ARCATA — Maintaining what has become the standard for Humboldt State vs. Western Oregon football matchups, Saturday's Great Northwest Athletic Conference game was decided by a mere two points. Unfortunately for the homestanding Lumberjacks, it was the Wolves who held the edge this time, taking a 26-24 victory and avenging an earlier 14-7 loss to HSU.
Boxscore
Kelly Morgan's 25-yard field goal with 2 minutes, 55 seconds remaining in the game proved to be the difference, allowing the Wolves to improved to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the GNAC. Humboldt State dropped to 7-3 on the season and is tied with WOU for second place in the GNAC standings at 5-2.
Western Oregon achieved the victory by turning the tables on Humboldt State, the GNAC's top rushing team heading into this weekend. Besides limiting the Jacks to 86 yards on the ground, the Wolves posted 213 of their own to control the game's tempo and force HSU to battle from behind.
"The game was won on the front line," HSU head coach
Rob Smith said. "We allowed them to run and they stopped us. That was the difference."
Western Oregon's winning field goal came less than three minutes after the Jacks had rallied to take the lead. Trailing 23-14, Humboldt crept closer on Brian Blumberg's 25-yard field goal late in the third quarter. Then midway through the fourth, HSU concluded a 7-play, 34-yard march with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Mike Proulx to Lyndon Rowells, giving the Jacks a 24-23 lead with 6:40 remaining.
HSU's defense failed to contain the Wolves, who answered on the ensuing possession. Key to the 9-play, 48-yard drive was a 31-yard kickoff return by Lucas Gonsalves that provided field position near midfield. Western Oregon's second quarterback of the game, Cory Bean, hooked up with Demario Ballard for a 23-yard completion, and a couple of running plays set up the Morgan's winning field goal.
"I was disappointed to take the lead with six minutes to go and then give up a kickoff return to midfield," Smith said. "They ended up scoring the winning field goal because of that breakdown."
Western Oregon scored the first six points of the game, settling for field goals of 26 and 25 yards from Morgan after HSU's defense held strong in the red zone. The Lumberjacks took the lead early in the second quarter when Proulx connected with tight end Matt Devlin on an 11-yard touchdown pass that finished an impressive 9-play, 85-yard drive.
Up 7-6, the Jacks tacked on another touchdown four minutes later to complete another long drive. A 30-yard run by Rowells and three completions by Proulx guided the Jacks on a 6-play, 80-yard march that culminated with a 4-yard pass completion to Chris Bolt for the touchdown and 14-6 lead.
Morgan helped the Wolves creep closer with another field goal, this one from 30 yards out, and Bryce Pelia's interception and 38-yard return gave WOU great field position on the HSU 25-yard line as the half wound down.
Starting quarterback Evan Mozzochi completed a pair of short passes to move the Wolves down to the 2-yard line, and three attempts later Adryan Allen finally pushed the ball across the line to give Western Oregon a 16-14 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, Bean's 2-yard run completed a short drive and gave the Wolves their largest lead at 23-14. Humboldt State mounted its comeback on the next possession.
"I'm proud of the team," Smith said. "All day, we kept coming back and coming back. But with six minutes to go, that's when you have to make a stop defensively, and we didn't."
Saturday's outcome added to the recent history of HSU-WOU contests. Humboldt State's 7-point win earlier this year was the largest margin of victory in the past two seasons. Last year's two games were decided by two and one points, respectively, both in favor of Western Oregon.
The 2010 football season ends on Saturday when Humboldt State faces Simon Fraser in what is also the GNAC finale. Kickoff in Redwood Bowl is scheduled for 1 p.m.
