Football | 9/29/2010 7:58:12 PM

This Week: Saturday, Oct. 2, @ Southern Oregon, 1:00 p.m.
Last Week: Humboldt State 14, Western Oregon 7
Record: 2-2 overall, 2-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference
WOU Stats: www.wouwolves.com/custompages/football/stats/2010stats/teamstat.htm

Long-standing rivalry: When Western Oregon and Southern Oregon come together for the coin toss on Saturday (Oct. 2), this will mark the 74th time the Wolves and Raiders have gone head-to-head. This is the longest running rivalry in the history of Western Oregon, eclipsing the 63 games played against Eastern Oregon and the 60 against Linfield. Kickoff for the WOU and SOU game will be at 1:00 p.m.

Listen in: If you can't make it to the game you will still be able to listen to the game live through a variety of different outlets. On the internet, link to the game from the Wolves website at www.wouwolves.com, or go directly to http://www.am1600kohi.com/. The Wolves' games will also be heard on KLOO 1340 AM (Albany) and KOHI 1600 AM (St. Helens). Mark and Jerry Gilman are both in their first season calling Western Oregon football games.

Take a peek: For the second straight year all Western Oregon home football games will be available free on the internet via live video stream. The games can be accessed by clicking on the GNAC TV link on home page of www.wouwolves.com or by going to www.pennatlantic.com. The video stream was made possible per an agreement between the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and Penn Athletic Inc., to video stream conference athletic events during the 2010-11 season.

A look at the Raiders: Southern Oregon is off to a 2-2 start to its 2010 campaign. The Raiders opened the season with back-to-back wins over Eastern Oregon and Simon Fraser before dropping its next two games to Willamette and Menlo College. This will be the second straight home game for SOU.

Southern Oregon's offense tends to favor the pass. It averages 242.2 yards per game thru the air and eight of the team's 13 touchdowns have come via the pass. On the flip side of the ball, SOU is giving up 210.2 yards per game on the ground. Brandon Baldwin averages 101.8 yards of the Raiders' 117.5 rushing yards per game. He also has four of the team's five rushing touchdowns. Wide receiver Vance Beach is averaging 97.2 yards per game, to go along with four touchdowns. In just two games with the team, JT Gilmore has ascended to third on the team with 26 tackles. He also has six tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in two games.

Competitive edge: In this matchup of Oregon University System schools, Western Oregon has a distinct 46-26-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Wolves have defeated the Raiders in all six games under coach Ferguson and nine straight times overall. The Raiders' last win in the series was in 1998 in Monmouth.

Singleton and WOU in the national rankings: Two things have stood out for Western Oregon this season; its ability to throw the ball and defend the pass. The Wolves rank fifth in the country in pass efficiency defense (83.87), 16th in total offense (445.75) and 17th in passing offense (285). The Wolves' special teams are also among the top 20; the punting unit stands 13th in net yardage (37.26).

Caleb Singleton has been a ball-hawk this season, and now stands ninth in the country with .75 interceptions per game. He picked off a pass against Sac State and two against Humboldt State.

Sitting atop the GNAC: AJ Robinson paces the GNAC in five offensive categories. He is first in total offense (235.8), offensive yards (235.8), passing yards (216), passing efficiency (121.1) and passing touchdowns (six).

Justin Ore leads the GNAC and is ranked 20th nationally with 28.3 yards per kickoff return. He is also atop the league in touchdown receptions (four), receiving yards per game (77) and yards per reception (22).

As a team, WOU paces the GNAC in total offense (445.8), passing offense (285), passing efficiency (130.7), punting (37.3), and opponent third down conversion percentage (30).

Scoring differential: Western Oregon has outscored its opponents in every quarter this season. However, the Wolves' biggest scoring differential comes in the second and third quarters. WOU has a +25 advantage in the second quarter (45-20) and a +11 edge in the third quarter (31-20). The Wolves have been able to translate this into a +10 (27.5 to 17.5) scoring differential per game.

Flags keep flying: This season Western Oregon has been its own worst enemy on a number of occasions. The Wolves rank 148th out of 151 teams with 12 penalties per game. Last week against Humboldt State, WOU was flagged just six times marking its lowest total of the season.

