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ELLENSBURG (Sept. 14) -- Senior safety Deionte Gordon (Seaside, Calif.) had three takeaways, and junior running back Ishmael Stinson (Tacoma/Charles Wright Academy) scored two first-half rushing touchdowns as the Central Washington University football team opened Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a 20-7 victory over visiting Western Oregon University on Saturday afternoon at Tomlinson Stadium.

The Wildcats evened their overall record at 1-1, while Western Oregon fell to 0-2 overall.

"It was a full team effort out there, but our defensive leadership proved to be outstanding today," CWU head coach John Picha said. "The kids came in to play, they played well, and our offense was clicking better for us as well."

Stinson, one of four team captains this season, scored at the end of a 10-play, 60-yard drive on a one-yard carry. Then, after the first of two first-quarter interceptions by Gordon, Stinson scored the Wildcats' second touchdown of the period from two yards out as CWU held a 14-0 lead after one quarter of play.

Neither team had a particularly productive first half, though, as the two squads combined for five turnovers -- all interceptions -- and 18 accepted penalties.

The score remained a two-touchdown differential until the Wildcats extended the lead to 20-0 on a two-yard pass from freshman Jake Nelson (Lake Stevens) to fellow rookie Colter Clinch (Bothell/Woodinville HS) with 2:59 remaining in the contest.

Meanwhile, the CWU defense bent but did not break until late in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats held the Wolves off the scoreboard for the first 57 1/2 minutes of the contest, but WOU broke the shutout with 2:34 remaining on a one-yard scoring run by Joe Harris. Ryan Bergman keyed the Wolves' scoring drive with back-to-back big-play passes of 16 and 28 yards, with the latter coming on fourth down and setting up the Harris score.

Gordon collected his third takeaway of the game in the third quarter, forcing and recovering an Antoinne Wafer fumble at the Western Oregon 43-yard line. Junior NICK ROUSER (Oak Harbor) also had a fumble recovery for the Wildcats on the opening drive of the fourth quarter, thwarting an 11-play Western Oregon drive.

The Wildcats held WOU to just 44 net yards rushing on 25 carries, forcing the Wolves into 51 passing plays. Senior Ridge Nielsen (Mesa, Ariz./Mountain View HS) had a team-high eight tackles, while four of his teammates -- Gordon, senior Gabe Bruno (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep), sophomore Isaiah Davis (Bremerton/South Kitsap HS), and sophomore Tovar Sanchez (Seattle/Ingraham HS) -- had five tackles each. Bruno and Sanchez had two sacks apiece.

CWU had a balanced offensive effort, totaling 124 passing and 118 rushing yards in the contest. Stinson finished with 68 net yards on 12 carries, while sophomore Jordan Todd (Bellevue/Interlake HS) was held to just 33 yards on 17 carries. Nelson and fellow freshman Justin Lane (Arlington/Lakewood HS) split time at quarterback, with each attempting 15 passes. Nelson was 9 of 15 for 73 yards and no interceptions in his debut, while Lane, who played the entire game in the season opener against Texas A&M-Kingsville, was 6 of 15 for 51 yards with two interceptions.

Sophomore DJ Richardson (Los Angeles, Calif./Gardena HS) and freshman Jesse Zalk (Battle Ground/Prairie HS) each had three receptions, while three other receivers had two catches apiece.

The Wildcats' three-game home stand concludes next Saturday (Sept. 21) when they host Simon Fraser University (1-0, 1-0 GNAC) at 1 p.m. at Tomlinson Stadium.