VALLEY / VENTURA COUNTY SPORTS : Seeking Highest Ground : College football: Mountain-climbing Mike Kramer hopes to return Eastern Washington to Big Sky Conference summit.

Three seasons playing in the Big Sky Conference and Cal State Northridge has only a second-place finish to yodel about.

Meanwhile, Eastern Washington has been to the mountain top. Mike Kramer, in fact, has climbed to the summit of several.

Kramer, sixth-year coach of the Eagles, has scaled virtually every major peak of the Pacific Northwest, including Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Granite Peak and Mt. St. Helens.

In December, Kramer, 45, a former two-way lineman for Idaho and a mountain of a man at 260 pounds, plans to embark on an eight-day ascent of Glacier Peak in Northern Washington.

“It’s not necessarily the challenge I get out of it,” Kramer said. “It’s doing something hard and physical.”

Eastern Washington conquered the Big Sky in 1997, finishing 12-2 in its best season in 90 years. The Eagles slid to 5-6 last season, losing four conference games by a total of 13 points and finishing behind second-place Northridge.

The teams meet at ground zero Saturday night in a Big Sky game at Eastern Washington.

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Both teams have hills to climb in what is shaping up as an improved conference. Northridge (1-1), playing its conference opener, is coming off a much-needed bye after a 71-14 loss at Kansas and an unimpressive home victory over Western Oregon.

Eastern Washington (1-2), picked to finish third by Big Sky coaches, dropped its conference opener last week to Portland State, 48-39.

The series between the teams is tied, 2-2. Eastern Washington joined the Big Sky in 1987.

Kramer said he expects to see an improved Northridge team.

“I’ve seen the Kansas tape and I see them doing a lot of positive things,” Kramer said.

Last season, surprising Northridge was 7-4 and defeated Eastern Washington, 38-35, at North Campus Stadium. The Eagles finished 4-4 in the Big Sky, blowing fourth-quarter leads in two games.

Experience might have been the difference. Eastern Washington in 1997 advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA semifinals with a nucleus of 16 seniors who were third-year starters.

No impact players remain from that team. This year, the Eagles are guided by quarterback Fred Salanoa, a transfer from Snow College in Utah who had never taken a Division I snap.

“This group hasn’t quite gotten to that point,” said Kramer, comparing his team to the 1997 squad. “We’ve got a lot of young guys, a lot of guys playing in new spots.”

Eastern Washington’s roster is as much a reflection of the Northwest as Kramer, a native of Pullman. The overwhelming majority of players hail from Washington. Only three players are from California.

“We spend all of our recruiting time in Washington,” Kramer said. “There are five million people in Washington and the caliber of high school football is very high.”

Ironically, two of Kramer’s California recruits rank among the team’s best players.

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Sophomore Jovan Griffith from Lompoc rushed for 492 yards last season. Receiver Keish Levington from Seaside is a playmaker who averaged 25.8 yards a catch last season and is challenging several school records.

The Eagles are at their best in the Northwest. Eastern Washington plays home games at Woodward Stadium on the campus in Cheney and at Albi Stadium in nearby Spokane.

The team’s career winning percentage hovers near .660 at both venues. Eastern Washington has lost only two home games in the last three years.

“Teams have a history of not playing well against us up here,” Kramer said. “We have an advantage.”

Cal State Northridge (1-1)

vs. Eastern Washington (1-2)

When: 6:05 p.m.

Where: Woodward Stadium, Cheney, Wash.

Why: Big Sky Conference opener for Matadors, the Eagles are 0-1

Fast fact: The teams have played four times and are 2-2.