Football | 9/18/2018 10:45:00 AM

Game 4 – Western Oregon (0-3, 0-2 GNAC) at Humboldt State (0-2, 0-1 GNAC)
6 p.m. - Saturday, Sept. 22
Arcata, Calif. / Redwood Bowl
Live Stream | Live Stats I Tickets

>>> GNAC Notes (Sept. 18, 2018)
>>> NCAA DII Rankings

ARCATA, Calif. – Taking off for their first road game of the season, the Western Oregon Wolves head south to face Humboldt State University Saturday, Sept. 22 in their first of two meetings in 2018. Kickoff against the Lumberjacks is set for 6 p.m. at the Redwood Bowl.
 
ABOUT HUMBOLDT STATE (0-2, 0-1 GNAC): Saturday represents the first home game of the season for the 'Jacks, beginning the season with road contests at MSU Texas and Central Washington… HSU lost each of their first two games by 43 or more points, being outscored so far this season 104-12 by opponents… This is the first time in 2018 they face an unranked team.

THE SERIES: Humboldt State is 15-19 overall against Western Oregon since 2000... Between the 2007 and 2013 seasons, the Wolves were 12-2 in the series… Since then, the Lumberjacks have won three straight and six of the last eight… WOU's last visit to Arcata resulted in a 42-32 loss… Ja'Quan Gardner ran for 215 yards and three touchdowns, adding on 30 receiving yards as well… The Wolves' last win on the road against the Lumberjacks was a 48-42 victory on Sept. 24, 2016.

HIGHBURGER EARNS POY: Western Oregon senior linebacker Bo Highburger was named the GNAC Football Defensive Player of the Week. He finished with 11 tackles, four for loss, a half-sack and a pair of forced fumbles, one of which later resulted in a WOU score, in Saturday's loss to Azusa Pacific.
 
RUN GAME: Omari Land has run for 100+ yards in consecutive games, tallying 110 yards Sept. 8 against Central Washington and 130 yards Sept. 15 against Azusa Pacific… This comes after Land made just one rushing attempt for no gain in the season opener Sept. 1
 
CURRIE DEBUT: Making his first collegiate start, junior quarterback Ty Currie completed 23 of 43 attempts for 276 yards against Angelo State in the season opener. Currie threw three interceptions and two touchdowns in the game, including a go-ahead score to culminate a drive inside the final 2 minutes of play that gave WOU a 17-16 lead.

DEEP THREAT: Tyjuan Prince' 74-yard catch in the second half against Angelo State was the longest catch by a WOU player in more than three seasons… The last catch to go over 75 yards by a WOU player was an 89-yard haul by Tyrell Williams at Central Washington on Oct. 18, 2014.

TACKLE LEADERS: Nate Proctor, Jr. and Andrew Weber combined for 23 tackles in the season opener against Angelo State. Proctor led the team with 12 stops, including eight solo tackles. Seven of Weber's 11 tackles were of the solo variety.

WOU SEASON OPENERS: The Wolves are 9-10 overall in season openers since 2000 with four of the 10 losses coming against NCAA Division I opponents… During that same span, WOU is 2-2 at home in season openers… Prior to this season, the Wolves had not opened a season at home since 2012 when the team hosted No. 7-ranked Grand Valley State (Mich.) where the Lakers defeated WOU 48-20 for the Wolves only season opening loss at home since transitioning to NCAA DII.

OFFENSIVE RETURNERS: WOU will have a nearly all-new look offense in 2018 after graduating two quarterbacks and its top five pass catchers… Junior signal caller Ty Currie will look to take the reins in his third season in the program after understudying for the two departing seniors… Currie appeared in one game last season with a brief stint in an Oct. 7 road contest at Simon Fraser where the Wolves posted a 82-21 victory… Currie completed his lone pass for an 8-yard gain and also scrambled for 15 yards on three attempts… The team's leading rusher, Devon Fortier is back for his junior season after rushing for 385 yards and three touchdowns… Only 16 of the team's 236 receptions return to the fold in 2018… Senior tight end Caleb Tingstad returns after collecting 10 catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns… Fortier (5 receptions for 18 yards) and David Krupsky (1 reception for 8 yards) are the only returning players with a catch last season… Tingstad also carried the ball on eight occasions and punched the ball across the goal line on two carries… The team, however, returns significant continuity along the line with Joe Gonzales, Ron Rose, Jakob Pruitt and Aaron Turner returning to anchor the front… The quartet has combined for 59 career appearances, including 33 from fifth-year senior Ron Rose.

DEFENSIVE RETURNERS: Linebacker Bo Highburger headlines the defense after collecting First Team All-GNAC honors a year ago… Highburger led the GNAC with 102 tackles, including 11 that went for lost yardage… Lining up alongside Highburger will be Andrew Weber, Tyler Wharf and Nathaniel Proctor… Weber was second on the team with 83 tackles while Wharf added 21 tackles and Proctor 17 stops… The Wolves will feature three experienced players in the secondary with Curtis Anderson, Joey Roos and Derek Parnell… Anderson paced the team with four interceptions while Roos and Parnell had one pick each… Highburger, Weber, Anderson and Parnell started all 11 games for WOU last season... Veterans Isaiah Molden, Court Hammond, Skylen O'Brien and Court Hammond will carry the workload along the defensive line.

