Central Washington University Athletics

The Central Washington University football team squares off with Texas A&M - Commerce this Saturday, Nov. 25 at Noon in Tomlinson Stadium as a part of the NCAA Division II Super Region 4 semi-finals.
 
The Wildcats (11-0) enter the game as the top seed while the Lions (10-1) earned the fifth seed and upended Winona State last weekend 20-6.
 
LIVE STREAM/STATS: Wildcatsports.com/live
RADIO:  88.1 FM locally, online at IHeart Radio or The Burg live stream
 TICKETS:  Wildcatsports.com/tickets
 
 
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
 Playoffs?  Did you say Playoffs?
This will be the Wildcats fifth NCAA Division II Playoff run since becoming a DII member in 1999.  The Wildcats are 3-4 all time, with two of those wins coming at home where the Wildcats are 2-2.
 
The Wildcats first home playoff victory came in 2007 against Ashland, a 40-24 win over the Eagles.  The most recent playoff run in 2009, the Wildcats hosted Tarleton State in the Regional Semi-Finals and upended the Texans 27-6.
 
Including the NAIA playoffs (1984-1998) the Wildcats are 13-12-1 all-time.
           
Since the addition of 28 teams (2015), the number one seeds in the playoffs have went 7-1 in their opening games, with top seed Midwestern State losing to fourth-seeded Colorado State Pueblo 26-17 in 2015.
 
 
Wildcats Dominate All-GNAC Team – (Full List)
Central Washington laded a record 21 athletes on the 2017 all-GNAC team, led by linebacker Kevin Haynes who earned his second-consecutive defensive player of the year award.
 
The Wildcats took home a total of four specialty trophies including:
Defensive Lineman of the Year: DE Bo Banner
Newcomer of the Year: QB Reilly Hennessey
Coach of the Year: Ian Shoemaker.
 
Ferocious Pass Rush
The Wildcats lead the nation in sacks per game at 5.27, and made a statement in the last game of the season where they sat down Humboldt State quarterback Robert Weber 11 times to set a new school record.  The Wildcats finished the regular season with 58 sacks which also broke school record.
 
Twenty-one of those sacks came from the duo of Bo Banner and Billy Greer.  Greer finished the season with 11 sacks which led the GNAC and ranks fifth nationally with 1.22 per game.  Banner was named GNAC Defensive POY after grounding 10 passers.  Greer and Banner have also gathered 14.5 and 13.5 tackles for loss, respectively, helping Central to a national ranking of second in the category.
 
 
ABOUT THE LIONS
The Lions are 10-1 on the season with its lone loss coming in week five against Midwestern State 42-47.
In its opening playoff game, Texas A&M – Commerce upended Winona State 20-6 to advance to the regional semi-finals.
 
Just like the Wildcats, the Lions feature a Top 25 offense (22^nd) and defense (16^th) and rank in the Top 25 scoring on both sides of the ball.
 
Leading the offensive charge is Harlon Hill nominated quarterback Luis Perez who was named the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Year.  He has thrown for 3,739 yards and 38 touchdowns to just six interceptions.
 
Perez has a bevy of pass catchers with five receivers with over 40 receptions led by Buck Wilson with 50 for 779 yards and nine touchdowns.
 
Defensively, the Lions excel against the run where they 19^th in the nation, allowing 104.9 yards per game.
 
Brucks Saathoff leads the team with 67 tackles, aided by the lay of lineman Keiston Carter and Michael Onuoha who have combined for 22.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
 
 
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.  The Wildcats are 1-1 in the playoffs against teams hailing from the Lone Star State, the most recent coming in 2009 when the Wildcats defeated Tarleton State 27-6.

The Two teams have faced a familiar foe in 2017 in North Alabama.  The Lions defeated UNA 8-7 in the season opener and the Wildcats downed North Alabama 17-10

 

CWU

TAMUC

12TH	40.2	SCORING OFFENSE	20TH	38.5
16TH	16.1	SCORING DEFENSE	8TH	14.1
11TH	245.0	RUSHING OFFENSE	155TH	98.8
1ST	45.5	RUSHING DEFENSE	19TH	104.9
73RD	219.5	PASSING OFFENSE	1ST	360.5
72ND	199.1	PASSING DEFENSE	28TH	177.0
1ST	5.27	SACKS	22ND	2.91
15TH	1.00	SACKS ALLOWED	69TH	1.91