Football | 10/17/2013 11:26:00 AM
MONMOUTH, Ore. – The last time the Western Oregon University football team and Dixie State College (Utah) met on Sept. 21, the teams combined for 83 points and 959 yards of offense. Question is, how does the second meeting of the season on Saturday top that?
The Wolves (3-3, 3-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) seemed to have hit their stride, winning three of their last four, with the loss coming by two points. At the midway point of the season, after playing each GNAC team once, WOU is a game behind Central Washington and Azusa Pacific for first place in the conference standings. Three of the final five games are away from McArthur Field, beginning Saturday in St. George, Utah.
Last week in Ellensburg, Wash., Dixie State (2-4, 2-3 GNAC) fell victim to a homecoming rally at Central Washington. The Red Storm led 24-17 with three minutes left in regulation, but watched a CWU touchdown reception and last second field goal end their chance for the upset. Dixie State's Myles Burton carried the ball 14 times for 108 yards, while Griff Robles completed 23 of his 43 passes for 362 yards with a pair of scores. Joe Don Duncan and Mitch Frei both had over 150 receiving yards.
Western Oregon had its own homecoming victory last week. WOU pulled away from Humboldt State for the 38-21 decision.
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.
The Wolves and Dixie State have the top two offenses in the GNAC. DSC averages 29.7 points per game, while Western Oregon is at 28.7. The Red Storm leads the conference averaging 451.2 yards of offense per outing, and WOU is third at 372.5. Dixie State is 19th in NCAA Div. II averaging 306.8 yards through the air per contest.
Robles ranks 11th in the country averaging 339.3 total yards of offense per game. The senior is the only player in the conference with over 2,000 yards of offense. He has thrown for 16 scores and ran in five. Robles was 39-of-59 for 336 yards in the meeting earlier this season at Western Oregon. He threw four touchdown passes and one interception.
Bergman threw six touchdown passes and two interceptions in the 51-32 home-opening win over the Red Storm. He completed 23 of his 32 passes.
Both teams were stymied on the ground. Dixie State netted 114 rushing yards, while WOU was held to 83 yards on 37 carries. The Red Storm's Jake Duncan had 10 tackles, and Tim Ehinger had two sacks.
Shane Kuenzi led Western Oregon with a game-high 11 tackles.
The Wolves'
Kraig Akins is sixth in the nation with 0.50 forced fumbles per game. He is also 26th in tackles for loss and 19th in pass sacks. Last week, Akins had 2.5 sacks.
Western Oregon has won 11 of the 13 meetings in a series that dates back to a 44-7 WOU victory on Nov. 4, 2006. The Wolves are 4-2 at Dixie State, and have never lost to the Red Storm at home. Fans can watch the 14th meeting between the schools on http://www.dixieathletics.com/showcase/ for a fee. A live audio stream is available for free at http://www.klooam.com/ with Western Oregon's Mark Gilman on the play-by-play. Live stats are also available on www.WOUWolves.com. Kickoff at Hansen Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. Mountain Time.
