ELLENSBURG — A few weeks ago the Daily Record in its “Our View” on the opinion page posed the theory that Ellensburg was the center of the state’s football universe. At the time Ellensburg High School’s football team had just ascended to the top of the state 2A rankings, and Central Washington University was a Top 5 Division II squad.

Today, as the EHS Bulldogs and the CWU Wildcats ready for their final regular season games, both remain undefeated with the chance to close out a perfect regular season. No. 1 EHS is playing for the Central Washington Athletic Conference championship tonight at Othello. The Wildcats, the No. 2 NCAA Division II team, travel to Monmouth, Ore., for a meeting with Western Oregon, the team that nearly derailed CWU’s hopes of perfection on Oct.17. Central had to come back from a 21-0 halftime deficit to win 23-21 in that contest, and they’ll need to play their best on Saturday in order to achieve their goal of an unbeaten regular season.

Down the road in Kittitas the Coyotes have rebounded nicely from the sudden resignation of their longtime coach on the eve of the season to post a 7-1 record and clinch a playoff berth. The Coyotes close out the regular season tonight against Entiat.

Combined, the three schools are 26-1, but the thus-far perfect seasons at both Ellensburg and CWU are something that doesn’t happen very often anywhere.

“I’ve really noticed a sense of pride in the community about both programs, and I’m hearing quite a bit about Kittitas as well,” said CWU Athletic Director Jack Bishop. “It’s more than a community pride; it’s like a whole valley pride.”

The specialness of the accomplishments of both the Bulldogs and the Wildcats is not lost on second-year CWU head football coach Blaine Bennett. Bennett practically grew up on the EHS sidelines in the early 1970s when his father, Shorty, was the Bulldogs’ head coach, leading them to the state title in 1973.

“I think it’s really special,” he said. “I think any time you can be a head football coach or somebody in charge of a corporation or somebody in charge of a school district or in charge of a department and that department or program has success, it’s very personal.

“And certainly for me to come into Ellensburg, where I grew up and had strong roots, and to come to Central and follow up last year’s success with another year when the expectations were probably not as high, based on the schedule, based on who we had returning or who we lost last year, and to exceed all expectations at this point in the season is really gratifying.”

Bennett is 20-2 at CWU’s helm, the best start in school history, and his father is his tight ends coach. Last year the Wildcats, led by All-America quarterback Mike Reilly, went 10-2 with their only losses at FCS Montana, which played for the national title, and at West Texas A&M in the opening round of the playoffs. Despite that success it never quite seemed like football fever caught on in Ellensburg.

This year the Wildcats started strong, defeating defending national champion Minnesota Duluth in a nationally televised game in the second week of the season. They later manhandled West Texas A&M, avenging last year’s playoff loss. As the win total has grown so has the community’s interest and support.

“I think the atmosphere around campus has been real positive,” said record-setting senior receiver Johnny Spevak. “… Now a lot of people who I didn’t expect to come to games are coming to the games.”

In their four home games this season the Wildcats averaged 373 more fans than they did in their five home games last year and the average home attendance is 1,585 more than what the team drew in 2007. The Wildcats drew 5,410 fans for homecoming on Oct. 24. Large groups of fans arrived hours in advance of that game to set up chairs and barbecues for tailgating.

The increasing interest has not gone unnoticed on campus.

“One of the challenges we have in doing alumni relations is that (national studies show) two of the biggest connectors between an institution and its alumni are a nationally recognized sports program and a fraternity and sorority system,” said CWU Alumni Relations Director Jim Armstrong. “We are seeing much more alumni interest this year, and there is clearly a correlation with a lot of pride in the football team’s accomplishments.

“A lot of our alumni are wanting to come to the games and wanting signed footballs and photos of the team. … This has clearly been the most fun season so far. There has been a wonderful spirit this year. … When you go to our games it really feels like a college football game now.”

For first-year CWU President Jim Gaudino, whose inauguration is today on campus, having a winning football team to root for is somewhat of a new experience after coming from Division I Kent State (Ohio), where the football team was 4-8 in 2008 and 3-9 in 2007.

“It’s wonderful,” he said of his experience following the Wildcats. “It’s probably not something one wants to say but it’s true, most people like a winner.

“You can’t win all the time but it’s great when your team goes out there and plays well together and plays hard together. It’s been exciting.

“… I’m seeing people at games that others are saying have not always been at games. Look at homecoming; it was standing room only and it was not all alumni and students, it was the community, too.”

And while CWU might not get the regional and national headlines its big school brethren at Washington and Washington State enjoy, the Wildcats do get to bask in a lot more victories. This season, UW is 3-5 and WSU is 1-7. A year ago one of WSU’s two wins was its victory over the winless Huskies in the Apple Cup.

The experience has been cathartic for offensive guard Andy Roof, who transferred from WSU. Roof left Pullman after experiencing some off- field behavior issues. At Central he’s making the most of his second chance and was recently named to the academic all-conference team.

“Anytime you win, it feels good,” he said. “Being a part of a team that has won 10 games is fun. Winning with this group of guys is big, too. I love my team. I love my coaches. I love this community. Everything here is great.”