ARCATA, Calif. – No. 24 Humboldt State football saw its fourth-quarter rally fall short in Saturday's 48-42 loss to rival Western Oregon in Redwood Bowl.
"I am very proud of how our kids came back like they did," said head coach
Rob Smith. "But I am very disappointed by our start. We failed to execute, and we can't continue to be in these types of games. Our kids showed tremendous guts, and everybody believed we could score the touchdown and kick the game-winning extra point."
The Wolves jumped out to a 23-0 lead in the first quarter. Western Oregon leaned on running back Malik Braxton who was responsible for touchdown runs of 24 and 39 yards in the opening 15 minutes.
Running back
Ja'Quan Gardner put the Jacks on the board with a two-yard touchdown run less than three minutes into the second quarter.
A Paul Revis touchdown reception and a 39-yard field goal extended Western Oregon's lead to 34-7. He finished the game with two receptions for 73 yards and a pair of touchdown catches.
HSU scored two more touchdowns, a 31-yard touchdown to
Chase Krivashei and a two-yard touchdown scamper from Gardner, before the half. The Jacks trailed 34-21 at intermission.
The Jacks momentum stalled in the third quarter as the Wolves scored two touchdowns to increase their lead to 27, 48-21.
"What really hurt was coming out after halftime, and we gave up touchdown drives on the first and second possessions of the second half," said Smith. "Of all the things that took place tonight that was the most disappointing."
Robert Webber went to work dissecting the Western Oregon defense late in the game. He targeted Krivashei for a 27-yard touchdown strike in the third quarter and began a 21-0 run for the Green and Gold.
Fourth quarter touchdown passes to
Marjani Ellison and
Nick Sexton put the Jacks in position to finish the comeback. Webber guided the Jacks on an 18-play, 94-yard drive that ended when a pass to
Sage Burmeister was three yards short of the game-tying score.
Webber completed 43-of-63 attempts for a program single-game record 489 passing yards. He connected on a season-high four touchdown passes.
HSU travels to Nebraska to face Chadron State on Saturday, Oct. 1.
