ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Sept. 5) – The Central Washington University football team travels to Western Oregon University for a Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup.
GAME INFORMATION
Saturday (Sept. 8) at 1:05 p.m.
McArthur Field | Monmouth, Ore.
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QUOTABLE
"Western Oregon played a tight game last week," CWU Head Coach
Ian Shoemaker said. "They're going to be hungry. It's always a battle when we go to Monmouth. The time between game one and game two is critical to learn and make the necessary adjustments. Western Oregon makes it tough on us every time we play and we expect this week to be no different."
SERIES REVIEW
The Wildcats took both ends of the season series last season. In Ellensburg, Central Washington picked up a 30-23 victory and a 42-0 win in Monmouth. Western Oregon's last win over Central Washington came on Oct. 17,2015 when the Wolves held on for a 31-25 victory. Since 2000, the Wildcats are 25-5 against the Wolves.
RANKED
The Wildcats are ranked No. 10 in the latest D2Football.com poll and No. 16 in the AFCA Coaches poll.
SCOUTING WESTERN OREGON
The Wolves lost their opening game against Angelo State, 24-17. Junior quarterback Ty Currie made his debut as a starter, completing 23 of 43 passes for 276 yards. Currie was picked off three times and threw a pair of touchdowns. His debut culminated in a touchdown pass inside the final two minutes of play, giving Western Oregon a 17-16 lead. Angelo State retook the lead with a 16-yard touchdown pass on their final drive.
Elsewhere on the offense, Devon Fortier returns after leading Western Oregon's ground game in 2017. Fortier rushed for 285 yards and three touchdowns last season. The Western Oregon receiving core hauled in 236 receptions, but only 16 of those receptions are among returning players. Senior tight end Caleb Tingstad is the leading returning receiver, after hauling in 10 passes last season.
Bo Highburger returns to lead the defense for the Wolves, after taking home First Team All-GNAC honors last season. Highburger compiled a conference-high 102 tackles with 11 tackles for loss. Andrew Weber returns alongside Highburger after hauling down 82 tackles in 2017. The Wolves' secondary returned three veteran players for 208. Curtis Anderson led the Wolves with four interceptions, while Joey Roos and Andrew Parnell each recorded one pick.
LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats opened the 2018 season with a loss to DI FCS No. 9 Eastern Washington. Quarterback
Reilly Hennessey threw for 164 yards and one touchdown. The senior signal caller also rushed for 53 yards and one touchdown.
Cedric Cooper led the Wildcat rushing game, compiling 61 yards on 14 carries. Cooper did not lose a single yard rushing, averaging 4.4 yards per carry.
Christian Cummings and
Michael Roots combined for 55 yards on 15 carries.
Samuel Sanchez led CWU's receivers, hauling in six passes for 74 yards. The tight end caught one touchdown pass.
Tyson Rainwater and Cooper each caught five passes for a combined 82 yards.
Defensively, Josh Wikel led the Wildcats in tackles with nine.
Tevin Gray finished with eight. Wikel, Gray, and
Jeremiah Vasquez each had a tackle for loss.
Kai Gamble,
Maxwell Nauer, and
Siddique Newkirk each recovered a fumble.
