Former Capital running back now among top receivers in EWU history

THE OLYMPIAN | • Published October 28, 2009

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In high school, Tony Davis was rated as one of the top running backs in the state.

But when coaches at Eastern Washington asked him to move to wide receiver, Davis, an all-state running back as a senior at Capital High School, accepted the switch.

Rather than complain, he made the most of an opportunity. Now a senior at EWU, Davis has caught 185 passes, third on the Eagles’ all-time list.

“I do miss the days of (playing) running back, but the move to receiver was one that I did welcome,” Davis said. “I knew that playing receiver was the quickest way for me to get on the field and help my team.”

Davis will be a go-to target when Eastern plays Portland State at 1 p.m. Saturday at Qwest Field in Seattle. It’s EWU’s first game in Seattle.

Davis has 2,101 career receiving yards with the Eagles. Teammate Aaron Boyce has 229 catches, second best in school history. Eric Kimble, who played from 2002 to 2005, is the school’s all-time leader with 253 catches.

Davis never figured he’d end up being one of his school’s all-time leading receivers.

“I was surprised that over my career I’d have caught enough balls to rank in the top three all time,” said Davis, who was rated as one of the top 34 recruits in Washington coming out of high school. “To rank on a list with great players such as Eric Kimble and Aaron Boyce is a blessing, and it is something that means a lot to me.”

Although only 5-foot-9, Davis has been a big target. He leads the team with 49 catches for 483 yards this season, an average of 9.9 yards per catch.

“Smaller receivers are usually quicker than bigger ones,” Davis said. “So, I like to think that I am quicker than a lot of my opponents that cover me.”

With a 3.45 gradepoint average, Davis is a potential academic All-American.

EVERGREEN RANKED: It’s a good-news, bad-news situation for The Evergreen State College men’s basketball coach Jeff Drinkwine going into the season.

His team, led by All-America guard Nate Menefee, is ranked 22nd in the national NAIA Division II poll. But three other Cascade Conference teams are ranked ahead of the Geoducks.

College of Idaho, favored to win its first conference title since 2003, is ranked eighth in the nation.

Oregon Tech, which won national championships in 2004 and 2008, is ranked 11th after going 29-6 and advancing to the Sweet 16 a year ago.

Warner Pacific, which has made four consecutive appearances in the national tournament, is ranked 18th.

In the women’s poll, three Cascade teams are ranked. Southern Oregon, which includes Whitney Scott (Black Hills High School), Krystal Smith (River Ridge) and Jacki Speer (Centralia), is ranked 18th in the national poll.

The Evergreen women open the season at 7 p.m. Friday against Cal Maritime Academy. On Saturday, the TESC women face a team of alumni at 2 p.m., and the men play an alumni team at 4 p.m.

DUCKS FLY: They’re former Ducks. Now, Jenny Baker and Jill Webb are Saints.

Baker and Webb, transfers from the University of Oregon, each scored a pair of goals in Saint Martin’s 4-0 women’s soccer victory at Western Oregon on Sunday. Baker, whose father, Greg, was an outstanding running back at the University of Puget Sound, has three goals for the season. Webb leads SMU with nine goals.

WILDCAT WATCH: For the second consecutive week, Central Washington’s football team is ranked second in the nation in NCAA Division II and first in the region. The Wildcats are one of three undefeated NCAA II teams, along with North Alabama and Minnesota State.

COACH MCCANN: Pat McCann, an all-league wide receiver at Olympia High and Western Washington University, is the wide receivers coach at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass.

Another former South Sound wide receiver has gone into coaching, too.

Skyler Fulton, who was all-state in football and baseball at Capital before going on to play receiver at Arizona State, is coaching wide receivers at Colorado.

BRODIN SIGNS: Joash Brodin, a North Thurston graduate, has signed with the Miami Diamantes of the new Florida Winter Baseball League.

Brodin, 22, graduated in May from the College of Charleston, where he batted .362 and played first base. He continued to hit well in the summer, batting .330 with 10 home runs with the Midwest Sliders of the Frontier League.

SAINTS TITLE HUNT: Saint Martin’s men’s soccer team needs two wins in its last three games to win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

But that won’t be easy. The Saints play all three games on the road, at Montana State Billings, at Northwest Nazarene and at Western Washington.

TOP GOLFER: Sheldon Prante, a senior golfer at Saint Martin’s, shot a 2-under-par 70 in the final round at the Sonoma State Invitational to finish sixth.

Prante’s final round, his best of the season, helped the Saints tie Western Washington for third place.

Gail Wood: 360-754-5432

gwood@theolympian.com