Northwest Notes April 20, 2021
Idaho's Walker named Buck Buchanan Award finalist
Idaho junior linebacker Tre Walker has been named a finalist for the Stats Perform FCS Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually to the national defensive player of the year in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Walker led the Vandals and the Big Sky Conference with 13.5 tackles per game, the third-best average in the country. He finished the condensed (six-game) spring season with 54 tackles in four games. Walker record 13-plus tackles in three of four games played this season.
He is one of 18 finalists for the award. Walker is joined by Southern Utah’s La’akae Kaho’ohanohano-Davis as the two Big Sky representatives. Half of the list are linebackers.
In total, nine seniors/graduate students are represented on the list of finalists. Walker is among five juniors on the list.
In three seasons of play, including the most recent shortened season, Walker now has 233 total tackles and sits just outside the top-20 in program history.
EWU QB Barriere among 16 finalists for Payton Award
After a productive 2020-21 six-game campaign, Eastern Washington University quarterback Eric Barriere is among the 16 finalists for the Stats Perform FCS Walter Payton Award, which is presented to the national offensive player of the year in college football's NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.
Three EWU players have won the Payton Award — Cooper Kupp (2015), Erik Meyer (2005) and Bo Levi Mitchell (2011).
Barriere, who will lead Eastern against NDSU this Saturday in the first round of the FCS Playoffs, finished fifth in the voting as a junior in the 2019 season. This season, he has passed for at least 300 yards in five of six games this season and has had at least 400 yards of total offense in three of them. In the other game, he had 284 passing/324 total offense in barely over two quarters of action in a 62-10 romp.
Through six games this season, Barriere is ranked in the top 10 in the FCS in total offense (fourth, 387.3 per game), passing offense (fourth, 364.8), passing touchdowns (third, 18) and points responsible for (11th, 18.3 per game). So far in the 2020-21 season, he's completed 61.9 percent of his passes for 2,189 yards, 18 touchdowns and 2,324 total yards of offense.
Western Hockey League officially cancels playoffs
CALGARY, Alberta — The Western Hockey League announced Monday the 2020-21 WHL season will conclude following the completion of the 24-game regular season schedule.
Due to current public health conditions and the ongoing challenges with COVID-19, including restrictions on travel across both provincial and international borders, the WHL said it is not in a position to conduct the 2021 WHL playoffs, including the WHL championship ceries.
“When we returned to play in February, we set out with the intention of completing a 24-game Regular Season schedule, knowing adjustments would be needed along the way,” WHL Commissioner Ron Robison said. “We remained hopeful that public health conditions would improve, but unfortunately that is not the reality we see in front of us today. The ongoing challenges with non-essential interprovincial and international cross-border travel leave us no alternative but to cancel the 2021 WHL playoffs."
The announcement means the Spokane Chiefs' season will end with its regular season finale against Seattle on May 9 in Kent, Wash.