ELLENSBURG -- It already was warm Saturday morning when Central Washington's football Wildcats gathered for their first official event of the season.

Not that hot mid-August weather is rare here, mind you. But already there were apprehensive glances toward an unfiltered sun in anticipation of a 3 p.m. scrimmage.

"Warm one," quarterback Mike Reilly said at CWU's media day. "But we're used to it."

Which is a primary reason Central figures to be sitting on a big season.

The Wildcats are used to a lot of things -- new coaches, new conferences and new challenges. They've faced high expectations, too, but with Division II All-American Reilly poised to continue his assault on Jon Kitna's school passing records, those are like Saturday's temperatures -- a little bit higher this time.

"That's one of the reasons I came here," said running back J.R. Hasty, a junior transfer from Washington who won four state championships at Bellevue High School. "I'm accustomed to winning, and so are these guys."

Ditto for cornerback Jordan Murchison, a senior transfer from the UW. "I thought I'd have a better opportunity to further my career here," he said. "Plus, they win."

Especially last year, when Central went 10-3 and reached the playoff quarterfinals.

So the Wildcats, though led by a first-year head coach for the second straight season, return 13 starters and have been ranked among the top 15 in three preseason polls.

Under Blaine Bennett they'll return to the GNAC after two years in the now-defunct North Central Conference. And Hasty and Murchison will seek two things they weren't getting in Seattle -- playing time and victories.

"It just wasn't a good situation for me there," said Hasty, a 5-foot-10, 221-pounder who was listed third on Saturday's depth chart. "There were a lot of things going on in the program, and I eventually made the decision to come here and start over."

He might be considered a prime candidate to succeed 1,230-yard rusher Johnny Lopez in Bennett's one-running back scheme, but must overtake redshirt freshmen Anthony Stewart and Justin Leonard.

Asked if he had been wary of Central's pass first, run second offense, Hasty smiled. "Not at all," he said. "We have a great quarterback and our O-linemen -- I call them the big sexies -- are my guys.

"I'm not worried about how many times I carry the ball. I just want to win."

Murchison (5-11, 196), meanwhile, was No. 2 at one corner behind returning senior starter Jon Rogers, who ranked third on the team in tackles last year and had two interceptions.

"I've played corner my whole career," he said. "In high school (Bishop O'Dowd in Oakland, Calif.) I played offense, too. But playing corner has pretty much been my thing.

"It's a challenge, being out there on an island, and it's a situation where if you make plays you can look really good, or if you make a mistake you can look really bad."

All-American tight end Jared Bronson and returning wide receiver Chris Rohrbach are also ex-Huskies.

Among those listed on CWU's 92-player roster are six area athletes including one starter, with Ellensburg junior Tony Quirk (6-6, 296) back for his third varsity season at offensive right tackle.

East Valley junior Matt Snell (6-1, 205) said he's the healthiest he's been in years and will back up Rohrbach.

West Valley's Taylor Tanasse (6-0, 235), a redshirt freshman, is listed as a No. 2 defensive end while true freshmen Kurt Russell (6-2, 206) from East Valley and Mike Reno (6-3, 213) from Kittitas are competing at wideout and linebacker, respectively.

Central begins its season Aug. 30 at new GNAC member Dixie State of St. George, Utah, and debuts at Tomlinson Stadium on Sept. 6 with a non-leaguer against Mesa State of Grand Junction, Colo.