Football | 9/1/2015 6:52:00 PM

ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Sept. 1) – The Central Washington University football team opens its 2015 campaign this Saturday when they travel to Colorado to take on reigning NCAA Division II Champions and second-ranked Colorado State University Pueblo at 4 p.m. PST.   American Sports Network will produce the game in conjunction with the NCAA.
 
This game will debut the Division II Football Showcase for ASN and locally can be viewed on CSN Northwest in both Seattle/Tacoma and Spokane according to the NCAA (Click HERE for a CSNNW channel guide).  It will also be on KFFV-5 (Comcast #352) in the Seattle/Tacoma area.  In addition the game will stream live on NCAA.com.
 
This will be the first ever meeting between the Wildcats and the ThunderWolves, and CSU-Pueblo will be the highest ranked team the Wildcats have faced in a season opener in the NCAA Division II era.
 
"As a team we are excited to get out there and play.  Our athletes have worked extremely hard during the offseason and during camp in preparation for this season," CWU Head Coach Ian Shoemaker said.  "The guys are fired up to start the season and playing on National television is only going to add to the excitement."
 
The Wildcats are in year two under coach Shoemaker and will look to begin 2015 carrying the same offensive momentum they gained last year.  The Wildcats saw a jump in offensive production last year averaging 35.5 points per game, which was a 11.4 points better than 2013.  The Central Washington offense also gained 800 more yards in 2014 than the previous season.
 
Jake Nelson will be the starter at quarterback for the Wildcats and averaged 245.6 yards per game through the air, the highest mark for a CWU quarterback since 2008 (Mike Reilly).
 
Carrying the ball for the Wildcats will be Jordan Todd who currently ranks fifth in school history in rushing yards and is just over 1,100 yards away from breaking the school record held by Hall Famer Dan Murphy.
 
Wildcats return three-year starter Cedrique Chaney at defensive back who will help anchor the CWU defense.  Chaney was recently named to the D2Football.com Preseason All-America Team and has been an all-conference selection each season.
 
Mitch Haldane and James Fakkema will man the trenches on the defense.  Haldane was second on the team in tackles last season at 85, and Fakkema is the team's leading sack artist ending 2014 with 7.5.
 
"We have a lot of players in key positions that bring a wealth of experience into this season," Shoemaker added. "With that said, it is going to take a full team effort on both sides of the ball this Saturday if we want to be successful."
 
Seniors Cameron McDondle (RB) and Zach Martinez (OL), both of whom were named D2Football.com Preseason All-Americans, will lead the ThunderWolves.  McDondle set a CSU-Pueblo single-season record with 2,014 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns.
 
Although the ThunderWolves return a host of starters from last season's team they will be replacing quarterback Chris Bonner who threw for 3,291 yards, 30 touchdowns and just eight interceptions.  Filling the void will be senior Malcolm Ruben who transferred from Abilene Christian and has thrown just 12 passes in his time with the ThunderWolves.
 
The game will stream live on NCAA.com and will air live on the following channels:
 
ALT2 (Altitude) - Colorado Spgs / CO-Colorado Springs
ALT2 (Altitude) - Denver, CO / CO-Denver
ALT2 (Altitude) - Grand Jct, / CO CO-Grand Junction
ALT2 (Altitude) - Boise, ID / ID-Boise
ALT2 (Altitude) - Idaho Falls,ID / ID-Idaho Falls
ALT2 (Altitude) - Twin Falls,ID / ID-Twin Falls
ALT2 (Altitude) - Wichita, KS / KS-Wichita
ALT2 (Altitude) - Billings, MT / MT-Billings
ALT2 (Altitude) - Butte, MT / MT-Butte/Bozeman
ALT2 (Altitude) - Glendive, MT / MT-Glendive
ALT2 (Altitude) - Great Falls,MT / MT-Great Falls
ALT2 (Altitude) - Helena, MT / MT-Helena
ALT2 (Altitude) - Missoula, MT / MT-Missoula
ALT2 (Altitude) - N. Platte, NE / Nebraska- N. Platte
ALT2 (Altitude) - Lincoln, NE / Nebraska-Lincoln
ALT2 (Altitude) - Omaha, NE / Nebraska-Omaha
ALT2 (Altitude) - Albuquerque / NM-Albuquerque
CSN Northwest (Bend, OR) / OR-Bend
CSN Northwest (Eugene, OR) / OR-Eugene
CSN Northwest (Medford, OR) / OR-Medford
CSN Northwest (Portland, OR) / OR-Portland
ALT2 (Altitude)-Rapid Cty, SD / SD-Rapid City
ALT2 (Altitude) - Salt Lake City / UT-Salt Lake City
KFFV-5 (Cozi - Comcast#352) / WA-Seattle/Tacoma
CSN Northwest (Seattle, WA) / WA-Seattle/Tacoma
CSN Northwest (Spokane, WA) / WA-Spokane
ALT2 (Altitude) - Casper, WY / WY-Casper/Riverton
ALT2 (Altitude) - Cheyenne, WY / WY-Cheyenne