Northwest Notes: Friday, August 15

Connor Halliday named to

Manning Award watch list

NEW ORLEANS - Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday has been named to the 2014 Manning Award Watch List, announced by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

The national award recognizes the top quarterback after bowl games. Halliday is one of seven Pac-12 quarterbacks included on the list of 32.

Halliday started all 13 games for the Cougars last season, setting a school-record with 4,597 passing yards, second-most in Pac-12 Conference history.

The Spokane native also set school records for pass completions (449), attempts (714) and tied the school record with 34 touchdown passes.

Halliday tallied nine 300-yard performances, including four 400-yard games and capped his season by leading Washington State to the New Mexico Bowl, where he tied a NCAA bowl game record with six touchdown passes.

Eastern Hall of Famer

Roffler passes away

Hall of Famer Jack "Rabbit" Roffler, a standout on Eastern Washington basketball teams in the 1940's, passed away on Wednesday after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 89.

Roffler was inducted into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011. Eastern's 1945-46 team was inducted in 2003, and "Rabbit" gave the acceptance speech.

A 1946 graduate, Roffler was a point guard during three of the most successful basketball seasons in school history and later distinguished himself as a teacher and basketball official.

Roffler went on to play professional basketball for the Springfield (Mo.) Squires and Tacoma Mountaineers before settling in Port Townsend, Wash., where he taught from 1948 until his retirement in 1979. He spent 25 years as a basketball official, working eight state tournaments and earning the Washington Officials Association Meritorious Service Award in 1975.