Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Coming off of its upset victory over Midwestern State last week, Central Washington entered Saturday’s contest at Western Oregon poised to make a statement and perhaps make a case for playoff consideration later in the season.
The Wildcats did just that. After conceding a first-quarter touchdown, Central Washington scored the next 42 points and rolled to a 45-14 win over the Wolves at McArthur Field.

Central Washington, which primarily relied on passing in each of its last two games, put together a balanced attack with 170 passing yards and 184 rushing yards to finish with 354 yards of total offense.

The early scoring damage was done in the air with freshman quarterback Quincy Glasper completing 14 of 21 passes for 147 yards and three touchdowns. All three scores came in the second quarter. Sophomore Darius Morrison caught two of those touchdown passes and led all receivers with 63 yards.

Freshman running back Tyler Flanagan had two of the three CWU third-quarter scores, finding the end zone on 35-yard and eight-yard rushes. Flanagan finished with 93 yards on 12 carries and was named the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week.

Senior defensive lineman Zach Stecklein was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week after he led the Wildcats with six solo tackles, which included four tackles for loss for 22 yards and all three of the Wildcats’ sacks.

Western Oregon also had an evenly balanced offensive day with 128 rushing yards and 124 passing yards. Both of the Wolves’ touchdowns came on the ground with junior running back Omari Land scoring the first-quarter touchdown and senior running back Andrew Valladares scoring in the fourth quarter.

Both Central Washington and Western Oregon will have a week off before meeting each other again in Ellensburg on Saturday, October 23.

Simon Fraser, meanwhile, looks forward to getting back to action after a three-week hiatus, playing at Montana State Northern on Saturday.

It is Simon Fraser’s first game since September 25. Simon Fraser will play its final four games of the season on the road.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Tyler Flanagan, Central Washington
RB • 6-0 • Freshman • Woodland, Wash.

Flanagan carried the ball 12 times for 93 yards and scored two touchdowns in Central Washington’s 45-14 win over Western Oregon. Both of his touchdowns came in the third quarter on an eight-yard run and a game-long 35-yard run.

Also Nominated: Andrew Valladares (Western Oregon).

DEFENSIVE
Zack Stecklein, Central Washington
DL • 6-6 • Senior • Mt. Horeb, Iowa

Stecklein led the Central Washington defense with six solo tackles, four tackles for loss for 22 yards and three sacks in Saturday’s 45-14 win over Western Oregon. He was the key cog in a CWU defense that allowed WOU just 254 yards of total offense.

Also Nominated: Jaylin Parnell (Western Oregon).

SPECIAL TEAMS
Curtis Anderson, Western Oregon
DB • 6-2 • Senior • Klamath Falls, Ore.

Anderson paced the return game for Western Oregon in Saturday’s 45-14 loss to Central Washington, taking five kick returns for a total of 96 yards.

Also Nominated: Patrick Hegarty (Central Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
LAST WEEK: Oct. 9: won at Western Oregon, 45-14
THIS WEEK: Idle

• Central Washington used 354 yards of total offense and a balanced on the air and ground to score a 45-14 win at Western Oregon on Saturday.

• The Wildcats finished with 184 rushing yards between four players. Freshman running back Tyler Flanagan was named the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week as the game’s leading rusher, carrying 12 times for 93 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdowns came in the third quarter on a game-long 35-yard run with 8:24 to go and an eight-yard run with 2:51 to go. Flanagan is averaging 59.2 rushing yards per game.

• Freshman quarterback Quincy Glasper completed 14 of 21 passes for 147 yards and three touchdowns. He connected with nine different receivers, led by sophomore wide receiver Darius Morrison, who caught three passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns. Glasper is averaging 148.3 passing yards per game in three starts this season. Morrison is fifth in the GNAC with 41.2 receiving yards per game.

• The CWU defense was solid with a total of seven tackles for loss and two interceptions. Senior defensive lineman Zack Stecklein was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week after he led the Wildcats with six solo tackles, four tackles for loss for 22 yards and all three of the Wildcats’ sacks. Stecklein has 22 tackles on the season. He leads the GNAC with five sacks and is third with 36 tackles for loss while ranking 14th in Division II with 0.33 forced fumbles per game.

• Junior kicker Patrick Hegarty was once again a factor for Central Washington, going 6 for 6 on extra-point opportunities and converting a 33-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Hegarty is 10th in Division II with 1.40 field goals made per game and 27th with a .727 field goal percentage.

• Senior linebacker Donte Hamilton matched Stecklein with six tackles in the game and also had his fifth interception of the season, which leads the conference. Hamilton is second in the GNAC with 10 tackles for loss and third with 46 total tackles. Hamilton is third in Division II with 0.8 passes intercepted per game and 27th with 1.3 passes defended per game.

