Parnell, Land
Amanda Loman
24
Winner Western Ore. WOU 1-3 , 1-0
7
Simon Fraser SFU 0-4 , 0-2
Winner
Western Ore. WOU
1-3 , 1-0
24
Final
7
Simon Fraser SFU
0-4 , 0-2
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
WOU Western Ore. 0 7 7 10 24
SFU Simon Fraser 0 0 7 0 7

Game Recap: Football | | Brian Kortz

Defense Limits Simon Fraser To Seven Points, While Land Rushes For Pair Of Scores To Lead Wolves To Road GNAC Victory

BURNABY, B.C. – Backed by a defense that continued to come up with big stops, the Western Oregon University football team used a pair of big touchdown runs by Omari Land to claim a 24-7 road victory at Simon Fraser Saturday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play at SFU's new stadium at Terry Fox Field.

"I really like how we came out and finished in the second half. The defense played very well in key situations and gave us a chance to win. The defensive line and linebackers did a great job of stopping the run and pressuring the quarterback. The defensive backs made a lot of key plays," head coach Arne Ferguson said.

It was a big night on the ground for Land as he rushed for 209 yards and two touchdowns on just 25 carries. The rushing attack piled up 326 yards with Andrew Valladares adding 70 yards and Ryan Worthley with 34 yards.

"When we needed it, the offense delivered some big plays to help us pull away. The offensive line and the running game had a big game, especially running for over 300 yards. It's nice to get our first win of the year and to start off GNAC with a victory. We're looking forward to finally getting to play at home this coming week," Ferguson said.

Worthley completed 14-27 for 87 yards with Valladares going for 22 yards on one reception. Jarren Ford had two catches for 18 yards. Thomas Wright had a team-high five catches for 14 yards.

The defense played large for WOU (1-3, 1-0 GNAC) all game limiting Simon Fraser (0-4, 0-2 GNAC) to just 10 first downs and 232 total yards. The Wolves held SFU to 2-13 on third down and 0-3 on fourth down. Time of possession helped WOU control the game as they had the ball for over 35 minutes.

Curtis Anderson and Ryan Minniti led the defense with six tackles apiece. Joey Sinclair, Ulrich Jr., and Mason Brown all added four tackles. Parnell finished with two sacks, added two pass breakups and a blocked field goal, while Sinclair also added two pass breakups.

It was a defensive battle from both teams through the first quarter with neither team able to score.

In the second quarter, WOU put together a drive late in the half to find the end zone. A big 22-yard pass from Worthley to Valladares moved the ball to the SFU 35. On fourth-and-two at the SFU 27, Worthley found Wright for six yards and a big first down. Following a 15-yard strike to Austin Goldstein set the Wolves up at the one, Land found the end zone for the 7-0 lead.

Simon Fraser tried to answer before the break, getting down to the WOU 15 when faced with a fourth-and-seven and the pass attempt was incomplete on a nice pass breakup by Daron Ulrich Jr., to send the teams into the half with WOU holding a 7-0 lead.

The second half started off with fireworks for both teams. WOU got the ball first and after Marquis Sampson returned the kickoff 52 yards, Land and the offensive line did the rest. On the very next snap, Land took the handoff and cut back through a great hole by the line to break free for the 42-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead just 23 seconds into the third quarter.

 Simon Fraser answered right back. After getting the ball at midfield off of a kick out of bounds, a 50-yard touchdown pass had SFU on the board trailing 14-7 just 30 seconds into the second half.

The teams traded possessions for most of the remainder of the third quarter that included a big stop by the WOU defense holding SFU at the WOU 28.

Parnell came up with a big sack towards the end of the third quarter that got the ball back to the offense and eventually led to more points in the fourth.

WOU moved the ball down to the SFU 7 and Daniel Cossette connected on the 24-yard field goal to move WOU out to a 17-7 lead with 11 minutes to play in the game.

A big stop by the defense followed on the ensuing drive. SFU was forced to punt, but the return was fumbled and recovered by SFU and the WOU 20. Three straight incompletions led to a 37-yard field goal that was blocked by Parnell keeping it a 17-7 lead.

The Wolves then put the game away on the next drive. WOU would go 80 yards in 12 plays to move in front by 17. After big runs by Worthley, Land and Valladares got the ball down to the SFU 1, Hickok finished the drive with a one-yard carry to push the lead to 24-7.

WOU's defense forced a turnover on downs on the next Simon Fraser possession to seal the 24-7 win for the Wolves.

Overall, WOU picked up 25 first downs, tallying 413 yards.

Justin Seiber completed 19-33 for 207 yards and a touchdown. Dallas Dixon caught two passes for 65 yards and a touchdown. Riley Morrison added five catches for 57 yards. WOU limited SFU to just 25 rushing yards with quarterback Seiber leading the team on the ground rushing three times for 18 yards. On defense, Griffin Barrett recorded 17 tackles and Kolby Buljevic added 14 tackles.

WOU will now return home for their home opener this coming Saturday against West Texas A&M starting at 1:05 p.m. at McArthur Field. West Texas A&M nearly pulled the upset against Colorado School of Mines tonight in Canyon before the Orediggers took the 21-13 victory.

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