WAGNER-EASTERN WASHINGTON NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

LI NK TO WATCH WAGNER-EASTERN WASHINGTON NCAA GAME – Sat., 12/1, 6:00 pm EST

LISTEN TO WAGNER-EASTERN WASHINGTON NCAA GAME - Sat., 12/1, 6:00 pm EST

Newspaper Coverage of Wagner-Eastern Washington From Last 48 Hours

Media Coverage of 2012 Wagner Football Heading into NCAA Championship

2012 Division I Championship Bracket (PDF)
 
2012 Division I Championship Interactive Bracket

2012 Wagner College Statistics
 
2012 Eastern Washington University Statistics

Wagner Postseason Guide
(Pre-Game Notes Statistics & Newspaper Stories)

FCS FOOTBALL LINKS
Northeast Conference Football
The Sports Network (FCS Football)
NCAA FCS Football 
NCAA Statistics (2012)
NCAA Statistics (2011)
College Sporting News
College Sports Journal 
College Football Performance Awards
 
Wagner (9-3). Northeast Conference Champions at No. 4 Eastern Washington (9-2), Big Sky Conference
 


Media Coverage of 2012 Wagner Footbal Heading into NCAA Championship


Cheney, WA - Wagner College vs. Eastern Washington University – two institutions set nearly a continent apart (2,600 miles to be exact), will meet for the first time ever on the gridiron on Saturday, December 1 when the Seahawks and Eagles meet at Roos Field in an NCAA FCS Second Round Game that will be streamed live on ESPN3 at 3:35 pm EST.
 
Eastern Washington enters the contests ranked 4th in the nation the final regular season Sports Network NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Top 25 poll, along with fellow Big Sky co-leaders Montana St. (2nd), Cal Poly (12th) and Northern Arizona (20th) also ranking in the top 25. Wagner received enough votes (49) to rank 33rd.

The winner of this contest will advance to the quarterfinals against the winner of the Appalachian St.-Illinois St. game on Friday, December 7 or Saturday, December 8.
 
WAGNER POSTS NEC'S FIRST NCAA DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIP WIN
Today's game marked the third consecutive year that the Northeast Conference (NEC) winner competed in the Division I NCAA Championship as an automatic qualifier and Wagner will forever hold the distinction of being the league's first team to win an NCAA game. Robert Morris was the first school to represent the NEC in the championship in 2010 and the Colonials battled North Dakota St. for a good part of their meeting before the Bison pulled away for a 43-17 win. Last season, 2011NEC champion Albany held the lead over Stony Brook for the majority of the game before the Seawolves rallied for a 31-28 victory.
 
SEAHAWKS, PICKED 7^TH IN NEC, OVERCOME 0-3 START, HURRICANE SANDY IN WINNING NINE STRAIGHT
Wagner had many hills to travel before boarding the flight to Cheney, WA. For starters, the Seahawks were picked seventh in the eight-team NEC following a 4-7 record last season. Then, the Seahawks opened up with three straight losses, two close calls on the road, at FAU (7-3) and at Georgetown (13-10). The following week brought a large dose of pomp and circumstance as the ceremony was held prior to the Sept. 15 NEC and home opener vs. Monmouth. The purpose of the ceremony was to dedicate the field at Wagner College Stadium “Hameline Field.”
 
While the 10-minute pre-game ceremony went smoothly, the next three hours were not, as the Hawks thumped the Seahawks 38-17 to put Wagner in an 0-3 hole. On September 22, the NEC Game of the Week featured 0-3 Wagner at 0-3 Central Connecticut. Senior kicker David Lopez boomed a 51-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give Wagner the lead and momentum. The Seahawks came out blazing in the second half, won going away 31-13, and they've not looked back, or lost, since.
 
WAGNER-EASTERN MEETING FOR FIRST TIME; NEC 0-2 ALL-TIME VS. THE BIG SKY
September 2, 2002          No. 1 Montana 45, Albany 7
September 22, 1997        Montana 35, Albany 14
 
Note:  Saint Francis (PA) played current Big Sky member Cal Poly in 2009, but they were a member of the Great West at the time, so, officially, the NEC is 0-2 vs. Big Sky.
 
