ARCATA — After battling on even terms with another tough opponent, Humboldt State saw its hopes fade in the second half again on the way to a 44-28 loss to Western Oregon on Saturday.

Despite outgaining the Wolves, 429 yards to 383, the Jacks slipped to 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Western Oregon improved to 3-2 overall and 3-1 in league.

"Even though tonight was a loss, it was a step in the right direction," HSU first-year head coach Rob Smith said. "In these types of games, there is something everybody can learn from."

At halftime the Lumberjacks trailed 16-14, the only difference a safety that resulted when HSU quarterback Mike Proulx was sacked in the endzone on the Jacks' first play from scrimmage. Humboldt had taken over on its own two-yard line after stopping the Wolves initial drive when Guy Ricciardulli intercepted a Josh Riddell pass.

The rest of the opening half was played on even terms, Western increasing its lead to 9-0 on DJ Jackson's one-yard run before HSU countered with a 15-yard touchdown sweep by Kevin Miles. The back-and-forth continued when WOU's Shaun Kauleinamoku hauled in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Riddell just before HSU countered with an 11-play, 64-yard drive that ended with Michael Streck-Woodard catching a 13-yard scoring pass from Brian Hildebrand.

Again, the second half was the Jack's downfall, with untimely penalties and turnovers stunting otherwise productive drives. Starting the trend was a tipped pass that was intercepted by WOU defensive lineman Anthony Marin, who rambled 67 yards for a Wolves' touchdown.

"Our critical mistakes at critical times was the difference in the game," Smith said. "This team fights hard, sometimes too hard, and that was reflected in some of the mistakes and penalties."

Western Oregon added another score late in the third quarter when Riddell hit Demario Ballard from 26 yards out, increasing the lead to 30-14. Humboldt State came back with an impressive 57-yard drive of its own, only to again come up short when Proulx's pass was picked off at the goal line by Wolves' linebacker Andy Douglas.

The ensuing drive featured Western Oregon's rushing attack, including a 21-yard run by Ben Kuenzi that moved the ball to the HSU seven-yard line. Kuenzi took the ball into the endzone on the next play, capping a nine-play, 95-yard drive that increased WOU's lead to 37-14.

With no signs of backing down, Proulx, a redshirt freshman, directed his own impressive drive, moving the ball 80-yards in six plays. During the march he completed five consecutive passes, ending it with a 23-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Matt Smith.

Smith, who along with wideout Devin Stearns joined the Jacks midway through fall training camp,  had his best game to date with 10 catches for 143 yards. Stearns was also impressive, catching six balls for 112 yards.

"Those two wide receivers obviously have big-play ability," Coach Smith said. "When you consider that they joined us late and that Proulx was third string at the time, you can see the progress. The combination of those three players has the makings of something very productive in our program's future."

Proulx also posted his best numbers to date, completing 24 of 35 passes for 351 yards. His counterpart for the Wolves, Riddell, finished the game 13 of 22 for 182 yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing three interceptions.

Both teams added late touchdowns, Patrick Fuller rushing in from nine yards out for the Wolves and Brian Stuart finishing Humboldt State's final drive with a two-yard run to complete the scoring.

Humboldt State is back in Redwood Bowl again Saturday for a 6 p.m. Homecoming game against non-league rival Azusa Pacific.

Box Score (Final)
Western Oregon vs Humboldt State (Sep 27, 2008 at Arcata, Calif.)

Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score
-----------------    -- -- -- --   -----
Western Oregon......  9  7 14 14  - 44       Record: (3-2,3-1)
Humboldt State......  0 14  0 14  - 28       Record: (1-4,0-3)


Scoring Summary:
1st 11:44 WOU - TEAM safety, , WOU 2 - HSU 0
    02:19 WOU - Jackson, D. 1 yd run (Rodriguez, J. kick), 9-67 3:40, WOU 9 - HSU 0
2nd 14:18 HSU - Miles 15 yd run (Leyva kick), 8-77 2:55, WOU 9 - HSU 7
    11:23 WOU - Kauleinamoku 38 yd pass from Riddell (Rodriguez, J. kick), 6-67 2:48, WOU 16 - HSU 7
    07:59 HSU - Streck-Woodard 13 yd pass from Hildebrand (Leyva kick), 11-64 3:19, WOU 16 - HSU 14
3rd 06:41 WOU - Marin 67 yd interception return (Rodriguez, J. kick), , WOU 23 - HSU 14
    01:59 WOU - Ballard 26 yd pass from Riddell (Rodriguez, J. kick), 6-74 4:31, WOU 30 - HSU 14
4th 09:28 WOU - Kuenzi 7 yd run (Rodriguez, J. kick), 9-95 4:13, WOU 37 - HSU 14
    06:10 HSU - Smith,M. 23 yd pass from Proulx (Leyva kick), 6-80 3:11, WOU 37 - HSU 21
    03:28 WOU - Fuller 9 yd run (Rodriguez, J. kick), 3-38 1:56, WOU 44 - HSU 21
    01:27 HSU - Stuart 2 yd run (Leyva kick), 8-73 1:53, WOU 44 - HSU 28

