BURNABY, B.C. – The Western Oregon Wolves posted one of their finest defensive performances in a decade with a 39-0 win over the Simon Fraser Clan on Saturday at Terry Fox Field.

In a game plagued by dense fog and heavy rain, shorter passing routes and a prominent run game dominated the offensive scheme.

"With conditions like this, taking care of the football becomes the most important thing," said Western Oregon head coach Arne Ferguson. "It magnifies the security of the ball and the ground game has to produce. It was really nice to see so much production on offense."

Western Oregon opened the scoring with a defensive touchdown. Curtis Anderson broke through the line for a blocked punt which he returned 20 yards for the score. The Wolves called on Ryan Reynolds to run on the two-point conversion to make it an 8-0 lead early for WOU.

Simon Fraser had to come up with a big stop late in the first quarter to avoid falling into a multi-score deficit after giving up a fumble on a punt. Inside of their own 20, Robert Meadors dropped a punt lost in the fog and rain to give the Wolves a start to a series inside the red zone. Going for it on fourth down inside the 10-yard line, the Clan defense came up with a stop for a turnover on downs.

Omari Land highlighted his big first half with a 25-yard touchdown run. Land ran for 70 yards and a touchdown on 10 attempts in the first half to lead all rushers. He compiled a career-high 174 yards on 20 attempts and a touchdown in the game additionally. It was the third time this season he has broken the 100-yard mark.

The Wolves scored 10 of their 25 first-half points inside the last minute of the second quarter. Adrian Saldana converted a 30-yard field goal attempt with 58 seconds left on the clock. Freshman Machiah Lee then intercepted Miles Richardson on the first play of the Clan's ensuing drive. This gave Western Oregon one last chance for a score before the break.

With time running down, Ty Currie hit Tyler Sweet for a 19-yard touchdown catch to extend the lead to 25-0 heading into the locker room. Sweet was one of seven receivers with a catch in the first half and one of nine in the game for WOU. It was the third time this season WOU has held an opponent scoreless in the first half.

The Wolves' defense was once again impeccable, allowing only 70 total yards and holding the Clan to -44 rushing yards in the game. SFU did not finish the game with a single rusher in positive figures. It is the second time in the last three seasons WOU has held the Clan in negative rushing yards.

"Our defensive linemen continue to get better," added Ferguson. "They're more aggressive, they're quicker and we are seeing some big results the last couple games. I'm very proud of them. We are seeing that same progress on the o-line as well. They did a really nice job controlling play and taking over the game. To see so many of our players contribute this well was great."

The 70 total yards allowed is the fewest given up since Nov. 20, 2007 when Western Oregon held Humboldt State to -5 yards of total offense in a 64-0 win that included seven sacks.

Penalties caused some issues on both sides of the football. A 30-yard touchdown pass to Chris Mack was called back because of an illegal man downfield penalty. Later in the drive, Western Oregon was stopped on fourth down to deny them the score. The Wolves committed 10 penalties for 85 yards in the game.

Linebacker Bo Highburger got the call on offense late, rushing for a touchdown to the left side for the final score of the game, sealing the win at 39-0. Highburger led the defense with six total tackles, five solo and one for a loss.

The shutout victory is the first for the Wolves since their 56-0 win over Dixie State Sept. 24, 2011.

The Wolves wrap up their season on the road next week at Eastern New Mexico. Kickoff on Nov. 10 is set for 1 p.m. at Greyhound Stadium.