Football | 11/11/2008 12:45:34 AM
This Week: Season over
Last Week: Western Oregon 17, Linfield 9
Final Record: 7-4 overall, 5-3 Great Northwest Athletic Conference
Grand finale: Western Oregon put a wrap on the 2008 football season with a 17-9 non-conference win over Linfield to finish 7-4 on the year. The Wolves were 5-3 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, tying for second place with Western Washington.
Three's: The victory over the NCAA Division III Wildcats was Western Oregon's third consecutive win in the series. WOU's winning season is also the third straight for the program. The last time that happened was from 1985 to 1987.
Wolves replay: You can watch the replay of the Wolves-Wildcats contest on CCTV channel 22 in Salem, and in Monmouth-Independence, the game will show on channel 17 and 18 throughout the week. Past games will show at 1 am each night. For DVD copies of the game, email Russ Blunck at blunckr@wou.edu.
Just missed: Western Oregon just missed a post-season berth in the Rotary Bowl in St. George, Utah, which matches up the top teams from the GNAC and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference that are not in the NCAA playoffs. GNAC champ Central Washington will play West Texas A&M in the Super Regional 4. Western Oregon tied for second place with Western Washington in the GNAC, but WWU gets the Rotary Bowl berth based on point differential in their series this year with the Wolves (+2 points). The Vikings will play Colorado School of Mines, whom WOU defeated last year in the Rotary Bowl, 26-12.
Coach quips: "You would always like to have a little better season, but we were just two points away from a Rotary Bowl berth and if we could have won one of those two close games with Central Washington, we might be in the NCAA playoffs," head coach Arne Ferguson said. "We lost a senior quarterback and four starting offensive lineman last year, and I thought that we got better at those positions as the season went along. The GNAC this year was as good as it has ever been offensively, but I thought that we matched up well athletically with everyone that we faced. Looking ahead, we will have more returnees with lots of experience than I have ever had here. We lose some excellent seniors, and will have some holes to fill on the offensive and defensive lines, but overall we should be a better football team next year. Our freshman class is also chomping at the bit to get into the mix, and we are looking forward to recruiting the top kids in Oregon that are available to us as we continue to grow the program."
Final GNAC Standings
Central Washington 8-0 (10-1)
Western Oregon 5-3 (7-4)
Western Washington 5-3 (5-5)
Dixie State 2-5 (4-7)
Humboldt State 0-8 (2-9)
Region playoffs: No. 1 Abilene Christian and No. 2 Northwest Missouri get byes this week in the NCAA Super Regional IV playoffs. No. 6 Nebraska-Omaha travels to No. 3 Pittsburg State, while No. 5 Central Washington will play at No. 4 West Texas A&M at 11 a.m. Pacific time on Saturday.
Cox earns POY honor: Senior defensive tackle Matt Cox has been named the GNAC Defensive Player of Year, voted on by the league's coaches. The four-year starter led the GNAC in tackles for loss (20) and quarterback sacks (11), and also leaves as the career leader in both of those categories in the conference with 58.5 TFL and 27.5 sacks. The former North Salem HS standout had 73 tackles this season.
14 Wolves earn GNAC honors: In addition to the honor for Cox, 14 Western Oregon players were named to the All-GNAC all-star team, announced today by the conference office. For a complete list of the team, go to gnacsports.com.
First team
Ben Kuenzi, RB, Salem, Ore.
Isaiah Smith, WR, Roseburg, Ore.
Cory Perkins, OL, Salem, Ore.
Matt Cox, DL, Salem, Ore.
Caleb Singleton, DB, Salem, Ore.
Andrew Jackson, DB, Portland, Ore.
Shaun Kauleinamoku, PR, Ewa Beach, Hawaii
Second team
Shaun Kauleinamoku, WR, Ewa Beach, Hawaii
DJ Jackson, RB, Portland, Ore.
Demario Ballard, WR, Thomsen, Ga.
Jose Escobedo, OL, Nyssa, Ore.
Cody Feakin, OL, Scappoose, Ore.
Anthony Marin, DL, Salem, Ore.
JT Gilmore, LB, Lincoln City, Ore.
Bryan Huber, DB, Salem, Ore.
No doubt: Five of WOU's first team selections were unanimous picks by the GNAC coaches: Ben Kuenzi, Isaiah Smith, Matt Cox, Cory Perkins and Caleb Singleton.
Salute to Salem: Remarkably, six of WOU's All-GNAC selections are from nearby Salem, Ore.: Ben Kuenzi, Cory Perkins, Matt Cox, Caleb Singleton, Anthony Marin and Bryan Huber. Kuenzi, Marin and Perkins are from McKay High School, Singleton and Huber went to West Salem HS, and Cox went to North Salem HS.
