ELLENSBURG, Wash.—With a conference championship on the line, Central Washington hosts longtime rival Western Oregon in a Homecoming clash, 6 p.m., Saturday at Tomlinson Stadium.
The Wildcats can clinch their fourth consecutive Great Northwest Athletic Conference title with a win on Saturday, an unprecedented feat in the 21-year history of the league. Central Washington (4-2 overall, 2-0 GNAC) also needs to keep momentum moving forward with the NCAA postseason just weeks away.
In a bit of a scheduling oddity, the Wildcats and Wolves (2-4, 1-1) are meeting each other for the second straight game. Central dominated Western Oregon, 45-14, on Oct. 9 in Monmouth, Ore.
"It's not much different than playing a team twice with a large gap in time," CWU head coach
Chris Fisk said. "We went as far back as 2016 and re-watched all of the games with Western to see if we can anticipate what they might do differently. That's the hardest part. What are they going to change? They have to make some adjustments. Going through that process has been interesting in terms of playing them in back-to-back games."
Sometimes the bye week comes at the right time. Teams can take advantage of the down time to rest up their bodies, install new offensive and defensive packages, and fine-tune what they do well. But a bye week can also slow a team's momentum. Fisk admits that was a concern of his, but he was pleased with how his team handled the down time.
"That was the challenge to the kids last week, was to improve and stay competitive," Fisk said. "We worked a lot on fundamentals last week but also had full live contact to stay sharp and competitive. I think we handled the bye week well, like a mature football team would handle it."
Two weeks ago, the Wildcats dominated every phase of the game against Western.
Tyler Flanagan and
Rashaad Boddie combined for 172 yards rushing on 27 carries,
Zach Stecklein registered three quarterback sacks, and
Dominic Wieburg intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown. The special team unit even got in on the fun, as
Matt Wiitanen blocked the Wildcats' third punt of the season.
STORYLINES
•A win on Saturday clinches CWU's fourth consecutive GNAC championship and 11th overall. No team in conference history has won more than three-in-a-row. The Wildcats previously won or shared the GNAC in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
•Central Washington has won its last four Homecoming contests. CWU's last Homecoming loss was a 42-17 defeat at the hands of Humboldt State in 2015.
•Both Central and Western Oregon were off last week. The teams last played when they faced each other on Oct. 9 in Monmouth, Ore. (a 45-14 CWU victory).
•In two games since returning to active duty after missing three games with an injury, redshirt freshman running back
Tyler Flanagan has gained 153 yards on 25 carries. He gained 93 yards and scored twice on Oct. 9 at Western Oregon, earning GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
•Zach Stecklein registered three quarterback sacks two weeks ago at Western Oregon, earning GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors
•Saturday's game is the 65th meeting all-time between the Wildcats and Wolves, in a series which dates back to 1936. CWU leads the all-time series with Western Oregon, 43-21.
•Central is 21-8 all-time against the Wolves in Ellensburg, but Western Oregon upset the Wildcats, 36-26, on Sept. 28, 2019, in the teams' last meeting at Tomlinson
•CWU and WOU shared the 2019 GNAC regular season title
COVID-19 MASK REMINDER
All fans attending athletic events at Central Washington University are required to wear a mask upon entering the venue, regardless of total attendance or venue.
