POCATELLO, Idaho --- The Western Oregon football team dropped its season opener at D-I Idaho State 50-10 Saturday at Holt Arena.
The Wolves (0-1 overall) fell behind 34-0 in the first half to the Bengals (1-1) before getting on the board late in the second. WOU quickly got into ISU territory as quarterback
Jordan McCarty scampered for 26 yards on the first play of the drive. On the next play, McCarty hit senior
Damon Hickok down the right side deep for a 41-yard gain to take it down to the ISU 16.
Unfortunately for WOU, the drive stalled there and freshman
Keaton Emmett kicked a 34-yard field goal with eight seconds left in the half to make it 34-3.
The Wolves' first touchdown of the season came in the fourth. WOU got into ISU territory with a 21-yard pass from
Kainoa Jones to
London Smalley before on the next play
Jermaine Land rushed left for 20 yards down to the ISU 20. Two plays later,
Fresh Ison ran right, found a hole and sprinted to the end zone for a 19-yard score.
The Wolves finished with 221 yards of offense, 114 on the ground and 106 through the air. Mcarty had a team-high 36 yards rushing on seven carries,
Dominique Loggins had 35 yards on 11 carries and Land finished with 32 yards on five carries. Through the air, Jones finished 6-for-12 for 63 yards while McCarty went 3-for-11 for 44 yards.
Brenden Hodge had a team-best three catches while
Damon Hickok led the team with 48 yards receiving on two receptions.
Defensively,
Tyler Copeland led the way with eight tackles and an interception.
Malcolm Liufau had seven tackles, a pass breakup, a forced fumble and made a diving tip on a pass that deflected into
Garrett Olson's hands for an interception.
Andrew Simpson had six tackles and a forced fumble.
WOU hits the road again next week taking on another Big Sky opponent in Cal Poly 5 p.m. Saturday in San Luis Obispo, California.
