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"He has created great competition at that position, which I think we needed," Bleil said. "Justin Cella is playing as well as he ever has here, but David is being just as productive. His arm is a little bit stronger, and he can do a few more things. That doesn't mean that a week from now things won't go the other way."
Cella was the stater two years ago in place of the injured Shawn Snyder. The Cats went 6-5 that year. Bleil pledged that Cella would see action Saturday.
Bleil said the Tigers are the toughest I-AA program Western has faced in recent years. He said they are clearly better than Duke and Maryland, opponents the past two seasons.
"I think we've got to execute as well as we possibly can," he said. "We've got to limit our mistakes. Conversely, they've got to make some mistakes. I think we've got to make some big plays defensively. We can't let them have a short field offensively. We've got to play a field position game with our kicking game and stay on the field as much as we can offensively, move the chains and keep the defense off the field."
Bleil said a more mature team should make the Cats better this year. He hopes that's especially true on the defensive side where WCU struggled last season.
Offensively, the Cats will sorely miss tailback Brad Hoover, who made the Carolina Panthers as a fullback. Bleil expects to go with a tailback by committee comprised of Lee Williams, Fred Boateng and Donnie Bryant.
Josh Booty is expected to start a quarterback for the Tigers. Booty was one of the nation's top prospects coming out of high school but elected to play baseball for the Florida Marlins organization. When he struggled on the diamond, he returned to football and earned significant playing time last year. His brother, Abram, is one of his favorite receivers.
"I'm really optimistic about this year," Bleil said. "These kids have really worked hard. We had a bunch of kids here all summer. I think the offense is executing as well as I've seen it at this point at almost any place I've ever been. Defensively, I think we're running very well. We're getting great leadership out of the captains and out of the seniors. It'll be a good time to go down to LSU. It'll be a great measuring stick to see where we are at."
Western held its final scrimmage of the preseason Saturday.
"I think both sides looked good at times," Bleil said. "I was impressed with the execution of the offense early in the first half, and I thought the defense dominated the second half. One thing about our defense is that when they get on a roll it's hard to get them stopped."
Cella completed 11 of 15 passes for 194 yards in the first half. Rivers saw only limited action.
Williams gained 70 yards on six carries and scored a touchdown. Boateng caught a screen pass and went 70 yards for a score.
Lamont Seward had four catches for 67 yards and a TD. Chris Lane's three receptions totaled 71 yards.
The schedule is as follows:
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Photo by Mark Haskett