ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Humboldt State football was unable to finish a potentially game-tying drive late in Saturday's 37-30 road loss to rival Central Washington.
 
"I am very proud of our team's effort, and I thought we battled all day long," said Head Coach Rob Smith. "This team has come an awful long way. We have been in too many of these shootouts this year, and this one hurt. We were ready to play, we played well, but today just wasn't our day."
 
The Lumberjacks end the season with a 6-5 overall mark and 3-5 record against Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams. Central Washington improved to 7-3 overall and 6-2 in conference play.
 
A Cameron Southward field goal and Marjani Ellison touchdown reception put HSU up 10-0 early.
 
Central Washington responded with 14 unanswered on a pair of Justin Lane touchdown passes to take a 14-0 lead with 12:07 remaining in the second quarter.
 
The Green and Gold regained the lead following a pair of Southward field goals, but the Wildcats took a six-point advantage, 22-16, into the locker room following a Quincy Carter rushing score.
 
Southward missed a 24-yard field goal attempt wide right as the first half ended.
 
Robert Webber connected with Ellison for the second time to give HSU a 23-22 edge midway through the third quarter. Ellison broke the 200-receiving yard mark with his 36-yard touchdown reception.
 
Lane successfully directed Central Washington's aerial attack against HSU's young secondary. He fired a 42-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Jesse Zalk to put the Wildcats ahead 30-23.
 
Central Washington extended its lead to two scores after another Carter touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
 
Webber found freshman Shane Torre in the end zone for the tight end's first career touchdown reception to pull the Jacks within a score, 37-30. Torre's touchdown grab capped off an 11-play, 72-yard scoring drive.
 
The Green and Gold began a drive with just under two minutes to play. HSU drove to the Central Washington 23-yard line, but Max McIntosh picked up a Webber pass at the 3-yard line to secure the Wildcat victory.
 
Webber cemented his spot in program history with his performance this season, and he broke several Lumberjack records Saturday. He broke Jacob Kadle's single-season passing record and Mike Proulx's career passing touchdown records. Webber notched his 69^th career touchdown pass and finished the season with 3,270 passing yards. The Corona, Calif., native is just 15 yards short of Mike Proulx's career passing yards record, and he is eight pass completions shy of surpassing Proulx's all-time mark.
 
Ellison finished the game with a team-leading 222 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 13 receptions. John Todd had 10 receptions for 100 yards.
 
Central Washington's defense limited running back Ja'Quan Gardner to just 52 rushing yards on 25 carries.
 
Julian Owens led HSU tacklers with 11 stops.