Football | 11/8/2008 12:58:40 AM
Box Score It wasn't pretty, but the final outcome was satisfying for Western Oregon as the Wolves survived a game Linfield squad for a 17-9 non-conference football win at Maxwell Field.
The contest wrapped up the 2008 season for the Wolves, who improved to 7-4 on the season. The winning campaign is the third straight for WOU and the victory was its third consecutive over the Wildcats.
One week after establishing a season-high 589 yards of total offense during a 34-10 win over Humboldt State, the Wolves managed just 243 yards against a stingy Linfield defense. Meanwhile, the Wildcats had more first downs than its visitors (23-11) and more total yards (364) on a windy and sometimes wet afternoon.
"The important thing was that we got a win at Linfield," said head coach Arne Ferguson. "This is not an easy place to play. Any time you can get a win up here it is big for our program."
Linfield got the game's first score on its opening drive when the Wildcats marched the ball down the field in six plays for 77 yards. Quarterback Cole Franklin accounted for 53 of those yards and a touchdown on a double-reverse down the right sideline. However, Western Oregon's Matt Cox got a hand on the PAT for the block as the Wildcats were only able to go up 6-0.
The Wolves' first score came with 6:26 remaining in the second quarter when Josh Riddell found Demario Ballard in the corner of the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown. This drive was set up after a short Linfield punt gave the Wolves great starting field position on the Wildcat 41-yard line.
Four minutes later kicker Juan Rodriguez booted a field goal through the uprights from 36 yards out to give Western Oregon a 10-6 advantage heading into the locker room. Another short punt into the wind and a 21-yard punt return by Shaun Kauleinamoku put the Wolves in scoring position.
To start the third quarter, Linfield marched down the field on a drive that took nearly 11 minutes, only to see Scott Birkhofer's 39-yard field goal attempt blocked by Justin Cuellar. The Wildcats would get the ball back and Birkhofer would boot a 36-yard shot to make the count 10-9 at the end of the third quarter.
With the wind at their backs again in the fourth quarter, the Wolves took advantage of a 12-yard Linfield punt to set up shop on their own 46-yard line. A 41-yard screen pass from Riddell to Ben Kuenzi on a third down-and-one play took the tailback all the way to the Wildcat three-yard line, and Kuenzi then leaped into the end zone on the next play to put the visitors up 17-9.
The two teams then traded turnovers before Linfield began their final effort with a drive that began on their own seven yard line. The Wildcats picked up four first downs and got down to the Wolves 39-yard line before Franklin's fourth down pass fell incomplete.
Western Oregon converted on only two of 11 third down conversions in the game and the Wildcats had the ball for 15 minutes more than the Wolves. Defense and special teams were the savor for the Wolves as it limited the Wildcats to just two red zone opportunities (one score), and special teams blocked two kicks and forced a fumble.
"Our defense played big tonight with two blocked kicks and a number of other big plays," explained Ferguson. "Their quarterback was able to run around and make a couple plays but our defense was able to come up with stops."
A week after setting a school and conference-record for passing yards, today Riddell was just 5-19 for 139 yards and a touchdown in breezy conditions. He converted on just one pass completion per quarter, except for the second when he had two completions for 58 yards including a 35-yard touchdown pass to Ballard.
Kuenzi paced the WOU rushing attack with 76 yards on 15 carries, and he also had the screen pass for 41 yards. Franklin threw for 171 yards (19 of 24) for the Wildcats and he also rushed for 85 yards. He had 119 positive yards, but suffered 34 yards of losses in sacks.
"Our offense was just not in sync today," said Ferguson. "Ben Kuenzi and the running game came through for us today."
Andy Douglas had 11 tackles and a forced fumble to lead the Wolves on defense. John Breza added eight tackles, including a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery. Matt Cox had two tackles for loss in his final collegiate performance to finish with a school and conference record 58.5 in his career. Paul Partlow led the Wildcats with 11 tackles, including a quarterback sack.
