Western Washington University guard Morris Anderson (Sr., Federal Way) received first-team honors and forward Derrick Webb (Sr., Port Orchard/South Kitsap) earned second-team recognition on the 2009-10 Daktronics NCAA Division II West Region All-Star team announced Wednesday.

Anderson is second on the Vikings in scoring at 14.7 points a game, and leads in assists (5.2 avg.) and steals (2.4), topping the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and ranking 14th nationally in the latter category. He also paces the conference in free throw percentage at 86.7 percent (85-of-98), at one point making a school record 39 consecutive free throws.

Webb leads Western in scoring at 16.1 points a game, which ranks fourth in the GNAC, reaching double figures in 25 games. He is second among the Vikings in rebounds (6.1), assists (2.2) and steals (1.2).

Anderson and Webb were earlier named first-team GNAC all-stars.

Anderson nabs awards

Federal Way’s Morris Anderson was named as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the week for Dec. 27-Jan. 2.

The 6-3 senior scored 35 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds and five steals in the two-game week.

Anderson ranks ninth nationally for his 44 of 48 free throw shooting, and was last year’s GNAC Newcomer of the Year.

Kent Predators prevail

Kennewick, WA: Indoor football fans who didn’t know the name Charles McCullum before, will surely take notice of the Predators signal caller now. McCullum was a one man wrecking crew as the Kent Predators got their first win in franchise history by defeating in-state rival, the Tri-Cities Fever 55-49. By game’s end, the Predators quarterback had accumulated 288 yards of offense (126 rushing, 164 passing) and tossed four touchdown passes while also running in three himself. The win allowed Kent to leapfrog Tri-Cities in the Pacific North Division standings, and has given the team a boost of confidence heading into the middle of the 2010 IFL season.

The scoring began early in the first quarter as the Fever jumped out to an early lead courtesy of a Tyson Thompson 2 yard rushing touchdown. Following a missed extra point by Tri-Cities, McCullum lead an 8 play, 38 yard drive deep into Fever territory and capped it off with a 3 yard rushing touchdown. Trading leads seemed to be the theme of the game as the Fever quickly regained the lead on a one yard Andy Collins keeper.

A few defensive stands by both squads then set up the evening’s most exciting play. Tri-Cities Kicker Brett Jaekle lined up for a 48 yard field goal attempt in hopes of giving the Fever a 16-7 lead, but Predators Defensive back Dre’ Mail Hardin had other ideas. As the kick fell a little short, Hardin took the missed field goal and raced endzone to endzone, eluding multiple defenders, to knot the score at 13.

From there, McCullum took over. He and Andy Collins lead multiple scoring drives and continued to trade scores throughout the first half with McCullum running in two more first half scores and throwing one, and Collins connecting on three TD passes of his own. After two quarters, the score was all tied up at 35.

With the score 42-42 late in the third quarter, McCullum found Travis Poole and Carlo Heard on back to back scoring drives that were too much for the Fever to overcome. Now that the Predators have gotten the weight off of their shoulders of securing the franchise’s first win in team history, coach McCarthy and the rest of the team have high expectations going forward. After a bye week, the team sets their sights on a rematch against the Alaska Wild. Back on March 8th, the Wild nipped the Predators, 48-39. Tickets are still available for the Friday, April 9th home game by logging on to www.kentpredators.com or by calling the team office at 253-239-3254. Discounted group tickets are available for groups of 10 or more. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

McCullum was later named as the league’s Offensive Player of the Week.

Rainiers open Thursday

The Tacoma Rainiers Class AAA baseball team is set to open its season Thursday, April 8 with a 7:05 p.m. game. The action takes place at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma and features the top minor league team in the Seattle Mariners organization.