Colt Who?

An eagerly-awaited college rivalry game with a snappy title kicks off at a neutral site. The Red River what? Try The Battle in Seattle -- the game, not the movie. It's the throwdown between the Central Washington University Wildcats and the Western Washington University Vikings. Once a year, you don't have to drive to Ellensburg or Bellingham for bruising Division II action. Today it came to us, with the winner receiving the Cascade Cup presented by Comcast. After Holy Cross beat Brown 41-34 earlier in the day, SGB staffers tired of small-college football. All of them except me.

As soon as you entered Qwest Field, you knew this was going to be different. Two guys were putting on face paint in front of a bathroom mirror as the PA announcer laid down the law: "Any footballs kicked into the stands must be returned to the field. Thank you." Meanwhile, no one bothered to cover or erase the Seahawks logo at midfield or in the end zones. The Seahawks got scored on a lot tonight.

A female Central student told me this is the highlight of their season. "More people come to this game than go to most home games," she said. A Western student seemed to agree as he flew this placard: "The Wind Doesn't Blow from the West -- Central Sucks."

The Battle in Seattle has been played here since 2003, and tonight's game drew more than 12,000 people, a respectable number for two small state schools. Even so, Qwest Field fractionally-filled is a strange place. It gives the feeling of a five-year-old who proudly tries on his dad's oversized shoes and then stumbles around in them. Qwest Field alcohol-free furthers that impression.

On the field, Central ruled. Coming in ranked 11th in Div. II, the Wildcats seem to make a living as a safety net for players who wash out from larger schools. Senior Central quarterback Mike Reilly is a transfer from Washington State, and according to The Seattle Times, is ranked by scouts.com as the 9th-best pro prospect at his position in the country. That has led to some national publicity as well. He showed why tonight. Reilly broke an all-division NCAA record with a touchdown pass in his 41st straight game and surpassed Jon Kitna's career school record with his 100th TD throw (he now has 103). In all, he passed for 371 yards and four scores, often from a shotgun formation with five wide receivers. If you squinted, you saw Texas Tech running around the field. Among his weapons are former Huskies tight end Jared Bronson and running back JR Hasty. Hasty was a prized Ty Willingham recruit out of Bellevue (and son of former NFL defensive back James Hasty) who never panned out, amid injuries and off-field troubles. Tonight he ran for a robust 15 yards on five carries -- no surprise to those who slam all things Willingham. 

Central dominated in other ways too. Perhaps not surprisingly coming from the windy wheat fields of the Kittitas Valley, Central fans handily won the battle of the cowbells. The school's well-regarded music program doubtlessly ballooned their marching band to at least twice the size of Western's (not to mention they were the only band worthy of playing on the field at halftime). The final score: Central Washington, 50, Western Washington, 28, with at least two students passed out.