St. Cloud Times from Saint Cloud, Minnesota • Page 52

14 St CkHJd Tunes, Tburs Sept 3, 1932 and Uld-Week Update, WecL, Sept 9, 1992 From Page 10 SCSU- From Page 13 O'Brien in recsrds to that Lope inicsies that O'Brien is on schedule to have a big year in "92. After earning All-America status at NaraendEje Community College in Eianminrtan, O'Brien was the Huskies' fifth-leading tackier (with 44) in 19SL Be fclao was third on the team in qnanerback sacks with five. And 'fr-st was acoosnplisbed with only a basic knowledge of the dfifensjre schemes. think he's going to be someone to watch far Huskies inside linebacker Mike Gromacki said. "He Tr.atfs things happen with his pass rush.

I think be should have a real good year." Interestingly, 1991 was the first time O'Brien played outside linebacker. At Normandale, and at Cre-tin-Derham Hall High School in St Paul, O'Brien played inside. It worked fine. While at Cretin-Der-ham Hall, the Raiders won back-to-back state championships. But 1991 was an adjustment 1 never played a straight outside linebacker before last year," O'Brien said.

1 had to learn all the techniques and schemes. I've been lucky to have good coaching all the way through." O'Brien said he learned a lot last year watching people like since-departed seniors Donlin, Mike Gessell and Clarence Williams, Jr. He wants to model his on-field style after Don-lin's. O'Brien also would like to see St. Cloud State in the playoffs.

The Huskies just missed last year, finishing 6-3. They had a game canceled because of snow. It may have cost them a playoff berth. This season, they are taking no chances, playing 11 games. "I feel we're really close right now (to be a playoff team)," O'Brien said.

"If just consistency. If we play solid, we should be OK. We have the talent and confidence." So does O'Brien. chance." At fullback, Jim Holasek retarss after knee surgery. He has ktied good in preseason practice- fa rial that he stays healthy because Dscg Doering, a transfer from Community College with vek potential, has been out with a pulied hamstring.

The kicking raioe. Ttis complete unknown. The Haskii las Twe four-year regulars in kicker Den Pri-don and punter Dave Gtjz. The new punter figures to be Ted Larson, a transfer from Fergus Falls Community College. The kicking candidates are J.

Norby, Cory Bilier and Kris Ak-steter. Norby played two years ago at North Hennepin Community College. Bilier and Aksteter are true freshmen. All are nnproven. WeVe got to find out some things Martin said.

Ttie right side of the offensive fa The Huskies opened preseason camp expecting big tilings from Scott Knapp, who, by tie way, is big (6-7, 310, But Knapp suffered a broken foot and will miss the first game at Idaho for sure, maybe more. Dave Dahlstrom (6-3, 260, Fr), a highly thought-of redshirt from Mauston, probably plays tackle until and if Knapp comes back. Chad Meyer (6-3, 260, meanwhile, is being counted upon heavily to come through at guard. He missed time with an ankle sprain. It's clearly an unsettled area.

Then, there's the defensive line. It's not necessarily a concern, but neither is it considered a constant The Huskies lost some excellent players there Steve Donlin, Mike Gessell and Bryon Schultz. While people like nose guard Matt Vardas and tackles Marco Dinzeo, Joel Knorr and Pat Schwinghammer have played, none is as dominant as the people who left. It's believed the Huskies can stop the run, but there are concerns about the pass rush. The secondary, a concern last year, registered a solid season.

It could be even better in 92. Junior free safety Jesse Akemann is one of the top defensive players in the conference. Senior cornerback Matt Steensland is coming off a big year. He had a team-leading three interceptions. Cornerback Adam Danielson and strong safety Blake Hardy are both returning letterwinners with solid credentials.

"We have some chips on shoulders we need to overcome after last season," Steensland said. 1 think we can be a real surprise, a real good team. "We have plenty of good players here." And then, there are the concerns. There are many that need to be resolved for the Huskies to equal or improve upon last year's 6-3 record. Like: The backfield.

The top two I- backs Chad Mortenson and Derrick Johnson are gone. Mortenson finished as the second-leading yard-gainer in school history behind Ail-American Harry Jackson. Johnson had an excellent senior season. Matt Anthony filled in both at halfback and fullback solidly. He's gone, too.

Charles Dean gets the first opportunity at I-back. A redshirt junior from La Follette High School in Madison, he has patiently waited three years for his oportunity. He's strong, smart and focused. He's also injured. He missed the first week of practice with a sprained ankle.

Dennis Heinen, a redshirt sophomore from Osseo, is the No. 2 man. Keith Ecford, a wide receiver, has mo ved to I-back just in case. "We might not have to pass that much because we have good runners," Mauer said. "These people can do the job if they're given the Name Pos.Ht.WlYr.

Hometownschool 1 JeffSimms WR 5-9 171 So. Milwaukee Nicolet 2 Kenny Pierce WR 6-3 186 Sr. Cincinnati Cotef ain 3 Coddy Harris WR 6-2 192 Sr. Rockford (ffl.) West 4 MafiSteensiand DB 5-11 195 Sr. Oconomcwoc, Wis.

