Media: All Humboldt State football games are broadcast live on KATA, 1340 AM radio, the North Coast’s ESPN affiliate. J.B. Mathers calls the action, and is joined by HSU Hall-of-Famer Burt Nordstrom, who adds commentary. The audio will also be streamed live on the hsujacks.com Web site.
Another feature allowing fans to track the game’s progress is the LiveStats component of hsujacks.com. This week’s live stats will be available at game time online.
Coaches Show: For insight on the Jacks’ football program and information on all of Humboldt State’s athletics activities, catch “Humboldt State Tonight” on Fox Channel 2 local cable television at 6 p.m. Wednesdays. J.B. Mathers hosts the show, which features interviews with Coach Rob Smith, student-athletes, and other HSU Athletics staff members.
Head-to-Head: For the second straight year the Lumberjacks welcome Azusa Pacific as their opponent for Homecoming. Last year the Cougars disappointed the Jacks’ faithful by defeating HSU, 27-17. Humboldt State’s lead in the all-time series was trimmed to 13-7.
Coaches: In his first season directing the Lumberjacks, Coach Rob Smith stands at 1-4 overall and 0-3 in conference games. As head coach at Western Washington for 17 seasons, Smith’s programs achieved a 109-62-1 record. Victor Santa Cruz is his third year at the Cougar helm and his eighth on the coaching staff.
Injury Report: Running back Corey Stollmeyer continues his recovery from an injured hamstring that forced him to miss last week’s game. His status for Saturday will be determined as the week progresses. Linebacker Allen Brunner is also still on the mend from the knee injury suffered in the season-opener at Sac State. Projected now as a four- to six-week healing process, his status for the rest of the season is in doubt.
Lumberjack Notes: Another tough second half was compounded by several critical mistakes in last week’s loss, including a season-high 11 penalties. In fact, that number more than doubled the Jacks’ previous season-average of five per game. “Our players got caught up the emotion of the game, and that’s what resulted in penalties,” Head Coach Rob Smith said. “We have to avoid that and instead focus on playing our own game.”
The HSU coaching staff employed a strategy of switching quarterbacks on different possessions last week, with redshirt freshman Mike Proulx starting and receiving the majority of snaps and senior Brian Hildebrand subbing in fairly often. “MIke is the starter, but Brian will definitely play,” Smith said. “Brian’s athleticism gives us a different dimension.” Though the won-loss record doesn’t indicate it, signs of future success have emerged each week during the season. Wide receivers Matt Smith and Devin Stearns, both of whom were late additions who missed the first seven practices this fall, were the Jacks’ top receivers in last week’s game. Their increasing familiarity with Proulx and the offensive system have reaped the results.
Indicative of the Jacks’ second half struggles is the fact that they’ve been outscored 83-36 after halftime. In both home games HSU had high hopes heading to the break, tied with Western Washington at 14-14 and trailing Central Washington 16-14, only to have the games get away from them. As a team, the Lumberjacks rank 15th nationally in passes intercepted with eight, while Guy Ricciardulli ranks eighth in the nation among individuals with four.
Two former Humboldt State football standouts will be honored during Saturday’s halftime ceremonies. Among this year’s inductees into the Athletics Hall of Fame are L.J. Eiben, who starred as a wide receiver and defensive back from 1993 to1995, and Ron Peterson, who played two different stints for the Jacks during the late 50s and early 60s.
Opponent Notes: Azusa Pacific has suffered tough defeats to highly-respected opponents during a rigorous early season that has sent the Cougars on the road to Texas and Wisconsin, with two home games and a quick trip to San DIego mixed in between. The Cougars’ lone win was a 13-10 decision over Wisconsin-La Crosse, and they are coming off a 10-9 loss at Wisconsin-Steven’s Point last week.
One of the Cougars’ strong suits has been its running game’s ability to take care of the balll, having surrendered only a pair of fumbles to date. However, three different APU quarterbacks have thrown a total of 12 interceptions, which plays into one of the Jacks’ strengths (see above).
Starting at quarterback for the Cougars the last two games has been true freshman John van den Raadt, who was listed as fourth string heading into fall camp. Injuries have contributed to his elevation to starter.
Junior running back Chris Brown has posted back-to-back 100 yard performances, rolling for 144 yards in the loss to UW-La Crosse and gaining 104 against UW-Stevens Point.
Smith Says: “(Azusa Pacific) has played some very tough teams and has already made some difficult roadtrips. They’re a team that has beaten us as recently as last year, so we must be well prepared.”
“We’re still taking the approach of focusing on ourselves and doing what the Lumberjacks need to do to be a better team. We can’t look too hard at our opponents when we have a lot to work on with our own game.”
“As a coaching staff, we can measure true progress from what we’ve seen, but it’s still hard to not get frustrated when you don’t come out with a win. But this team has proven to us that they don’t quit. They continue to have a great attitude, and never let up despite what the scoreboard may say.”
Jacks’ Roster: A roster is available online (DOC)
Depth Chart: Current two-deeps for HSU and opponent are also available online (PDF)
Statistics: Following Saturday’s game and throughout the season, current HSU statistics can be viewed online.