Jacob Thompson/Thompson Sports
10
3-4 , 2-3
17
4-2 , 4-1
3-4 , 2-3
10
17
4-2 , 4-1
| Team |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
|
|
7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
Game Recap: Football |
ELLENSBURG, Wash. – In his Thursday media conference, Head Coach Chris Fisk said, “Homecoming is not quite as sweet unless the football team wins that and caps off the week of homecoming the right way.”
Central Washington fans left Tomlinson Stadium feeling sweet after Saturday’s Homecoming clash as the Wildcats defeated the Midwestern State Mustangs by a final score of 17-10.
“I’m proud of the kids for rebounding after a tough week against Western Oregon. The guys made plays all night on both sides of the ball,” Coach Fisk said postgame. “It feels great to get a win, it’s what homecoming is all about. The activity and buzz around campus all week, the alumni coming back, we got to see a ton of former players and hopefully we made the Wildcat alumni proud.”
JJ Lemming had a stellar performance for the Crimson and Black, going 26 for 36 with 227 yards and two touchdowns in the absence of Quincy Glasper.
“He had a couple of struggles in the first half but put together a fantastic second half. I’m proud of Tai-John, Marcus Cook and all of the wide receivers tonight,” Coach Fisk said.
Tai-John Mizutani led Wildcat receivers with a great night. He registered a team-high 85 yards and one touchdown on 10 receptions. Marcus Cook had two receptions for 46 yards. Demonte Horton had five receptions for 42 yards and one touchdown.
Tre’jon Henderson struggled to find his footing on the ground tonight, logging 18 attempts for 42 yards.
On defense, Tanner Volk was the star of the night. He had a team-leading seven tackles and one interception. Four Wildcats logged six tackles (Brett Accimus, Daeon Hudson, Jahleel Breland, Chase Loidhamer).
For Midwestern State, Neiko Hollins only had eight completions for 69 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Devin Cross rushed for 81 yards. Ja’Marzeyea Arvia caught five passes for 46 yards and one touchdown.
After forcing a quick MSU punt, the Wildcat offense started hot. On their first drive, Lemming led the team 65 yards, hitting Mizutani for an eight-yard strike to give CWU an early 7-0 lead.
On the Mustang’s next drive, Josiah Cochran forced a fumble, recovered by Isaiah Carbajal on 3rd and 2 in CWU territory. Neither team scored for the remainder of the first quarter.
CWU’s first drive of the second quarter ended in a 38-yard field goal from Jude Mullette to make it 10-0. The Mustangs struck on their next drive, as Hollins connected with Arvie for an eight-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 10-7 with 11:16 remaining.
With just a minute remaining in the half, MSU hit a 28-yard field goal to even the score at 10-10 going into the half.
Opening the second half, both teams exchanged punts. Lemming didn’t want to see another CWU punt as he drove the offense down the field once again. This time he found Horton for a three-yard touchdown. The score was 17-10 at the end of the third quarter.
Opening the fourth quarter, Midwestern State had the ball. On 2nd and 14 from the CWU 32-yard line, Volk jumped in front of a pass from Hollins at the CWU six-yard line, intercepting it and returning it to the CWU 22-yard line.
The interceptions killed any offensive momentum for the Mustangs as their offense failed to muster a comeback. CWU ran the clock out, winning the game with a final score of 17-10.
After tonight’s victory, the Wildcats are 4-2, 4-1 in Lone Star Conference play. Next Saturday, Oct. 22, they’ll travel to Canyon, Texas to face West Texas A&M (4-3, 2-3) at 5:00 p.m.
