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Huskies ready for rematch with NMU
When the Huskies take the field against the Northern Michigan Wildcats Saturday afternoon at Selke Field, it will be a very different team than the one they saw last year. This could prove to be a double-edged sword to the Huskies, as they have the advantage of facing a team that was 0-5 on the road last season and lost their leading rusher, their starting quarterback, their top tackler and their best defensive back to graduation.
They have the distinct disadvantage, however, of having no reliable information about the team they are about to face.
"They're kind of an unknown to us," said SCSU head coach Randy Hedberg. "They're traditionally a good Division II football program, but now they've had a coaching change. It's kind of a guessing game. But they do have information on us, from our game last year."
NMU head coach Doug Sams has footage of the Huskies at their best and at their worst. The Huskies jumped up to a 21-3 lead on three Keith Heckendorf touchdown passes. The second half was a stark contrast to the first, as two quick NMU scores got them back in the game. The Huskies were unable to get anything going offensively and were overtaken in the final four minutes to drop their season opener.
Sams spent his last 10 years as the head coach of Fairmont State College in West Virginia, where his record was 53-47. He began his coaching career in the late 70's and moved to the Canadian Football League in 1986. He was a defensive coach and a special teams coordinator for the Edmonton Eskimos in 1988 when they won the Grey Cup (the Canadian Super Bowl). He brings the CFL's pass-first style to the college game.
"My philosophy is to pass to set up the run," he said. "I like to run a wide-open offense and I want my players to have fun. I believe that players like to play (this style) and that fans like to see the ball in the air."
Sams inherited a team that was stripped of most of its top talent, losing its main offensive threat in running back James Randle (1084 yards, 7 TD) and its starting quarterback, Bryan White, to graduation. The defense is mostly made up of backups from last season. Sams is concerned that his team may be overwhelmed by the Huskies' experience.
"They present us with a number of problems," Sams said. "Their offensive line is big and physical and they have lots of their good skill guys back. Last season, they did a great job of passing and running the ball. Defensively, we really liked their team speed; they'll create problems for us. It's going to be a real challenge."
Even though Sams' team seems to be taking to his offense and enjoying it, they'll be hard pressed to keep up with the continuity the Huskies have developed through a year of playing together.
The Huskies and Wildcats will square off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Selke Field.
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