Another bowl, that's the goal
The Vandal football team hoists the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl trophy. By Greg MeyerLEWISTON - Vandal head football coach Robb Akey says among other positives, he likes that this season starts out at home in the Dome and on a Thursday night. Multimedia"I like to think that's going to be a good thing," Akey said during an interview in Lewiston. "I know this much, for us building our football team, it certainly helps us because we can get our camp started a couple days earlier. It also gives us a couple of days of preparation for that next warm-up opponent we've got at the University of Nebraska. Athletic Director Rob Spear also likes that the Vandals play on a Friday and a Thursday night this year. "Well it's exciting," Spear said. "One, to have Boise on Friday because that's nationally televised on ESPN. It's one of the things we've wanted to do when we joined the WAC, was to get one of those non-Saturday games because it's financially rewarding to us. And the other thing, we chose to play that game over Labor Day weekend on Thursday night. I think for one thing it gets our students engaged. They have a tendency to leave over Labor Day weekend. They're going to be in the area, we'll get them engaged at that game. It also gives us a longer break before we go and play Nebraska." The Vandals stung opponents with their passing game last year, including a dramatic last minute drive to win the Humanitarian Bowl. Receivers Coach Luther Carr says Preston Davis, who caught two key passes in that drive, including the two-point conversion to win it, is still recovering from knee surgery and may not be able to play this season. But he says the rest of his group of receivers is ready to get the job done. "The receiving corps is working hard," Carr said. "They've had a great summer. The guys have gotten bigger, faster, stronger and we're expecting to have a big season. Build upon what we did a year ago and help lead the team back to another bowl game. That's our goal this season." Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Steve Axman says he anticipates a great year, but that some new personnel will have to help make that happen. "We graduated eight senior's that started for us and that's really tough to replace, especially on the offensive line," Axman said. "So you're going to see a lot of new kids in the line-up and that's going to be a big change for us. I think a lot of our season is going to depend on how quickly they can mature." Coach Akey says, it will be a fun season to watch, and that the Vandals will live up to this year's theme - "You're Gonna Love It." "There's always going to be something new, you've got to know that and you are going to love watching this Vandal football team play. I'll promise you this much, they're going to play hard, they're going to play fast and they're going to get after it. I do think this is a team that's got a chance to do some really good things. What our goal is, is to improve upon what last year's team did. I feel like we're getting a program built and the way to prove that is to continue to have success and I like to think we've only scratched the surface of where we're headed with this program. The Vandals kick off the season on Thursday night September 2nd in the Dome against North Dakota. |
Current Temp
59.0 °F
Partly Cloudy
Upload directly from your mobile device. Learn howYouNews
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled.
Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.
Resources and info you need to prepare for the switch to DTV. Stay Connected |
Connect with KLEWNews Poll 083010 |
KLEW-TV, 2626 17th Street,