MONMOUTH, Ore. -- Penalties and turnovers cost the Humboldt State football team an opportunity for a road victory Saturday as it lost to Western Oregon 45-24 at McArthur Field.

The Lumberjacks (1-6) overcame a slow start and battled back from a two-touchdown deficit, but self-inflicted mistakes proved too much to overcome in front of the Wolves' (4-4) Homecoming crowd.

"We are a team that doesn't know how to win yet," said HSU Head Coach Damaro Wheeler. "We take ourselves out of games with penalties and costly mistakes. Without those, it's a different game."

Western Oregon got on the board first with its vertical passing attack as Ty Currie hit Thomas Wright with a 50-yard bomb on the opening drive. HSU answered with 13:30 on the clock in the second quarter as the North Coast squad converted a turnover into a touchdown. Curtis Williams recovered a Currie fumble in the Wolves' own end and Green and Gold signal caller Joey Sweeney hit Tyree Marzetta for a 24-yard scoring strike.

Back-to-back touchdowns in the span of two minutes gave the Wolves a 21-7 halftime advantage.

HSU showed its resilience in the third quarter as Jose Morales hit a field goal and Marzetta broke a season-long, 89-yard run to make it a four-point ball game, 21-17. Mazetta finished the afternoon with 161 yards of total offense (140 rushing yards and 21 receiving) and a pair of touchdowns.

The Wolves outscored the Green and Gold 17-7 in the fourth quarter to secure the game in the win column.

Penalties haunted HSU in the loss as the team was flagged 10 times for 132 yards. The Jacks put together their best offensive performance of the season Saturday as they compiled 426 yards and a season-best 284 passing yards.

Sweeney finished the game 23-of-39 passing for 284 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Kaleo Garrigan has emerged as the Jacks' big-play target as he amassed 145 receiving yards and a touchdown on eight catches.

Moses Finau paced the Green and Gold defense with nine stops to go with a sack and a pair of tackles for loss. Another key contributor for the HSU defense was Kyle Martorella who registered a forced fumble and a sack.

HSU hosts Central Washington Saturday in Redwood Bowl. Fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.