2008 Woodie Awards
Football team adapts, prepares for Mustangs
Peter Rossi
Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
The University of Northern Colorado football team is looking to notch their first win of the season this Saturday at Cal Poly University.
The Bears were defeated Saturday 34-14 against Big Sky foe Northern Arizona. They lost by 20 points in a physical battle to the Lumberjacks. UNC coach Scott Downing was disappointed not to come away with the victory, but he knew NAU was a tough team.
"They see NAU coming in a team that's 1-2, but they've only lost to a Pac-10 team and a team that's No. 1 in the nation and they had every opportunity to beat Appalachian State," Downing said.
The NAU losses were to their cross-town rival, the Pacific 10 Conference's University of Arizona and Appalachian State, the top ranked team in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA.) Appalachian State defeated Michigan in Ann Arbor during week one of the college football season.
The Bears demonstrated they could compete against a team with superb talent.
Cal Poly runs an option attack on offense and that has been a primary focus for the defensive unit.
"It's triple option, kind of like what Air Force used to run, where they fake the dive to the full back and the quarterback can either keep it, or pitch it," said junior linebacker Christian Sarmento.
Sarmento, who led the team in tackles with 13 against NAU, has been studying film on the Mustangs with the rest of his teammates.
"We've centered our defensive game plan around stopping the option," Samento said.
The offensive side of the ball has shown maturation; putting up two touchdowns against NAU. Junior wide receiver Cory Fauyer, who tallied three catches for 41 yards Saturday, is noticing improvements on the Bears' offense.
"I definitely think we're coming together as a unit," Fauyer said. "After a hard week of practice, I feel confident we'll go into this week's game better than we did against NAU."
Fauver also appreciated the play of the defense and credited their performance against NAU.
"The defense played exceptionally well last week," he said. "The whole team was flying around making gang tackles around the field."
The Bears will need to continue to fly to the ball against Cal Poly, as the Mustangs will certainly run the ball on the majority of their offensive possessions.
Sarmento knows the offense needs to make plays as well, to keep the Bears in the game and is pleased with the progress on the offensive side of the ball.
"They're really starting to open it up, and I think more importantly than that they're starting to get the ball to the playmakers on the outside," Sarmento said.
The team is continuing to work hard and mature in a difficult transition period. They still have eight games left on the schedule to put some wins together.
"I think we're getting better as a team," Downing said. "Guys are starting to understand what it takes at this level."
The Bears were defeated Saturday 34-14 against Big Sky foe Northern Arizona. They lost by 20 points in a physical battle to the Lumberjacks. UNC coach Scott Downing was disappointed not to come away with the victory, but he knew NAU was a tough team.
"They see NAU coming in a team that's 1-2, but they've only lost to a Pac-10 team and a team that's No. 1 in the nation and they had every opportunity to beat Appalachian State," Downing said.
The NAU losses were to their cross-town rival, the Pacific 10 Conference's University of Arizona and Appalachian State, the top ranked team in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA.) Appalachian State defeated Michigan in Ann Arbor during week one of the college football season.
The Bears demonstrated they could compete against a team with superb talent.
Cal Poly runs an option attack on offense and that has been a primary focus for the defensive unit.
"It's triple option, kind of like what Air Force used to run, where they fake the dive to the full back and the quarterback can either keep it, or pitch it," said junior linebacker Christian Sarmento.
Sarmento, who led the team in tackles with 13 against NAU, has been studying film on the Mustangs with the rest of his teammates.
"We've centered our defensive game plan around stopping the option," Samento said.
The offensive side of the ball has shown maturation; putting up two touchdowns against NAU. Junior wide receiver Cory Fauyer, who tallied three catches for 41 yards Saturday, is noticing improvements on the Bears' offense.
"I definitely think we're coming together as a unit," Fauyer said. "After a hard week of practice, I feel confident we'll go into this week's game better than we did against NAU."
Fauver also appreciated the play of the defense and credited their performance against NAU.
"The defense played exceptionally well last week," he said. "The whole team was flying around making gang tackles around the field."
The Bears will need to continue to fly to the ball against Cal Poly, as the Mustangs will certainly run the ball on the majority of their offensive possessions.
Sarmento knows the offense needs to make plays as well, to keep the Bears in the game and is pleased with the progress on the offensive side of the ball.
"They're really starting to open it up, and I think more importantly than that they're starting to get the ball to the playmakers on the outside," Sarmento said.
The team is continuing to work hard and mature in a difficult transition period. They still have eight games left on the schedule to put some wins together.
"I think we're getting better as a team," Downing said. "Guys are starting to understand what it takes at this level."
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