http://cslab.uwlax.edu/~ander_rj/foot/preRF.html (Internet on a CD, 07/1998)If the Eagles intend to repeat as Wisconsin State University Conference champions and have any shot at winning consecutive Division III national titles, it all starts with today's game.
A game which pits undefeated UW-River Falls (2-0 WSUC, 4-0 overall) against unbeaten UW-L (2-0, 4-0).
``I think this is a challenge for both the coaches and the athletes,'' UW-L coach Roger Harring said. ``This is the first of the undefeated teams we will probably face. I think we will be ready. The good teams always bring out our best.''
River Falls and its explosive wishbone attack has given UW-L all it could handle on numerous occasions, and more than it could handle in 1994 when the Falcons posted a 30-21 decision at River Falls. Some of the current Falcon players were on that team, according to River Falls coach John O'Grady.
``We still have some starters from the team that upset them up here,'' O'Grady said. ``We have a tremendous amount of respect for them, but we know if we play the kind of game we are capable of, we will be all right.''
Both teams are in a similar position offensively as both lost star quarterbacks from last year's playoff teams.
UW-L's Craig Kusick, the 1995 NCAA Division III player of the year, has used up his eligibility. Ditto for River Falls' Adam Kowles, the WSUC player of the year last season and one of the best option quarterbacks in River Falls history.
``(Pat) Simones is good, but you can't compare him to Kowles,'' Harring said of this year's Falcon trigger man. ``It's kind of like comparing (Jeff) Baker to Kusick. It's an unfair comparison.''
Simones is a fifth-year senior who understands ð and executes ð the wishbone offense perhaps even better than Kowles, who played overseas after his stint at River Falls. Although he's the Falcons' leading rusher with 399 yards and six TDs, he's simply not Kowles.
``Kowles had a little more speed and was a lot more powerful,'' Harring said. ``They were a different team with him.''
O'Grady won't argue the point. On the other hand, he has tremendous faith in the 5-foot-11, 199-pound senior.
``Roger finds himself in a very similar situation with losing Kusick. Pat has been running our offense for four full years,'' O'Grady said. ``He has waited. He has been tremendous. He knew that physically Adam (Kowles) was the guy who needed to be playing. He never registered any disappointment.''
While both Baker and Simones are relatively new to the starting quarterback role, their offenses have performed well in contrasting styles. Baker has completed 70 of 122 passes for 830 yards with four TDs. He has thrown five interceptions.
Simones likely won't throw 122 passes all season.
River Falls is passing for more than it ever has under O'Grady, but Simones has still only thrown 33 passes in four games. He has completed 14 of those for 304 yards. The startling statistic is that half of his throws have been for TDs.
``The surprise element is what makes the difference,'' Harring said. ``They run, run, run. The lull you to sleep, then hit you with the surprise pass.''
UW-L has been surprised in the past.
-- In the Eagles' 14-13 regular-season victory last year, Kowles threw two passes. He completed one, a 30-yard scoring strike to Craig Boen. If UW-L would not have blocked the extra point, who knows what would have happened.
-- In the Eagles' 28-14 playoff victory over the Falcons, Kowles completed five of eight passes for 100 yards.
-- Two years ago in the Falcons' 30-21 victory, Chris Klein pulled off a halfback option pass that covered 17 yards ð and a TD ð to Jason Vorlicek.
``He throws the ball well,'' Harring said of Simones. ``And with Boen, they have a great receiver.''
O'Grady knows there is plenty riding on today's game, but not everything. Stevens Point and Whitewater are also unbeaten.
``The league is scary, but it's always La Crosse, Stevens Point, Whitewater,'' O'Grady said. ``The league is always tough... It could be the toughest ever this year.''