Ty Currie
Jacob Thompson/Thompson Sports
36
Winner Western Ore. WOU 2-2 , 2-0
26
Central Wash. CWU 1-3 , 0-1
Winner
Western Ore. WOU
2-2 , 2-0
36
Final
26
Central Wash. CWU
1-3 , 0-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
WOU Western Ore. 7 7 7 15 36
CWU Central Wash. 0 13 13 0 26

Game Recap: Football | | Brian Kortz

Wolves Claim First Win in Ellensburg Since 1998 With 36-26 Victory; Currie Accounts for All Five Touchdowns

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – It had been 21 years, but the Western Oregon University football team claimed their first win in Ellensburg since 1998 after picking up the 36-26 victory over Central Washington Saturday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

The win at Central Washington is the first for WOU in Ellensburg since 1998 when they claimed a 40-39 win and ends a 14-game losing streak on the road in the series. WOU did claim a neutral site win back in 2010 that was played in Seattle with the Wolves taking the 19-0 victory. Overall in the series it snaps a six-game slide as the last win for WOU was in 2015 in Monmouth (31-25).

"I thought Omari Land having 171 yards rushing was huge, Nico Jackson was right there pushing towards 100 and then Ty Currie adding his yards. Anytime you can go for 328 yards is a lot on the ground. Especially in the second half, the key to the game was our ability to run the ball, along with the defensive line making a push and Currie making great decision. Currie finding seven receivers was nice to see as well the confidence he has with everyone on the field. Give credit to Central Washington's running back Michael Roots, he was hard to tackle and made things difficult for us," Head Coach Arne Ferguson said. "We picked up several big third downs to keep key drives moving and I thought Nate Proctor, Jr., played extremely well and put together an all-around great game of football. Tyler Wharf as well with some big plays and then Curtis Anderson with the interceptions to stop drives. The defense put together a lot of three-and-outs as well when we needed them in the second half. When we had guys go down in the secondary, others stepped up and made plays. When you see how well both the offensive and defensive lines played and really started to control things in the middle of the third quarter and fourth quarter was great to see. Biggest thing overall just a great team win in a tough place to play on the road, weather was different and our players stayed in there throughout the game and stepped up playing their best."

Ty Currie had a game to remember throwing for a pair of scores and then running for a trio of touchdowns. He completed 12-22 for 171 yards and then rushed 16 times for 62 yards. Once again WOU (2-2, 2-0 GNAC) dominated the line of scrimmage picking up 28 first downs, rushing for 328 yards and piling up a 38:23 time of possession. The Wolves outgained Central Washington (1-3, 0-1 GNAC) 328-145 on the ground and nearly outgained the Wildcats through the air with Central Washington holding a slight 195-171 edge.

Lost in Currie's five-score game, Omari Land again chewed up yards in bunches when he went for 171 yards on 21 carries. He averaged over eight yards (8.1) a carry. Nico Jackson nearly gave WOU two players for over 100 yards when he went for 93 yards on 16 carries. Thomas Wright and Marquis Sampson each hauled in touchdown passes.

"Our running backs did an awesome job hitting the hole and picking up big first downs, hats off to them!" Joseph Gonzales said.

On defense, Nate Proctor, Jr., led the way with nine tackles. Tyler Wharf added six tackles and both Braelen Evans and Jaylin Parnell had five tackles, with Jaylin Parnell collecting two tackles for loss. Curtis Anderson came away with two interceptions.

"To beat a team that's had our number for so long, in such an important GNAC game is one of the best accomplishments of all of our football careers. Our team has gotten better each and every week, and ultimately that is the real goal of every squad that suits up on Saturday's. Coach Ferguson, Coach Brian Harris and the staff were completely dialed in and put us in constant positions to make big plays when we needed too. I truly could not be prouder to be a Wolf and prouder of my brothers!" Anderson said.

WOU came out right away and scored just a couple of minutes in. After Land rushed three straight times and gained six yards on each carry for 18 yards, Currie hit Jarren Ford for five yards to setup the bomb to Wright as he hauled in the 50-yard score to push the Wolves to the 7-0 lead at the 12:39 mark of the first quarter.

"It's great to see our group come together and get a win somewhere we haven't won in a while," Jakob Pruitt said.
The defense came through with a big play later in the quarter when Anderson picked off his first pass of the day at the WOU 1 that helped stop a 10-play drive.