5 ScoCLarsen OB 6-3 190 Jr. Milaca 6 Kerth Ecford RB 5-9 160 So. Milwaukee Washington 7 ChadGlman WR 5-10 175 Jr. LakeviHe 8 NateAtws FS 6-0 193 Fr. BainbrirJge, Ga.

9 Jm Mauer OB 6-1 193 Sr. St Paul Harding 10 TroyMaag QB 6-1 188 Fr. Woodbury 11 Pete Rut FS 60 195 Fr. LeCenter 12 MarkHBman QB 6-3 190 Fr. Menornonie, Wis.

13 TedLarson 6-1 200 Jr. FergusFalls 14 CoryBSer 5-10 165 Fr. Fridtey 15 KrisAksteter 5-10 170 Fr. Hopkins 16 UteKoehtef DB 5-11 180 Fr. Edgar, Wis.

17 Larry RhreS WR 5-10 160 Jr. Crystal City, 18 Steve Jensen CB 5-10 172 Fr. Mayer Lutheran 19 CurtFemholz DB 5-10 180 Fr. Sauk Rapids 20 Randy Martin RB 5-9 185 Fr. Chippewa Fate, Wis.

21 DanBensen WR 6-2 184 Fr. Menornonie, Wis. 22 JoeGureno CB 6-2 200 Fr. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 23 GregWmbrough RB 6-1 185 Fr. Bkxxnington Jefferson 24 KraigKluge SS 6-0 220 Jr.

Edina 25 Thomas Wffiams FB 5-11 205 Fr. Osakis 26 BobWotherspoon RB 5-10 180 Fr. Mankato 27 Jesse Akemann FS 6-2 196 Jr. Faribault 28 Aaron Kyknanen DB 5-10 175 Fr. Jefferson, Wis.

29 Doug Doering FB 6-2 230 Jr. WiOmar 31 Adam Danielson DB 5-11 205 Jr. Hammond, Wis. 32 JimHolasek FB 6-0 220 Sr. Chaska 33 KevinGrussrig RB 5-11 180 Fr.

Hopkins 34 Charles Dean RB 5-9 201 Jr. Madison (Wis.) La Follette 35 GregGronski DB 5-11 185 Fr. Spooner.Wis. 36 Paul Norby PK 6-1 200 Jr. Osseo 37 Mike Gromacki LB 6-1 235 Sr.

Grafton, Wis. 38 Joe Burgess DB 5-11 175 Fr. Faribault 39 Dennis Heinen RB 5-11 210 So. Osseo 40 DarrylGoebel DB 5-10 175 So. Albany 41 James Gilmer RB 5-7 175 Fr.

Ontonagon, Mich. 42 BradLaCombe LB 6-0 220 Sr. St Louis Park 43 Blake Hardy SS 6-1 205 Sr. Branson, Iowa 44 EJ.Fekter LB 60 215 Fr. Milwaukee Vincent 45 BobUbby LB 6-2 220 Jr.

ElkRiver 46 Brian Lamka DT 6-2 235 So. Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop 47 Cory Ray DT 6-3 260 Fr. Rio, Wis. 48 John DesRoches LB 5-11 200 Fr. Anoka 49 TroyKluck OLB 6-3 230 Fr.

Wausau (Wis.) West 50 JoeSteffan OT 6-2 235 Fr. Fond du Lac, Wis. 51 James Bobor 6-1 270 So. Hamilton, Ort 52 MattFeyan OLB 6-2 230 Fr. Fond du Lac Wis.

53 Karl Olson CG 6-2 245 So. Anoka 54 ChadMeinert LB 6-0 215 So. Columbus, Ohio 55 TomFea OT 6-3 230 Fr. Menornonie Falls, Wis. 56 Steve Siegmund LB 6-0 227 Sr.

Minnetonka 57 GregJeddetoh OLB 64 232 Jr. Minneapolis Washburn 58 Steve Walters LB 6-2 210 Fr. Stillwater 59 BobKronenberg 6-3 254 Jr. Menornonie Falls, Wis. 60 MikeThissen 6-1 225 Sr.

Osseo 61 JoshTetner OT 6-3 280 Fr. Bloomington Jefferson 62 Daryl Dirkes 6-2 290 So. Albany 63 TroySwanson DT 6-1 240 Jr. Upsala 64 Dean Dirkes OT 6-4 312 Jr. Albany 65 Dave Flak OT 6-3 278 Fr.

Elton, Wis. 66 Chad Meyer 6-3 260 So. Lakeville 67 PhlScanlon DT 6-2 215 Fr. Green Bay (Wis.) West 68 Scott Knapp OT 6-7 310 Sr. Woodbury 69 Jeff Gilmore DT 6-3 235 Fr.

Robbinsdale Armstrong 70 AndyKubena 6-3 255 Fr. Hibbing 71 JohnButzter OT 6-4 245 Fr. Minneapolis Edison 72 DeanPicotte 6-3 285 Fr. Milwaukee Washington 73 Jason Mahlmarm OT 6-4 260 So. RochesterMayo 74 JackWagner DT 6-2 240 So.

