Playing Catchup Eastern Has A Few Holes To Fill Following Its Run For The Championship

To rebuild, or reload?

That’s the question many Eastern Washington football fans are asking this week after their Eagles were eliminated from the Division I-AA playoffs by last Saturday’s 25-14 semifinal loss to Youngstown State.

Fifteen seniors, hoping to earn a berth in this Saturday’s I-AA championship game in Chattanooga, Tenn., started against Youngstown.

It didn’t happen. And now Eagles coach Mike Kramer must start work on an encore to the most successful season in his school’s history.

He and the other six members of his coaching staff began scouring the region for high school and junior-college prospects early Monday morning, hoping to make up valuable recruiting time that was lost during the Eagles’ unprecedented playoff run. “We’re way behind,” Kramer admitted, “because at Eastern we recruit guys through interpersonal relationships; by going nose-to-nose with them. And we haven’t been able to get in hardly anybody’s house, yet.

“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”

Even if all of that work gets done, Kramer warns Eagle fans to expect a “natural falloff” next fall. “We’re going to have to rebuild, particularly at wide receiver,” he explained. “Our Achilles heel all season long had to be our health at wide receiver, because we had just no depth there.”

The numbers back up that fact. Senior starters Jeff Ogden, Steve Correa and Joe Mitchell combined for 151 catches, 2,543 yards in receptions and 24 touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Romaine Smith and junior Grant Elsworth - the only other two wideouts to play - combined for three catches and 24 yards, all of which came early in the year against non-Division I opponents.

“Two things are going to have to happen,” Kramer said of his dilemma at wideout. “Some young guys are going to have to emerge, and we’re going to have to find some new talent at wideout. We’re really in a bind, and we’re sending out a call for help to any and all.”

Last year’s recruiting class was considered one of EWU’s best, but included only two wide receivers - Marcus Pitts and Robert Edwards - who, according to Kramer, are still a long way from ready.

As a result, Kramer said he hopes to tap the junior-college ranks for a transfer or two who can come in next semester and practice next spring.

The rest of the offense seems solid, despite the pending graduation losses of All-American offensive tackle Jim Buzzard, record-setting tailback Rex Prescott and quarterback Harry Leons, the offensive player of the year in the Big Sky Conference this fall.

Sophomore Griffin Garske, who started six games in 1996 when Leons went down with a knee injury, will bring decent experience and a rocket-like arm to the quarterback position. And junior Mike MacKenzie, who rushed for 1,057 yards and 10 touchdowns this fall as Prescott’s backup, is set at running back.

Three starters, along with several others who played extensively, return to the interior of the offensive line. And all four tight ends listed on the depth chart have at least two years of eligibility remaining.

Defensively, the Eagles lose six of their seven starters up front, along with free safety Maurice Perigo. But Kramer insists there are adequate replacements already in the program just waiting for a chance.

“And for the first time in many years, we feel good about our returning secondary,” Kramer added, pointing to the emergence of freshman Ole Olesen and sophomore LeVar McClary as topnotch cover men on the corners this fall.

In addition, junior free safety Jimmy Lake is back and Julian Williams, Shantell Franklin and Maurice Chambers all played significant roles as backups this season.

“At linebacker, we feel really good, too, because of Greg Belzer and Britt Lentz,” Kramer said. “We’ll have no dropoff with those two guys.”

Belzer, a freshman, backed up Derek Strey at middle linebacker and Lentz, a sophomore, played behind Jerrad Jeske at strongside linebacker.

Kramer admits there is concern about replacing Justin Guillory on the weak side, but said he hopes Brad Packer, a true freshman who played mainly on special teams, can step in at that spot.

“We might look at recruiting a junior-college player there, too,” Kramer added. “A speed guy.”

The losses of Ed Harris, Steve Mattson and Big Sky defensive player of the year Chris Scott will force littleknown backups Josh Martin, David Alcala and Jeff Allen to step up and help Dario Romero and Avont Grant in the trenches. But Kramer said all are capable.

Placekicker Josh Atwood, who made 15 of 23 field-goal tries and 58 of 61 PATs, is only a junior, but punter Tom Zurfluh, who averaged just more than 42 yards per kick, is gone.

Recruiting efforts, Kramer explained, will be hampered by the fact that seven Pacific-10 Conference schools, three WAC schools and four Big West schools have already established a presence in the state.

“So right now this state, compared to last year, is really being overrun with recruiters,” Kramer added. “And that’s going to cause us some problems.

“There’s no doubt there is going to be a natural falloff. We need to prepare for it, handle it, grow from it and learn from it, knowing we’re just not going to be able to replicate ‘97.”

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