ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University Football Team (6-1, 5-0 LSC) will look toward a road trip to Wichita Falls, Texas for a conference clash with the Midwestern State Mustangs (2-5, 2-3 LSC) this Saturday evening.
 
GAME INFORMATION:
 
Saturday, October 25
#8 Central Washington at Midwestern State
5:00 p.m. PST
Memorial Stadium
Wichita Falls, Texas
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QUOTING CWU HEAD FOOTBALL COACH CHRIS FISK:
 
"It's been interesting and fun to watch the conference unfold with a lot of new offensive coordinators and offensive schemes. We're going to our third consecutive air raid, high-tempo passing offense that'll challenge us that way. The thing that jumps off for this team is their ability to return the football in special teams. They've had a number of big returns, a big return won the game for them against Kingsville. So, we really have to be very very good in our coverage units in special teams to stop some really dynamic returners. It's not just one returner either, they have a couple of returners on that team that I think are very talented that can make a lot of things happen for their football team, so we'll have to be good there which we've already begun that process starting on Monday along with another great day of coverage yesterday and then another great day today. It's going to start there and then just being disciplined with our eyes and our pass concepts and matchups and our routes. More importantly I think two weeks ago against UTPB we did a very good job of getting to the quarterback, getting him off schedule, pressuring him, and I don't think we did as good of a job a week ago of putting a lot of pressure on their quarterback all the time. I think we did at some certain times and came up with some key sacks and big plays, but we need to be a little more consistent with our defensive approach so that we don't need to have to add rushers to the box."
 
LAST GAME:
 
The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead after forcing a three-and-out on the opening possession. Justice Taylor's ground game, combined with Kennedy McGill's passes to Jalen Grable and Samaje Featherstone, set up the offense at the TAMU-K 27-yard line, where a trick play saw Grable run it in for the touchdown. David Weber's PAT made it 7–0 with 9:01 left in the first quarter. The Javelinas quickly answered as Jack Turner connected with King Phillips for a 25-yard touchdown, and Angel Lopez's PAT tied the game 7–7 with 6:59 remaining in the first. Both defenses tightened up to close the quarter scoreless.
 
The second quarter continued as a defensive battle, with Logan Lisherness recording a key eight-yard sack to force a TAMU-K punt. Mika Roberson broke up a deep Turner pass in the endzone to send both teams into halftime still tied 7–7.
 
The Wildcats regained the lead early in the third after a 74-yard kickoff return by Featherstone set up Weber's 39-yard field goal, making it 10–7 with 13:01 remaining. TAMU-K responded quickly as Edward Chumley punched in a one-yard touchdown to reclaim a 14–10 lead with 11:09 left. McGill then led a composed drive featuring big plays from Ryder Bumgarner, Grable, and Taylor, capped by a two-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Molloy. Weber's PAT gave the Wildcats a 17–14 lead with 3:38 left in the third.
 
Early in the fourth, McGill broke multiple tackles on an 18-yard rushing touchdown, extending the lead to 24–14 after Weber's PAT with 11:49 left. The Javelinas struck back as Turner hit Phillips for his second touchdown of the night, trimming the deficit to 24–21 with 9:06 to play. The Wildcats relied on their run game to drain the clock, highlighted by Bumgarner's 20- and 26-yard gains, but a missed 23-yard field goal kept the score unchanged with 2:20 left. The defense held strong on the final TAMU-K drive with crucial breakups from Roberson, Lisherness, and Javonte Walker, forcing a turnover on downs. Three kneel-downs sealed the 24–21 Homecoming victory for the Wildcats.
 
Kennedy McGill finished the game completing 11/19 passes for 106 yards and one touchdown. He led the ground game as well with 107 yards and one touchdown. Ryder Bumgarner added 81 yards on the ground while Justice Taylor added 62 himself and Jalen Grable tacked on 27 yards and one touchdown. Grable was the leader in the receivers with five catches for 52 yards.
 
