Graybeal Enjoys View

Life is good for Jerry Graybeal these days.

For the first time, the former Eastern Washington assistant has a college football program of his own.

And it’s a good one.

Less than a month into the 1998 season, Graybeal’s Weber State Wildcats have established themselves as the surprise team of the Big Sky Conference by knocking off four straight opponents - including perennial national power Montana.

Weber (4-0, 2-0) stunned the Grizzlies 27-20 in Ogden, Utah, last Saturday in front of the second-largest crowd (16,954) in school history and maintained a share of the Big Sky lead, along with Cal State Northridge.

“It was a good shot in the arm for us,” Graybeal said of the win, which was the Wildcats’ first over Montana since 1992.

But it was not unexpected, at least in the minds of Graybeal and his offensive coordinator, J.D. Sollars, who had teamed up to help Eastern Washington beat the Grizzlies four times in the previous eight seasons.

“The kids had the game plan in their hands the Sunday after our previous game (a 6-3 win over Idaho State),” Graybeal explained. “And they did an excellent job of executing it.

“Obviously, we created a balanced offense that enabled us to win the game in the fourth quarter.”

The Wildcats, behind the power running of junior Morgan Welch (217 yards on 36 carries) and the passing of junior quarterback Chris Wallace (16 of 30 for 238 yards), torched Montana for 478 yards that were almost equally divided between the rush and the pass.

“That’s how you beat Montana,” Graybeal added.

Surprisingly, Graybeal’s first-year success has come despite a rash of injuries. The Wildcats have lost six offensive starters, including quarterback Steve Buck, a senior transfer from UCLA who dislocated his ankle in the second game of the season.

“But we got a little lucky in the fact that the places where we got hurt were places where we had a little depth,” explained Sollars.

Graybeal said much of his team’s quick start can be attributed to the fact that he and his staff know each other so well. Sollars and three other Wildcats assistants - Rick Redden, Rick Olson and Ray Williams - worked with Graybeal on Mike Kramer’s staff at Eastern.

Graybeal still coordinates the defense, like he did at EWU, but he is comfortable turning many of the other day-to-day details over to his assistants.

“That’s huge,” Graybeal said of the familiarity on his staff. “You look at the years of experience we have together and our relationships - not only as coaches, but as friends - and you can’t put a price tag on it.

“I have the best support group of anybody, and with those guys to rely on, I don’t have to worry about a lot of the little things.”

A lasting first impression

Despite his team’s 38-35 loss at Cal State Northridge last Saturday, Eastern Washington’s Bashir Levingston made quite a first impression on Matadors coach Ron Ponciano.

The senior wide receiver, a transfer from Utah State, where he was also a standout sprinter on the Aggies’ track team, hauled in touchdown catches of 95, 27 and 60 yards and left third-degree burn marks on a couple of CSUN’s best defensive backs.

Levingston outran the nearest defender by 15 yards on his 95-yard reception and faked Matadors strong safety Vito Clemente off his feet after catching the ball on a short turn-in pattern en route to his 27-yard score.

“Good Lord,” Ponciano said of Levingston’s stunning performance. “I knew he was good, but he totally intimidated our guys. When he was lining up late in the game they were out there saying, ‘Oh, no, not No. 5 again.”’

Eagles quarterback Griffin Garske, who delivered the ball perfectly on each of Levingston’s touchdown catches, was also impressed.

“He’s a one-man team right now,” he said. “And as he studies the offense, learns more about what we’re trying to do and gets more confidence, he’s going to get even more dangerous.”

This little piggy went for 251

Cal State Sacramento’s Charles Roberts rushed for a career-high 251 yards in last Saturday’s 37-30 loss to Montana State and earned the respect of Bobcat defenders.

“He was like a greased pig out there,” said MSU defensive tackle Ty O’Connor. “He was hard to get hold of.”

“He wouldn’t quit,” added Jarrod Beekley, the Bobcats’ other defensive tackle. “We’d have one guy on his back and he’d just keep rolling.”

Roberts, a 5-foot-6, 175-pound sophomore, ranks second in the nation among Division I-AA rushers with an average of 190 yards per game. Weber State’s Morgan Welch ranks No. 1 at 198.3.

Quick kicks

Northern Arizona quarterback Travis Brown is expected to return for Saturday’s game at Eastern Washington after missing three weeks with a dislocated elbow on his non-throwing arm… . EWU’s Bashir Levingston is 11th in the Big Sky in receiving yards (182) despite having made only three catches… . In Idaho State’s 43-41 upset of Portland State last Saturday, the teams combined for seven touchdowns and 48 points in the last quarter. … ISU’s road win was only its second in its last 15 games.