ARCATA, Calif. – The Western Oregon football team saw a 27-point lead in the third quarter erode, but a big defensive stand held host Humboldt State three yards short of completing a comeback in a 48-42 win in Great Northwest Athletic Conference game at the Redwood Bowl. WOU improve to 2-2 overall and 101 in GNAC action, while the No. 24 Lumberjacks fall to 2-2 overall and 1-2 in the GNAC.
 
It looked as though the Wolves were going to roll offensively based on the opening possessions of the game. WOU forced Humboldt State into a three-and-out and gained prime field position when Paul Revis returned a punt to the HSU 39. The Wolves drove the 39 yards in five plays and took a 7-0 lead when QB Phillip Fenumiai hit tight end Andy Avgi with a 34 yard TD pass.
 
After another HSU punt, the Wolves used three big plays to find the end zone again. Fenumiai hit Keoni Piceno with a 13-yard completion that moved the sticks and followed with a throw down the field that was caught by Wesley Gray for 45 yards. On the next play, running back Malik Braxton broke a few tackles and scored from 24 yards out. With a spread out formation, Revis connected on a jump pass to Kui Williams for the two-point conversion and a 15-0 lead capping the five-play, 85-yard drive.
 
The teams traded punts and field position until the Wolves got a short field late in the first quarter. On the first play from the Jacks' 39, Braxton got a hand off looking for a seam to the left. When a hole did not materialize, Braxton hit the brakes, reversed direction and burned the right edge into the end zone for a touchdown. Revis hit snapper Josh Murray for another two-point play to give the Wolves a 23-0 lead after a quarter.
 
Humboldt State drove 69 yards on 11 plays to get on the scoreboard early in the second quarter. Harlon Hill finalist Ja'Quan Gardner carried the ball three times to account for the final 17 yards of the drive and scoring from two yards out to trim the WOU lead to 23-7.
 
The WOU offense went back to work, driving 69 yards in five plays for a score. Fenumiai kept the drive alive with a third-down completion to Piceno for 19 yards before finding Revis open over the middle with a 46 yard TD pass. The score moves to 31-7 after Fenumiai ran a keeper in from one yard on the second attempt at a conversion following an HSU pass interference call.
 
After forcing a 3-and-out, Western Oregon's next drive stalled out at the HSU 22. Jacob Bannister booted a 39-yard field goal from the right hash for a 34-7 advantage.
 
Humboldt State scored the final 14 points of the half on a Robert Webber TD pass to Chase Krivashei and Gardner's second rushing touchdown, as the Wolves took a 34-21 lead into halftime.
 
The Wolves offense steadily marched down the field over the first two drives of the third quarter to build their largest lead at 48-21. During the eight-play, 75-yard drive to open the quarter, the Wolves ran the ball seven times. Fenumiai accounted for 39 yards on the ground, but Braxton got the call up the middle for a 16-yard score. Revis thought he has two points on the conversion, but the try was flagged forcing Bannister to boot a long try for a 41-21 lead.
 
After an HSU punt, Braxton pushed the Wolves into Lumberjack territory with a 39-yard rush. Two plays later, Revis hauled in a TD pass from Fenumiai for the 27-point lead.
 
Humboldt State responded with a 10 play scoring drive in which Webber hit Krivashei again for a touchdown, this time from 27 yards. The Wolves were not able to midfield on the next drive but held a 48-28 lead after three quarters.
 
The Jacks added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and had the ball with 3:49 on the clock needing 97 yards to complete a furious comeback. The longest drive of the game went 18 plays and had HSU knocking on the door with first and goal at the Wolves' 6-yard line. Two incomplete passes put the balance of the game on one final play with 2 seconds on the clock. Webber rolled right and hit Sage Burmeister at the four, but Danny Hankins wrapped up the wide receiver and tackled him at the three as time expired to give Western Oregon the victory.
 
The Wolves offense churned out 539 yards (277 rushing/262 passing) and averaged 9.0 yards per play. WOU faced 12 third downs, converting three. Fenumiai completed 11-of-21 passes for 262 yards and three TDs on the evening, while Braxton rushed for a career-high 191 yards and caught one pass for six yards. Revis' two TD grabs accounted for 73 yards while he returned three punts for 48 yards and four kickoffs for 94 yards for an all-purpose total of 216 yards. Wesley Gray had 83 receiving yards on two grabs and Piceno hauled in a total of five catches for 64 yards.
 
Bo Highburger led the defense with 16 tackles, 10 coming in the first half. Trebriel Larry added eight stops and had a pass breakup. Tyler Johnson had seven tackles including one for loss. In addition to making the game-winning stop, Hankins had three pass break-ups.

Western Oregon returns home next Saturday (October 1) for the annual Red Out game. Kickoff against the undefeated Cougars of Azusa Pacific is set for 1 p.m. at McArthur Field.