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We're number 1! Everyone says it, few teams can
claim it. Well, Central Washington University can after being rated No. 1 in
both the D2football.com and AFCA polls this week. The Wildcats at 11-0 are the
lone remaining undefeated Division II team in the nation.
"Every team and every college football
player dreams about being ranked #1 at the end of the regular season," CWU
head coach Blaine Bennett said. "This is truly a dream come true for all
involved and I hope we can continue our success as we host our first playoff
game."
Central Washington took over the top ranking
for the final national poll of the regular season after emerging as the only
Division II team without a loss prior to the playoffs. North Alabama and
Minnesota State, who had also been undefeated entering the final week of the
regular season this past Saturday, both suffered their first losses of the year
to West Alabama and Saint Cloud State (Minn.), respectively. The Lions fell to
fifth and still received one first-place vote, while the Mavericks dropped to
eighth.
The last time Central Washington played a
football game as the number one team in the nation was during its NAIA days in
1991, when the Wildcats lost to Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) in the first round of
the NAIA postseason.
Playoff Time
A potential clash of the titans matchup
possibly looms in what would be the quarterfinals of the playoffs if No. 1 CWU
and Northwest Missouri, the No. 2 team in the nation, win their first playoff
games after receiving byes in the opening round.
But of course stranger things have happened in
the playoffs, so it's not a lock for either team to be playing each other.
Northwest Missouri meets the winner of Midwestern State and Abilene Christian -
the No. 8 and No. 16 teams in the country, respectively - while CWU meets the
winner of No. 12-ranked Tarleton State and No. 17 Texas A & M-Kingsville.
Obviously, none of those teams in the bracket are pushovers and any is capable
of an upset.
Players of the Year
Central Washington wide receiver Johnny Spevak
and linebacker Buddy Wood have been selected as the 2009 Offensive and Defensive
Players-of-the-Year, respectively, in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
Spevak and Wood led a CWU sweep of all the
major categories as linebacker Prince Hall was voted the GNAC
Newcomer-of-the-Year, quarterback Ryan Robertson was voted the GNAC
Freshman-of-the-Year and Blaine Bennett, who guided the Wildcats to a perfect
11-0 record, was voted the GNAC Coach-of-the-Year.
For a complete list of this year's GNAC
all-starts, go to http://www.gnacsports.com/football/allstars.pdf
Players of the Week
Offense
Mike Proulx, Humboldt State. The sophomore
quarterback threw for 299 yards and four touchdowns and was not intercepted in
leading the Lumberjacks to a 33-23 home win over Dixie State. Proulx completed
26 of 42 passes and also rushed for 20 yards as HSU snapped a 17-game
conference-game losing streak.
Defense
Buddy Wood, Central Washington. The senior
linebacker had 14 tackles, including 3 ? for losses of six yards, to lead a
Wildcat defense that limited Western Oregon to 167 yards and nine first downs,
none of them on the ground where WOU netted only 31 yards. Wood has had 361
career tackles, more than anyone in GNAC history. This season he ranks fourth in
the conference in tackles with 87 and is the GNAC leader in tackles for loss
with 15 ?.
Special teams
Kyle Schierholt, Humboldt State. The senior
kicker/punter kicked fourth-quarter field goals of 33 and 19 yards to give the
Lumberjacks a 10-point cushion and also averaged 42.8 yards on five punts in a
33-23 victory.
Final Standings
Central Washington ran the table to an 11-0
record and won the 2009 GNAC title with a 6-0 conference record (11-0 overall).
Western Oregon finished second with a 3-3 conference mark (5-5 overall). Dixie
was third at 2-4 (4-7 overall), while Humboldt State was fourth at 1-5 (5-5
overall).
Canadian school Simon Fraser University joins
the GNAC next year.
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