Football | 11/7/2013 7:37:00 PM
GNAC WEEKLY RELEASE
MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University football team plays its final home game of the regular season against Central Washington University Saturday. WOU wants fans to wear black for Blackout at McArthur Field.
On Senior Day, the Wolves (5-4, 5-3 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) will honor 16 student-athletes playing their final home games before kickoff. WOU will also pay tribute to football alumnus, Jon Apgar, who is battling kidney cancer. Western Oregon will be wearing orange socks and a decal on their helmet in support of kidney cancer awareness. Fans will have an opportunity to support as well. Special WOU football shirts will be available at the game for a $10 donation for a fund to help Jon and his family. The first 100 students at the game will also receive a shirt for free.
Western Oregon enters the matchup with the Wildcats after a 38-28 setback at Azusa Pacific. First place in the conference was on the line last week in Glendora, Calif., but the Cougars used 173 rushing yards from Terrel Watson for the win. Azusa Pacific held Western Oregon to 79 yards on the ground in the win. APU held off the Wolves behind 197 rushing yards. The Cougars finished with 393 yards of offense to WOU's 323.
Last week in Ellensburg, Wash., Central Washington (6-3, 6-2 GNAC) remained in sole possession of second place in the conference with a 21-14 victory over Humboldt State. The Wildcats, who are a game behind APU in the GNAC standings, forced three turnovers and had 10 tackles for loss in the win. Redshirt freshman quarterback Luke Nelson threw for 172 yards and ran for 66 yards. Nelson completed 15 of 22 passes with two touchdowns.
Central Washington has won five of its last six, while Western Oregon had its three-game win streak snapped at APU.
The Wildcats' defense ranks ninth in NCAA Div. II, holding offenses to an average of 290.1 yards per contest. CWU is giving up only 86.9 rushing yards per outing, which is seventh in the country. Through the air, Central Washington's defense is 15th holding opponents to 102.9 pass efficiency. Its scoring defense is 11th in nation, giving up 15.7 points per outing.
Jordan Todd leads CWU on the ground averaging 119.6 yards per game, which is 19th in the country. He has six 100-yard rushing performances this season. Nelson is completing nearly 62 percent of his passes. He is averaging 115.2 passing yards per game. Jesse Zalk has been the leading target catching 40 passes for a 40.3 average. On defense, Stan Langlow leads the Wildcats with 55 tackles. Austin Schnizler has 10 tackles for loss, with five sacks. Isaiah Davis has six interceptions.
The Wolves'
Kraig Akins is seventh in NCAA Div. II in forced fumbles, and Bergman is 28th in passing yards per game.
On Sept. 14, WOU held Central Washington to just 242 yards of total offense; however, turnovers and penalties doomed the Wolves as they fell in their Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener in Ellensburg, 20-7. In its second game of the season, the Western Oregon defense limited the Wildcats to just 3.6 yard per play throughout the contest as
Patrick Tepea led the Wolves with nine tackles while forcing a turnover with an interception.
The Wildcats have won 33 of the 50 all-time meetings against Western Oregon. CWU has won four straight over the Wolves. Central Washington is 7-3 in the past 10 meetings in Monmouth, and 13-10 at WOU all-time. The series dates back to a 7-0 Wildcat win over Oregon Normal on Oct. 17, 1936.
Saturday's kickoff is scheduled for 1:05 p.m., with senior recognitions set to begin at 12:45 p.m. The game will have live video and stats on WOUWolves.com. Mark Gilman will provide play-by-play on KLOO 1340 AM locally, and http://klooam.com worldwide.