Three-and-out: Western Oregon has limited the opposition to just a 30 percent success rate on third down conversions to rank 32nd in NCAA Division II. Opponents have been successful on just 18 of their 60 attempts. Meanwhile, the Wolves' offense is converting their third down attempts at a 40 percent clip.

Record setting performance: The 684 yards of total offense the Wolves put up in their win against Simon Fraser was the most in school history. It eclipsed the 630 WOU put up against Eastern Oregon in 1987. It was also just 12 yards shy of the GNAC single-game record.

Iron fisted Ore: Starting, 6-3, wide receiver Justin Ore has been an offensive wrecking machine for the Wolves during the 2010 season. Ore scored four of the Wolves' 14 touchdowns this season in four games played, three of which were 40 yard catches or more. Ore has 308 receiving yards the air and is averaging 77 yards per game, from a total 14 passes for Western Oregon in his senior year. Ore is on track to dwarf last season, when he received 503 yards from 27 catches. He has already run by his three touchdowns from the 2009 season after only four games.

Advantage in the air: With Western Oregon pressing the opponents on passing yards, teams will be hard fought to catch the Wolves by seasons end. The Wolves are 52 yards short of doubling the competition on yards gained through the air. AJ Robinson holds 864 of the Wolves' 1140 total passing yards, while 6-4 Evan Mozzochi, with 271 yards, is nearly halfway to the opponents' 596. With Western Oregon switching quarterbacks it sets up a potential for multiple quarterbacks to gain yardage through the air. Western is averaging 285 yards through the air per game completely shadowing the opponents 149. Western Oregon is gaining 17.5 yards on average per pass, while the opposition is trailing with 13.2 per pass.

Valdez grabs GNAC award: Senior running back Darryl Valdez has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 13-19. Valdez, a 5-11, 195 lbs., running back from San Francisco, Calif. (Central Catholic High School/Illinois State), had 201 of Western Oregon's school-record 684 yards from scrimmage, as the Wolves improved to 2-0 in the GNAC with a 48-25 home win against Simon Fraser. Valdez rushed for 77 yards on 19 carries and also caught five passes for 124 yards. The Wolves finished the contest with 684 yards, including 409 passing, just 12 shy of the GNAC single-game record of 696 set by Central Washington against Fort Lewis in 2002.

Honors roll in for Buche: Scott Buche, a 6-5 punter from Myrtle Point, Ore. (Myrtle Point High School), earned both the GNAC and d2football.com's Special Teams Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 30-Sept. 5. The junior helped Western Oregon win the field position battle in its first meeting against Simon Fraser by averaging 49 yards on six punts. Four of those punts were downed inside the 10-yardline, and he did not allow a single return yard. This was Buche's first conference and national player of the week honor.

Wolves picked second: Western Oregon was picked second in the 2010 GNAC preseason coaches poll with 19 points. Central Washington was selected as the conference favorite, garnering 25 points and all five firs place votes.

Ferguson facts: Head coach Arne Ferguson has put together a 34-23 record during his six seasons as the WOU leader. He has spent nearly a lifetime at the school as a player and as an assistant coach. The Vale, Oregon native was a three-time All-CFA defensive back for the Wolves from 1986-88, and began his coaching career at Western in 1989. He has been WOU's defensive coordinator since 1997. In Ferguson's first season at the helm in 2005, he took over a program that finished 1-9 the year previous and pushed them to a 5-6 mark, finishing the season on a three-game win streak. Ferguson has carried that same momentum into three consecutive winning seasons and a Rotary Bowl Championship.

They're back: WOU will return the largest batch of letterwinners in the GNAC for 2010. It will bring back 50 total letterwinners, including six starters on the offensive side of the ball and five on defense.

GNAC Standings:

                                     Conference               All

                                    W      L   PF   PA    W      L   PF   PA

Central Washington            3      0  111    65      3      2  153  135

Humboldt State               2      0    63    21      3      1  112    57

Western Oregon                  2      1    93    39      2      2  110    70

Simon Fraser                 0      3    55  130      0      4    73  161

Dixie State                     0      3    49  116      0      4    63  150