ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The 8th-ranked Central Washington University Football Team (8-1, 7-0 LSC) used a 21-point halftime lead to defeat the 16th-ranked Angelo State Rams (6-3, 4-3 LSC) on Military Appreciation and Senior Night to wrap up the home portion of the regular season.
 
QUOTING CWU HEAD FOOTBALL COACH CHRIS FISK:
 
"We are very proud of the energy, enthusiasm, and execution that we played with tonight. This is a big win for our program. I'm very excited for our kids. We will celebrate this one tonight and then shift all of our focus to Sul Ross tomorrow."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 

• The Wildcat defense stifled the ASU offense, forcing a three and out to give the ball to the offense.
• The offense took over and went to their go-to, ground and pound with Kennedy McGill and Justice Taylor tag-teaming the duties with McGill making a pair of eight-yard passes to Logan Brady and Jalen Grable in the process. McGill ran in the final four yards to put the first points on the board and with David Weber's successful PAT, the 'Cats led 7-0 with 7:25 left in the first.
• Another three and out by the Wildcat defense gave the ball back to the hands of the offense.
• McGill immediately connected with Brady for a pair of passes for 11 and 12-yards, respectively while also connecting with Grable for a big 19-yard pass to set up a Brady and Ryder Bumgarner rush each which helped McGill take it from there for his second touchdown of the night. Weber's PAT was good and made it 14-0 CWU with 1:15 left in the first.
• A tackle for loss by Chase Coalson, followed by a pass interference penalty on the 'Cats, and a five-yard rush by Kaeden Smith ended the first quarter with the 'Cats on top 14-0.
• A tackle for loss by Kuma Scanlan followed by a forced fumble by Brogan De'Asis that was recovered by Jalen Webber gave the 'Cats the ball back at midfield.
• Unfortunately, the Rams defense toughened up and forced a turnover on downs only to see the CWU defense return the favor at the ASU 24-yard line.
• Bumgarner ran for a quick six yards, but McGill took it from there and four plays later punched it in for a two-yard touchdown and with Weber's PAT made it 21-0 CWU with 5:33 left in the second.
• ASU finally found momentum in their offensive unit, finding a pair of short passes as well as a big 18-yard run. Another pass interference on the 'Cats put the ASU offense deep in CWU territory and after another pair of short passes helped Braeden Fuller connect with Jayden Jones for a 15-yard touchdown. Rance Purser's PAT would be good to make it 21-7 CWU with 2:06 left in the second.
• A fumble by the 'Cats on the first play of their next drive gave the ball back to ASU, but another three and out, thanks to a personal foul on the Rams gave the 'Cats the ball back at the ASU 37-yard line.
• A huge 19-yard rush off the bat by McGill helped set him up to find Grable in the endzone for another touchdown and with Weber's PAT, sent the teams to the locker room with a 28-7 crimson and black lead.
• The Wildcat offense slowed down to begin the second half as the ASU defense forced a quick three and out.
• The Rams found their groove as Fuller found Anthony Jones for a quick seven-yard gain, then combined with Jayden Jones and Chad Pharies on the ground to set up a 33-yard touchdown pass from Fuller to Zeek Freeman and with Purser's successful PAT, slashed the lead to a 28-14 score with 10:24 left in the third.
• Another three-and-out by the Ram defense gave the ball back to the their offense and they made the most of it as Fuller connected with Pharies and Freeman to get ASU into the red zone, then found Donny Bishop for a 12-yard touchdown. Purser's kick was good, and it was a one possession game with CWU leading 28-21 with 7:58 left in the third.
• McGill connected with Samaje Featherstone for a quick first down, but that was all the Ram defense allowed as the 'Cats punted the ball away, however a three and out by the CWU defense gave the ball back to the offense at the ASU 25-yard line.
• A huge 26-yard rush by Bumgarner helped McGill punch in his third touchdown on the night and with Weber's successful kick, made it 35-21 CWU with 4:53 left in the third.
• Another huge defensive stop by the CWU defense forced ASU to punt. Taylor earned a quick six yards on the ground, but the third quarter ended with a holding call on the 'Cats, as CWU headed into the final quarter up 35-21.
• An incomplete pass set up fourth down for the crimson and black, but a muffed return by the Rams saw Brett McCalla recover the ball at the ASU 16-yard line.
• The 'Cats saw Taylor and McGill combine for 30 quick yards on the ground before a short seven-yard connection from McGill to Grable helped Weber successfully kick a 31-yard field goal to make it 38-21 CWU with 12:35 left in the game.
• A huge fourth down stop thanks to a hurry by Tyler King stopped the ASU momentum and gave the ball back to the 'Cats with 9:21 left in the game.
• The Wildcats ate up the clock, but ultimately being forced to punt as the Rams took over with 4:47 left in the game.
• A fourth-down sack by King gave the ball back to the 'Cats who ate up the final 2:23 and secured the 38-21 victory.

 
STATS FROM THE GAME:
 

• McGill finished the game completing 11/19 passes for 114 yards and one touchdown. He also led the rushing attack with 109 yards and four touchdowns.
• Grable had five receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown while Brady added four receptions for 41 yards.
• Mikaio Edward led the way for the 'Cats with nine tackles, adding 2.5 tackles for loss that included a 1.5 sack as well as two quarterback hurries.
• Coalson added eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a pass breakup while Webber tacked on six tackles, a 0.5 tackle for loss, and a fumble recovery.
• Kuma Scanlan and King both also finished with six tackles with Scanlan adding a tackle for loss and King adding three tackles for loss that included two sacks as well as three quarterback hurries.
• McCalla had four tackles, a 0.5 tackle for loss, one fumble recovery, and one pass breakup while Jalen Owens and Chase Loidhamer each added three tackles with both recording a 0.5 tackle for loss with Loidhamer's as a sack.
• Logan Lisherness finished with two tackles with one being a tackle for loss while King Williams had one tackle and a key pass breakup.
• De'Asis had one tackle and a forced fumble while Javonte Walker had a pass breakup.
• Wyatt Redding had five punts for 217 yards and seven kickoffs for 423 yards.
• Weber was a perfect 5/5 on PAT attempts and successfully kicked his only field goal attempt of the night from 31 yards out.
• Mika Roberson had four punt returns for 76 yards.
• Bumgarner had one kick return for 26 yards while Featherstone returned two kicks for 62 yards.

 
UP NEXT:
 

• The 'Cats will wrap up the regular season with back-to-back road tests. The 'Cats start with their first-ever trip to Alpine, Texas next Saturday, November 8 as they take on the Sul Ross State Lobos (0-9, 0-7 LSC) from Jackson Field at 6:00 p.m. PST.