Trib on Cats and Jacks

[velochat]

I deleted some of the friz news from this:

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Article published Oct 28, 2004
For pair of Jacks, revenge may be in the cards

By Tribune Staff
The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks are looking for a little payback these days.

Vince Henman and John Perrigo especially.

"Our team is looking for revenge, but for me and John it's a little more personal," said Henman. "We'd like to show some of those coaches who maybe didn't give us serious looks back in high school."

The Lumberjacks play host to Montana State Saturday night in a key Big Sky Conference game. A week from Saturday, the Jacks will be in Missoula to take on the Montana Grizzlies.

Henman and Perrigo are Laurel natives who have found a home at NAU.

"We might've gone to the Cats or Griz if we'd been heavily recruited, but we weren't," said Henman, a 6-0, 230-pound senior linebacker.

Perrigo, a 6-1, 235-pound senior defensive end, and Henman have combined for 73 tackles this year, including 14 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Henman, a former heavyweight wrestling champion who rushed for a state-record 4,669 yards at Laurel, has six quarterback sacks. He originally accepted a scholarship from Air Force, then transferred to NAU when Perrigo put in a good word for him with the Lumberjack coaches.

"I think I got a partial (scholarship) offer from the Bobcats, nothing real big, and the Grizzlies told me I could walk-on," Henman said.

The rest of the Lumberjacks might not be lacking for motivation in the coming weeks, either. Montana State scored two touchdowns in the last 2:13 a year ago to earn a 21-17 victory over the Jacks. Then the next week, the Grizzlies hammered NAU 59-21.

"Against the Bobcats we dominated most of the game," Henman said. "But we didn't finish. It was a credit to them. They beat us. ... That game is still in the back of our heads."

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Veteran Green Bay Packers scout Sammy Seale was in Bozeman recently to watch the Bobcats play Portland State.

Seale said he was specifically watching MSU linebackers Roger Cooper and Jonathan Molock, and long-snapper Dusty Daws. Cooper is a preseason All-American, while Molock has impressive speed. Bobcat coach Mike Kramer said Daws is the best long-snapper he's ever coached.

Seale, a former defensive back in the NFL with the Raiders and Chargers, was asked what's going on in Green Bay with ex-Montana State star cornerback Joey Thomas, the Packers' rookie who has barely seen the field despite being taken in the third round of the draft last spring.

"You'd have to ask Green Bay and ask the coaching staff," Seale said. "When I'm out here I'm just like all the rest of the fans. I watch 'em on TV and I wonder why he isn't playing, too, but that's not my place to ask. My place is to find players and that's what I do.

"I'm sure he'll get an opportunity. Most third-round draft choices get an opportunity. If not this year, then next year."

By the way, Thomas played quite a bit in last week's Green Bay victory over Dallas and might even start this week against the Washington Redskins. That's because the Packers might be without secondary starters Darren Sharper and Al Harris, who suffered knee injuries last week.