GAME #6
Western Oregon (2-3, 1-1 GNAC) vs. #6 North Alabama (4-0, 3-0 Gulf South)
Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015 at 1 p.m. PT
Monmouth, Ore. – McArthur Field
 
LIVE COVERAGE LINKS
RADIO: KLOO 1340 AM (Mark Gilman and Jerry Gilman)
TV: KWVT – Valley 17 (Matthew Palumbo and Steve Sutton)
LIVE VIDEO/STATS: WOU Portal
TICKETS: WOU Ticket Office
TWITTER UPDATES: @WOUWolves
 
Western Oregon will step out of conference for the final time this season when it hosts North Alabama this Saturday. The Wolves and the sixth-ranked Lions meet at 1 p.m. Pacific at McArthur Field.
 
TICKETS – Tickets for remaining WOU home games for 2015 are on sale at
WOUWolves.com/WOUtickets. The Wolves have five home games remaining at McArthur Field – Oct. 10 vs. North Alabama (1 p.m.), Oct. 17 vs. Central Washington (1 p.m., Homecoming), Oct. 31 vs. Azusa Pacific (1 p.m.), Nov. 7 vs. South Dakota Mines (3:30 p.m.) and Nov. 14 vs. Humboldt State (1 p.m.).
 
VS. NORTH ALABAMA – This will be the second all-time meeting between Western Oregon and North Alabama. Last year in Florence, Ala., the Lions scored 14 points in the 3^rd quarter to pull away for victory, 30-10. Trey Shimabukuro threw for 206 yards on 23-of-38 passing, but was brought down nine times in the backfield.  
 
LOOKING AT THE LIONS – North Alabama jumped to No. 6 in the NFCA Division II National Poll after a 34-12 road win at then No. 9 Valdosta State last Saturday. The Lions are undefeated on the season at 4-0 after claiming revenge on the team that knocked them out of the 2014 NCAA Playoffs last year. The UNA offense is led by quarterback Luke Wingo who has thrown for 1.032 yards and six touchdowns in the Lions' four games. Lamont Thompson is the featured tailback with 598 rushing yard and seven TDs. A trio – Dre Hall, Lee Mayhall and Jarret Smith – each have 17 receptions on the season. UNA averages over 525 yards per game with a balanced attack (242.8 rush, 283.0 pass). The Lions have won 29 of their last 32 games outside of Gulf South Conference action.

GAMEDAY HASHTAG: #UNAvsWOU - Fans and media are encouraged to use the hashtag #UNAvsWOU when posting social media content related to the football game between the Wolves and the Lions.
 
WOLVES BY THE NUMBERS - Western Oregon enters the week leading the GNAC in passing offense, averaging 260.8 yards per game. The Wolves are ranked second in punt return average (15.5 yards per return) and punting (34.3 yards per punt) and third in rushing defense (164 yards allowed per game), pass defense (220.8 yards allowed per game) and pass efficiency defense (120.9).
 
CAREER BEST FOR HARRIS - A career day by running back Joe Harris led Western Oregon as they rolled to the 42-24 win over Dixie State at Hansen Stadium. Harris rushed for 90 yards on 18 carries and scored a career best three rushing touchdowns, all of which came after WOU interceptions.
 
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITIES - The Wolves were limited to 17 first downsin last Saturday's win at Dixie State, but converted all three red zone scoring chances and went 10 of 14 on third down conversions.
 
PICK PARTY – Three key interceptions led to WOU touchdowns last Saturday. Trebriel Larry had the game's first pick near the goal line to stop a Dixie State drive that would have potentially put them up by 10 points. In the third quarter, Danny Hankins continued the WOU momentum with a pick. Linebacker Tyler Johnson made the final INT in DSU territory that allowed four straight Joe Harris carries leading to a score.
 
SPREADING THE WEALTH – Twelve different players have caught a pass for Western Oregon this season. Nine of the 12 have caught at least two passes, led by Paul Revis and Wesley Gray with 23 and 19 catches respectively. In the running game, nine different players have had touches in 2015.
 
SECOND HALF SCORING – WOU has scored 79 of its 112 points in the second half this season. In comparison, opponents have scored 45 points in the second half.
 
ALL-PURPOSE PAUL - Wide receiver Paul Revis led the Wolves at Dixie State with 187 all-purpose yards. He caught four passes for 102 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. He added 85 punt return yards, including an 81-yard return for a touchdown that ended the Wolves' scoring in the fourth quarter. Revis enters the week leading Division II with two punt return touchdowns, 10th with 19.2 yards per punt return and 26th with 358 combined return yards..
 