Osage 75 DougBragg CG 6-3 290 Fr. Duluth Denfeld 76 Matt Vardas NG 6-0 255 Sr. Pierz(Healy) 77 Pat Schwinghammer DT 6-4 250 Sr. Hill-Murray 78 Dave Dahlstrom OT 6-3 260 Fr. Mauston, Wis.

79 KenGrothe DT 6-3 235 Fr. Chippewa Falls, Wis. 80 Dave Murphy TE 6-4 240 So. Fairmont 81 Shawn O'Brien OLB 64 241 Sr. Cretin-Derham Hall 82 Joe Leonard WR 6-2 183 Fr.

Minneapolis Henry 83 MattKaminsW WR 6-1 185 Fr. Sussex, Wis. 84 ErikDeppa DT 6-3 248 So. Stillwater 85 Kevin Rivard DT 6-5 245 Fr. Somerset, Wis.

86 Todd Hodapp TE 6-3 225 Sr. Mankato East 87 SteveHentges WR 60 175 Fr. Irondale 88 Shane Minske OLB 6-2 220 So. Lakeville 89 Reggie Nichols WR 5-8 150 Fr. Schofield, Wis.

90 John Hemming OLB 6-1 230 Jr. JanesviHe (Wis.) Craig 91 Jason Boumeester TE 64 230 Fr. Balwin.Wis. 93 Joel Knorr DT 64 245 Sr. 94 Marco Dinzeo DT 6-1 250 Jr.

HHI-Murray 95 Zack Carlson TE 6-1 210 Fr. Faribault 96 Jason Stenstrom LB 6-1 200 Fr. White Bear Lake 97 Steve Vant Hid OLB 6-5 225 So. Jackson 98 Travis Basavage OLB 6-3 215 Fr. ElkRiver 99 AdamCramlet OLB 6-3 215 Fr.

Sartell From Page 12 NCC "We'd love to ha ve as good a year as last year," Daly said. "But history is against us. South Dakota State has not had back-to-back seven-win seaons since 1962-63. "So, we have our work cut out for us this year." There are six starters back on offense and six more on defense, including junior tailback Paul Klinger (6-1, 206, flanker Mike Boetel (6-1, 180, tight end Tim Burns (6-3, 243, Sr.) and slotback Mike Myers (5-9, 175, There's a new quarterback Todd McDonald (6-2, 203, who has been a backup for two years while since-departed Shane Bouman was earning all-conference honors. Defensively, outside linebacker Doug Miller (6-4, 221, Sr.) is one of the studs of the conference.

He had 114 tackles a year ago, including five passes broken up, four quarterback sacks, three pass interceptions and a fumble recovery. Saturday, Nov. 7 Augustana It's expected to be much better in Vikingland in 1992; it couldn't have been worse in '91. Coach Jim Heinitz's Vikings were 0-8 in the NCC, 0-10 overall. But, Augustana returns 15 starters, including quarterback Heath Rylance (6-1, 195, running back Steve Schneider (6-0, 210, Jr.) and wide receiver John Legel (5-10, 165, Rylance completed 103 of 194 passes for 1 ,14 1 yards and seven TDs.

Schnedier had 422 yards rushing on 94 carries and Legel caught 38 passes for 427 yards and five touchdowns. Also back are left guard Al Lonne-man (6-3, 240, Jr.) and left tackle Corbin Lacina (6-4, 280, Saturday, Nov. 14 at Momingside The rebuilding program that Maroon Chiefs coach Dave Dolch began four years ago took a bit of a tumble in 1991. Ranked in the top 20 in most preseason Division II polls a year ago, Momingside finished 2-8. Sixteen starters return, including three impressive defensive players.

Linebacker Anthony Fieldings (6-1, 230, Sr.) was a first-team All-NCC pick. He had an incredible 151 tackles in 1991. Nose guard Antone Jones (6-1, 228, Sr.) and tackle Dean Jones (6-3, 274, Sr.) both have been starters since their freshman year. Antone Jones moves to linebacker this year. The key is improving the offense.

Creehan, who has Division 1 and Canadian Football League coaching experience, plans to open things up at South Dakota, using a pro-set offense instead of the Delaware Wing-T. Quarterback Jason Seurer (6-3, 210, Sr.) is back, making the possibility of Creehan succeeding much better. Hecompleted 70 of 166 passes for 863 yards and four touchdowns a year ago. Also back is halfback Tom Menage (5-11, 175, Jr.) and wingback James Gregory (5-11, 186, who'll move to runnig back. Menage overcame major reconstructive knee surgery to rush for 518 yards and four TDs and Gregory caught 17 passes for 373 yards and four touchdowns in '91.

Leading the defense is defensive back Matt Madsen (6-1, 195, who had 55 tackles and three passes broken up in '91. Saturday, Oct. 31 South Dakota State Mike Daly impressed all in Brookings and around the NCC with a 7-3 record in his first season. It earned him NCC coach of the year. Now the tough part arrives re peating..