These guys really get offensive

Tim Graham

Thursday, Dec. 4, 1997 | 9:41 a.m.

They operate with different skills and in opposite styles.

One quarterback is the product of his system. The other thrives in a system tailored to his abilities.

Yet both share one significant bond as they prepare for their showdown: Colorado State's Moses Moreno and New Mexico's Graham Leigh were used to near-perfection this season.

They will meet in the Western Athletic Conference football championship game Saturday at 10 a.m. at Sam Boyd Stadium.

"In this game you're looking at both All-WAC quarterbacks," said CSU linebacker Nate Kvamme, "and that says it all."

Moreno and Graham led their teams to 9-2 records and rank among the nation's most efficient signal callers.

Moreno, who was voted the Pacific Division's offensive player of the year by the conference coaches, currently is second in the country in passing efficiency with a 181.97 rating. It's the eighth-best rating by a WAC quarterback in the past 23 years.

"Moses understands," New Mexico head coach Dennis Franchione said. "He's a senior who's been through a lot of battles, plays with confidence and knows what he's doing."

Leigh, the Mountain Division's offensive player of the year, ranks second in the WAC and fifth overall at 158.42.

"Graham has an intangible about him that's special in his leadership of the team and his non-ego when it comes to team success and what has to be done," Franchione said. "The sky's the limit for him. He came on and has done better that I thought he could do as a junior."

But those in attendance or watching at home on KTNV Channel 13 quickly will notice that each quarterback attained his rating in a different manner.

Moreno is a classic drop-back passer who excels in the Rams' controlled system. The 6-foot-2, 187-pounder is called upon to pass only when necessary, but he has completed 148 of 237 attempts for 2,165 yards and 21 touchdowns against six interceptions.

He posted those numbers while battling bursitis in his throwing elbow, a condition he re-aggravated in CSU's 45-19 victory over UNLV Nov. 1 at Sam Boyd Stadium.

"He plays within our offense," CSU head coach Sonny Lubick said. "He's not into having 25 touchdown passes and 400-yard games, just keep the chains moving and keep the team on an even keel.

"To people who really know football and study it and look at it, they'd be pleased to have Moses because he does what he is asked and he gets us into the end zone."

It took some time for Moreno to accept his lot. He threw much more last year, receiving nearly 100 more attempts and turning in the third most productive season in CSU history with 2,921 yards.

"That's what it's all about: winning," Moreno said. "Last year, I had higher stats. But when the running game's clicking like it did this year my role diminished a little bit. But I have to accept it. We have a lot of talented players on this team.

"As a quarterback or any type of leader, the bottom line is pulling off the wins. If you get caught up in stats or playing for a certain type award, you're in trouble. You don't perform up to par."

Leigh came into the 1997 campaign wondering if would perform at all. As a wayfarer from the defunct University of Pacific program, he took only 22 snaps last year.

"I lettered as the holder," he said.

But he has held his own since beating out three other quarterbacks in training camp.

The 6-3, 214-pound Leigh is bigger than Moreno, yet he is more elusive and handles everything from the option to the bomb. He has completed 149 of 249 passes for 2,146 yards and a New Mexico-record 24 touchdowns with seven interceptions.

But the stats that stand out are Leigh's rushing numbers: 123 carries for 491 yards and eight touchdowns. Running back Lennox Gordon leads the Lobos in rushing with just three more yards than Leigh.

"I think he frightens me as much running the ball as he does passing," Lubick said. "He gets the ball down the field, but most importantly is we might have him trapped back there and, if he escapes that, it's a 15-yard gain. Those are always the most difficult quarterbacks to defend."

Kvamme claimed the Rams have studied no other quarterback this season like Leigh, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds and bench presses 335 pounds.

"We're really preparing for an offense as well as a quarterback that can do everything," Kvamme said. "They can run the option; they can throw the deep ball; they can throw little out routes; they got a good running scheme; they do a lot of counter, a lot of two-back iso.

"A lot of times you get teams trying to a little bit of everything and not do any one thing very well. But with New Mexico, they do everything well and can win with any one (aspect)."