MONMOUTH, Ore.  (Sept. 10) --  The Central Washington University defense held Western Oregon to just 147 second half yards, as the football team overcame a slow start to defeat the Wolves 41-20 at McArthur Field Saturday afternoon.
 
The Wildcats are now an even 1-1 on the season and 1-0 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.  Western Oregon falls to 1-1, 0-1 in the GNAC.
 
The Wildcats scored on the first drive of the game with Christian Cummings barreling in from two yards out, but the CWU offense stalled out for the remainder of the half and into the second.  However, the CWU defense held strong holding the Wolves to 353 total yards, 346 of which came through the air.
 
"We came out strong offensively and put a good drive together, but we lost rhythm for a while," CWU Head Coach Ian Shoemaker said.  "Our defense was rock solid today and gave us time to find our groove on offense.  Once we got things together we started to move the ball and put up points, and our D stepped it up even more in the second half."
 
Jackson Huerta again led the Wildcats with 12 total tackles and one tackle for loss.  Blake Williams-Miller followed with 10.  Tovar Sanchez snatched his first sack of the season, forcing a turnover in the process.  The senior is now just 4.5 sacks away from breaking the school record.
 
Kent McKinney led the Wildcat receivers with seven catches for 99 yards and a score.  Jesse Zalk and Kyle Self also caught scores on the day.
 
Justin Lane overcame a slow start to throw for 261 yards and three scores connecting on 59-percent of his passes.  All three of Lane's scoring passes came in the second half.
 
"We had a lot of players step up today, on both sides of the ball," Shoemaker added.  "It takes everyone doing their part and making plays when their number is called.  With the way things were going we called on a lot of people to come in and compete, and I am proud of the effort this team put in today."
 
Western Oregon receiver Paul Revis led all pass catchers with 11 catches for 132 yards.
 
The Wildcats opened the game with a 12 play 74 yard drive capped by a two-yard touchdown run by Christian Cummings, his first of the season.
 
The Wolves answered back on the ensuing possession with a four-play drive, marching 68 yards to take a 7-6 first quarter lead.  Western Oregon added a 32 yard field goal near the tail end of the first quarter to take a 10-6 lead.
 
Both defenses flexed their muscle over the next 15 minutes of play as the game went scoreless until Jordan Tufaga took a handoff from 10 yards out, and crossed the goal line to give CWU a 13-10 halftime lead.
 
The Wolves outgained CWU 206 to 189 in the first half, but the Wildcats controlled the line of scrimmage, running for 88 yards to the Wolves' 34.
 
The offense had a hard time finding a groove until Lane drove the team 73 yards and hit Kent McKinney Jr. on a 31-yard TD down the sideline.  The score sparked three consecutive scoring drives for the offense, each ending in a touchdown pass by Lane; a 5 yard completion to Jesse Zalk and a 22 yard connection with tight end Kyle Self.

Quincy Carter finished off the big second half for the Wildcats, rushing 64 yards for a score.  Carter finished with 114 yards on 19 carries.
 
The defense did the rest.  Tovar Sanchez collected his first sack of the 2016 season, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Nicholas Aumua.  Then safety Jackson Huerta picked off a WOU pass attempt on the following drive.
 
Despite giving up a late touchdown to WOU, aided by a pass interference call, the CWU defense held WOU to just 146 yards in the second half.
 
The Wildcats will look to continue their momentum when they make their home debut next weekend when they host Azusa Pacific in Tomlinson Stadium on Sept. 17 at 1 p.m.