SEAHAWKS' FIRST NINE-GAME WINNING STREAK SINCE 1981, HAMELINE'S FIRST AS HEAD COACH
In capturing its ninth consecutive win, Wagner has done something that has not been done on Grymes Hill since 1981. That season was head coach Walt Hameline's first as head coach and, following a season-opening loss to Montclair St., the Seahawks went on to win next nine games in finishing with a 9-1 record.
 
DOSCHER BECOMES SCHOOL'S ALL-TIME LEADER IN PASSING YARDAGE
Already ranked No. 1 in Wagner history in total offense, senior QB Nick Doscher became the school's all-time leading passer in the victory over Colgate. Coming into the game just 23 yards behind John Sciarra, who amassed 5,902 passing yards from 2004-05, Doscher's 95 yards passing vs. the Red Raiders give him 5,975 career passing yards.
 
DOSCHER'S NAME APPEAR THROUGHOUT ALL-TIME RECORD BOOK
Following the 31-20 victory over Colgate, here's where Doscher ranks in several key career categories.
 
Doscher on Wagner All-Time List
Rank                      Category                               Statistics
1                              Total Offense                       8,235 yards
                                Passing Yards                     5,975 yards
2                              Passing Completions        444 - First Place John Sciarra (2004-05), 473
                                Touchdown Passes            44 – First Place Don Cavalli (1958-61), 46
8                              Rushing Yards                    2,260 yards
 
DOSCHER 210 STRAIGHT PASSES WITHOUT AN INTERCEPTION
Senior QB Nick Doscher has now thrown 210 straight passes without an interception as he played his 11th consecutive interception-free game against Holy Cross. The 210 passes without an interception has spanned 11.5 games (46 consecutive quarters). Incredibly, Doscher has not thrown an interception since the season opener at Florida Atlantic on August 31. With Wagner leading 3-0 in what would in an eventual 7-3 loss, Doscher was picked off in the end zone on a third-and-goal with 3:42 remaining in the first half against the Owls. It was his 10th pass attempt of the season. The next 210 have either hit a green shirt or the green playing surface.
 
EIGHT SEAHAWKS MAKE ALL-NEC TEAM, INCLUDING FIVE FIRST-TEAMERS
His 2012 team had five first-team All-Northeast Conference selections in senior QB Nick Doscher, junior RB Dominque Williams, fifth-year senior OLSteve Ciocci, sophomore cornerback Jarrett Dieudonne and sophomore return specialist Otis Wright. Named to the All-NEC Second-Team were a trio of seniors in cornerback Torian Phillips, strong safety Sidiq Soulemana and LB C.O. Prime.
 
WAGNER JUST ONE TURNOVER IN LAST NINE GAMES
Against Holy Cross on Nov. 10, Wagner's remarkable string of games without a turnover ended at six on a fumble by QB Nick Doscher with 9:02 left in the third quarter.  The last turnover committed by the Green & White prior to this was way back on September 15 vs. Monmouth, with 8:27 left in the fourth quarter, when the Hawks picked off a pass thrown by junior QB Kramer Berg.
 
The 38-17 loss to Monmouth put Wagner in a 0-3 hole to start the season. Wagner righted the ship in week four with a win at Central Connecticut (31-13) and it's been off the races ever since for the Seahawks. Wagner has gotten right back on the beam in its last two outings, playing turnover-free football in a 23-17 NEC Title-Clinching win over Duquesne on Nov. 17, followed by another  four quarters of protecting the ball in Saturday's 31-20 NCAA victory over Colgate.
 
WILLIAMS MOVES INTO 4TH PLACE ON ALL-TIME RUSHING LIST, NINTH SINGLE-SEASON
Junior RB Dominique Williams moved into fourth place on the Wagner all-time rushing list during the victory over Colgate. The 5-9, 200-pound Williams gained 106 yards vs. the Raiders, giving him 3,248 yards for his career. He moved passed Kito Lockwood, who gained 3,156 yards from 1992-1995. Sitting in third place is Seahawk Hall of Fame member Alonzo Patterson (1979-82) wih 4,177 yards. Patterson is the only football player in Wagner football history to have his uniform number retired (#21). Williams also moved into the ninth spot on the single-season yardage list with 1,268 yards.
 
