SILVER CITY, N.M. – Central Washington Wildcats Football picked up its first win of the 2019 campaign Saturday afternoon with a hard fought road win at Western New Mexico. The Wildcats took down the Mustangs 36-27 to snap a two-game skid and improve to 1-2 on the year.
 
The game was fast in nearly every aspect of the game and it favored the home team early on. Western New Mexico led by as much as 10 in the game but it was the leg of Gavin Todd that helped lift the Wildcats to the nine-point win. CWU is now 3-0 all-time against Western New Mexico.
 
Todd was a clean 5-of-5 in field goal attempts and did not miss a single extra point try as well. His 8-of-8 performance was a major key as CWU Head Coach Chris Fisk picked up his first career win. His five made field goals are also the most in a single game in program and Great Northwest Athletic Conference history.

"I am excited to get the first win out of the way and I am happy for our guys to get it as well," Coach Fisk said. "We are ready to get to work on next week's game against Western Oregon in the conference opener."
 
The Mustangs go on the board first in the opening drive. A six play drive, 65 yard drive to start the game put the home team up 7-0 early in the first. Western New Mexico then forced the CWU offense to punt on its first drive to stay in front 7-0.
 
CWU used both quarterbacks in the first two drives in Canon Racanelli and Christian Moore. Racanelli got the start and finished out the game, while Moore put up the first touchdown for the Wildcats to get he offense going.
 
The Wildcats second drive paid off as they tied the game at 7-all after the Mustangs we forced to punt. Moore floated a pass to left side of the field to an open Samuel Sanchez who got into the end zone for a 19 yard touchdown pass. The home team retook the lead on its next possession with a 12 play, 69 yard drive that ate up just over four minutes off the clock. The Wildcats held the Mustangs to a 28 yard field goal to keep the deficit at just three, 10-7.
 
CWU looked to retake the lead but Western New Mexico forced another punt. The Mustangs then extended the lead 10 when quarterback CJ Fowler hit his receiver on a bubble screen that turned into a 42 yard score. CWU trailed 17-7 at the end of the first quarter.
 
A CWU field goal on the following drive kept the score within one touchdown. Todd capped off the 15 play drive that took exactly 5:00 with a 38 yard boot that brought the score to 17-10 with 11:34 left in the second. Western New Mexico extended the lead to 10 once more when Mustang kicker Evan Rios nailed a 42 yard attempt. The field goal put the Mustangs up 20-10 with 9:09 left to play in the first half.
 
The Wildcats defense then gave the offense two chances to get within three with they forced back-to-back turnovers late in the first half. The first was a Chaz McKenzie interception at the CWU 20 that he took back to the CWU 41 yard line.
 
CWU's offense was unable to cash in on the ensuing drive as they tried to go for it on fourth down but were unsuccessful. The Wildcat defense quickly got them back on the field with a forced fumble and the recovery on the following drive.
 
A hard hit deep in the trenches by the Wildcat defense on the Mustang drive forced the ball loose and Marcus Schimmelfennig was there for the recovery. His quick instincts got the ball back for the CWU offense and they made it count this time.
 
With the ball on their own 39, the Wildcats once again put together a string of plays to cut their deficit to three points. Canon Racanelli hit JoJo Hillel on a 24 yard deep slant for his second touchdown of the year to close out the drive and keep things interesting
 
Going into halftime, the Wildcats trailed the Mustangs 20-17. CWU shook off its slow start and manged to put together 50 plays in the first half and totaled 234 yards. Michael Roots helped stabilize the offense with 90 rushing yards in the first two quarters of action.
 
Coming out of the locker room, the Wildcats got the ball first. Their opening drive went 13 plays for 60 yards, and it was Todd who tied the game for the team. He hit a field goal from 38 yards out to tie the game at 20-all.
 
The Wildcats 38 yard field goal came at the 10:33 mark of the third. From then on it was a defensive battle between both squads with neither team scoring again. The score remained knotted at 20 going into the fourth.
 
The fourth quarter completely belonged to the Wildcats and mostly Todd, as they outscored the Mustangs 16-7. Nine of those points came from Todd on three field goal makes.
 
CWU grabbed its first lead of the game with a drive that started late in the third and ended eight seconds into the fourth. Todd nailed his third field goal of the game, this time from 27 yards out, to give CWU a 23-20 advantage.
 
On the next drive, CWU got Western New Mexico into a third down situation and fumbled the ball. Isaiah Carbajal got by the offensive line and sacked the quarterback and forced a fumble that the Wildcats recovered. CWU extended its lead to six points as Todd nailed his fourth field goal and second of the fourth quarter. His second make of the quarter came from 35 yards out as CWU held a 26-20 edge over Western New Mexico.
 
Defensive play picked up for the Wildcats as they continued to force the Mustangs punt on their next two drives. Todd was the answer yet again midway through the fourth. He hit a 33 yard attempt with 7:20 on the clock to give CWU a 29-20 lead.
 
The Mustangs finally managed to get into the end zone for the first time in the fourth quarter this season when they punched in a three yard touchdown run with 5:20 to play in the game. The score cut the Wildcats lead to just two points, 29-27.
 
CWU wasted little time getting the points back as Racanelli led the offense on an eight play, 60 yard drive. He ended the drive as he held on for a quarterback keeper and went into the end zone untouched for a six yard touchdown run.
 
The Mustangs tried to put together one final drive, but it ended in emphatic fashion as Billy Greer sacked the quarterback for the turnover on downs. CWU then took the knee to run out the clock and secure the 36-27 win and the first career win for Coach Fisk.
 
The offense came to life late for CWU, but it was Todd who played to role of hero in the win. He finished the day nailing all five of his field goal attempts and all three of his extra point tries. Of the 36 points scored by the Wildcats he accounted for 18 of them.
 
Todd's accuracy was crucial in the win as he made not only the game tying field goal but also the field goal that gave CWU a lead early in the fourth quarter that it never surrendered.

"Gavin [Todd] was a rock for us today and we are very fortunate that he brought his A game." Coach Fisk added.
 
Racanelli finished 19-of-34 passing with 237 yards and a touchdown. He also added 12 carries for 59 yards and one touchdown to finish the day with 296 yards of total offense. Michael Roots once again eclipsed 100 yards rushing with 181 for the game on 29 carries.
 
Three Wildcats finished the game with four receptions in Tyson Rainwater, Robert Mason III, and Tony Archie. Drake Owen had the most yards with 59 on a pair of catches, while Hillel and Sanchez each had a touchdown grab.
 
Defensively, Jeremiah Vasquez was the leading tackler for the Wildcats. He totaled eight on the day with five coming on a solo effort. He also had 0.5 tackles for loss and broke up one pass. Hamilton Hunt totaled five tackles in the win to finish second behind Vasquez.
 
McKenzie pulled in his first interception of the year and finished tied for third in tackles with four. Carbajal and Greer each had a sack for combined loss of 11 yards. Carbajal also forced one fumble that was recovered by Schimmelfennig.
 
The Wildcats will be back next Saturday, Sept. 28 when they open up GNAC play against the Western Oregon Wolves. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Tomlinson Stadium.