Central Washington University Athletics

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The 9th-ranked Central Washington University Football Team (0-2) dropped its home-opener to the top-ranked and defending back-to-back national champion Ferris State Bulldogs (3-0) by a 28-14 score Saturday from Steve Hertling Field at Tomlinson Stadium.
 
QUOTING CWU HEAD FOOTBALL COACH SCOTT POWER:
 
"I'm proud of our kids, they played hard. We're not happy that we lost, but we'll come back tomorrow morning and get back to work. I think we've now seen two quality opponents and when you see good teams they expose areas that you might be deficient in, so I think that there's some areas now that we've seen some success and things we've done well and we know some areas we need to improve. We'll go back to work tomorrow.
 
 We love playing at home, I was hopeful we would get a good turnout and it seemed like we did. Some of those third and fourth downs got noisy. I think we're looking forward to getting it back next Saturday, but I appreciate everyone coming out and the support we received from the community."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 

• The Wildcats started out the game with the ball and despite a quick five-yard gain by Ryder Bumgarner, the 'Cats couldn't get anything going with Ferris State getting a seven-yard sack to force CWU to punt the ball and FSU wasted no time, needing only three plays to take the lead with quarterback connecting with Jaylin Townsend for 41 yards before punching it in for the touchdown. With the Jay Cady kick, the Bulldogs took the 7-0 lead with 11:52 left in the first.
• CWU took back over and saw Justin Brennan connect with Mason Juergens for a quick first down which was backed by Antoine Lee rumbling for back-to-back 16 and 21-yard gains and paired with a Ferris penalty saw the 'Cats deep in the Ferris endzone. Lee, Brennan, and Bumgarner each grabbed a couple yards to get the 'Cats to the FSU seven-yard line but they couldn't punch it in and the Ferris defense forced a turnover on downs.
• Joseph Jefferson II began the Ferris drive with a huge tackle for loss for five yards to send the Bulldogs back to their two-yard line, but despite facing a third and 14, Wyatt Bower found Townsend for a huge 29-yard gain and the first down which helped set up momentum for the Bulldogs to drive down the field thanks to big plays from Bower to Tae Boyd followed by Zak Ahern punching it in 17 yards and with Cady's kick going through the uprights the Bulldogs took the 14-0 lead with 4:21 left in the first.
• The Wildcats took back over and Brennan connected with Juergens for a 15-yard gain that was followed by Lee adding a big 28-yard gain and with a couple short connections from Brennan to Juergens and a Brennan one-yard rush to get to the FSU 19-yard line saw the first quarter came to a close with Ferris leading 14-0.
• Brennan took it from there to begin the second quarter, adding nine more yards on the ground before finding Isaac Torres for the nine-yard touchdown and with Aiden Larsen connecting on the PAT, pulled the 'Cats back to a 14-7 game with 13:41 left in the second.
• Ferris didn't let that get them down as they maneuvered their way down the field with a big thanks to a Bower pass to Jeremiah Housey for 30 yards for Bower to rush it in for a three-yard touchdown and with the Cady PAT saw the lead grow back to a two-score game, 21-7 in favor of FSU with 9:29 left in the second.
• The Wildcats took back over but were quickly forced into a three and out giving the ball back to FSU who made their way quickly back into Wildcat territory just to see back-to-back-to-back incomplete passes with Cooper MacPherson and Kayo Wallace each breaking up a pass to force a turnover on downs with 6:43 left in the second.
• The 'Cats saw a massive 32-yard connection from Brennan to Juergens but was taken part way back due to a Wildcat penalty. Another Brennan to Juergens connection put the 'Cats on the Ferris side of the field and two plays later Bumgarner came up with a huge four-yard gain on a fourth and two to keep the CWU drive going. A huge connection two plays later from Brennan to Torres for 31 yards put the 'Cats at the nine-yard line of Ferris. A seven-yard pass from Brennan to Juergens found the 'Cats at the FSU four-yard line and on the next play saw Brennan find Stephen Woodward for the two-yard touchdown. The Larsen PAT sailed through the uprights to make it a 21-14 Ferris lead with eight second before the half break.
• A kneel down by FSU sent the teams to halftime with the Bulldogs leading 21-14.
• Ferris began the second half with the ball after the 'Cats hoped to catch Ferris slacking with an onside kick and immediately saw Zak Ahern fumble the ball and Hudson Hardy to recover it for the 'Cats to give the 'Cats at the CWU 35-yard line.
• The second half also saw the start of the rain, and the 'Cats earned small chunk yardage to make their way to the FSU 38-yard line forcing the 'Cats to punt.
• The Bulldogs also took small chunk yardage on their next drive aside from a Jake Price 13-yard rush before Bower fumbled the ball thanks to Omar Lazcano who also recovered the ball and gave the 'Cats the ball back at their own 29-yard line.
• The 'Cats couldn't make anything of the turnover as they were forced into a three-and-out, but the crimson and black defense came out ready and forced Ferris into a three-and-out thanks to a third down quarterback hurry by Hardy to help with the incomplete pass.
• CWU took back over at their own 20-yard line and immediately saw Brennan find Juergens for a 47-yard gain to set the 'Cats up at the FSU 33-yard line. The 'Cats unfortunately couldn't get anything going and punted the ball, but the beautiful punt by David Weber placed the Bulldogs at their own one-yard line.
• The Bulldogs quickly added five yards but were brought back to their own three due to a facemask penalty on the crimson and gold, but avoided danger with a Housey 12-yard gain to end the third quarter with the 'Cats trailing 21-14.
• The Bulldogs smashed the ball as Kevin Simes found back-to-back 20 and 12-yard gains and three plays later saw Bower run 43-yards for another touchdown and with Cady's PAT made it a 28-14 game.
• The 'Cats on their next drive drove the ball all the way to the FSU 13 but a broken up pass by Trace Corlew on fourth and 10 in the endzone forced the turnover on downs with 6:15 left in the game.
• The Bulldogs ate up the rest of the clock to secure the 28-14 victory.

 
STATS FROM THE GAME:
 

• Brennan finished the game completing 23 of 29 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns.
• Lee set a new career high with 82 rushing yards on 12 carries while Brennan and Bumgarner also added 34 and 28 yards, respectfully, also on 12 rushes.
• Juergens was the favorite target of Brennan's, hauling in 13 receptions for 134 yards while Torres added 47 yards on three receptions and a touchdown catch. Woodward had the other touchdown catch which was his only catch of the night for two yards.
• Isaiah Strong and Jefferson II led the 'Cats with eight tackles each.
• Jefferson II had both tackles for loss for the 'Cats for a total of seven yards.
• Lazcano added six tackles, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
• Hardy tacked on five tackles, a fumble recovery and a quarterback hurry.
• MacPherson added four tackles and a pass breakup while Tim Timoteo had a tackle and a quarterback hurry.
• Weber had four punts for a total of 165 yards while Brennan added one for 38 yards.
• Samaje Featherstone had the only kickoff return for the crimson and black for a total of 23 yards.
• Weber added three kickoffs for a total of 144 yards while Larsen was successful on both PAT attempts.

 
UP NEXT:
 
CWU will welcome their Pacific Northwest rival in the Western Oregon Wolves next Saturday to open Lone Star Conference play. The 'Cats and Wolves will kick off from Steve Hertling Field at Tomlinson Stadium at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19.