PHILLIPS UP TO SEVEN CAREER INTERCEPTIONS
With his two interceptions vs. Colgate, senior CB Torian Phillips (Staten Island, NY/ Port Richmond) now has three picks on the season and seven for his career. Making that number even more impressive is the fact that, due to injuries in the Wagner backfield, Phillips played RB in 2010.
 
FOUR SEAHAWKS RANKED IN NEC'S TOP 20 IN TACKLES
 The 2012 Wagner defense, ranked No. 6 nationally in scoring defense (15.5), were led by a quartet of seniors who finished among the NEC's top 20 in tackles. Inside linebacker C.O. Prime led the way in eighth place with 83 tackles (7.5/game), followed by strong safety Sidiq Souleman a whose 75 stops (6.8/game) was T-13th. Inside linebacker Mike Lombardo, who led the Seahawks in tackles for loss, ranked in a T-16th with 71 tackles (6.5/game) while senior free safety Patrick O'Connor tied for 20th with 70 tackles (6.4/game).
 
WAGNER IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Wagner has one of the top defenses in FCS, ranking sixth in scoring defense (16.6), 11th in passing defense (164.9), 15th in total defense (312.5), and 49th in rushing defense (147.6). That will provide a challenge for an Eastern offense currently ranked 26th in scoring offense (31.8) and 10th in passing offense (298.8 yards per game).The Seahawks rank 37th in rushing offense (178.3), 83rd in scoring offense (22.8), 94th in total offense (324.8) and 107th among 121 FCS schools in passing offense (146.4). Wagner is also 11th in turnover margin (+ 0.92 per game) and third in kickoff returns (26.0). Individually, Dominique Williams is 21st in rushing (106.1 per game, 1,268 total) and Otis Wright is eighth in kickoff returns (28.3).
 
DEFENSE COMES UP BIG IN NCAA FIRST ROUND WIN OVER COLGATE
In Wagner's 31-20 win over Colgate last Saturday, the Seahawks held the second-best offense in FCS to 296 yards after entering the game averaging 503.7. Colgate's Walter Payton Award candidate and Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, Gavin McCarney, had 216 yards of the team's offense (97 rushing, 119 passing). But that was well below his average of 323.8 per game, which ranked seventh in FCS.
 
WAGNER NOT THE FIRST SEAHAWKS TO COMPETE ON EW CAMPUS
Because of the excellent facilities and weather Eastern Washington University has to offer, the Eastern Washington University campus served as the preseason training camp site for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League took place on the EWU campus from 1997-2006. Thousands of spectators as well as members of the media converged on Cheney throughout the month of practices. Seattle also had training camp at Eastern from 1976-85.
 
PLAYING WITH THE BIG BOYS
Wagner is one of just two private schools among the 16 teams that have earned spots in the second round of the 2012 NCAA Division I playoffs. The only other private school to advance this far is Wofford College.
 
In addition, Wagner and Wofford have the smallest enrollments among “Sweet 16” members. Wofford has the fewest undergraduates with 1,525 while Wagner checks in at 2,100.
 
The average student population among the 14 other teams still alive in the playoffs is 15,974.
 
Name                                    Public/Private                   Enrollment
Appalachian St.                   Public                                    17,034
Cal Poly                                Public                                    20,090
Central Arkansas               Public                                    11,444
Coastal Carolina                Public                                     8,706
Eastern Washington          Public                                    12,130                  
Ga. Southern                       Public                                    20,574
Illinois St.                              Public                                    20,104  
Montana St.                          Public                                    14,153
New Hampshire                 Public                                    11,942
North Dakota St.                 Public                                    14,399
Old Dominion                     Public                                    18,569
 Sam Houston St.               Public                                    17,600
Stony Brook                         Public                                    24,500
South Dakota St.                Public                                     10,993
Wagner                                PRIVATE                                 2,100
Wofford                                PRIVATE                                 1,525
 
HAMELINE: CHIEF SEAHAWK
The Seahawks are led by NEC Coach of the Year Walt Hameline, a veteran of 32 seasons as head coach at Wagner. He led Wagner to the 1987 NCAA Division III Championship and has won a total 213 games in his career (213-126-2).
 
