Eastern, Weber State Learn To Expect The Unexpected

Eastern Washington University plans to entertain the fans at tonight’s Big Sky Conference football game against Weber State with a postgame fireworks display.

Eagles coach Mike Kramer is OK with that as long as no fuses particularly the one attached to Weber State’s explosive offense are lighted prematurely.

“I just hope they save all the fireworks until after the game,” Kramer said earlier this week while preparing his Eagles (3-0 overall, 1-0 in the Big Sky) for their 6:35 date with the Wildcats (2-1, 0-0) at Woodward Stadium.

His concern is understandable. The two teams have staged some thrilling games during a series that dates back to 1969. But whenever things get really crazy, Eastern seems to suffer.

The premier case in point is the 1991 game in which Weber State scored with 15 seconds left to beat the Eagles 63-59 in Ogden. EWU’s point total still stands as the highest ever for a losing team in an NCAA football game.

But the Eagles have also lost to Weber by such scores as 52-6, 46-23, 51-30 and 40-30.

Despite last year’s 22-20 road loss courtesy of a partially deflected Weber field goal that bounced off the crossbar and through the up-rights with 15 seconds remaining it seems as if Eastern fares best when the scoring remains reasonable.

So look for the 17th-ranked Eagles to stress ball control and defensive opportunism as they try to avenge last year’s heartbreaking road loss and fashion their first 4-0 start since 1985.

“We’ve had some close, exciting games with them throughout the years,” admitted Weber State coach Dave Arslanian, whose Wildcats are coming off a 24-7 loss at Boise State. “Coach Kramer and his staff always have teams that are sound fundamentally. They don’t make mistakes, and they run a balanced offense between the run and the pass.”

Leading the EWU attack will be senior quarterback Harry Leons, who leads the Big Sky in passing efficiency with a rating of 187.06. Leons, a senior, has completed 40 of 62 passes for 614 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Arslanian calls him “the most improved, and probably most overlooked, quarterback in the Big Sky.”

Unfortunately for Kramer and the Eagles, Arslanian has a productive quarterback of his own in Steve Buck, a rangy 6-foot-4 junior transfer from UCLA.

Buck, who threw for more than 3,800 yards and 26 touchdowns at Alta Loma (Calif.) High School, has thrown for 662 yards and six touchdowns and has an efficiency rating of 128.2 in three games under center for the Wildcats. And he has a big fan in Kramer, who said Buck has more NFL potential that Ryan Fein, another UCLA transfer, who starred at Idaho last season.

Buck, however, is coming off a mediocre outing at Boise State, in which he completed just 18 of 38 passes for 215 yards while getting sacked four times.

“The one place Weber did not play as well (against Boise) as they have in the past is at quarterback,” Kramer said. “I think Buck is a really fine quarterback, but he misfired on a couple of passes, and the (pass-rush) pressure seemed to effect him. “I have no doubt, however, that he will be back on track by the time he gets here.”

Weber State also boasts one of the nation’s most versatile performers in junior free safety Scott Shields, who also handles the Wildcats’ punting and place-kicking chores.

Shields intercepted his third pass of the season and 13th of his career against BSU last weekend, but failed to kick a field goal for only the second time in 25 games. Still, he has made 37 of 47 career field-goal tries, with eight having been blocked, and currently leads the Big Sky in punting with an average of 45.5 yards per kick.

Game notes

Weber State defensive tackle Santos Carrillo suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee during last Saturday’s loss at Boise State and could miss the rest of the season… . EWU running back Rex Prescott, despite suffering a deep bruise and mild shoulder separation against Portland State last Saturday, could be used in an emergency situation tonight, according to Kramer. That means prize freshman recruit Elijah Baker, The Associated Press’ high school player of the year in Washington last fall, will remain on redshirt status… . With a career record of 49-43, Dave Arslanian needs only one more victory to tie his father, Slark, for the most football coaching wins at Weber State since it became a four-year college in 1962-63… . EWU wide receiver Jeff Ogden continues to lead the Big Sky in scoring with 36 points on six touchdown catches.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Eagles vs. Weber State