Sports - Local Colleges

POSTED: Thursday, Dec. 04, 2008

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: McCann hoping for more memories with Vikings

When the football season ends for Western Washington on Saturday, Dec. 6, at the Dixie Rotary Bowl, senior Pat McCann is hoping for one last perfect memory, something to celebrate with his teammates.

If that memory comes with a win over Colorado School of Mines, that will be fine with McCann. If it is something else, perhaps a touchdown or simply a key first down, that will work, too.

McCann doesn't even have to make the play. He just wants one more moment to lock away before he's finished with football. And he wants all of his friends on the Vikings roster there to enjoy it with him.

"This is the most fun I've ever had playing football," McCann said. "I appreciate this opportunity to play in a bowl game more because this is our last chance to all play together. I've played on a lot of teams throughout my whole life in all kinds of sports, and if this is my last experience I want to look back on it and know that I made the most of it while I had it."

McCann has certainly made the most of his senior season. The wide receiver from Olympia leads the Vikings with 52 catches and 11 touchdowns and is 29 yards away from reaching a personal goal of 1,000 yards receiving. He also turned in the second best receiving day in WWU history earlier in the season, hauling in eight catches for 232 yards and three scores in a win against Dixie State.

"Coming into this season I wanted to get 1,000 yards," McCann said. "But if I finish this game with one catch for 28 yards or 10 catches for 100 yards, I'm not going to care as long as we win."

That McCann even played this season - let alone that he's now playing in a postseason game - would have been a surprise to his family and close friends a year ago. McCann seriously contemplated quitting football last year after being forced to sit out the entire 2007 season when he was declared ineligible by the NCAA for not meeting transfer regulations.

"If you would have asked the people really close to me at one point last season, they would have told you I wasn't going to come back this year," McCann said. "But once I made the decision to play, I haven't regretted it for one minute."

When McCann made the decision to return to football, he also decided to dedicate himself to becoming the best player he could be. His work in the weight room has kept him healthy this season. His work last season watching games from the coaches' booth has given him a better understanding of WWU's offense.

"I wish I would have approached every year of football like I did this season," McCann said. "I really focused on the mental side of the game and I tried to take care of myself. That's the biggest thing. I've been way more focused this year on football than I have ever been in my whole life."

Now McCann wants to help the Vikings and his senior teammates finish with a win. He also wants to help the Vikings to their first winning season since 2004 and their first under coach Robin Ross.

"We're going into this game 5-5 so this is a chance to have a winning record or a losing record," McCann said. "There's no .500 here. Really the three weeks leading up to this has been us thinking about how we have to stick together and that we're still a team."

Win or lose, McCann is grateful that playing in a bowl game has been able to extend his football career another three weeks. It's also given him at least a few more days with his WWU teammates.

"The biggest thing is this has kept this group together a little longer," McCann said. "It's been fun because there are some guys on this team that I might not see again as we graduate and move on. I love playing with this group. I've developed some good friendships. Some people on this team are going to be friends for life. For us it all comes down to this week."

Reach Joe Sunnen at joe.sunnen@bellinghamherald.com or 756-2862.