ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Sept. 29) -- The No. 14 Central Washington University (3-2, 3-1) football team played host to the West Texas A&M Buffaloes (3-2, 2-2) at the grand opening of the newly renovated Tomlinson Stadium. In an electric atmosphere, the Wildcats received the first ever kickoff on the turf and the first-ever night game at Tomlinson.  The Buffaloes came away the better of the Wildcats, 28-26.
 
"Terrific [atmosphere] tonight," CWU Head Coach Ian Shoemaker said.  "Any time we can play at home in front of our fans, our band, our families, and our donors is awesome.  The upgrades to the stadium and the donor excitement was off the charts.  I think our guys fed off that.  It's what we were hoping for with the excitement and the crowd.  It's what we want every home game to feel like."
 
Tomlinson Stadium's renovations, led by general contractor OHNO Construction, included the Heaverlo and Prentice gates, stadium lights, upgrades to the concession stands and restrooms, a turf playing surface from FieldTurf, and the addition of the Wildcat Alumni Plaza in the North end zone.  A crowd of approximately 6,500 was on hand for the first night game at Tomlinson Stadium.
 
After West Texas A&M deferred on the coin toss, the Wildcats' offense took the field for the first drive on turf.  Michael Roots led the way on the ground, while Reilly Hennessey found Tyson Rainwater twice, pushing the drive to the Buffaloes' 39-yard line.  West Texas A&M's defense held the line and forced the Wildcats to punt.  Freshman punter Colin Manners pinned the Buffs on their own 13-yard line for their opening offensive drive.
 
The Wildcats' second offensive drive started on their own 12-yard line.  Roots worked his magic and gained 19 yards on two rushes, before Hennessey found Tony Archie for a 22-yard gain.  After consecutive completed passes to Cedric Cooper and Quinton Lewis, the Wildcats set up shop on the Buffaloes' 15-yard line.  A rush from Cooper went awry when James Clark knocked the ball loose and fellow Buff Kevon Thomas dived on top of the loose ball, ending the Wildcats' drive.
 
The 0-0 score line broke early in the second quarter.  Duke Carter IV broke free and ran 79 yards for the game's first score. 
 
Trailing 7-0, the Wildcats responded on their next drive.  Hennessey found Roots open for a 56-yard catch and run, levelling the game at 7-7 after Manners' point after.
 
Carter IV found his way to the end zone again in the second quarter.  He nabbed a screen pass and scampered 10 yards for the score.  Michael Shipley added the PAT and a field goal as time expired in the first half, giving the Buffs a 16-7 lead at half time.
 
The Buffs scored once more in the third quarter, staking out a 22-7 lead.  The point after attempt from Shipley was blocked, allowing Tyler Hasty to scoop it up and run 98 yards for the return and two points.
 
Seizing the momentum from the PAT return, the Wildcats marched down the field and found the end zone with 8:30 to play in the third.  Hennessey found Archie on an 11-yard touchdown pass, cutting the score to 22-16.
 
After forcing the Buffs to punt on the ensuing drive, the Wildcats set Manners up for a 22-yard field to draw closer at 22-19.
 
The Wildcat defense held and forced a punt on the next Buffs' drive, giving the Wildcats a chance to take the lead.  The Buffaloes' defense responded in kind, halting the Wildcat offense and forcing a punt.  Manners lined up to punt the ball deep, but the Buffs' special teams unit had other plans.  Donevin Manuel blocked Manners' punt, allowing Aytron Payne to recover the loose ball and take it 15 yards for the score. 
 
Central Washington marched back down the field on their next drive, setting up shop on the four.  Hennessey dropped back on second and four, before rolling to his right.  He fired a pass into the end zone, but it was intercepted by Tobias Harris.
 
"Throwing an interception in the end zone is tough," Shoemaker said.  "Fumbling the ball on the way to the end zone is tough.  You look at those two drives, that's 14 points and the game is different.  We had some discipline penalties that really hurt us in field position."
 
The Wildcats got just one more chance to score, trailing 28-19.  A fourth-down pass to Robert Mason III gave the Wildcats new life as they marched towards the end zone.  Hennessey finished 5-for-6 on the drive.  He completed passes to Mason III, Archie, Cooper Ryan Ramones, and Christian Stafford on the drive before finding Lewis.  On the final offensive play of the game for the Wildcats, Hennessey found Lewis wide open in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.  Manners added the PAT, but the ensuing Wildcat onside kick was recovered by the Buffs to seal the 28-26 victory.
 
"We had a pretty good idea," Shoemaker added.  "We wanted to get inside the safety a couple times earlier in the drive.  Tre Mason tried to get inside, but the safety didn't let that happen so we went the other way.  We broke to the corner rather than the post and came wide open.  Our hope was to get an onside kick and get a couple chances to pull ahead, but they did a good job covering it."
 
The Wildcats head to Azusa Pacific next Saturday (Oct. 6) for a GNAC match-up.  The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN 3.