                                    WOU      HSU
FIRST DOWNS...................       20       25
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............   32-201    29-44
PASSING YDS (NET).............      182      385
Passes Att-Comp-Int...........  23-13-3  44-28-3
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   55-383   73-429
Fumble Returns-Yards..........      0-0      0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............      3-3     1--1
Kickoff Returns-Yards.........     5-68    7-109
Interception Returns-Yards....     3-94     3-42
Punts (Number-Avg)............   1-40.0   3-40.3
Fumbles-Lost..................      3-2      1-0
Penalties-Yards...............   11-138   11-144
Possession Time...............    27:52    32:08
Third-Down Conversions........   5 of 8  5 of 14
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   1 of 1   1 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      3-4      3-5
Sacks By: Number-Yards........     5-35      0-0


RUSHING: Western Oregon-Kuenzi 12-101; Jackson, D. 9-43; Fullerton 1-22;
Fuller 3-20; Riddell 3-18; Kauleinamoku 1-2; TEAM 3-minus 5. Humboldt
State-Cueva 1-16; Miles 1-15; Thomas 7-13; Stuart 5-9; Hildebrand 4-minus 1;
Proulx 11-minus 8.

PASSING: Western Oregon-Riddell 13-22-3-182; Lovell 0-1-0-0. Humboldt
State-Proulx 24-35-2-351; Hildebrand 4-9-1-34.

RECEIVING: Western Oregon-Ballard 6-81; Dickson 2-31; Kauleinamoku 1-38;
Lavender 1-19; Smith, I. 1-7; Fullerton 1-5; Malcolm 1-1. Humboldt
State-Smith,M. 10-143; Stearns 6-112; Miles 4-42; Devlin 4-33; Stuart 2-29;
Streck-Woodard 1-13; Simmons 1-13.

INTERCEPTIONS: Western Oregon-Marin 1-67; Singleton 1-22; Douglas 1-5.
Humboldt State-Davis 1-42; Swangler 1-0; Ricciardulli 1-0.

FUMBLES: Western Oregon-TEAM 1-1; Jackson, D. 1-1; Kauleinamoku 1-0.
Humboldt State-Proulx 1-0.

Stadium: Redwood Bowl          Attendance: 2200
Kickoff time: 6 p.m.    End of Game: 9:08 pm   Total elapsed time: 3:08
Officials: Referee: Erick Watson; Umpire: Craig Lemster; Linesman: Brian Michelson;
Line judge: Steve Hoslett; Back judge: Dave Curschman; Field judge: Richard Ross;
Side judge: Craig Miers; Scorer: Ed Matthews;
Temperature: 54        Wind: NW 7mph   Weather: Mostly Cloudy

SACKS (UA-A): Western Oregon-Romanick 1-0; Faavae 0-1; Cox 1-0; Akina
0-1; Robertson 0-1; Malone 0-1; Cuellar 1-0. Humboldt State-None.

TACKLES (UA-A): Western Oregon-Gilmore 5-8; Gonzalez, M. 4-6; Douglas
1-6; Romanick 1-6; Lynch 2-3; Jackson, A. 2-2; Robertson 2-2; Singleton 1-3;
Bangay 2-1; Dowd 1-2; Vincent 1-2; Cox 2-0; Akina 1-1; Faavae 1-1; Huber 1-1;
Davis 1-1; Zeutenhorst 0-2; Marin 0-2; Hochhalter 1-0; Cuellar 1-0; Riddell 1-0;
Perry 0-1; Loscutoff 0-1; Malone 0-1; Petrovich 0-1; Smith, L. 0-1. Humboldt
State-Duley 3-6; Lynch 2-5; Ricciardulli 2-4; Reynolds 1-5; Williams 4-1;
Hornsby 2-1; Davis 1-2; Swangler 0-3; Hunkins 0-3; Maxwell 0-3; Rose 1-1;
Green,C. 1-1; Cueva 1-1; Price 0-2; Boggs 1-0; Miles 1-0; Simmons 1-0; Devlin
0-1; Walkup 0-1.