MONMOUTH, Ore. – A barn burner, heart-stopper or instant classic. No matter which cliché you choose, Saturday's 49-48 overtime Humboldt State football victory versus Western Oregon was a memorable one.

The No. 22-ranked Lumberjacks carried their momentum into the Wolves' home opener and, despite trailing by 21 points in the second half, overcame adversity in the hostile environment of McArthur Field. HSU improved to 3-0 overall and 3-0 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.

"You've got to be both good and lucky in this game," said HSU Head Coach Rob Smith. "We were good today in a lot of phases, not good enough in others and lucky at the end."

A pair of long touchdown passes from quarterback Robert Webber to John Todd of 90 and 30 yards gave the Jacks a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Todd finished the first half with 120 total receiving yards.

Western Oregon scored 21 unanswered points before halftime as Wolves signal caller Nick Duckworth and receiver Paul Revis picked apart the Jacks defense. Torreahno Sweet punched a six-yard touchdown run with 24 seconds left before intermission to put the home team ahead 28-14.

The Wolves opened the second half with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by another Sweet rushing score.

Trailing 35-14, HSU returned to its most reliable offensive weapon - running back Ja'Quan Gardner. The Ceres, Calif., native broke a 50-yard touchdown run with 5:37 left in the third quarter and added a six-yard touchdown reception a little more than three minutes later.

The "Cardiac Jacks" drove 81 yards on nine plays in their next possession to even the game at 35-35. Webber dialed up senior receiver Chase Krivashei from 10 yards out in the back of the end zone for the equalizer with 12:13 remaining in regulation.

Western Oregon answered on its next drive as the Wolves marched down the field and ended the nine-play drive with a 12-yard touchdown strike from Duckworth to Zack Suarez.

Webber tossed his third interception of the game on the ensuing possession, but the Green and Gold still had more fight left in them. The Jacks forced a 3-and-out for the Wolves and tied the game at 42-all with a 33-yard touchdown haul by Todd with less than two minutes left on the clock. HSU was aided on the seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive by a pivotal 15-yard personal foul facemask call on what would have been a Webber sack.

Once again penalties kept the Wolves from closing out the game in the final drive of regulation. Adrian Saldana got the nod to attempt a 52-yard, game-winning field goal as the game came to a close, but a false start moved the kicker out of range.

For the first time since Nov. 1, 2014, a GNAC meeting had to be settled in overtime. HSU got the first shot in overtime and leaned on its rushing game to put the Jacks on the board. Gardner carried the ball five times for 23 yards, including a three-yard touchdown scamper, which gave the Green and Gold a 49-42 edge following a PAT.

Duckworth connected with Revis for a 30-yard touchdown pass on the Wolves overtime possession, but Saldana missed the PAT and HSU prevailed.

Gardner finished with 25 carries for 176 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Webber, the reigning GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, was 17-of-27 passing for 334 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions.

Todd also provided another outstanding offensive performance. He had seven catches, 225 receiving yards and three touchdowns. The junior's receiving yards total ranks as the second most all-time.

On the defensive side, Edwin Campbell and James Benedix were the team's top tacklers with 12 and 10 stops, respectively.

HSU returns to the Redwood Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 30, and plays host to Chadron State. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.