Football | 10/19/2013 9:15:00 PM

Box Score

ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Western Oregon University football team picked up its fourth win in its past five games with a 46-34 road victory at Dixie State College Saturday.

The Wolves' (4-3, 4-2 GNAC) Ryan Bergman threw for 407 yards with four touchdowns. Three of his touchdown passes came in the first half. The junior completed 24 of his 39 passes, and also tossed a pair of interceptions. Tyrell Williams caught five passes for 184 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Devauntee Hoffman ran for two touchdowns and netted 74 yards on 12 carries. Antoinne Wafer had 161 all-purpose yards.

Western Oregon was able to hold off a Red Storm rally for the win. Dixie State trailed 40-20 midway through the third quarter, but scored two touchdowns to trim the lead to six with 13 minutes to play. DSC would come no closer.

A Bergman to Michael Reeve 10-yard pass opened the scoring four minutes into the game. After a Dixie State field goal completed the first quarter scoring, AJ Hull intercepted a Griff Robles' pass and returned it 54 yards for a touchdown. Robles then connected with Randon Willard for a 20-yard score to cut the lead to 14-10. Sixteen seconds later, Bergman found Williams for a 74-yard touchdown connection.

At the 2:22 mark of the second quarter, Robles scored on an 11-yard run, cutting the lead to 20-17. Just before halftime, Bergman threw a nine-yard strike to James DePew, giving the Wolves a 27-17 advantage at the break.

Western Oregon stretched that lead just into the second half with another long Bergman to Williams' connection. The duo completed a one-play 67-yard scoring drive. After another DSC field, Hoffman gave WOU its largest lead of the game, 34-14, with eight minutes remaining in the third quarter. Robles and Mitch Frei had back-to-back touchdown connections of 24 and 22 yards in a 10-minute span. A 10-yard Hoffman run with 2:22 left in regulation completed the scoring and sealed the win.

The teams combined for over 1,100 yards of offense, with 867 coming through the air. The Wolves held Dixie State to 87 yards on the ground. Western Oregon converted on four of its five redzone opportunities, and DSC was 4-of-6. The Wolves had four touchdowns on those chances, while Dixie State had two.

A trio of Wolves' finished with double-digit tackles led by Hull and Kraig Akins. They both had 12 tackles. Shane Kuenzi finished with 11 tackles. Along with his interception return for a touchdown, Hull had 11 solo tackles and forced a fumble. William Kanongataa had 4.5 tackles for loss, with three of them sacks. Roger Garrett also had an interception and three pass breakups.

Robles finished 38-of-56 for 460 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions for Dixie State (2-5, 2-4 GNAC). Joe Don Duncan had 170 receiving yards on 14 catches. Frei caught seven receptions and 103 yards. Myles Burton gained 47 yards on 15 carries. Three Red Storm players had six tackles, led by Zac Christian, who also had two interceptions.

Western Oregon welcomes Simon Fraser (2-4, 2-4) next Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Wolves eased past SFU, 30-9, on Sept. 28 in Burnaby, B.C. After starting 2-0, the Clan have lost four straight.

It is Hall of Fame weekend at Western Oregon. Fans are encouraged to wear red all weekend for Red Out. Fans can bring either of their Thursday or Saturday soccer ticket stubs, or a ticket stub from Saturday's football game, for free entry to Saturday's volleyball 7 p.m. match.