ARCATA, Calif.—Trailing 17-14 in the second half, No. 22 Humboldt State used a run of 21 unanswered points to defeat Western Oregon University, 42-32, in GNAC football action on Saturday evening at the Redwood Bowl.
With the win, Humboldt State improved to 6-1 on the season and 5-1 in GNAC play to remain in contention for a league crown with two conference contests remaining.
Western Oregon fell to 2-6 overall and 1-5 in conference play. The Wolves will travel to face Tarleton State for a non-conference tilt in Stephenville, Texas on Saturday, Oct. 28. WOU will close out the season with back-to-back home games by welcoming Azusa Pacific (Nov. 4) and Simon Fraser (Nov. 11).
The Lumberjacks controlled the start of the game with a pair of touchdowns inside the opening five minutes of play. Robert Webber tossed a 53-yard scoring pass to Marjani Ellison to open the account while Ja'Quan Gardner stumbled in for a 17-yard TD run to make it a 14-0 spread.
Responding before the break, the Wolves placed 17 straight points on the board with quarterback
Phillip Fenumiai scoring on a 1-yard rush,
Adrian Saldana drilling a 40-yard field goal and
Paul Revis taking a 90-yard punt to the end zone to give the Wolves a 17-14 lead with 9:08 left in the first half.
The lead was short lived; however, as HSU's Ja'Quan Gardner punctuated a pair of Lumberjack drives with short-yardage touchdowns. Gardner's final score of the half, a 2-yarder with 22 seconds left in the half, was set up after a botched punt by the Wolves deep in their own territory.
The Jacks extended their lead to 35-17 near the end of the third quarter with a 25-yard touchdown catch by Austin Jamere. The two teams traded touchdowns down the stretch with the Wolves'
Devon Fortier scoring on a 2-yard rush and Zach Suarez on a 4-yard pass from Fenumiai for the final tally.
Humboldt State outgained Western Oregon, 475 to 323 yards. Gardner, the GNAC's all-time leading rusher, ended the night with 215 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 31 attempts. Fenumiai completed 12-of-27 attempts for 221 yards. In addition to his long punt return,
Paul Revis gathered six passes for 89 yards.
Bo Highburger led the WOU defense with eight tackles, including six solo stops.
