Football | 10/16/2010 9:42:08 PM

Box Score [Box score]

SEATTLE - Many Western Oregon football fans were left with a bitter taste in their mouth following last season's Battle in Seattle. Unfortunately, that taste has grown a little stronger after the rematch, as the Wolves fell 19-0 to Central Washington on Saturday, Oct. 16.

CWU's win snapped a tie for second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, and the Wildcats moved to 4-1 in conference (5-3 overall) while the Wolves fell to 3-2 in the GNAC and to 4-3 overall.

The Wolves' offense just could not get anything going as it managed a mere 98 yards of total offense against a stifling Wildcats' defense. WOU, which was averaging 259 yards passing per game, gained just 99 yards through the air to go with its -1 yard on the ground.

"I thought their defense did really well. We knew they were going to be good, and their front seven did not surprise us," said Western Oregon head coach Arne Ferguson. "I was disappointed offensively; we have to find a way to move the chains."

Central Washington built a 12-0 lead early in the second quarter thanks to two first-quarter turnovers by the Wolves. They would take that lead to the locker at halftime. However, the lead could have been much larger as Central's kicker missed two field goals and an extra point.

The second half was much the same as Central was able to extend its lead with an early touchdown to go up 19-0. They then rode their defense the rest of the way to the shutout.

Adam Bighill was the force behind the shutout for CWU. He had 12 tackles, three sacks, including five tackles for losses and a forced fumble. Bighill's stops behind the line were just five of the 16 the Wildcats had in the game.

The Wolves were led defensively by Scotland Foss, who matched Bighill with 12 tackles. Sherman Vercher and Gerritt Vincent would add seven apiece, while D'Andre Spencer picked off a pass for the Wolves' lone takeaway in the game.

WOU's quarterback combo of AJ Robinson and Evan Mozzochi combined to go 12-for-27 in the game, while being sacked seven times.

This was the first shutout against the Wolves in the Arne Ferguson era. WOU had not suffered a shutout since 2004 when they were beaten 49-0 at Western Washington.

Western Oregon will face Azusa Pacific next Saturday (Oct. 23) in its annual Homecoming game. Kickoff will be at 2:00 p.m.