ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Oct. 6) -- The No. 25 Central Washington University football team (4-2, 4-0) took a trip down to California to face division rival No. 24 Azusa Pacific University (4-3, 3-2) in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup. The Wildcats outlasted the Cougars, 45-31.
 
"We committed to running the ball," CWU Head Coach Ian Shoemaker said.  "We knew that for us to be successful with the athletes they have out on the perimeter and in their program, that we were going to have to be the more physical team and run the ball."
 
Shoemaker was proud of his offensive ground attack which included Reilly Hennessey going for 108 yards on the ground alone, only to be outdone by Michael Roots who was at the 152-yard mark.
 
Hennessey tallied 177 yards through the air, finding Tony Archie four times for 51 yards.  The senior signal caller also found Cedric Cooper and Quinton Lewis four times each as well.
 
Central totaled 319 yards on the ground and 177 through the air for 496 total offensive yards. 
 
The Wildcats were looking to bounce back after losing to West Texas A&M a week ago at the grand opening of the newly renovated Tomlinson Stadium. The Central offense started hot from the beginning. After 11 plays on the Wildcats first drive, Hennessey punches it in from 28 yards out.
 
The two teams traded blows all first half, neither team really getting more than a touchdown lead. The Wildcat defense had yet another great day led by junior defensive back Donte Hamilton who totaled seven total tackles on the night, followed by sophomore Isaiah Williams who tallied up five solo tackles.
 
"We went to halftime tied and we started the game off pretty well," Shoemaker added.  "We felt pretty good about ourselves. And then at halftime we were at 17-17. Everybody was looking around like 'we are going to win this game.' No one flinched, they just went to work. I think that really showed the first play of the second half." Coach Shoemaker was talking about the Roots, 76-yard touchdown run to put the right foot forward for the Wildcat offense."
 
The second half was dominated by the Wildcats who notched their lead up to 31-17 at one point in the third quarter. After a quick two-minute Cougar drive, APU got it down to 31-24 with a Bryce Grandison touchdown rush. After a few short drives, the Wildcat offense was able to punch another touchdown in with Hennessey's second touchdown run, this one from eight yards out.
 
After more back-and-forth battles, the Wildcat defense was looking for one more stop. With a little over a minute and a half left in the game, junior linebacker Tevin Grey came up with a big interception to cut off the APU attack, returning the interception to the Cougars' 11-yard line. Two plays later, Roots ran it in from seven yards out to put the Cats up 45-31.
 
"That run by [Michael] Roots wins the game for us," Hennessey noted.  "Azusa is a team that can score in seconds. We knew we had to capitalize every time we had the ball.  The defense put us in a great spot that drive. Tevin's [Gray] interception really allowed us to seal the game."
 
The Wildcats will head on home before they take on Western Oregon in another big Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup. Join us on Saturday, October 16^th at 6:00 p.m. in Tomlinson Stadium for the second home night game in program history.