Football | 9/25/2010 4:00:29 PM
Box Score [Box score]
MONMOUTH, Ore. - Lyndon Rowells carried the ball 31 times for 120 yards and Humboldt State's defense forced two turnovers inside the redzone to hand Western Oregon its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference loss of the season, 14-7, on Saturday, Sept. 25.
Humboldt State (3-1, 2-0 GNAC) got momentum on its side early in the game thanks to a blocked field goal which was returned 59 yards for the score. Johnathon Faraimo was able to get penetration up the middle and get a hand on the ball, which bounced right to McGowan-Smith, who corralled the ball en route to the endzone. This gave HSU a 7-0 lead which it would not relinquish.
"(Faraimo) made a very athletic play to step over the center and get the field goal block," explained Western Oregon head coach
Arne Ferguson.
HSU would tack on a short touchdown pass from Mike Proulx to Dirk Dallas midway through the third quarter to take a 14-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Wolves (2-2, 2-1 GNAC) would have chances in the game, especially late, as they clawed their way back into the game. WOU marched the ball 55 yards in seven plays to HSU's nine yardline and just missed on a fade pass to
Demario Ballard in the corner of the endzone. On the very next play,
Darryl Valdez, who had 77 rushing yards on the day, carried the ball up the middle but was stripped and the Lumberjacks fell on it for their second redzone fumble recovery.
"The story of the game was our inability score in the redzone," Ferguson noted.
However, the Wolves' defense stepped up on the ensuing possession with the support of the 2,762 fans at McArthur Field.
Caleb Singleton read the quarterback off the snap and stepped right in front of the wide receiver for his second pick of the day.
This play seemed to spark WOU and bring confidence back to the team.
Evan Mozzochi hit
Trevor Gates on a 28-yard post route on the first play of the drive to get the Wolves in scoring position. After five more plays, Mozzochi connected with Ballard in the corner to bring the Wolves' within a touchdown. WOU was very efficient on its drive, marching the ball 52 yards on seven plays in just 1:23.
Western Oregon's kicker
Kelly Morgan then bombed the kickoff through the back of the endzone, to put HSU 80 yards away with 6:21 remaining in the game. Two plays into the drive, HSU faced a third-and-five but Proulx was able to avoid an oncoming defender and hit Dallas across the middle for a 26 yard gain.
After the first down, the Humboldt State's offense again stalled and it was faced with a third-and-10. However, Rowells was there to bail HSU out. He took the draw play right up the middle following a number of key blocks, before bouncing it to the outside and scampering to the WOU 10 yardline. That rush broke the Wolves' back, as the Lumberjacks ran the ball out for the victory.
"Late in the game we had to get a stop on defense," Ferguson noted. "It was really that (rush on third down) that opened things up."
Western Oregon's defense was the standout unit of the game. It intercepted Proulx three times, with Singleton picking him off twice.
Gerritt Vincent led the team with eight tackles and
Bryce Peila added seven.
Sherman Vercher recorded 2.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 total tackles.
After having success through the air early season, WOU struggled in the passing game. Wolves' quarterbacks
AJ Robinson and
Evan Mozzochi combined to complete just 11 of their 30 passes for 126 yards.
"I credit their corners especially for making big plays, but also their safeties," said Ferguson. "Their defensive line also did a good job of rushing our quarterbacks. Those two areas on their defense did a very nice job."
This was Western Oregon's first loss to Humboldt State in the last seven contests, and its first at home since the 2006 season.
The two teams combined for only 12 penalties after each came into the contest averaging over 12 per game.
Western Oregon will be back on the road next week, as it travels to Ashland for a matchup with Southern Oregon. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.
