ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Oct. 13) – The Central Washington University football team (5-2, 5-0 GNAC) rolled to a 48-10 victory over Western Oregon University (3-4, 2-3 GNAC).
Reilly Hennessey threw for 172 yards and three touchdowns.
Michael Roots tallied 90 yards on the ground and one touchdown, while
Cedric Cooper ran for 81 yards and one TD.
The Wildcat offense moved out to a quick start, driving 77 yards on 13 plays, culminating in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Hennessey to
Christian Stafford.
"Early on we had a great effort in all three phases," CWU Head Coach
Ian Shoemaker said. "We got a couple stops early and a few long touchdown drives and we were able to feed off of each other, which was good to see."
After Adrian Saldana booted a 50-yard field goal for the Wolves, Hennessey and company went back to work.
Central once again drove over 70 yards, this time moving 75 yards in just eight plays. The eighth play of the drive saw Hennessey take it in himself for a 14-3 advantage after
Colin Manners' point after.
Western Oregon took over at their own 22-yard line. Ty Currie dropped back and fired a pass that was intercepted by
Tevin Gray.
Tyler Hasty added a second interception midway through the second quarter.
Taking over just outside the red zone, Hennessey immediately found Stafford on a 15-yard pass. After a Roots' run and a penalty to Western Oregon, Hennessey found the big man
Winterhawk Leighton wide open in the end zone. Leighton has two receptions on the season, both for touchdowns.
The Wildcats' offensive unit continued to assert their dominance in the second quarter.
Central added 17 points to their lead in quarter two. Manners knocked a 21-yard field through the uprights, before Cooper raced into the end zone from 24 yards out. The Wildcats then found the end zone with just seven seconds left in the half, as Hennessey found
Tony Archie. Central went into the half with a 38-7 advantage.
The Wildcats added a touchdown from Roots in the third and a 20-yard field goal from Manners in the fourth.
The Wolves' lone touchdown came in the fourth on a blocked punt recovered in the end zone.
Christian Moore finished 8-for-12 with 113 yards passing after relieving Hennessey in the third.
The Wildcats compiled 192 yards on the ground and 285 through the air.
"It's great to have that stable of guys and share the load," Shoemaker added. "Reilly [Hennessey] got dinged up a bit and that gave plenty of opportunities for Christian [Moore] to play with live bullets and to work him a little more."
Uli Ma'ae led the Wildcats with eight tackles, including two for a loss of yards.
Donte Hamilton chipped in seven solo tackles and two sacks.
Chase DeMoor blocked his fifth kick of the season and added a sack to his season total.
The Wildcats are back at home next Saturday (Oct. 20) as they host Simon Fraser. Kick-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.