MONMOUTH, Ore. (Oct. 17) – Redshirt sophomore quarterback Phillip Fenumiai threw for 176 yards, freshman running back Malik Braxton ran for 131 yards, and the Western Oregon defense forced two takeaways and made a big stand on fourth down late in the game as the Wolves defeated visiting Central Washington, 31-25, on Saturday afternoon at McArthur Field.
 
The Wolves improved to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, while Central Washington fell to 3-4 and 1-2 in GNAC action. The victory was the third in a row on the season and improved the Wolves to 3-0 at home.
 
Fenumiai completed 13 of 19 passes with two touchdowns to tight end Andy Avgi and rushed for another 44 yards with a score.
 
Braxton, making his debut start at the running back position, had 21 carries including a first quarter touchdown run of 44 yards that gave Western Oregon an early 7-0 lead. He also led the Wolves with 41 yards receiving to post 172 all-purpose yards.
 
Defensively, several WOU players had standout performances. Shane Kuenzi led all players with 11 tackles, seven coming on solo efforts. Mitch Nelson and George Swartzlender each had five stops, with Swartzlender batting down a pass at the line of scrimmage. Max Jackson had a solo sack as part of his three total tackles.
 
But it was a defensive team effort that held off a late CWU rally in the fourth quarter. With just two minutes left in regulation, CWU marched down the field and crept up to the red zone. Needing one-yard on fourth down to keep the drive alive, a rush from Quincy Carter was bottled up the middle by Kuenzi and Swartzlender for no gain.
 
CWU responded to the Wolves' first scoring drive with a quick response late in the first quarter. Justin Lane hit Jesse Zalk on a 53-yard completion on the first play. Three plays later, Lane found running back Arthur Burns for a 10-yard TD pass. CWU went on a direct snap and converted the two-point try for an 8-7 advantage.
 
WOU pounded the ball on the ground on the subsequent drive and picked up a pair of third-down conversions of over 25 yards to keep the drive alive. The second conversion, a pass play to James DePew, places the Wolves at the four-yard line. Fenumiai called his own number to get into the end zone to grab the led back at 14-8.
 
One of three interceptions gained by the Wildcats setup a short field midway through the second quarter. Lane connected with Zalk for a 34-yard score on the second play of 43-yard drive pushing the Wildcats ahead by a point.
 
WOU continued the see-saw battle for the lead with an eight-play, 57-yard series that saw seven rushes preceding a 22-yard grab by Avgi right down the middle of the field. The score set the halftime lead for WOU at 21-15.
 
Central stopped the Wolves' opening drive of the second half with a pick at the goal line. The Wildcats settled for a field goal after the turnover when Sean McDonald connected from 25 yards out to complete a 14-play series.
 
Like earlier in the game, the Wolves had a response to every Wildcat scoring drive. Fenumiai went to the air five times late in a 10-play drive. He hit Avgi again from 17 yards out to build the lead back up to 10 points, 28-18. WOU got the ball back forcing a fumble on the following kickoff at the CWU 21-yard line. Jesse Correa tacked on three points with a 32-yard field goal on the final play of the third quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, the teams exchanged possessions over the first five minutes. CWU began moving the ball with the short passing game, eventually getting to the end zone with Christian Gasca grabbing Lane's third TD pass.
 
WOU could not add any points and punted the ball down to the CWU nine-yard line with 3:05 left on the clock. CWU covered 64 yards over three plays to get on the Wolves side of the field. Lane rushed for a yard on third down to get to the 20, setting up fourth down. The Wolves defense came up with the big stop to stymie CWU.
 
Braxton allowed the Wolves to get into victory formation with a 16-yard run that moved the chains for the final time.
 
Western Oregon totaled 389 yards with 213 coming on the ground. Central Washington had 444 total yard with 376 coming through the air via Lane's arm and 248 all-purpose yard from Zalk.
 
WOU has one more road game on the schedule and it is next week at Simon Fraser. The league rematch with the Clan is set for a 1 p.m. kickoff from Swangard Stadium. Western Oregon picked up a 31-14 home win over SFU in a non-league counter on Sept. 12.
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