The 20
th ranked Central Washington University football team will put its 3-0 record on the line this week when they travel to St. George, Utah for a non-conference matchup with Dixie State University (1-2). The game is slated for a 5:00 p.m. (Pacific) kickoff at Legend Solar Field.
LIVE STATS AND VIDEO:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/dixiestate/
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Cats Running Wild
The Central Washington running backs flexed their muscle last week, running for 263 yards against Azusa Pacific, the Wildcats second-largest rushing output in a GNAC game under coach Shoemaker. Coincidently, the largest rushing performance in the Shoemaker era came against Dixie State in the 2015 season finale, where the Wildcats put up 278 yards on the ground.
Christian Cumming led the Wildcats with 110 yards on 17 carries, and
Jordan Tufaga followed with 90 yards on 16 carries and a score.
Through the Uprights
Junior kicker
Gavin Todd has been perfect in his four-field goal attempts this year and leads the Wildcats with 21 points scored this season. Last week, Todd followed up his GNAC Special Teams Player of the Week performance by nailing a 42-yard game winning field goal to lift the Wildcats over Azusa Pacific.
The kick in itself was big, but it meant even more to Todd who is a Southern California native, and had a host of friends and family at the game played in Glendora, Calif. Todd came to Central from Moorpark Junior College, where he played his lone season of organized football. Todd had been a lifelong soccer player prior to 2016.
Road Warriors
We are four weeks into the season, and the Wildcats have yet to play a game in Ellensburg. The 2012 squad faced a similar situation, playing the first six games of the season outside of Ellensburg. In 2012, the Taylor Bridge Fire impacted the Wildcats ability to play home games, as CWU's first two scheduled fixtures in Ellensburg were moved to Bothell.
ABOUT THE TRAILBLAZERS
Dixie State comes into this weekend 1-2, but picked up a 38-16 win in its home opener last week versus Black Hills State.
Dixie State racked up 422 yards of total offense, including 255 yards on the ground, en route to its first victory of the 2017 season. Redshirt sophomore
Blake Barney rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries, while junior receiver
Orlando Wallace snagged touchdown catches of 20 and 40 yards, as the Trailblazers broke in the new field at Legend Solar Stadium.
Offensively, the Trailblazers put up a respectable 386.0 yards per game, using a balanced attack with 213 of those yards coming through the air.
Running back Sei-J Lauago has been steady in the rushing attack averaging 83.3 yards per game, with 5.7 yards per rush.
Penalties and turnoverers have haunted DSU all season. The Trailblazers are averaging 2.33 turnovers per game, and 10 penalties for an average over 100-yards a contest.
SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats hold a commanding 15-2 record over Dixie State since the two teams first met in 2008. Both of the Wildcats losses have come on the road in St. George, Utah, with the last coming in 2015. Central has won 7 of the last 8 meetings, and have averaged 41.8 points per game in those victories, with an average win margin of 25 points.
DID YOU KNOW?
In the 17 total meetings against Dixie State, Central Washington has averaged 176.5 rushing yards per game, its second-highest rushing average against any team they have played 15 or more times in the last 43 seasons (SFU, 182.3).
