ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The 7th-ranked Central Washington University Football Team (8-1, 7-0 LSC) will look to remain atop of the Lone Star Conference standings with the programs first-ever trek to Alpine, Texas to face the Sul Ross State Lobos (0-9, 0-7 LSC).
GAME INFORMATION:
Saturday, November 8
#7 Central Washington at Sul Ross State
5:00 p.m. PST
Jackson Field
Alpine, Texas
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QUOTING CWU HEAD FOOTBALL COACH CHRIS FISK:
"They have new leadership in the head coach position and he's slowly but surely putting his spin on that football team. They have, if you look at the scores, obviously got off to a rough start to the season, but they have played better lately. They're working through it, and he's working through his culture and establishing himself as the head coach there. The great thing about this team and this football team we have here at Central is that it doesn't matter, and we've talked about it quite a bit this week, is the same energy and enthusiasm that you had when we played in Washington-Grizzly Stadium in week two, it has to be the same energy and enthusiasm that we bring to Jackson Field where you're not going to have that type of crowd and we have to be ready to go. I think our guys take a lot of pride in playing for each other and the product they put on the field so I don't anticipate our level of enthusiasm to change."
LAST GAME:
The Central Washington Wildcats dominated early and never looked back, defeating ASU 38–21 behind a powerful ground attack and a stifling defense.
CWU's defense set the tone with back-to-back three-and-outs, while quarterback
Kennedy McGill led two scoring drives in the first quarter with both being rushing touchdowns. In the second, a forced fumble by
Brogan De'Asis set up McGill's third score, extending the lead to 21–0. ASU answered late in the half with a 15-yard touchdown to make it 21–7, but McGill hit
Jalen Grable for another TD before halftime, pushing CWU ahead 28–7.
ASU rallied in the third, scoring twice to close the gap to 28–21, but McGill struck again, punching in his fourth touchdown to make it 35–21. In the fourth, a muffed ASU punt recovered by
Brett McCalla led to
David Weber's 31-yard field goal, sealing the 38–21 win.
McGill finished with four total touchdowns, while the Wildcat defense—led by
Tyler King's late-game sack—shut down ASU's comeback bid.
McGill led the way for the Wildcats, completing 11 of 19 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 109 yards and four scores. Grable contributed five catches for 64 yards and a touchdown, with
Logan Brady adding four receptions for 41 yards.
Defensively,
Mikaio Edward paced the team with nine tackles, including 2.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, and two quarterback hurries.
Chase Coalson added eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a pass breakup, while
Jalen Webber recorded six tackles, a half tackle for loss, and a fumble recovery.
Kuma Scanlan and King each tallied six tackles, with Scanlan adding one for loss and King notching three for loss, including two sacks and three quarterback hurries. McCalla posted four tackles, a half tackle for loss, a fumble recovery, and a pass breakup, while
Jalen Owens and
Chase Loidhamer each added three tackles and a half tackle for loss, with Loidhamer's coming as a sack. Lisherness had two tackles, one for loss, while
King Williams added a tackle and a key pass breakup. De'Asis forced a fumble and made one tackle, and
Javonte Walker added a pass breakup.
On special teams, Redding punted five times for 217 yards and kicked off seven times for 423 yards. Weber was perfect on all five PATs and converted a 31-yard field goal, while Roberson totaled 76 punt return yards on four attempts. Bumgarner added a 26-yard kick return, and Featherstone contributed two returns for 62 yards.
The Wildcats totaled 329 yards of offense while only giving up 272 yards to the Rams. CWU had 18 first downs while only allowing 14 to ASU. The 'Cats had a resounding 215 rushing yards while only giving up 79 to ASU, but the Rams outpaced CWU in the air 193 to 114.
CWU held onto the ball for 35:26 of the game while only allowing Angelo State possession for 24:34. The 'Cats were 4/12 on third down attempts and 1/2 on fourth down attempts while holding Angelo to 2/14 on third down attempts and 1/4 on fourth down attempts. The crimson and black were penalized nine times for 90 yards while ASU was only penalized five times for 35 yards.
ABOUT THE LOBOS:
Sul Ross State is currently 0-9 on the season including a 0-7 record in Lone Star Conference play. They fell in back-to-back nonconference games at NCAA Division I opponents UTRGV and Stephen F. Austin by scores of 66-0 and 63-0. They opened LSC play with a 66-3 setback at Western Oregon followed by a 52-3 loss at home to Texas A&M-Kingsville, then a 56-7 loss at West Texas A&M. Their Homecoming game saw their first multiple score game in a 69-23 setback to Midwestern State but used that momentum to lead Western New Mexico on the road until late, falling 45-42 to the Mustangs. They then fell at home to Angelo State 62-0, but last week battled at Eastern New Mexico as their comeback attempt fell short 40-34 to the Greyhounds.
SRSU currently averages 12.44 points per game and gives up 57.67 points per game to their opponents. Their opponents out-pace them on the round 282.6 yards per game compared to the 94 they're giving up. Opponents are also outgaining the Lobos in the air by a 282.44 to 127.33 margin.
The Lobos are successful on 23.53 percent of their third down attempts and 40.91 percent of their fourth down attempts while opponents are successful on 55.14 percent of their third down attempts and 89.47 percent of their fourth down attempts. Opponents are averaging 32:38 minutes per game with the ball compared to SRSU's 26:23 minutes per game with it. Sul Ross State has been more disciplined than their opponents, only accumulating 73 penalties for a total of 545 yards for an average of 60.56 yards per game compared to the 75 penalties their opponents have accumulated for 757 yards and an average of 84.11 penalty yards per game.
Kye Callicoatte has led the passing for SRSU, completing 62 of 129 passes this season for 810 yards, four interceptions, and three touchdowns. Callicoatte also leads the rushing attack for the Lobos, having 98 attempts for 377 yards and three touchdowns. Jose Trevino isn't far behind Callicoatte with 71 rushes for 327 yards and five touchdowns on the season. Taribbean Ramirez has been the favorite target of the receivers, making 21 catches for 330 yards, but Yamil Oaxaca leads the receiving corps in touchdowns with two while adding 19 catches for 292 yards.
Evian Thompson and Brendon Martin lead the defensive unit with 89 and 87 tackles so far this season, respectfully. Darryl Minor Jr. and Emmanuel Osom have racked up the most tackles for loss as well as sacks with five TFLs and two sacks each. Jacori Tarver and Brian Oneal are the only Lobos to record an interception with each snagging one. Martin has four pass breakups while Jonathan Fuamatu has three quarterback hurries to lead the defense in those respective units. Three different Lobos have forced a fumble while five different Lobos have recovered a fumble. Kieron Pender, Elijah Rolfe, and Tarver have all blocked a kick so far this season.
Jacob Franco has 53 punts on the season for 2,155 yards with nine landing inside the opponents 20-yard line. Vicente Gariveay is 5/6 on field goal attempts which his longest success coming from 39-yards out. Jason Maltos has been the main kicker for kickoffs, having 20 kicks for a total of 1,240 yards with seven landing as touchbacks. Justin Moon has one punt return for 39 yards and a touchdown while Yamil Oaxaca has three punt returns for a total of 26 yards. Kyree Payton has 11 kick returns for 545 yards and a touchdown.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats will wrap up the regular season with a battle for the Pacific Northwest and potentially the Lone Star Conference title when they travel to Western Oregon on Saturday, November 15. The 'Cats and Wolves battle at 1:05 p.m. from McArthur Field in Monmouth, Ore.
