SILVER CITY, N.M.—With a defense that forced six turnovers, including two that were returned for scores, Western Oregon University defeated Western New Mexico University, 58-21, at Altamirano Field on Saturday.
Playing its third road contest in as many weeks, Western Oregon improved to 1-2 on the season while Western New Mexico, members of the Lone Star Conference, fell to 0-3. WOU will play its home and Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener on Sept. 23 when it hosts Humboldt State University. Kick off against the Lumberjacks is set for 1:05 p.m. at McArthur Field.
After a scoreless opening 15 minutes, the Wolves out up 33 points in the second quarter in large part to a pair of touchdowns in the span of a minute. With 10:28 to play in the second
Nick Duckworth found
Zack Suarez for a 16-yard touchdown pitch and catch for a 10-0 lead. Two plays into WNMU's ensuing possession,
Tyler Johnson stepped in front of a Javia Hall pass and returned the interception 62 yards for a 17-0 advantage.
Duckworth added two more TD passes in the quarter, the first a 7-yard toss to
Paul Revis and later a 61-yard strike back to Suarez for 30-7 spread before
Adrian Saldana capped the half with a 26-yard last-second field goal.
The Mustangs opened the second half with a seven-play touchdown drive and replicated the feat after its defense forced a WOU fumble to cut 14 points off the deficit, but interceptions on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter stalled any comeback hopes.
Duckworth completed 20-of-28 passing attempts for 293 yards four touchdowns to lead the Wolves attack. Revis finished the day with 10 catches and 133 yards while Suarez's two touchdown catches traveled 77 yards.
On just eight attempts,
Torreahno Sweet gained 71 yards on the ground with a 6-yard touchdown dash in the fourth.
"Our offensive line got us going by doing a nice job protecting the quarterback and wearing down their defense which was pivotal to the game," WOU head coach
Arne Ferguson said.
Overall, the WOU defense held the Mustangs to just 2-of-12 on third-down conversion chances while registering five sacks.
Curtis Anderson led the secondary with seven tackles and two of the team's five interceptions, the second of which was returned 72 yards for WOU's final score.
"The linebackers and linemen created great pressure and the defensive backs capitalized by being ball hawks against a quality passing team," Ferguson said.
WOU ended the game with a 436 to 367 advantage in total yards after holding the NCAA DII's No. 2-ranked passing offense (444 passing yards per game) to 275 yards in the air.
Saldana converted 3-of-4 of his field goal attempts and was also perfect on five extra point attempts to total 14 points.
"Overall, our seniors showed really good leadership. This is a grueling road trip and playing in elevation takes its toll," Ferguson said. "But they came out, controlled the ball and set the tone."
