MONMOUTH, Ore. – In a back-and-forth battle, it was only fitting that the Western Oregon University football team would put together a 12 play, 89-yard drive to score with just seconds remaining to claim a thrilling 41-38 win over West Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon in front of a packed McArthur Field crowd.

"It was a real exciting game going back-and-forth all the time. It felt like we were climbing a mountain, getting close to the top and then all of a sudden, we had to climb again. Really excited for our offense to come through with a minute left and score, that was so huge. We had some real special plays at the end of the game and not a lot of teams can do that. West Texas A&M is very good and this is a big win for us," head coach Arne Ferguson said.

The game featured just about everything and when you thought you had seen it all, another big play was right around the corner.

WOU's offense put together a massive game piling up 553 total yards of offense and it was a balanced attack. The passing game chewed up 379 yards, while the rushing attack added 174 yards. The defense came up with a couple of key stops throughout the game to help lead WOU (2-3) to a win in their first home game in nearly two years.

Ryan Worthley completed 28-35 for 379 yards and two touchdowns. Thomas Wright caught six passes for 98 yards including a 56-yard TD catch. Andrew Valladares, showing his versatility, grabbed six passes for 95 yards. Justice Murphy tallied four catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. Marquis Sampson added five catches for 45 yards and Damon Hickok had three catches for 42 yards. On the ground, Omari Land rushed for 98 yards and three touchdowns, while Valladares added 68 yards and a score.

Jaylin Parnell led the defense with 10 tackles and a tackle for loss. Machiah Lee recorded eight tackles and two pass breakups. Cooger Smith was third on the team in tackles with six and added a half-tackle for loss. Parnell, Ryan Minniti and Derek Moreland all had tackles for loss, as Moreland picked up a sack.

Setting the scene back to that fourth quarter drive. West Texas A&M (2-3) had just gone back in front at 38-34 on a 75-yard TD run and left just over four minutes on the clock.

WOU (2-3) started back at their own 11 following a penalty on the return. After the first three plays netted just one yard, the Wolves were faced with a fourth-and-nine at their own 12. With only one timeout and not much time left, WOU went for it. Worthley dropped back and as the pressure started to show up, he checked it down to an open Valladares who worked his way for a 15-yard gain and first down.

After a few small gains moved the ball upfield, Worthley connected with Valladares again on a check down in the middle of the field on third down that turned into a 13-yard gain and first down at the WT 45. With under a minute to play, Worthley hit Murphy in traffic who made a great catch for 29 yards down to the WT 11. Valladares took it from there, carrying it three yards before the next snap going eight yards around the right end and into the end zone for the touchdown with just 17 seconds to play that moved WOU to a 41-38 lead.

That left the Buffaloes with just time for a few plays. Following a short completion that had the ball out near midfield, WT had to throw it towards the end zone with five seconds to play and Joey Sinclair came up with the interception around the 10-yard line to secure the three-point victory.

Early on, WT scored on their first possession driving seven plays and going 78 yards for the 7-0 lead near the midway point of the first quarter.

WOU answered right back with Sampson tallying a 10-yard catch from Worthley just across midfield before Valladares broke free for a big 23-yard rush to put the Wolves in the red zone. After a seven-yard pass to Hickok and nine-yard rush by Land had the ball at the WT 3, Land finished off the drive with a three-yard carry to even the score at seven.

The Buffs came back with a field goal to take a 10-7 lead after the first quarter.

After the teams traded possessions, WT would move in front 17-7 taking advantage of a fumble and scoring on a three-yard TD run by QB Nick Gerber.

It didn't take the Wolves long to respond. After a nine-yard pass to Sampson started the drive, Worthley would throw a perfect long ball strike to Wright in stride in the middle of the field for a 56-yard touchdown to leave WT with a 17-14 lead near the midway point of the second quarter.

The WOU defense came up big on the next WT drive, forcing a turnover on downs at the WOU 31. The Wolves then went down the field to take their first lead of the game.

On third-and-four at the WOU 37, Worthley found Murphy for a big eight-yard gain and first down. After that, Jarren Ford came up with an 11-yard catch just across midfield. A few plays later, Valladares broke free again, catching a pass from Worthley and going 35 yards to the WT 7. Land took it from there rushing for six yards down to the one before finishing the drive with a one-yard TD run to give WOU a 21-17 lead.

WT got out to midfield before halftime but weren't able to score leaving WOU with the four-point lead at the break.

The Buffs got the ball first to start the second half and went 60 yards on six plays that ended with a one-yard TD pass to move back in front at 24-21.

Following a missed field goal on the ensuing WOU drive, the defense came up with a huge stop on the next drive.

With the Buffs at the WOU 7 with second-and-goal, the Wolves were able to get pressure on Gerber and he was hit as he attempted a pass over the middle that was intercepted by Billy Nelson.

The teams traded possessions before WOU picked up great field position on a short 20-yard punt towards the end of the third quarter that had WOU at the WT 45.

Right as the fourth quarter started, Worthley found Valladares for a 23-yard gain and then Worthley found Murphy for the 19-yard TD strike to push WOU back in front at 28-24.

WT answered back going on a 12 play, 67-yard drive that ended with a Gerber TD run to regain the lead at 31-28.

Following a penalty after the touchdown that had WOU out near midfield off the kickoff, the Wolves went right back to work to take the lead back. Worthley found Kade Hustler for six yards and then Murphy for 15 yards to the WT 29. After picking up seven yards over the next three plays, WOU was faced with a fourth-and-three at the WT 22. Rather than try a field goal to tie the game, WOU went for it and Worthley hit Sampson right behind a defender near the sidelines for a big gain of 17 yards and a first-and-goal at the WT 5. Two plays later, Land rushed it in for the TD and moved WOU back out to the 34-31 lead to help set the scene for an exciting finish.

Gerber completed 17-31 for 235 yards and a touchdown to lead WT. Khalil Harris rushed for 193 yards and a touchdown, while Gerber added 82 yards on the ground. Tyrie Tipton caught eight passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, while Noah Bogardus added six catches for 88 yards.

On defense, Eric Collins, Satchel Escalante and Cole Oster all came away with nine tackles. The Buffs tallied 533 total yards of offense, rushing for 298 yards and passing for 235.

Following the big home win, WOU will remain in Monmouth this coming week when they host Central Washington for Homecoming this coming Saturday, Oct. 9 with kickoff set for 1:05 p.m. at McArthur Field.