By Bryce Porter
Ty Detmer drops back deep in his own end zone and scans the University of Utah defense, spots some daylight and hurls the pigskin down the sideline to the only opening where it could be caught by receiver Eric Drage. BYU came back to beat the Utes 48-17 in 1991 with that 97-yard catch that still stands as the longest touchdown reception in LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Drage now coaches the Wasatch Wildcats, a semi-professional minor league football team that plays their home games at the Bruin Bowl in Orem. Drage is joined by six other former Cougars that play and coach for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats are in their first season competing in the Minor League Football Association and fifth season overall. With 28 teams across the nation, the league teams are staffed with coaches and players that are not compensated financially. Many of these men participate simply for the love of the game, while others hope the games will provide the exposure necessary to play college or professional ball.
Owner Dave Rooker has found success with a coaching staff almost entirely filled by former Cougar football players. From Drage and Setema Gali Jr. to Sim Tiatia, the Wildcats have a core of players that all played for the coaching legend LaVell Edwards.
Head coach Drage was a wide receiver at BYU from 89-94, where he was a two-time All-WAC selection and served as team captain in ''92 and ''93. Drage proudly remembers defeating the University of Utah every year but his last.
'I like to think that we lost that game because I couldn''t play,' Drage said playfully. 'I had broken ribs.'
After college, Drage played for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League and was the team''s leading rookie receiver in 1994.
Drage also serves as the Wildcats'' offensive coordinator. Other former Cougar players round out the offensive coaching staff: ex-quarterback Steve Clements coaches the quarterbacks; Wayne Faalafua is the offensive line coach.
Clements played quarterback for the Cougars from ''91 to ''95, where he was known as the 'Oozy,' a name Drage said Clements gave to himself because he was automatic, like his most memorable highlight when he threw a touchdown pass against Notre Dame. On road trips, Clements could be found frequently playing pranks on his teammates.
'I would call them down to the lobby all dressed up expecting a reporter,' Clements said. 'They would sit down there by themselves for a good half hour before they''d figure it out.'
Faalafua played offensive line for the Cougars in the early ''80s and later for the Los Angeles Express in the United States Football League. Faalafua has worked with the Wildcat offensive that has successfully protected the quarterbacks, allowing them to average over 36 points during a five-game winning streak earlier in the season.
The defensive staff has was equally successful during the winning streak. Led by assistant coach/defensive coordinator Everestt Matagi, the tenacious Wildcat defense has been nearly flawless at times, including three straight shutouts to start the season. Matagi, from West Valley City, is the lone former Utah Ute player on a staff surrounded by Cougars.
Gali, a former BYU standout, played defensive end from ''97 to ''00 and went on to play for the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that won the Super Bowl. Gali''s career at BYU was complete with a come-from-behind victory against rival Utah in the game''s closing minutes to steal a victory in Salt Lake City in Edwards'' final game. He now doubles as the defensive line coach and the defensive end for the Wildcats.
Joe Herrick was a kicker for the Cougars from ''89 to ''93 and went on to the Seattle Seahawks. Herrick fondly recollects big Cougar beating top-ranked Miami and, during his senior year, defeating Penn State at home. He now leads the special teams for the Wildcats.
Tyler Nelson played safety for the BYU defense from ''96 to ''99, and now is the coach of the defensive backs/secondary.
Sim Tiatia played at BYU from ''86 to ''90, and is the fullback for the Wildcats. One of Tiatia''s favorite moments while playing in Provo was when Ty Detmer won the Heisman Trophy while on a road trip in Hawaii. Tiatia, 35, is known as 'the old man' to the team.
'It is weird because I am older than the coaching staff and I am the one still playing,' Tiatia said. 'Eric (Drage) is a great coach and knows the offense well. He has implemented some of the same things we did at BYU.'
Tiatia credits the secret to his success on the field to playing years of rugby. He believes that it is more physically demanding than football and keeps him in shape.
'It is easier to play football,' Tiatia said.
The former players all expressed a deep respect and gratitude for all that Edwards taught them during their years with the team.
'Edwards was a player''s coach,' Clements said.
Said Gali: 'He respected the players and they in turn respected him.'
Focus and poise were Edwards'' main strengths recognized by his players and are now mirrored as coaches for the Wildcats.