A LOOK AT THE 4TH-RANKED EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES OF THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE
After directing the Eastern Washington University football team to a 9-2 record and its sixth Big Sky Conference title in school history, head coach Beau Baldwin was selected the league's co-Coach of the Year in a vote of the Big Sky's fellow head coaches. He shares the award with Cal Poly head coach Tim Walsh. In receiving the honor for the first time, Baldwin is the fourth coach in school history to win the award. His predecessor, Paul Wulff, won in 2001, 2004 and 2005. Current Idaho State head coach Mike Kramer won in 1997 and Dick Zornes was Eastern's first in 1992. The Eagles won league titles and advanced to the playoffs in all of those years except for 2001. Eastern, the NCAA Division I Champion in 2010 with Baldwin at the helm, enters the 2012 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs with a 9-2 record.
 
 In facing Eastern Washington, QB Nick Doscher, RB Dominique Williams, LB C.O. Prime and company will facing a traditional FCS power and a program that won the 2010 National Championship. The Eagles boast a two-headed tandem at QB in Kyle Padron and Vernon Adams who lead the high-powered spread offense that ranks 10th nationally in passing offense at 298.8 yards per game, 26th in scoring offense (31.8) and combined to throw 24 touchdown passes.
 
Piling up most of the receiving yardage is the dynamic First-Team All-Big Sky wide receiver duo of Brandon Kaufman and Greg Herd. Kaufman snared 65 catches for 1,270 yards and 10 touchdowns while Herd checks in with 53 receptions for 739 yards and six touchdowns.  Another Big Sky performer, Ashton Clark, and Nicholas Edwards caught 41 and 30 passes, respectively to give the high-octane Eagles four players with 30 receptions or more.
 
The Eastern Washington pass offense vs. the Wagner pass defense should be a fascinating game within the game as the Seahawks come in ranked 11th nationally in pass defense, yielding just 164.9 yards per game.  The Eagles have the 26th-ranked offense at 31.8 ppg., while the Seahawk defense comes in with the nation's No. 6 defense, allowing a stingy 16.6 ppg.
 
Here's a closer look at the numbers between the teams:
 
TEAM BREAKDOWN
NATIONAL RANK IN PARENTHESES
 
E. Washington                  Category              WAGNER
135.4 (79)                 Rushing Offense             178.3 (37)
161.6 (64)                 Rushing Defense            147.6 (49)
298.8 (10)                 Passing Offense              146.4 (107)
230.0 (84)                 Passing Defense             164.9 (11)
434.2 (19)                 Total Offense                     324.8 (94)
391.5 (77)                 Total Defense                    312.5 (15)
31.8 (26)                    Scoring Offense                22.8 (83)
23.4 (44)                    Scoring Defense                16.6 (6)
.55 (23)                      Turnover Margin                 .92 (8)
36.9 (27)                    Net Punting                         32.4 (98)
7.3 (64)                      Punt Returns                      6.8 (78)
22.3 (27)                    Kick Returns                      26.0 (3)
2.36 (32)                    Sacks                                   1.83 (69)
5.91 (55)                    Tackles for loss                  4.67 99)
2.18 (T67)                 Sacks Allowed   1               .83 (49)
 
EASTERN WASHINGTON NCAA PLAYOFF HISTORY (9-7)
1985 @Idaho                                      W 42-38               
          @Northern Iowa                       L 21-14
1992 @Northern Iowa                       L 17-14
1997 Northwestern State                 W 40-14
          Western Kentucky                   W 38-21
         Youngstown State                     L 25-14
2004 @Southern Illinois                  W 35-31
          Sam Houston St.                     L 35-34
2005 @Northern Iowa                      L 41-38
2007 @McNeese State                    W 44-15
         @Appalachian State                L 38-35
200  @Stephen F. Austin                 L 44-33
2010 SE Missouri St.                        W 37-17
         North Dakota St.                       W 38-31, OT
         Villanova                                     W 41-31
        vs. Delaware                              W 20-19 – National Championship Game
 
