Box Score MIDLAND, Tex.--Western Oregon's defense held host Texas Permian Basin to negative rushing yardage while the Wolves offense found the end zone five times on their way to a 38-19 upset win of the No. 20 ranked Falcons at Astound Broadband Stadium.
The Wolves picked up their first Lone Star Conference victory with the win (1-4 / 3-4 overall) while Texas Permian Basin saw its five-game winning streak snapped. The Falcons, now 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the Lone Star, had not lost since their season opener on August 29.
And the Wolves set the tone with their defense but also with
Tony McAdoo's 93-yard kickoff return on the first play of the game.. The Falcons came into the game averaging just over 42 points a game and 168 rushing yards per contest. Tonight, they completely shut down the UT-PB ground attack to a grand total of -2 rushing yards, forcing the home team to the air, where they threw for 342 yards.
"I thought the defense really improved," said WOU head coach
Arne Ferguson. "The negative rushing yards, the 0-for-13 on third downs and it was really just two big pass plays out of 53 passes attempted."
Western Oregon stunned the Falcons and the crowd of 2,312 early with 10 first quarter points.
Kadyn Butcher got the Wolves on the board with a 46-yard field goal just over five minutes into the game, and
Jordan McCarty's 8-yard throw to
Jaylen Fite with less than a minute left in the quarter gave the visitors a 10-0 lead at the end of the period. WOU held the Falcons to just 35 yards of total offense in the first 15 minutes of play.
Texas Permian Basin righted the ship in the second quarter, putting three scores on the board. Two field goals and a touchdown pass gave the Falcons a 13-10 lead at the halftime break.
Western Oregon got the lead back in the third quarter on a 72-yard touchdown bomb from McCarty to
Jackson Trimmer to make the score 17-13. In the fourth, the Wolves broke the game open on a McCarty 14-yard run, a one-yard plunge by
Tyler Konold and a
Carson Workman 79-yard sprint to pay dirt with just under three minutes to play.
McCarty completed 11 of 19 passes for 180 yards and two scores. He also rushed for 47 yards and a touchdown. He found eight different receivers, led by
Emmitt Fee's three grabs for 43 yards.
Jayshon Limar had eight rushes for 59 yards, and Workman had 97 yards on 10 carries with the bulk of it coming on the 79-yard dash. As a team, the Wolves had 219 yards rushing.
Western Oregon's defense sacked the Falcons' quarterbacks five times for a total of 34 yards.
Jakari Weeks had two of those takedowns.
"It was a great team win," Ferguson added. "It is great to see the players working hard and getting better. UTPB is a very good team with a lot of ability in all areas."
The Wolves return for Homecoming next Saturday (Oct. 24), hosting Eastern New Mexico. Start time is 1 pm.