SOLID SOWARD - David Sowards completed 11 of 24 for 199 yards and two touchdowns for the Wolves in his first start of the season at DSU.
 
LOOKING AHEAD – Western Oregon returns to GNAC play hosting Central Washington on Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. during WOU Homecoming Week. This will be the second meeting of the year between WOU and CWU.

2015 IN REVIEW
 
COMEBACK CUT DOWN BY JACKS: Humboldt State scored the first 19 points of the game and held off a Western Oregon comeback to post 29-20 victory in a rare week one GNAC contest. Western Oregon got on the board late in the first quarter when quarterback Trey Shimabukuro found Andy Agvi on a 16-yard touchdown pass with 4:02 left in the first half. The Wolves cut the lead to five when Shimabukuro found Paul Revis for a 33-yard touchdown strike before the Lumberjacks scored the next 10 points to close out the game. Shimabukuro completed 26 of 38 for 368 yards and three touchdowns to lead Western Oregon. Revis caught six balls for 116 yards and a score.
 
WOLVES CAPITILIZE ON SECOND HALF CHANCES AGAINST SFU: Western Oregon trailed Simon Fraser in nearly every statistical category except touchdowns and the final score as the Wolves beat the Clan, 31-14, at McArthur Field. Simon Fraser outgained Western Oregon in total offense 442 to 294, including 333 passing yards by quarterback Ryan Stanford, but the Wolves scored the final four touchdowns of the score to come back from a 14-6 deficit midway through the third quarter. The Wolves came within 14-12 on their next possession with Trey Shimabukuro finding Daniel Thomas for a 23-yard touchdown reception. Western Oregon took the lead for good when Shimabukuro found Wesley Gray for a 32-yard touchdown strike with 14:02 left and made it a 25-18 game when he found Kamakana Apelu for the 35-yard scoring pass. Danny Hankins punctuated the win when he intercepted Stanford with just over a minute left, returning the ball 99 yards for a touchdown. Shimabukuro completed 18 of 28 for 233 yards and three touchdowns for Western Oregon. Gray caught six balls for 69 yards and a touchdown. Shane Kuenzi each had 10 tackles.
 
HAIL HANKINS – WOU defensive back Danny Hankins was named GNAC Defensive Player of the Week 2. The Portland, Ore. native made eight tackles, broke up two passes and had a 99-yard pick-six in the final minutes to seal Western Oregon's 31-14 home win over Simon Fraser..

CWU'S SCORE BARRAGE SINKS WOLVES ON ROAD: Central Washington came home after two weeks on the road and scored 40 points in the first half to get past Western Oregon 40-19 at Tomlinson Stadium. After Phillip Fenumiai opened scoring with a five-yard run four minutes into the game, the Wildcats scored 40 unanswered points. Western Oregon scored two second half touchdowns, one on a Joe Harris three-year run and a Daniel Thomas six-yard reception. Western Oregon outgained Central Washington on offense 331-300. Trey Shimabukuro led WOU by completing 23 of 46 for 293 yards and a touchdown. Paul Revis led six WOU receivers with 76 yards on seven catches. 
 
WOLVES STYMIED AT PSU: The near upset that Western Oregon put together last year wouldn't be repeated as Portland State's vaunted defense held the Wolves in a 31-0 loss at Providence Park. The Wolves put together 224 yards of total offense, but the Vikings forced 12 punts and picked off WOU quarterbacks three times. Western Oregon held their own early, with the No. 17 (Division I-FCS) Vikings not scoring until Alex Kuresa scored on a two-yard run with 9:51 left in the first half. Western Oregon quarterback Trey Shimabukuro completed 18 of 35 passes for 182 yards with two interceptions. Maurice McSwain caught two passes for 52 yards and Daniel Thomas caught four balls for 44 yards.
 
HARRIS CARRIES WOU PAST DIXIE: A career day by running back Joe Harris led Western Oregon as they rolled to the 42-24 win over Dixie State at Hansen Stadium. Harris rushed for 90 yards on 18 carries and scored a career best three rushing touchdowns, all of which came after WOU interceptions. Dixie State took the early one, taking a 10-0 lead after one quarter. It was the Wolves' game from there, though, as they scored 42 straight points. Harris gave WOU the lead with his four-yard touchdown run with 2:54 left in the second quarter. Paul Revis made it a 21-10 game when he caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from David Sowards with four minutes gone in the third quarter. Western Oregon poured it on with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, two by Harris and an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown by Revis with 10:56 to go.