Brett McCalla paced the defense with nine tackles, adding a 0.5 tackle for loss and a pass breakup. Chase Coalson added six tackles while Jalen Owens tacked on four tackles and a pass breakup. Logan Lisherness had four tackles, a sack, and a pass breakup with Matulino Masunu adding three tackles and a sack of his own as well as a quarterback hurry. Javonte Walker, King Williams, and Jalen Webber each had three tackles with Walker and Williams both adding two pass breakups. Brogan De'Asis had two tackles, a tackle for loss, and a pass breakup while Tyler King added two tackles and a 0.5 tackle for loss and Mika Roberson tacked on one tackle, one interception, and three pass breakups.
 
Wyatt Redding added one tackle and punted four times for 161 yards with three landing in the Javelina 20-yard line. He also added five kickoffs for 314 yards. David Weber was a perfect 3/3 on PAT attempts but was 1/2 on field goal attempts with his success coming from 39 yards out. Samaje Featherstone added two punt returns for 105 yards.
 
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
 
The Mustangs are currently 2-5 on the season and 2-3 in LSC play. They began their season with a 33-19 setback at Missouri Southern State followed by a 38-13 loss to then #8 Western Colorado at home. They began conference play with a 56-31 setback at home to Eastern New Mexico followed by a 37-15 loss at then #11 UTPB. They bounced back for back-to-back victories, first an upset bid over Texas A&M-Kingsville by a 31-24 score at home before taking down Sul Ross State 69-23 on the road. Last week they lost at then #21 Angelo State 48-24.
 
Midwestern State currently averages 28.86 points per game, but are giving up 37 a game. MSU does more of their damage through the air, averaging 289.71 passing yards per game which as included 16 touchdowns compared to the 240.57 yards per game they're giving up with opponents also scoring 16 touchdowns. The Mustangs have found some success on the ground as well, rushing for 118 yards per game and seven touchdowns total, but opponents have had solid outings on the ground against MSU, averaging 223 yards per game and 16 rushing touchdowns.
 
The 'Stangs are currently at a solid 41.12 percent success rate on third down attempts and are 33.33 percent on converting their fourth down attempts. Opponents have a slight advantage in the time of possession game with the Mustangs averaging 28:02 minutes per game with the ball. They're currently averaging 68.29 penalty yards per game for a grand total of 50 penalties with 478 penalty yards.
 
Jakolby Longino and Sean Jastrab have split duties at the quarterback position this season with each playing in four games. Longino has led the duo completing 91/139 attempts, throwing for 1,082 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions. Jastrab currently has completed 73/118 attempts for 762 yards, 10 touchdowns, and two interceptions. Reginald Williams has anchored the ground attack for the 'Stangs racking up 343 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 51 attempts. Demonte Greene has been the favorite target of the quarterback room, making 48 catches this season for 659 yards and five touchdowns.
 
Noah Bustard is the leading tackler on the 'Stang defense, racking up 41 tackles this season. Kam'rin Devault and Oliver Jack are tied for the most sacks on the team at 2.5 apiece with Jack having the most tackles for loss at 3.5. Five different Mustangs have recorded an interception while jaylin Broadus has 5 pass breakups. Pelumi Olanipekun leads the 'Stangs with two quarterback hurries while Joe Hollis has a blocked kick to his name. The Mustang defense has forced four fumbles and recovered five.
 
Joseph Carlson has been the main punter for MSU, punting 13 times for 554 yards with two landing inside the opponents 20-yard line. Kohen Maroney is currently 5/6 on field goal attempts with his longest coming in at 47 yards. He is also the main kickoff kicker, having 35 kicks for 2,075 yards for an average of 59.3 yards per kick. Cedonyae Lott and Demonte Greene are both dynamic returners for the Mustangs with Lott returning seven punts for 211 yards with two touchdowns as well as seven kickoffs for 175 yards. Greene has returned six punts for 102 yards and six kicks for 121 yards.
 
UP NEXT:
 
The Wildcats will head back to Ellensburg for one last ride for the 2025 regular season when they welcome the 19th-ranked Angelo State Rams (5-2, 3-2 LSC) for a 6:00 p.m. showdown on Military Appreciation and Senior Night from Steve Hertling Field at Tomlinson Stadium on Saturday, November 1.