• Central Washington leads the GNAC with 33.3 points per game, 361.5 yards of total offense per game and 163.8 rushing yards per game. The Wildcats rank 30th in Division II with 14.46 passing yards per completion. Defensively, CWU leads Division II in blocked punts (3), is 12th in turnovers gained (15), 16th in blocked kicks (3) and interceptions (8) and 19th in fumbles recovered (7).

• Central Washington is idle this week. The Wildcats and Wolves will meet again their second conference meeting of the season in Ellensburg on Saturday, October 23.

SIMON FRASER
LAST WEEK: Idle
THIS WEEK: Oct. 16 at Montana State Northern, 1 p.m.
 
• Simon Fraser will end a three-week break from play this Saturday, traveling to Havre, Montana to face Montana State Northern. It is the start of a four-game road trip to end the season.

• Simon Fraser last played on September 25. They kept Western Oregon within a touchdown in the first half but could not hold off a Wolves’ scoring surge in a 24-7 loss on Saturday at SFU Stadium.

• Simon Fraser finished the game with 204 passing yards. Sophomore Justin Sieber completed 19 of 33 passes for 202 and the team’s only touchdown, a 45-yard reception to senior wide receiver Dallas Dixon in the third quarter. Sieber leads the GNAC with 261.3 passing yards and 264.7 yards of total offense per game. He is ranked 16th in Division II with 22.67 completions per game and 28th in passing yards per game.

• Dixon paced seven SFU receivers in the game, making two catches for 60 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Riley Morrison caught five passes for 57 yards and freshman wide receiver Sam Davenport caught four passes for 45 yards. Morrison is second in the GNAC with 62.8 receiving yards per game while Dixon is fourth with 42 receiving yards per game.

• Senior linebacker Griffin Barrett continues to be a defensive force, finishing the game with 17 tackles. Barrett leads the GNAC with 50 total tackles and is fourth in Division II with 12.5 tackles per game. Barrett also ranks ninth in Division II with 6.5 solo tackles per game.

• Senior kicker Kees Metselaar kept busy, punting seven times for 329 yards and an average of 47 yards per punt. His ledger included a 71-yard punt in the first quarter that ranks as the ninth-longest in GNAC history and the longest by a conference punter since Azusa Pacific’s Jacob Hall hit a 74-yarder in 2018 that tied the GNAC record. Metselaar leads the GNAC and is 12th in Division II with an average of 41.6 yards per punt.

• Simon Fraser enters the week averaging 254.8 yards of total offense per game and is second in the conference with 224.2 passing yards per game. One of the least penalized teams in Division II, Simon Fraser is first in fewest penalty yards (133), second in penalty yards per game (33.25) and eighth in fewest penalties (22).

WESTERN OREGON
LAST WEEK: Oct. 9: Lost to Central Washington, 45-14
THIS WEEK: Idle
 
• Even though Western Oregon got the first touchdown in front of a homecoming crowd, the Wolves could not stop Central Washington’s scoring surge in a 45-14 loss to the Wildcats on Saturday at McArthur Field.

• Western Oregon finished the day with 252 yards of total offense, almost evenly balanced between 128 rushing yards and 124 passing yards.

• Both of Western Oregon’s touchdowns came on the ground as junior running back Omari Land led the way with 66 yards on 10 carries and the Wolves’ first touchdown at the 7:24 mark of the first quarter. Senior running back Andrew Valladares carried four times for 61 yards and scored the Wolves’ fourth-quarter touchdown. Valladares also caught three passes for 31 yards.

• Land is second in the GNAC with 97.2 all-purpose yards and 87.2 rushing yards per game. He also ranks 11th in Division II with seven rushing touchdowns. Valladares is third in the GNAC with 37.7 rushing yards per game and fourth with 76.8 all-purpose yards per game.

• Junior quarterback Ryan Worthley completed 10 of 21 passes for 122 yards and was one of three WOU quarterbacks to play. Worthley is second in the GNAC with 210.3 passing yards per game and is 25th in Division II with a .640 completion percentage.

• Senior defensive back Curtis Anderson was named the GNAC Special Teams Player of the Week after he returned five kicks for 96 yards, averaging 19.2 yards per return with a long of 23 yards. He also had five tackles in the game. Anderson is second in the GNAC with 18.5 yards per kick return.

• Junior linebacker Jaylin Parnell finished with 10 tackles for the second consecutive game, which included one sack for three yards. Parnell is fourth in the GNAC with 45 total tackles and ranks 15th in Division II with 1.8 tackles for loss per game.

• Western Oregon is averaging 345.3 yards of total offense per game and is averaging 217.5 passing yards per game. The Wolves rank 30th in Division II with a .628 completion percentage and lead the conference with 118 first downs.

• Western Oregon is off this coming weekend. The Wolves return to conference play on Saturday, October 23 with a rematch against Central Washington in Ellensburg.