Reilly's Wildcats ready for rematch with Omaha

Central Washington in 2nd round of playoffs

Former Flathead High School quarterback Mike Reilly has gotten his wish.

The junior QB for NCAA Division II Central Washington University said he wanted another crack at Nebraska-Omaha after a 59-21 regular-season finale loss to the Mavericks.

Two weeks later, the Wildcats have the Mavericks on their plate again.

A first-round 40-24 playoff victory over Ashland University (Ohio) last weekend vaulted CWU (9-2) into a rematch Saturday with Omaha (10-0) in the second round of the playoffs. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. in Omaha.

"You can't say this about a lot of games, but we were literally just a couple of plays away from being in that game with Omaha," Reilly said.

"Our first drive, we had a bad snap on a field goal. Our second drive, a receiver dropped a touchdown. We just had a few stupid plays and there were some goofy ones, too. We had a play where our running back was stuck in the pile and everyone stopped on the play. But a linebacker came up and ripped the ball away and started to run for a touchdown. Everyone thought the play was dead. I ended up tackling him.

"We scored 21 points before our starters were pulled and those three drives were the only ones we didn't get points off of."

Last weekend's victory was the first NCAA playoff triumph for CWU. Reilly completed 14 of 24 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown in the win. On the season, the national player of the year candidate has thrown for 2,900 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Against Omaha on Nov. 10, Reilly completed 29 of 46 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns, but was sacked nine times.

"Oh boy, that was a long day," Reilly said.

"Their three down linemen were impressive. They were big guys from Nebraska and they were able to get to me all day. Now, knowing what they are all about, I want another crack at them."

While CWU's offense could potentially keep up with Omaha, the defense has its work cut out.

The Mavericks had two running backs rush for more than 150 yards in the teams' first meeting.