MONMOUTH, Ore. – A fourth quarter push from the Azusa Pacific University Cougars was too much to overcome for the Western Oregon University Wolves on Saturday, dropping their third straight game 24-17 at McArthur Field.

In the tightest played first half of the season, both teams utilized late-quarter scoring to claim leads in a back-and-forth opener.

Azusa Pacific (3-0, 2-0 GNAC) was able to push the tempo early, but a turnover on their first possession gave Western Oregon (0-3, 0-2 GNAC) good field position for their opening drive. Quarterback Tyrone Williams Jr. completed two passes of 15 yards to get into WOU territory before Zikel Reddick fumbled on his second touch of the day. Skylen O'Brien recovered for Western Oregon at their own 44. It was one of two fumbles forced by Bo Highburger, a senior linebacker.

"Bo has been a great player ever since he's been in a starting role," said Western Oregon head coach Arne Ferguson. "We had to move some things around because guys weren't going at him. We put him in some different areas and it was good to see him play like he did."

Highburger pulled down a team-high 11 tackles on Saturday, including eight solo. Four of those tackles went for a loss, chipping in for 0.5 sacks.

Forced to punt after two incomplete passes and a run for one yard, the Wolves were unable to get a punt away cleanly on their first offensive possession. With the snap rolling past punter Nate Osborn back to the WOU 10-yard line, Azusa Pacific recovered to put themselves inside the red zone for the first time.

It took just one play to find pay dirt for the Cougars. Williams Jr. ran it in himself for the touchdown and an early 7-0 APU lead.

Omari Land broke through for the first big offensive play for the Wolves on the ensuing drive. The redshirt freshman out of Oakland burst between a pair of APU linebackers for a 31-yard run to get WOU into opposing territory. An eight-yard sack pushed the Wolves back to the APU 21 where Adrian Saldana was able to convert a 39-yard field goal to get the Wolves on the board.

Western Oregon managed to take a brief lead late in the first quarter with their first touchdown of the game courtesy of an 80-yard drive. Quarterback Ty Currie and Land each flashed double-digit runs before Currie connected with receiver Tyler Sweet for a 35-yard gain to the APU 7-yard line for his first completion. Two plays later, Currie found Tyjuan Prince open at the back of the end zone for the 7-yard touchdown, giving WOU a 10-7 lead. It was another big day for Prince who hauled in both of WOU's passing touchdown, adding in 60 receiving yards on seven catches.

Currie passed for 198 yards on 18 completions in the game, throwing two touchdowns to one interception.

The Cougars didn't take long to respond. With just 2:21 remaining in the first quarter, Azusa Pacific snuck inside the red zone two more times before its end. Weston Carr beat out the WOU defense for a 34-yard touchdown catch to rob the Wolves of their lead, 14-10. It was the first of three touchdowns for Carr, a 2017 All-American, who led all receivers with 153 yards.

Fumbling on the kickoff to follow, Western Oregon surrendered great field position to the Cougars, but found a big stop early in the second quarter to prevent the deficit from expanding. Facing a fourth down on the WOU five-yard line, APU tried to punch it in for a multi-score lead, but a hurried pass to the right side bounced off the hands of an open Shane Hursh for a turnover on downs.

A second 80-yard drive for the Wolves culminated in another first-half touchdown and a 17-14 lead. This time the lead would stick going into the break. Four plays in the drive went for more than 10 yards with the big breakthrough coming on a 21-yard pass to junior Chris Mack. Currie's second touchdown pass of the day for Prince, this one for 17 yards, made it a three point WOU lead with just 0:11 left on the clock in the half.

APU opted to take a knee and sent the game into the locker room 17-14, Western Oregon leading. 

The passing attack stayed balanced on both sides through the first half with APU passing for 137 yards and the Wolves 136. It was the running game where Western Oregon showed their dominance, out-gaining Azusa Pacific 101-49 on the ground. Omari Land ran for 85 first-half yards on six attempts, 36 yards more than all APU rushers combined. Land finished the day with a season-high 130 yards on 15 attempts.

"The run game continued to progress," said Ferguson. "Omari had a huge day today and Ty being able to run for some first downs was big as well."

Both offenses returned to the field quiet, going scoreless through the third quarter. The Cougars saw an opportunity squandered after recovering a fumble in WOU territory.

Beginning a drive on the Western Oregon 42, Azusa Pacific passed their way down to the 16 on Williams Jr.'s completion to the right side for tight end Lucas Widmer. A false start and stout defense from the Wolves forced them to attempt a game-tying 32-yard field goal which Jacob Hall missed wide left to preserve the Western Oregon lead heading to the fourth quarter.

Weston Carr's second touchdown catch of the game came on short yardage early in the fourth. Facing third down on the Wolves' two, Williams Jr. went to the air to hit Carr just inside the right sideline giving the Cougars their first lead of the second half at 21-17 just over three minutes into the final quarter.

Williams Jr. passed for 316 yards and three touchdowns, going 21-for-35 on attempts.

Western Oregon was held scoreless in the second half, punting five times and committing two turnovers.

Azusa Pacific solidified the win on a 53-yard pass to Carr for his third and final touchdown of the day, making the Cougars' lead 11 with less than three minutes remaining in the game.

"We're really proud of how hard our guys played and the amount of plays that they made against a really good team," remarked Ferguson. "We came up short in the second half when we couldn't get drives going and some guys wore out because of lack of depth. Slowly but surely we're getting more guys into those roles, we're just not at the level some other teams are with the supporting cast."

Western Oregon now heads south for their first road game of the season. The Wolves take on the Humboldt State Lumberjacks Sept. 22 at the Redwood Bowl in Arcata, Calif. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.