Football | 10/12/2013 5:53:00 PM

Box Score

MONMOUTH, Ore. – If Western Oregon University football Head Coach Arne Ferguson wanted to give the Wolves' fans an exciting football game on homecoming, his mission was accomplished. WOU pulled away from Humboldt State University with a 38-21 victory Saturday.

The Wolves (3-3, 3-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to ease distance from HSU. Western Oregon totaled 534 yards of offense in front of the large crowd that enjoyed a cool sunny fall afternoon at McArthur Field.
Joe Harris ran for a season-best 182 yards on the ground on 24 carries. WOU amassed 232 rushing yards. Harris had a 7.6 yards per carry average, and found the endzone for a pair of scores. Ryan Bergman completed 19 of his 37 passes for 295 yards. The junior threw two touchdown passes and ran in another. Antoinne Wafer grabbed three passes for a team-high 80 yards. Dustin Hurd and Michael Reeve both also caught four passes.

Western Oregon opened the scoring with its first possession of the game. A 36-yard pass from Bergman to Wafer capped off a seven-play, 73-yard drive. Three minutes later, Kelechi Nwadibia brought in a 35-yard Spencer Phillps pass. A 27-yard field goal by Jesse Correa closed the first quarter scoring, and gave WOU a 10-7 lead.

Humboldt State took a 14-10 lead off of a Jamarie Sanders' three-yard touchdown run a minute into the second quarter. The score finished an 80-yard, 10-play drive. Harris gave the Wolves the lead back before halftime with a nine-yard run.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, but the teams combined for 28 points in the final quarter. Bergman had a five-yard touchdown run just into the fourth quarter. The run ended WOU's longest drive of the game, a 12-play, 72-yard possession. Bergman then found Hurd for a 17-yard touchdown connection with 7:11 remaining in the game. Two minutes later, Harris ran in a 24-yard score. Ricky Sims completed the scoring with a one-yard run for the Lumberjacks.

Western Oregon forced five HSU turnovers. The Wolves' recovered three fumbles and intercepted two passes. The Wolves' Shane Kuenzi had a team-high 10 tackles, forced a fumble, had an interception, and broke-up a pass. Dominic Akina also had an interception and eight tackles. The Jacks' defense forced a pair of WOU turnovers.

Humboldt State (0-6, 0-5) gained 455 yards of offense. Phillips was 25-of-39 with one interception and one touchdown. Nwadibia finished with 130 receiving yards on nine catches. Sanders gained 59 yards on 18 carries.

The Wolves travel to St. George, Utah, for a meeting with Dixie State on Oct. 19. The Red Storm (2-4, 2-3) fell at Central Washington, 27-24, Saturday. WOU won the earlier meeting this season with Dixie State, 51-32. Live video and stats from the Western Oregon at DSU matchup will be available on WOUWolves.com.