Nikolao takes other side
Big No. 99 was noticeably absent at Eastern Washington football practices this week, but No. 57 sure was an attention grabber.
Harrison Nikolao, who was such a disruptive force on the Eagles’ defensive line that he was held back in some drills, is now going to help stop those defensive destroyers by moving to the offensive line.
“At this point we’ve had some of our defensive tackles playing well … and in the offensive line we need to get a little bit better guard play,” EWU coach Paul Wulff said. “(Nikolao) can provide some depth instantly and in a few weeks challenge for a starting position.”
The 6-foot-2, 300-pound junior was originally recruited out of Lincoln High in Tacoma for the offense, but injuries necessitated his move to defense.
“It’s not like we made him make the change,” Wulff said. “I sat down with him … and he jumped on it. … I think it’s his true calling. God built him more like an offensive lineman. … He has all the physical tools to possibly play beyond. He’s a big, strong physical kid.”
Sophomore Jacob Galstad moves from left end to nose tackle and freshman Larry Raynes starts at end.
Hard times for signal-callers
Big Sky quarterbacks, other than Montana’s Craig Oches who threw for 364 yards, didn’t light it up in a 2-5 Saturday for the conference.
Montana State opened with a win, but it was a struggle. The 19-0 triumph over Division II Adams State didn’t derail Bobcats coach Mike Kramer.
The Cats blocked two field-goal tries and returned an interception for a touchdown to pull out the win. Adams State had a 143-3 advantage in total yards in the first quarter but trailed 6-0 because of the interception return. MSU quarterback Travis Lulay was 14 of 39 passing for 176 yards.
“We’ll be a championship-caliber team in November, no question,” Kramer told the Great Falls Tribune. “The key is that defensively we have such a great legacy and great depth. … And offensively, we have always been a late finisher.”
Idaho State’s two-year, 13-game home winning streak ended with a 35-20 loss to Cal Poly. ISU senior QB Mark Hetherington was sacked six times, threw four interceptions and lost two fumbles. Two picks were returned for TDs and one fumble was recovered in the end zone for a third score.
A third struggling QB was Northern Arizona’s Jason Murrietta, last year’s BSC player of the year. He completed 18 of 39 for 149 yards in a 24-17 OT loss at No. 15 Stephen F. Austin.
Price defeats former team to earn first win
Mike Price got his first win with Texas-El Paso at the expense of his old team, Weber State, 31-0.
After beating the Wildcats, the team he coached from 1981-88 before moving on to Washington State, he told the Ogden Standard-Examiner: “Weber State has a real tough team. They’ve got a bunch of tough kids, good kids. I give them credit. We played pretty damn good on defense.”
The 112 yards of offense was the lowest for the Cats in Jerry Graybeal’s seven seasons as coach. Weber QB Kyle Bauer finished 6 of 18 for 41 yards and a pick while Big Sky rushing leader Nick Chournos had 45 yards on 13 carries.
Quick kicks
Montana is ranked No. 1 in The Sports Network poll for the first time since November 2002, when Eastern snapped the Grizzlies’ 24-game winning streak . Southern Illinois dropped to No. 2 after a 23-22 loss to D-I Northern Illinois. The Salukis scored with a minute left and went for two points to win . … Portland State is taking on Fresno State, which has defeated Washington and Kansas State on the road to vault into the top 25 at No. 19. … MSU’s crowd of 12,267 was a school record for a season opener.