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--> --> Nov. 21: Playoff game features two hot coaches By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Southern Oregon University head coach Jeff Olson and University of Montana-Western head coach Tommy Lee are too busy devising game plans to think about it, but Saturday's first-round playoff game between the schools shapes up as a top-notch coaching duel. Both mentors have successfully turned their respective NAIA programs around, and have those teams in the 16-team NAIA Championship Series. "We know that SOU's a good football team. Jeff Olson's done a good job there in the years that he's been there," Lee said by phone Monday from the UMW campus in Dillon, Mont. Added Olson: "Coach Lee improved the program's talent level almost overnight and people can see what an impact it had." The ninth-ranked Raiders (7-2) and 15th-ranked Bulldogs (9-2) will kick off at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Raider Stadium, with the winner moving on to the national quarterfinals. Lee, a former Willamette University All-American quarterback, Bearcat head coach and longtime NCAA Division I offensive coordinator, will bring to Ashland a team built out of the spare parts he inherited when he took over the program last season. Montana-Western finished that inaugural season 2-8, but Lee's strong recruiting class made huge gains this season to go from the cellar of the Frontier Conference straight to the penthouse. Montana-Western dropped its 2002 season-opener 48-7 to Idaho State, but has since won 9 of 10, with the lone blemish being a 36-21 home loss to the other Frontier Conference co-champion, 10th-ranked Carroll, on Oct. 19. That makes the Bulldogs one of the hottest teams in the nation and Lee one of its hottest coaches. The former Oregonian, however, has kept his recent success in perspective. "No. 1, we're just happy to still be playing," he said. The Bulldogs capped that hot streak by beating Carroll in the rematch last Saturday, 35-17, in Helena, Mont. That win, coupled with a loss by former No. 17 Walsh (Ohio), allowed the Bulldogs to sneak into the playoffs despite victories the same day by a pair of snubbed teams - No. 16 Azusa Pacific (9-1) and No. 17 Evangel (8-2). Olson, on the other hand, needed no such help from the pollsters to clinch his first successful playoff run last season. The Raiders were ranked high all year in 2001, dominated virtually every game, and finished No. 7 in the final regular season NAIA poll to earn the school's first playoff berth in 14 seasons. Southern went on to obliterate McKendree (Ill.), 54-10, in the first round, only to drop the now infamous "snow bowl" the following week, 16-13, to Carroll. In his seventh year at SOU, Olson has already racked up 41 victories. That's the third highest total in program history. Also, his .621 win percentage (41-25) ranks him second in program history among football coaches with at least 20 games under their belt. And he's gotten better with experience. Olson teams went 13-15 over his first three seasons, but have gone 28-10 (.736) since. Not surprisingly, that's not good enough for the Raiders' former all-league defensive back. "One of the themes that the guys have come up with," Olson said during preseason workouts, "is `unfinished business,' that we can't be satisfied with getting there. It had been a 14-year drought since we've been in the playoffs and I for one don't want to wait that long again." He didn't have to, and Saturday either Lee or Olson will continue what already has been a spectacular uprising. "Getting back to the playoffs was obviously our No. 1 season goal since spring practice," Olson said. "We're happy with the playoff berth, but it won't satisfy us unless we can build on our experience and surpass last year's accomplishments." Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing