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BURNABY, British Columbia (Oct. 19) -- The Central Washington University football team scored in nearly every way possible on Saturday, building a 30-point halftime lead en route to a convincing 54-14 victory over host Simon Fraser University at Terry Fox Field.

The win was the fourth in a row for the Wildcats, who improved to 5-2 overall and 5-1 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. Simon Fraser fell to 2-4 overall and in the conference.

CWU finished the game with season-highs of 54 points and 431 yards of total offense, accumulating much of those totals in the first half as they led 44-14 at halftime.

The Wildcats scored rushing touchdowns on two of their first three offensive possessions, sandwiched around a safety. Sophomore Jordan Todd (Bellevue/Interlake HS) provided CWU with the offensive scoring with touchdown runs of 20 and six yards in the first quarter. They also scored their first safety of the season on Simon Fraser's second offensive series, as senior Austin Schnizler (Ventura, Calif./St. Bonaventure HS) tackled running back Stephen Spagnuolo in the end zone.

The high-scoring first quarter was extended after Simon Fraser scored on passing touchdowns from Ryan Stanford -- totaling 19 yards to Robert Borcky and 12 yards to Bobby Pospischil -- as the Clan cut its deficit to 16-14. However, on the kickoff following the latter score, CWU redshirt freshman Jesse Zalk (Battle Ground/Prairie HS) netted a 75-yard touchdown return to boost the Wildcats' lead to 23-14 after one quarter of play.

From that point forward, the CWU defense contained Simon Fraser while the Wildcat offense and special teams added to the lead. On the first possession of the second quarter, senior punter Matt Burke (Laguna Hills, Calif.) executed a fake punt to perfection, finding fellow senior Deionte Gordon (Seaside, Calif.) for a 54-yard touchdown pass. Later in the quarter, sophomore Isaiah Davis (Bremerton/South Kitsap HS) logged the first return touchdown of his career with a 59-yard punt return, putting the Wildcats ahead 37-14. Then, with 23 seconds to go in the first half, redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Nelson (Lake Stevens) and junior receiver Adam Schechter (Simi Valley, Calif.) connected on a 21-yard touchdown strike.

The only scoring of the second half belonged to the Wildcats, as redshirt freshman Blake Williams-Miller (Everett) logged his first career touchdown with a 64-yard interception return early in the third quarter, and freshman SEAN MCDONALD (Sammamish/Skyline HS) booted an 18-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter to account for the rest of the points.

One week after allowing a season-high 479 yards to Dixie State, the stout Wildcat defense held Simon Fraser to 272 yards and just the 14 points. Just 75 of those yards came on the ground, where the Clan averaged 3.1 yards per carry, and CWU came away with four interceptions and six total takeaways.

Davis, Williams-Miller, safety Cole Graves (Kirkland/Juanita HS), and linebacker Mitch Haldane (Mountlake Terrace) all had interceptions, while Burke and sophomore Tovar Sanchez (Seattle/Ingraham HS) had fumble recoveries. Burke's came on the opening kickoff.

Four of Schnizler's five tackles were for losses, including three quarterback sacks. Senior Stan Langlow (University Place/Curtis HS) finished as the Wildcats' top tackler with seven stops.

Conversely, on offense, CWU accumulated 303 rushing yards while resting Todd for most of the second half. The sophomore totaled 168 yards on 22 carries. Nelson was one of three quarterbacks to play in the game for the Wildcats, completing 10 of 13 passes for 74 yards and one touchdown.

The Wildcats will now return home for the next two weeks, taking on Azusa Pacific University and Humboldt State University on Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, respectively.