Football | 10/25/2008 1:12:12 AM
Box Score ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Western Oregon compiled a season-high 527 yards of total offense but that wasn't enough against one of the nation's top teams as Central Washington topped the Wolves 38-31 in front of 4,318 fans at Tomlinson Stadium.
For the Wildcats, the victory locked up the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title as they improved to 7-0 in conference play and 8-1 overall. The Wolves dropped to 5-4 on the season and to 4-3 in the GNAC.
CWU, ranked fifth in NCAA Division II (d2football.com) and sixth in Super Region 4, improved its post-season stock with the victory. Western Oregon still has Rotary Bowl aspirations, from which a bid goes to the second place team in the GNAC that doesn't go to the NCAA playoffs.
Wolves quarterback Josh Riddell threw for a career-high 381 yards and four touchdowns, completing 22 of 34 passes. Damario Ballard had seven of those grabs for 127 yards and Isaiah Smith had five for 101.
But the Wildcat All-American combination of Mike Reilly to Johnny Spevak connected for two scores in the second quarter and many other times throughout the game to highlight 493 yards of total offense for the hosts.
The Wolves put up the first score of the ball game and also later led 10-3 early in the second quarter after a 25-yard Riddell strike to Shaun Kauleinamoku. Central Washington wouldn't earn its first lead of the game until just before the end of the first half, thanks to the two scoring tosses from Reilly to Spevak.
Spevak, who didn't have any catches in the first quarter, had six for 101 yards in the second quarter alone. He finished with 10 grabs for 166 yards.
The Wildcats appeared to salt the game away in the third quarter with a pair of scoring drives and one-yard runs by Jerome Morris and Reilly to make the count 31-10.
But WOU quickly answered with a 45-yard scoring aerial from Riddell to Justin Ore with 2:18 to go in the third quarter, and they scored again two minutes into the final period on 35-yard pass play from Riddell to Smith to make it 31-24.
Courtney Smith then returned the ensuing kick-off 98 yards for six points to put the Wildcats up two scores again. Western Oregon would again pull to within a touchdown with 1:41 left on a Riddell to Smith connection for 16 yards, but WOU's onside kick was recovered by CWU, and the Wildcats were then able to run out the clock.
Reilly finished 22 of 34 for 359 yards and two touchdowns, and Morris led the CWU ground attack with 101 yards. Rohrback joined Spevak in the 100-yard reception club with seven catches for 112 yards.
Ben Kuenzi led WOU rushers with 67 yards on 17 carries.
Matt Cox led the Western Oregon defense with 13 tackles, and he also had 2.5 tackles for loss, adding to his all-time GNAC best total of 55.5. Andrew Jackson and JT Gilmore added 10 tackles each. Gavin Romanick picked off his fifth pass of the season, intercepting Reilly for only the fourth time this season.
Western Oregon will play its final home game of the 2008 season next Saturday, hosting Humboldt State at McArthur Field. Start time is 1 p.m.
