ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University football team played its final home game of the 2019 season Saturday afternoon in non-conference bout against Southwest Baptist University. It was Senior Day and the Wildcats recognized 10 outstanding seniors prior to the 12 p.m. kickoff.
 
The 10 seniors that were recognized in Tomlinson Stadium for the last time were Billy Greer, Tyren Sams, Jeremiah Vasquez, Zach Floyd, Tevin Gray, Marcus Schimmelfennig, Grady Graff, Nicholas Streubel, Christian Hill-Sanders, and Gavin Todd.
 
The Wildcats (6-4) dominated the Bearcats (3-7) for much of the afternoon as they put 72 points and held the opposition to just 17. A healthy balance of run plays and passing the ball guided the CWU offense to 552 total yards in the win. The 10 touchdowns by CWU ties a Great Northwest Athletic Conference single-game record. The record is tied with the Wildcats game against SBU from the 2018 season.
 
"I'm super proud of our seniors. Those guys with what they've done for our program over a five-year span," CWU Head Coach Chris Fisk said. "They've gone 35-11 and hopefully have three GNA championships as we wrap this thing up. I'm just very proud of those guys and to win like this on senior day is a pretty special memory."
 
The Bearcats actually grabbed the game's first lead with an early field goal in the first quarter. The Wildcats won the toss, but deferred to the second half. SBU answered in its first drive thanks in part to a 27-yard field goal from Kyle Ghetes to lead 3-0 with 11:54 to play in the first.
 
The first half then produced 38 more points but the only difference was all 38 points came from the Crimson and Black. The Wildcats were methodical in how the scored the ball as the Bearcats had no answer against the ground game and passing attack.
 
Christian Moore linked up with Samuel Sanchez to give the Wildcats their first touchdown of the day and the home team's first lead at 7-3. Moore hit Sanchez in stride for an eight-yard strike and CWU was up four with 10:06 to play in the opening frame. Moore's touchdown was his first of a six-total touchdown day in the win.
 
The second score came from Michael Roots who was nearly unstoppable running the ball. He capped a quick four-play drive for CWU with a 17-yard run to the end zone. It was his first of two scores on the day. CWU's lead grew to 14-3 with 7:43 to play in the first quarter.
 
Moore continued the offensive barrage for the Crimson and Black with his second touchdown overall and lone rushing one. He found the end zone from 17 yards out as the Bearcats struggled to bring his 6-5 frame down. Moore's late first quarter touchdown gave a 21-3 edge going into the second.
 
The Bearcats tried to counter in the final two minutes of the opening frame but defense was stout for CWU. Sams pulled down an interception at the CWU 42 as the Bearcats tried to go deep from their own 28.
 
The second quarter continued to remain in the Wildcats favor with the team putting up 17 more points before halftime and held SBU scoreless. The first points of the second came on the leg of Patrick Hegarty. He nailed 24-yard field goal and CWU's lead extended to 24-3 early in the second.
 
The game remained at 24-3 until the midway point of the second when Moore threw his second touchdown of the game. He connected with Archie this time around on a 14-yard grab for the score. CWU led 31-3 with 6:05 to play in the half.
 
The final Crimson and Black touchdown of the first half came with 1:21 on the clock. Showing no signs of slowing down or letting up, Moore threw his third touchdown of the half. Sanchez made the catch for touchdown number two of the day. The 16-yard strike gave CWU a 38-3 lead going into halftime.
 
Like they did to start the game, the Bearcats scored first to start the second half. Isaiah Ramsey found Raldy Mena for a six-yard strike. The score cut the Wildcats lead to 38-10, but CWU was able to respond scoring the next three touchdowns in the third.
 
Moore continued his dominance for the Wildcats with another touchdown pass. It did not come until the 5:34 mark of the third. He hit Mykel Campbell with a five-yard floater to the back-left corner of the end zone. The score pushed the CWU lead back to 35, 45-10.
 
Two minutes later it was Roots who scored for CWU and pushed the game to a 42-point lead. He evaded some defenders and found the end zone on a 14-yard run. The Wildcats were in full force as they led 52-10.
 
The Bearcats struggled to find any rhythm on offense as they trailed by 42. They got to their own 42 on the following drive but on a third and nine pass by Ramsey he was picked off by Patrick Rogers. It was his first of two in the game.
 
The third and final CWU touchdown of the third quarter came with 29 seconds to play in the frame. Moore hit Floyd on a quick pass and Floyd did the rest. He blew by the SBU defense and raced to the end zone for a 27-yard score. Going into the fourth, CWU held a commanding 58-10 advantage.
 
CWU scored twice in the fourth, while SBU managed to add one touchdown as well. The Wildcats defense scored the first touchdown of the quarter when Rogers picked off Ramsey and returned it 85 yards for the touchdown. Rogers return gave CWU a 65-10 lead with 13:52 on the clock.
 
The defensive touchdown was the first for the Wildcats since the 2018 season. The last time it happened? Against SBU, when Donte Hamilton returned an interception 64 yards for a score on Nov. 3, 2018.
 
The Bearcats final score of the afternoon was a 37-yard touchdown run by Dominque Lee. He got to the second level and was untouched for the score. Lee's score cut the score to 62-17.
 
The final score of CWU's offensive dominance came with just over six minutes to play in regulation. Floyd scored his second touchdown of the day and his first rushing with a one-yard rush. His efforts brought the final score to 72-17 and left a smile on the faces of the CWU faithful.
 
Moore threw for 300 yards and five touchdowns on 19-37 passing. He also rushed for 50 yards and one touchdown to finish the day with 350 yards of total offense and six total touchdowns. Roots rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Both Sanchez and Drake Owen finished with four receptions to lead the receiving corps. Sanchez had the most yards with 60 to go along with two touchdowns. Owen had 53 yards on his four grabs.
 
Hamilton Hunt led the defense with nine tackles on the afternoon. He also had 2.0 tackles for loss. Rogers was a force in the secondary pulling in two interceptions. Sams and O'Connell also had an interception, respectively.
 
Greer and O'Connell also forced a fumbled, respectively. Greer also had a fumble recovery to go along three total tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, and one sack.
 
The Wildcats will look to end the 2019 season on a high note as they head north to take on Simon Fraser (B.C.). If CWU wins, the team will clinch a share of the GNAC Title. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. PT.
 
"It's going to be the same thing we've been doing all year. It's that 1-0 mentality," Coach Fisk said. "We'll go and take care of ourselves like we do week-to-week. Hopefully we can step up and do what we need to do."