The poor field position certainly didn't bother the Wolves as they would march 99 yards for the score. Along the way Currie completed a big pass on third-and-eight at the WOU 3 for 11 yards to Evander Willingham. Jackson added a 12-yard run and then faced with another third down, Currie called his own number and picked up nine yards for the first down to the WOU 41. Currie used his legs again on a third-and-six out near midfield when he scrambled for eight yards for another first down. A third-and-five arrived a few plays later and this time Currie hit Tyler Reid in stride for nine yards and a first down to the CWU 33. A Currie 25-yard pass to Justice Murphy had WOU in a goal-to-go position sitting at the six. After three plays netted just two yards, a fourth-and-goal from the CWU 4 arrived and Currie had a great pocket to throw and found Sampson streaking in the back of the end zone for the touchdown and a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

"I love how the offensive line really dominated the game and controlled the line of scrimmage letting our running backs get out and do what they do best. Great team win over a good football team," Avery Bilensky said.

The Wildcats responded on the ensuing drive when they answered back with a 12 play and 75-yard drive that took over five minutes off the clock and ended with a one-yard TD run by Roots. The extra point was blocked by Blayne Burnett to leave WOU with the 14-6 lead.

Central Washington was able to pull to within a point before the break after getting the ball back with a few minutes to play in the half and went down the field in seven plays and 74 yards that ended with another TD run by Roots to leave WOU with the 14-13 halftime lead.

The momentum continued for the Wildcats right into the second half when they took the kickoff and marched seven plays and 58 yards for a 20-14 lead when Roots again found the end zone from one-yard out for the 20-14 lead.

A big drive followed for WOU and yet another third down was ready to be picked up when Currie scrambled on third-and-eight going for 13 yards out to the WOU 37. On the next snap, Land found a seem and went 34 yards down to the CWU 29. After a Currie 16-yard pass to Ford moved the ball down to the CWU 7, Currie rushed it in on the next play to push WOU back in front at 21-20 with 8:28 to play in the third quarter.

"This team is much different then what I've seen before, we're all buying in and encouraging one another. On top of that, this group has a lot of talent and with the past two wins at Azusa Pacific for the first time since 2012 and this recent win in Ellensburg shows we are making history. We still have a lot to accomplish this season, but we continue to make strides," Aaron Turner said.

Central Washington scored on the next drive when Roots found the end zone for the fourth time to move the Wildcats out to a 26-21 lead as the extra point was missed.

A big stop by the WOU defense followed as an interception by the Wildcats gave them the ball back at the CWU 34. The Wolves defense stood tall forcing a quick three-and-out. After that, it was all WOU the rest of the way.

WOU quickly moved the ball out near midfield and were faced with a fourth-and-three. Out of a timeout, Currie found Kaleo Garrigan on a quick slant for a six-yard completion and a first down into CWU territory. Jackson that accounted for 18 yards on the ground on three carries around an 11-yard Currie pass to Murphy to move the ball into the red zone. Two plays later, Currie kept it again and went in untouched seven yards for the score. Currie then converted the two-point conversion to push WOU out to the 29-26 lead early in the fourth quarter.

"Our offensive line balled out and created holes that our running backs hit hard. I'm extremely proud of our overall team effort tonight," Christian Needham said.

The Wolves came up big on defense again on the next drive when Anderson was able to record an interception at the WOU 35. It didn't take the offense long to convert, with Land rushing two times for 27 yards and after Jackson picked up 25 yards, a pass interference call had the ball at the CWU 2. On the next snap, it was Currie again finding the end zone for the 36-26 lead with 9:28 to play in the game.

The defense forced a quick three-and-out and then the offense chewed up the final 8:05 off the clock with Land, Jackson and Currie and picking up big yards to seal the 36-26 victory.

For the game WOU ended up going 8-14 on third downs and went 3-4 on fourth downs.

Canon Racanelli completed 14-26 for 195 yards but didn't have a touchdown and threw two interceptions to lead Central Washington. Roots rushed for 99 yards and four touchdowns, while Hamilton Hunt had 18 tackles on defense with 11 coming solo.

WOU will now return home this coming Saturday, Oct. 5 to face Simon Fraser inside McArthur Field with kickoff set for 1:05 p.m.
 
 
 
 
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