Footballs Will Fill the Air

Two things to count on in the Big Sky Conference this football season:

Montana is still awfully tough and the ball will fly.

“In this league, the most important thing is to be able to cover,” said Tim Walsh, Portland State’s coach.

That’s for sure.

With Montana’s Brian Ah Yat and Cal State Northridge’s Aaron Flowers heading a list of several excellent quarterbacks, the conference that constantly bills itself as the best in Division I-AA football is gearing to prove it.

Ah Yat, a junior, led the division in total offense with 340.4 yards a game and was named Big Sky offensive co-player of the year. He threw a school-record 42 touchdown passes. Flowers, a senior, ranked second in total offense at 329.3 yards and set or tied six school passing records.

Montana, the I-AA national champion in 1995 and the runner-up last year, is expected to battle Northern Arizona for the conference title. Each is ranked first in the nation in different preseason polls.

Here’s a look at Big Sky teams other than Northridge:

EASTERN WASHINGTON

* 1996 records: 6-5 overall, 4-4 in conference.

* Conference finish: Tied for fifth.

Coach Mike Kramer is counting on free safety Maurice Perigo and linebacker Derek Strey, both seniors, to lead a defensive unit that last year allowed 403.6 yards a game and ranked second-last in the Big Sky.

Strey led the Eagles with 126 tackles and Perigo had six interceptions, returning two for touchdowns.

IDAHO STATE

* 1996 records: 4-7, 2-6.

* Conference finish: Seventh.

The Bengals ranked eighth in the Big Sky in pass defense last season, a sure recipe for trouble.

And don’t look for much immediate improvement under former L.A. Raider assistant Tom Walsh, who takes over a program with more than 50 new players.

Free safety Trevor Bell and running back Craig Joseph are key returnees. Bell had seven interceptions and Joseph rushed for 820 yards.

MONTANA

* 1996 records: 14-1, 8-0.

* Conference finish: First.

Along with Ah Yat, senior linebacker Jason Crebo is the marquee player for the Grizzlies.

Crebo, 6 feet 4 and 233 pounds, was the Big Sky’s defensive co-player of the year. He led Montana with 104 tackles.

“He’s the most dynamic player I’ve seen in our league,” second-year Coach Mick Dennehy said.

MONTANA STATE

* 1996 records: 6-5, 4-4.

* Conference finish: Tied for fifth.

Coming off only their second winning season since winning the I-AA national championship in 1984, the Bobcats plan to shore up an offense that last year ranked last in the Big Sky with a reliable group of receivers.

Former Inglewood High standout Kenyatte Morgan, a senior who had 21 receptions for 277 yards and three touchdowns last year, is the mainstay.

NORTHERN ARIZONA

* 1996 records: 9-3, 7-1.

* Conference finish: Second.

The Lumberjacks have 19 starters back, nearly everyone on an offensive line that Coach Steve Axman says is the team’s strength.

Senior left tackle Dan Finn and senior center Ryan Lingenfelder are preseason All-Americans.

They helped Archie Amerson rush for 2,079 yards last year as a senior. Amerson won the Walter Payton Award, given yearly to the top player in the division.

Axman said the team will depend heavily on sophomore quarterback Travis Brown, who returns after passing for 3,398 yards last year.

PORTLAND STATE

* 1996 records: 3-8, 1-7.

* Conference finish: Eighth.

Stepping up to I-AA last year didn’t agree with the Vikings, who had been to the Division II playoffs eight times the previous nine years.

Tim Walsh--no relation to Idaho State’s Tom Walsh--concedes that the Vikings are still far from being competitive.

Linebackers Tom Matijacic and Terrance Frederick are steady players on defense. Freshman Chip Dunn, the former Pasadena Muir High star, could start at tailback.

CAL STATE SACRAMENTO

* 1996 records: 1-10, 0-8.

* Conference finish: Ninth.

No outrageous goals for Coach John Volek and the Hornets this season.

“We want to win a Big Sky game,” Volek said.

That means the Hornets are aiming for Idaho State on Oct. 4.

Senior wide receiver Carlos Smith, who excelled at San Bernardino’s Pacific High and at San Bernardino Valley College, caught 53 passes for 738 yards last season.

WEBER STATE

* 1996 records: 7-4, 5-3.

* Conference finish: Tied for third.

Versatile junior Scott Shields, a free safety who also punts and kicks, and senior tight end Cam Quayle are the top returnees.

Shields was second in I-AA with 10 interceptions and Quayle, 6-7 and 250, led division tight ends with 62 receptions. 658 yards and seven touchdowns.

Junior quarterback Steve Buck, a transfer from UCLA, is challenging for the starting job.