-time total offense leader with 12,907 yards, is on the Seattle Seahawks practice team.
Fifth-year senior Ryan Fournier (6-1, 196) will take over. Last year, Fournier threw just 29 passes.
In last year’s game at Spokane, the Pirates held a 10-7 lead at the half. They eventually lost 27-10. This year’s game is being played at Yakima because Central has not started its school year in Ellensburg.
, DataTimes