1987 PREVIEW : VALLEY FOOTBALL : COLLEGE PREVIEWS : WESTERN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

Cal Poly SLO

COACH: Lyle Setencich, first year

LAST SEASON: 5-5; 4th in conference, 3-3

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Mustangs were consistently inconsistent last season. Example: SLO lost to Cal State Northridge, 21-20, in the last second of a game, then got blown out at Portland State 66-7, two weeks later. The following week, SLO beat conference champion Cal State Sacramento, 26-6. Lyle Setencich, who had a 24-20 record at Division I-AA Boise State in five years, replaces Jim Sanderson as head coach. He inherits an experienced group on offense, including five starters scheduled to return on the offensive line. Tackle Eric Tautolo is the conference’s biggest player at 6-5, 320 pounds. At quarterback for the Mustangs will be Tom Sullivan, a transfer from Sacramento City College. Sullivan (6-0, 180), passed for 1,914 yards and 12 touchdowns last season to help Sacramento to a 10-1-1 record. At the receiving positions SLO has three players who combined for 89 receptions last season. Lance Martin, a senior, was the team leader with 41 catches for 715 yards. Claude Joseph had 28 catches for 421 yards and Heath Owens had 20 for 346. Sophomores Cornell Williams (303 yards) and Todd Henderson (259 yards) are the top rushers returning. On defense, the Mustangs have three starters back on the line and three more in the secondary, but they are looking for replacements at linebacker. All-American Kevin Emigh will be the punter. He was second in Division II last season with a 43.1 average.

OUTLOOK: “We’re going to try and throw a lot if we can protect the quarterback,” Setencich said. “With our linemen, we should be able to do that. We have experience on the offensive line but no where else. We have some good players on defense, but not much depth behind them. There’s no question we’re young and maybe a year away.”

CS Sacramento

COACH: Bob Mattos, 10th year (47-48-2)

LAST SEASON: 6-4-1; 1st in conference, 5-1

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Last season, Sacramento won its first title in 20 years when quarterback Drew Wyant hit Lin Klinkhammer with a touchdown pass with 13 seconds left in the game to beat Northridge, 21-17. The school is billing this season as “The Year of the Hair,” in reference to junior running back Don Hair, who is being counted on to bring the Hornets consecutive championships. “I think he may be the best Division II back in the country,” Mattos said. Hair (5-9, 185) rushed for more than 1,000 yards as a freshmen in 1985 but was slowed by a knee injury last season and gained 678 yards. Wyant (6-2, 200 pounds), whose only start was against CSUN, returns for his sophomore year. Freshmen Steve Buccelato will replace running back Rob Harrison (1,347 yards), who was drafted and cut by the Raiders. The big question mark for Sacramento is its defensive backfield. All four of the talented players in last season’s secondary are gone, including Lorenzo Lynch, who was the WFC defensive player of the year. Four JC transfers will start, including cornerback John Russell from Harbor; corner back Chris Barr from Glendale; safety Keith Waters from Modesto and safety J.R. Richards from San Francisco City.

OUTLOOK: “Last year we had a lot of depth, so we were able to survive something like 31 lineup changes and still win the conference,” Mattos said. “This year we won’t have that luxury. We’re going to be kind of green.”

Portland State

COACH: Pokey Allen, second year (6-5)

LAST SEASON: 6-5; tied for second in conference, 4-2

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Vikings have 12 starters back, none more important than junior quarterback Chris Crawford (5-11, 180), who passed for 2,766 yards and 16 touchdowns. “He was battered last year and he still had a great season,” Allen said. “We’re trying to keep the pressure off him this season. I just want him to relax.” That may be difficult for Crawford because Brian Coushay, a two-time all-conference split end, has graduated. The receiving corps includes junior tight end Barry Noane (6-2, 225), who led the WFC with 62 receptions, and junior split end Tim Corrigan (35 catches for 535 yards), who has started for two years. The question mark for the Vikings is the offensive line, where three starters were lost to graduation, including two-time all-conference tackle Roland Aumueller and Jon Shields. Center Dave Swanson (6-2, 240) and guard Bill Duarte (6-1, 250) are returning starters, but nothing has been settled at the other positions. Senior running back Kevin Johnson (5-8, 185) had six consecutive 100-yard games in 1986 before suffering a season-ending knee injury. A pair of JC All-American defensive ends, Anthony Spears (6-6, 260) and John Wunderlich (6-2, 240), should help bolster the defense.

