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Calgary
coming to Helena with Flutie-like QB By SCOTT MANSCH |
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There's a football team
from Calgary coming to Helena on Saturday, so Carroll College fans are
probably wondering if the Saints will be using 11 or 12 players. The Canadian game calls
for a dozen players per side, of course, but the nonconference matchup
between Carroll, top-ranked among NAIA clubs, and the University of Calgary
will be played by American rules. The Saints are 3-0 and
riding high after last week's 36-10 victory over UM-Western, but head coach
Mike Van Diest said the Canadian boys can play a little football. "They've got a great
quarterback," said Van Diest. "In fact he reminds me of (Doug)
Flutie. He can scramble and throw on the run. He's really, really good."
Well, it says here the
Calgary Dinos -- right, that's their nickname -- would have trouble handling
the Saints at Nelson Stadium even if Flutie was at quarterback. ***** IT HASN'T BEEN a great
month for the UM-Western Bulldogs, who entered the season nationally ranked
and full of hope only to lose their first three games. "We've played well
in spurts, but just not well enough to get over the hump," said Western
coach Tommy Lee. "We see a lot of good signs from our team, but the game
something bad happens and we just can't handle it." The Bulldogs are in Havre
Saturday to meet Montana State-Northern in a battle of winless teams. ***** THE MONTANA TECH trainer
and head coach Bob Green have been having a lot of conversations lately --
and that's not necessarily a good thing. The Orediggers lost
middle linebacker Jay Deal to a broken leg in their opener, then last week
lost starting quarterback Aaron Johnson to a broken arm. "There's not a thing
we can about Jay's leg and not a thing we can do about Aaron's arm,"
said Green. "The only thing we can do is got out there and try to get
better every day." The injury report this
week indicates star halfback Adam Cotton (ribs) won't play. Backup Teague
Egan of Great Falls is still a week or so away from playing after recent knee
surgery. Jake Hill of Bigfork
takes over at quarterback. He threw for 178 yards in Tech's 20-3 loss to
Whitworth last week. In addition, true
freshman quarterback Justin Kegel of Havre is no longer being redshirted and
is scheduled to play Saturday when the Orediggers take on NCAA I-AA Weber
State. ***** ROCKY MOUNTAIN got into
the victory column last week with a 57-3 trouncing of Montana State-Northern.
On Saturday, talented Azusa Pacific visits Billings. "They're as good a
team as we'll play all year," said Rocky coach Clay Moose. "They've
got monsters up front and real good team speed." Rocky's defense won't be
intimidated, at least not at linebacker when Jade Small of Colstrip and
Andrew Rinaldi of Lewistown roam freely. Small was a prep state championship
wrestler at 189, while Rinaldi was runner-up at heavyweight. The bring a
tough-minded wrestler's attitude to defensive football. ***** RECENT TRIPS to Billings
haven't gone well for the Montana State-Northern Lights. "There's a dark
cloud hanging over that field for us," said Lights' coach Walt Currie.
"Last week we just fumbled the ball away too many times. We moved it
well, but we fumbled it away." The Lights played well in
their opener against nationally ranked Dickinson (N.D.) State, losing 31-20.
But the wheels fell off last week in a 57-3 defeat to Rocky Mountain. "You can see that
we're capable of offensively," Currie said. "But we'd get down
there close and fumble it away (four times). It comes from being young and
pressing a little too hard. ... I think we'll play a lot better this
week." The Lights meet
UM-Western Saturday afternoon in Havre. |