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ELLENSBURG (Oct. 1) -- Redshirt freshman Levi Taylor (Spokane/Lewis and Clark HS) ran for a career-high 153 yards, and the Central Washington University football team built a 31-3 halftime lead in its 37-17 victory over visiting Simon Fraser University on Saturday afternoon at Tomlinson Stadium.

The win was the first of the year for the Wildcats, who improved to 1-3 overall and 1-2 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. Simon Fraser, in its second year as a GNAC member, fell to 1-4 overall and 0-4 in the conference with its fourth straight loss.

Taylor was not stopped behind the line of scrimmage en route to his career-best rushing day. Of his 20 carries -- the most by a CWU running back in a game this season -- four were for 10 or more yards including a pair of 37-yard carries. He scored on a 14-yard run at the 6:29 mark of the second quarter, which gave the Wildcats a 14-3 lead at the time.

The Wildcat offense, which had accumulated just 53 points in the first three games of the season, scored early and often in Saturday's victory over the Clan. CWU scored on each of its first four possessions, with three touchdowns and a 48-yard field goal by junior Sean Davis (Federal Way/Todd Beamer HS). The passing connection of junior Ryan Robertson (Sammamish/Eastlake HS) and senior Justin Helwege (Sammamish/Eastlake HS) scored on the opening CWU possession, as the two hooked up on an eight-yard scoring strike, followed by Taylor's TD run on the second possession. Davis' field goal with 3:14 remaining in the quarter pushed the lead to 17-3.

In the second quarter, Robertson found Helwege for a 49-yard touchdown pass -- the longest scoring play of the season for the CWU offense to date -- and then the Wildcats scored once more as Robertson connected with redshirt freshman Leon La Deaux (Port Orchard/South Kitsap HS) on a 26-yard pass in the final minute of the half.

Following halftime, with a 28-point lead in hand, Central Washington turned to the ground game, with 28 rushing plays and just eight passing plays in the final two quarters. The Wildcats accumulated 126 of their season-high 211 rushing yards in the third and fourth quarters combined, but scored just six points following the intermission. Davis kicked a 27-yard field goal late in the third quarter, and sophomore Josef Kistler (Galloway, N.J./Absegami HS) made his debut five minutes later with a 23-yard field goal to extend the margin to 37-3.

Simon Fraser scored on its next possession, as Mathias Baumbach scored on a five-yard pass from Trey Wheeler to cap a 14-play, 61-yard drive that consumed 6:31 off the game clock. The Clan then scored a defensive touchdown on Central Washington's next series, as a botched handoff from backup quarterback Jose Mohler (Cardiff, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS) to running back Louis Davis, Jr. (Tacoma/Wilson HS) was scooped up by Joseph Iatzko at the SFU 29 and returned for a 71-yard touchdown. Iatzko also had a fumble recovery in the closing minute of the game.

Thanks largely to nearly 20 minutes of possession time in the second half, Central Washington finished with a six-minute edge in time of possession. The Wildcats also had nine more offensive plays (71-62) and racked up 416 yards of total offense to Simon Fraser's 239. Central's 211 passing and 205 rushing yards marked the second time since the 2007 NCAA Division II playoffs that the Wildcats had more than 200 yards rushing and passing in the same game.

Robertson finished 15 of 28 passing for the 205 yards with three touchdowns. He found six different pass receivers on Saturday, with five catches each to Helwege and junior Anthony Spain (Grants Pass, Ore./North Valley HS).

Defensively, the Wildcats excelled by holding Simon Fraser more than 60 yards below its season rushing average. The Clan did accumulate 171 yards on the ground, led by 141 from starter Bo Palmer. Wheeler, a Seattle native, was 10 of 23 passes for SFU, which has lost all 12 conference games since joining the conference prior to the 2010 season.

Twenty-five different CWU players were credited with at least one tackle in Saturday's win, led by six stops from junior safety Deionte Gordon (Seaside, Calif.). Senior Taylor Tanasse (Yakima/West Valley HS) led a quartet of Wildcat defenders with five tackles, including four tackles for losses totaling 16 yards. Tanasse and sophomore Stetson Shearer (Burlington/Burlington-Edison HS) each had a quarterback sack for Central Washington, marking the first quarterback sacks for the Wildcat defense since the season opener against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Sept. 2.

Central Washington will continue its three-game home stand with another crucial game next Saturday (Oct. 8), as the Wildcats look for revenge against Western Oregon University at Tomlinson Stadium. CWU lost to the Wolves just two weeks ago, 14-7, at Monmouth, Ore.