OUTLOOK: “We won’t be successful unless our offensive line comes together,” Allen said. “Also, at the Division II level you always have a depth problem. A couple of key injuries and we go from being a good football team to an average one.”

Santa Clara

COACH: Terry Malley, third year (12-9-1)

LAST SEASON: 4-7; sixth in conference, 2-4

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Santa Clara has nine starters back on defense, which would be considered good news for most teams. In this instance, however, those nine return from a squad that allowed a school-record 334 points. Nose guard Steve Kubes, linebacker Paul Rebholtz and cornerback Derick O’Neill, all redshirts, should help overcome a few of the weaknesses opponents exposed last season. Joe Lyman, Rob Uhrich and Jose Whitney give the team experience at linebacker, having played as a unit the past two seasons. Offensively, Santa Clara has one of the top quarterbacks in Division II, Greg Calcagno, who has passed for 4,844 yards in two seasons as a starter. Calcagno, whose father, Ron, and uncle, Ray, preceded him as Bronco quarterbacks, needs only 252 yards to set a school career yardage record. The 6-3 senior completed 195 of 357 passes for 2,292 yards with 17 TDs and 10 interceptions last season. He will set up behind an offensive line that returns four starters, the best of whom is guard Dan Squires, a 6-1, 260-pound sophomore. Matt Shaw, who led the team in rushing the past two seasons, is the tailback. He rushed for 697 yards last season and caught 57 passes for 429 yards. Shaw has 2,665 all-purpose yards in his career.

OUTLOOK: alley, whose father was coach at Santa Clara before him, said the Broncos will improve or look for a new football coach. “We’ve got the quarterback,” he said. “Hopefully, he’ll get some support. He’s unselfish. He doesn’t care if he throws 30 times or eight as long as we win. He’s a good one. Of the 300 passes he threw last year, you could debate maybe about 15 of his decisions.”

Southern Utah St.

COACH: Jack Bishop, seventh year (38-20-2)

LAST SEASON: 8-3; tied for fourth in conference, 3-3

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Thunderbirds have 16 starters back from a team that finished with as good of an overall record as any team in the conference. Quarterback Chad Richard (6-1, 180), who was all-conference last season as a junior, passed for 1,855 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also rushed for 725 yards while running the team’s veer offense. Senior running back Kyle Wilson (5-10, 195) rushed for 876 yards and nine touchdowns last season. The key for the Thunderbirds will be how well the defense plays. Senior defensive lineman Ken Smith (6-2, 280) was all-WFC last season, despite being double- and triple-teamed much of the time. The secondary is experienced and led by junior defensive back Dennis Wells (5-11, 190), who had four interceptions and averaged 29.4 yards a kickoff return. The Thunderbirds also did well in their recruiting, especially at linebacker. Junior Eric McKinney (6-3, 255), who transferred from the College of Eastern Utah, and junior Brian Viafunua (6-2, 270) from Ricks College in Utah, should improve an experienced group that is led by senior Todd Olsen.

OUTLOOK: “We’re quite a bit bigger and more physical than we were last year,” Bishop,said. “Our quarterback situation is also better. Chad is so unpredictable. Going into last season, we didn’t know he was going to be the starter. We’re that much more ahead.”

WFC COACHES POLL

1986 Team Pts Record Cal State Sacramento (4) 45 6-4-1 Portland State (2) 42 6-5-0 Cal State Northridge (1) 38 8-3-0 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 25 5-5-0 Southern Utah State 21 8-3-0 Santa Clara 18 4-7-0 Cal Luthern 7 3-8-0

First-place votes are in parentheses.