GNAC PRESEASON POLL: Western Oregon was picked to finish third according to the GNAC Coaches' Preseason Poll… Defending champion Central Washington received four first-place votes to lead the pack… Azusa Pacific was picked second with the fifth and final first-place vote… Humboldt State and Simon Fraser were slotted in the fourth and fifth positions… CWU was ranked No. 9 in the NCAA DII American Football Coaches' Poll.

2017 RECAP: WOU finished 2017 with a 3-8 overall record last season but were only outscored by its opponents by a 380-312 spread… The Wolves averaged 28.4 points per game and averaged 369.1 yards per game, including 263.6 yards per game in the air... Of the team's 34 touchdowns, 21 came in the passing game… The Wolves fell to NCAA DI Idaho State, 37-6, in the season opener and finished within a touchdown, 30-23, while playing at eventual GNAC champion Central Washington in week No. 2… The Wolves crushed Western New Mexico, 58-21, for its first win of the season and used an 82-21 thrashing of Simon Fraser on Oct. 7 to improve to 2-4 on the year… The Wolves closed out the year with a 24-21 win at home against SFU.

GAME 3 RECAP: Azusa Pacific def. Western Oregon, 28-17
Two fourth-quarter touchdowns pulled Azusa Pacific away from Western Oregon late to deal the Wolves their third consecutive loss, 28-17 Sept. 15 in Monmouth. Western Oregon took a 17-14 into halftime, out-gaining the Cougars handily on the ground. Omari Land ran for a season-high 130 yards on 15 attempts to lead all rushers. Land has run for 240 combined yards over his last two games. Tyjuan Prince caught both WOU touchdowns, his first two in a Western Oregon uniform. Weston Carr caught three touchdowns on 153 receiving yards for APU. Two of his touchdowns were in the fourth quarter with the final points of the game coming on a 53-yard reception with just over two minutes remaining to solidify the win. Bo Highburger made a game-high 11 tackles, eight being solo, and forced two fumbles. The senior linebacker also chipped in for 0.5 sacks and 4.0 tackles for loss to earn GNAC Defensive Player of the Week.

GAME 2 RECAP: #16 Central Washington def. Western Oregon, 50-17
No. 16-ranked Central Washington capitalized on an early safety during a WOU punt attempt and later a touchdown following a blocked field goal to defeat Western Oregon, 50-17, in the GNAC opener on Sept. 8. The Wildcats outgained the Wolves 441 to 343 with the bulk of their yardage coming through the air. Reilly Hennessey completed 17 of 28 passes for 275 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Ramones was the main benefactor from the aerial attack with six catches for 134 yards. Despite the score, the Wolves were effective in their run game with 218 net yards on the ground. Omari Land led the charge with 110 yards on 20 carries while Nico Jackson added 76 yards on 12 carries.

GAME 1 RECAP: Angelo State def. Western Oregon, 24-17
A late drive from the Angelo State Rams sank the Western Oregon Wolves, 24-17, in the season opener Saturday at McArthur Field. Both sides missed field goal attempts in the first half to send Angelo State into halftime with a 3-0 lead. With just three points scored and a combined nine punts before the break, offenses stayed quiet in the first half before a wild fourth quarter. With an even score headed to the fourth, the season-opener would be destined for a dramatic finish as 21 points were tallied in the final 15 minutes. A Tyrese Nathan nine-yard touchdown run gave ASU back the lead with 8:43 to play, but Connor Flanigan missed the extra point to keep it 16-10 in favor of the Texas side. Western Oregon took back over on offense with 2:11 remaining in the game and the first play of the series would be the biggest of the day as Tyjuan Prince reeled in his second catch of the day for 74 yards, immediately putting the Wolves inside the 10. Prince's 79 total receiving yards led the team. Currie's lob in to Thomas Wright two plays later and the successful Saldana kick put Western Oregon on top for the first time in the game, 17-16, with only 1:46 left to play. ASU, however, they punched in another touchdown with just a 52-second drive. Lawson Ayo culminated the quick strike by catching a 16-yard pass from Rotherham to put the Rams back up, this time for good. Nate Proctor, Jr. led WOU's defense with a team-high eight solo and 12 total tackles. WOU's Ty Currie completed 23 of 43 passes for 276 yards, throwing for two touchdowns and three interceptions.
 

WOU Players of the Week
Week	Offense	Defense	Special Teams
1.	Tyjuan Prince, WR	Nate Proctor, Jr., LB	Ryan Reynolds, KR/PR
2.	Omari Land, RB	Dominic Akina, CB	Adrian Saldana, K
3.	Tyjuan Prince, WR	Bo Highburger, LB	Adrian Saldana, K