Eagles Intend To Get A Grip Looking For Better Hands, Kramer Shuffles Receivers

Mike Kramer has seen enough. Like every college football coach, he can tolerate only a limited number of dropped passes. And the 21 his Eastern Washington wide receivers have let slip through their fingers this fall is no longer a tolerable number. As a result, Kramer has made some major changes in his starting offensive lineup - particularly at wideout - for Saturday afternoon’s 3:05 homecoming matchup against Idaho State.

Lamont Brightful and Keish Levingston, welcome to Pineville.

Brightful, a junior who led the Eagles with 24 receptions last season, and Levingston, a senior who averaged 25.8 yards per catch in 1998, have been benched in favor of senior Rich Naccarato and tight end Dan Curley, who will move to the slotback position.

That leaves sophomore Joe Levens as the only one of the previous starting wide receivers to survive the shakedown.

“We’re making some lineup changes to get our passing game back into gear,” Kramer said Thursday. “We’ve dropped too many passes. We’re dropping the ball all over the place, and have been all season.”

The Eagles will take a 3-3 overall record and 2-1 Big Sky Conference mark into Saturday’s game against the Bengals (2-4, 0-4). But Eastern has scored only three touchdowns in its last two games and its once-proud running game has taken some major hits as defenses stack the line of scrimmage and dare Eastern to put the ball in the air.

“In four of the six games we’ve played this year, the (opposing) safeties have played with neck collars and linemen gloves on because they’re all sniffing up in there trying to stuff the run,” Kramer explained. “Our ability to back those safeties off is becoming a priority for us on offense right now, because our running game will dry up completely if we play, essentially, against a goal-line defense every play.”

As a team, Eastern has completed just 45 percent (86 of 191) of its passes and is averaging a modest 190.8 passing yards per game, with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. Part of the problem has stemmed from the loss of starting quarterback Fred Salanoa to a season-ending knee injury three weeks ago, but even when Salanoa was healthy, he was getting little help from his Teflon-fingered wideouts. And now, with little-used sophomore Chris Samms in control of the offense, Kramer needs consistency rather than deep-threat potential from his receivers.

Levens has been one of Eastern’s most sure-handed receivers for the past two seasons. He has caught 15 passes for 233 yards and one touchdown this fall.

In addition, Naccarato, a former standout at Mead High School, has emerged as a dependable alternative. The rangy 6-foot-3 senior leads the team with 16 catches for 237 yards and four touchdowns, though three of his TD catches came during mop-up time.

Curley, a 6-4, 255-pound sophomore, has the potential to develop into one of the best tight ends to play for the Eagles, but for the time being he will move to the slot, with senior Tyson Knaevelsrud, a two-year starter prior to this season, taking over at tight end.

Brightful and Levingston, who have combined for 22 catches for 342 yards and a touchdown this fall, are two of the fastest players on the Eagles’ roster. By sitting them, Kramer loses his top two home-run threats.

“But if you can’t catch the home-run ball, who cares,” he rationalized. “Sure, we’ve lost a step at wide receiver, but those steps we’re losing have only equated into too many dropped passes.”

Kramer said he will rush Brightful and Levingston back into the starting lineup “once they prove their mettle,” but for now he is going with the more reliable hands of Levens, Naccarato and Curley.

“The (dropped passes) problem, unfortunately, has not been alleviated with time,” Kramer explained. “So now we have to make some personnel changes to more aptly fit players, who have been performing, into our offense.”

The Eagle Athletic Association and the Eastern Washington University athletic department are providing a booster bus trip to the EWU-Montana football game in Missoula on Oct. 23.

Cost is $50 and includes transportation, a game ticket, pregame lunch and snacks and beverages on the bus.

For more information, call 359-2463 or 1-800-648-7697.