Smart guys: Seven WOU players were also named to the GNAC Academic All-Conference team.
Juan Rodriguez, Kicker, Hermiston, Ore.
Sean Fullerton, Wide Receiver, West Linn, Ore.
Andy Douglas, Linebacker, Aloha, Ore.
Jake Zeutenhorst, Wide Receiver, Selah, Wash.
Oneste Robert, Defensive Line, Portland, Ore.
Spencer Perry, Linebacker, Salem, Ore.
Sy Cullen, Defensive Back, Kapolei, Hawaii
Super seniors: Western Oregon has 15 seniors on its roster this season, including four players that were four-year letterwinners: WR Isaiah Smith, C Cory Perkins, DT Matt Cox and DT Anthony Marin.
Back for more: The Wolves will return a large batch of letterwinners in 2009, including seven starters on the offensive side of the ball and nine on defense.
Ferguson facts: Head coach Arne Ferguson now has four years under his belt as the leader of the Wolves program, but has been a part of WOU football since his playing days beginning in 1985 followed by a long career as an assistant at Western. His career record as a head coach is now 26-16.
2005: 5-6 (2004 team went 1-9)
2006: 6-4
2007: 9-2 (won Rotary Bowl)
2008: 7-4
Record book: There were a number of records broken and new Top Ten entries established in 2008. Those marks follow here in the categories of Career, Season and Single-Game. Josh Riddell led the way with 14 entries into the Top Ten, including three school records.
Career
Ben Kuenzi, Rushing (1,978), 9th
Ben Kuenzi, Yards Per Rush (4.9), 8th
Josh Riddell, Passing Yards (2,776), 10th
Josh Riddell, TD Passes (25), 8th
Isaiah Smith, Catches (112), 9th
Isaiah Smith, Receiving Yards (1,917), 6th
Isaiah Smith, TD Catches (15), 8th
Isaiah Smith, Ave. Per Catch (17.1), 7th
Cory Dickson, Punt Average (36.2), 8th
Shaun Kauleinamoku, Punt Return Yds. (350), 6th
Shaun Kauleinamoku, Punt Return Ave. (9.0), 10th
Juan Rodriguez, Field Goals (9), 6th
Juan Rodriguez, Extra Points (47), 7th
JT Gilmore, Tackles (253), 9th
Single Season
Josh Riddell, Passing Attempts (304), 8th
Josh Riddell, Pass Completions (177), 7th
Josh Riddell, Passing Yards (2,776), 1st
Josh Riddell, TD Passes (25), T-1st
Josh Riddell , Total Offense (2,824), 2nd
Josh Riddell, TD's Responsible for (29), 2nd
Shaun Kauleinamoku, TD Catches (8), T-5th
Shaun Kauleinamoku, Punt Return Ave. (11.3), 7th
Juan Rodriguez, Extra Points (40), 2nd
Single Game
Josh Riddell, Pass Completions (26), T-8th
Josh Riddell, Passing Yards (488), 1st
Josh Riddell, Passing Yards (381), 7th
Josh Riddell, TD Passes (4 twice), T-3rd
Josh Riddell, Total Offense (488), 1st
Josh Riddell, Total Offense (401), 5th
GNAC leaders: Running back Ben Kuenzi finished second in the GNAC yards-per-game rushing category with 68.3 and was second in rushing touchdowns with six. Josh Riddell was third in passing yards a game (252.4) and pass efficiency (150.2). Senior receiver Isaiah Smith is fourth in receiving yardage a contest (64.0). Shaun Kauleinamoku is eighth in receiving yards per game (52.1), is fifth in TD scores (eight) and first in punt return average (11.3). Jon Dowd is third in the conference in kick-off returns with 22.4 per return and Patrick Fuller is sixth at 20.4. Cory Dickson is second in punting at 37.3. JT Gilmore ranks third in the GNAC in tackles with 8.9 per game (89 total). Gavin Romanick is second in the GNAC in interceptions with five and seventh in tackles for loss (0.91), with Caleb Singelton (four) right behind him in intercpetions. Matt Cox leads the league lead in quarterback sacks (1.00 a game), and the senior defensive tackle leads the loop in tackles for loss with 1.82 a game. Bryan Huber leads the GNAC in passes defended with 1.00 a game, while Miguel Gonzalez is sixth (0.80).
Touting the team: Western Oregon led the GNAC in Rushing Offense (141.4), Pass Defense Efficiency (126.5), Rushing Defense (76.9), Interceptions (18), and Punt Coverage (34.8 net). The Wolves are ninth in the NCAA listings in Rushing Defense.
