By JIM BURTON
Standard-Examiner staff
Next opponent: University of Montana Grizzlies
Homecoming and Fireworks Night
OGDEN -- Spend even a few minutes around the Weber State football offices these days and it becomes easy to see this isn"t a typical week.
It"s Montana week. The week the Wildcats (2-2 overall, 0-1 Big Sky) prepare themselves for their Saturday night battle with the No. 1-ranked University of Montana Grizzlies (5-0, 1-0).
As one of only a handful of seniors on the team, WSU defensive lineman Randy Spencer knows about playing the Grizzlies.
When the two teams get together Saturday at 6:05 p.m. at Stewart Stadium, it will mark Spencer"s fourth WSU-Montana game - fifth if you count his 1998 redshirt season.
"I"m just ready to get out there and stick it to them," said Spencer. "If you can"t get up for this game, you can"t play this game."
Spencer, a 23-year-old defensive tackle who grew up near Ottawa, Ontario, is a key member of the Weber State team. A 2002 team captain, he is the only Wildcat with three varsity letters.
As a redshirt freshman in 1999, Spencer started five games for the "Cats. A year later, he started the first seven games before an injury forced him out of a game against Portland State.
Last year, as WSU lumbered through a forgettable 3-8 season, Spencer started all 11 games and led the D-line with 16 unassisted tackles and 28= total tackles.
The former hockey goalie-turned defensive lineman takes his role both as a senior and a team captain very seriously.
"What I try to do is be as loud as I can. I"m not a loud person, I"m not usually a talker, but I"ve had to be a talker this year," Spencer said. "I get fired up for games and I just try to bring as many people up to the same level as I can."
"Randy has had great focus for the last two years," said Wildcats" coach Jerry Graybeal. "He"s assumed his role as a starter and a leader.
"It starts even before you get to the playing field, and that"s one of the nice things about him. He"s the same type of leader he is off the field as he is on the field, in the weight room, in the community and on campus."
Spencer is also one of the few players on the team to know what it"s like to beat the Grizzlies.
He and Graybeal both arrived in 1998. That year Spencer redshirted and Graybeal guided the "Cats to a 27-20 victory over the Grizzlies at Stewart Stadium.
Since then, Montana has reeled off three straight victories over WSU, including an 81-22 thumping at Missoula in 1999 and a 38-23 win last year in Missoula.
Now Spencer is down to his last chance against the vaunted Grizzlies, who come in ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division I-AA polls.
Last week, Montana visited the University of Idaho and earned a 38-31 win over the Vandals. On the same day, the "Cats traveled to Northern Arizona and scrapped with the then-No. 12 ranked Lumberjacks before falling 26-21.
Spencer finished that game with eight tackles, including three for a minus 14 yards and one quarterback sack for minus 10 yards.
Standard-Examiner staff
Next opponent: University of Montana Grizzlies
Homecoming and Fireworks Night
OGDEN -- Spend even a few minutes around the Weber State football offices these days and it becomes easy to see this isn"t a typical week.
It"s Montana week. The week the Wildcats (2-2 overall, 0-1 Big Sky) prepare themselves for their Saturday night battle with the No. 1-ranked University of Montana Grizzlies (5-0, 1-0).
As one of only a handful of seniors on the team, WSU defensive lineman Randy Spencer knows about playing the Grizzlies.
When the two teams get together Saturday at 6:05 p.m. at Stewart Stadium, it will mark Spencer"s fourth WSU-Montana game - fifth if you count his 1998 redshirt season.
"I"m just ready to get out there and stick it to them," said Spencer. "If you can"t get up for this game, you can"t play this game."
Spencer, a 23-year-old defensive tackle who grew up near Ottawa, Ontario, is a key member of the Weber State team. A 2002 team captain, he is the only Wildcat with three varsity letters.
As a redshirt freshman in 1999, Spencer started five games for the "Cats. A year later, he started the first seven games before an injury forced him out of a game against Portland State.
Last year, as WSU lumbered through a forgettable 3-8 season, Spencer started all 11 games and led the D-line with 16 unassisted tackles and 28= total tackles.
The former hockey goalie-turned defensive lineman takes his role both as a senior and a team captain very seriously.
"What I try to do is be as loud as I can. I"m not a loud person, I"m not usually a talker, but I"ve had to be a talker this year," Spencer said. "I get fired up for games and I just try to bring as many people up to the same level as I can."
"Randy has had great focus for the last two years," said Wildcats" coach Jerry Graybeal. "He"s assumed his role as a starter and a leader.
"It starts even before you get to the playing field, and that"s one of the nice things about him. He"s the same type of leader he is off the field as he is on the field, in the weight room, in the community and on campus."
Spencer is also one of the few players on the team to know what it"s like to beat the Grizzlies.
He and Graybeal both arrived in 1998. That year Spencer redshirted and Graybeal guided the "Cats to a 27-20 victory over the Grizzlies at Stewart Stadium.
Since then, Montana has reeled off three straight victories over WSU, including an 81-22 thumping at Missoula in 1999 and a 38-23 win last year in Missoula.
Now Spencer is down to his last chance against the vaunted Grizzlies, who come in ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division I-AA polls.
Last week, Montana visited the University of Idaho and earned a 38-31 win over the Vandals. On the same day, the "Cats traveled to Northern Arizona and scrapped with the then-No. 12 ranked Lumberjacks before falling 26-21.
Spencer finished that game with eight tackles, including three for a minus 14 yards and one quarterback sack for minus 10 yards.