The Big Sky Conference is comprised of 14 institutions, headed by three schools who earned spots on the NCAA Division I Championship in Eastern Washington, Montana St., and Cal Pol
 
2012 Standings                        Conference            Overall
+#Eastern Washington                    7-1                          9-2
+Montana State                                  7-1                         10-1
+Cal Poly                                            7 -1                          9-2
Northern Arizona                                6-2                          8-3
Sacramento State                             4-4                           6-5
Northern Colorado                            4-4                           5-6
Southern Utah                                   4-4                           5-6
North Dakota                                      3-5                          5 6
Montana                                              3-5                           5-6         
UC Davis                                            3-5                           4-7
Portland State                                    2-6                           3-8
Weber State                                       2-6                           2-9
Idaho State                                         0-8                           1-10
 
#Automatic NCAA Qualifier
+Competing in NCAA Division I Championship
 
Three teams from the Big Sky Conference were selected for the 2012 NCAA Division I Football Championship, with two earning seeds.  Eastern Washington, which earned the league's automatic bid to the playo?s, was rewarded with the No. 2 seed. Montana State is the No. 3 seed, and was selected as an at-large team. Cal Poly, which shared the regular-season title with EWU and MSU, also earned an
at-large bid.
 
*Eastern Washington is in the playo? ?eld for the ninth time, and the eighth as a member of the Big Sky.
 
*The Big Sky Conference has advanced at least two teams to the playo?s in 27 of the last 29 years. The    Big Sky has sent multiple teams to the postseason in 14 straight seasons.
 
* Cal Poly, which joined the Big Sky as a football member on July 1, 2012, becomes the 11th member to represent the conference in the playo?s. Cal Poly advanced to the playo?s in 2005 and 2008 as an at-large team out of the Great West Conference. In 2005, Cal Poly won a ?rstround game at Montana. In 2008, the Mustangs were beat at home by
Weber State.
 
* Montana State is headed to the postseason for the third straight season. Prior to this string of appearances, The Bobcats has made the ?eld just four times (1984, 2002, 2003 and 2006). The Bobcats won the national championship in 1984.
 
* Eastern will be making its ninth appearance in the playoffs, ranking the Eagles among a select group of 20 schools with at least that many berths. The other appearances for the Eagles came in 1985, 1992, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010. With a 6-5 record during an injury-ravaged season in 2011, Eastern fell a victory shy making its first back-to-back-to-back appearances.
 
* This is EWU's sixth playoff berth in a nine-year span, ranking the Eagles as one of only five schools among 121 in FCS to accomplish that feat. The only other four teams to have qualified six of the last nine years are Appalachian State (2005-06-07-08-09-10-11-12), Montana (2004-05-06-07-08-09-11), New Hampshire (2004-05-06-07-08-09-10-11-12) and Southern Illinois (2004-05-06-07-08-09).
 
* The Eagles received the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, with North Dakota State getting the top seed, followed by EWU, Montana State, Old Dominion and Georgia Southern. The top five teams are seeded 1-5, and are guaranteed home games as long as they are the higher-seeded team in their match-up and have met NCAA guidelines to host. In 2010, Eastern was the No. 5 seed, and because of higher-seeded teams losing in the early rounds, hosted three games at Roos Field.
 
* The four first-round games are Nov. 24, with 12 teams receiving byes. Eight games in the round of 16 are played on Dec. 1. The quarterfinals are Dec. 7-8, the semifinals are Dec. 14-15 and the championship game is Jan. 5 in Frisco, Texas, at 10 a.m. Pacific time on ESPN2. All games will be produced by ESPN, with the first two-rounds available via ESPN3.
 
* In November and beyond, Eastern is 11-0 since 2010 and 20-3 since 2007. Since 2010, EWU is 23-2 after Oct. 1, including an 11-0 mark two years ago, 6-1 last year and 6-1 this season. The lone losses were a 43-26 home loss in 2011 versus Portland State and a 30-27 road setback at Southern Utah on Oct. 27, 2012.