Western got off to a strong start against the Azusa Pacific Cougars, scoring on two early drives of the game for a 13-7 lead. The Cougars would eventually get back on track en route to a 41-16 win. The first scoring drive was quick, with the Wolves going 79 yards in 48 seconds. Sophomore running back Devon Fortier scored on an eight-yard run. Azusa answered back right away, going 72 yards in just under two minutes with redshirt freshman quarterback Tyrone Williams Jr. finding sophomore wideout Darrell Adams Jr. for a 58-yard touchdown. At the end of the first quarter, the Wolves struck again, with senior quarterback Nick Duckworth connecting with senior receiver Paul Revis for a two-yard touchdown pass, completing a drive that lasted seven and a half minutes. The Wolves were outscored 21-0 in the second quarter, making the total tally at halftime 28-13, and Azusa never looked back. The only score in the third quarter came on a 27-yard field goal by Wolf junior Adrian Saldana. The Wolves headed into the fourth quarter down 28-16.
Azusa struck quickly in the fourth, scoring on their first two drives and putting the game out of reach. Junior tailback Kurt Scoby would score both touchdowns, the first on a 19-yard run and the second on a one-yard run. Duckworth finished with 243 yards on 20-47 passing with one touchdown, while Fortier had 105 yards on 18 rushing attempts.
Western looks to bounce back on Nov. 11 against Simon Fraser on senior night.
“I’ve never seen that much rain in my life,” said Wolves quarterback Nick Duckworth, of experiencing the complete weather difference between here and Arizona, his native home state. Duckworth transferred to Western from Phoenix Community College.
He grew up in Scottsdale, but is now prepared for the new forecast of this here Oregon weather. He’s also prepared to fulfill the position of a starting quarterback for the Wolves football team as he is about to finish his two-year career at Western.
While he prepares for the final stretch, he’s also working on finishing up his degree in economics, with a business minor.
Athletes, too, have a lot to prepare for during a transfer transition. Usually, junior college transfers make that transition between their sophomore year and the start of their junior year at the university they’re transferring to. Duckworth is one of those transfers. He’s also understood, very well, the differences between the two institutions of community college and universities.
“It’s a challenge at first,” said Duckworth. “With the four-year school, there’s more of a social aspect with it.”
Perhaps what makes him more ready and at ease with the transition is based on the fact that he’s not alone, and that that social aspect is present here at Western.
This is the case especially when it comes to his teammates.
“I was worried about getting acclimated with all the guys, but that was the easiest part… and I think we’ve had a lot of junior college transfers as well, so it helps that we’ve been through a lot of the same stuff,” he said.
In fact, according to the Western’s website, 10 players from the Wolves football roster, including Duckworth, are transfers from junior colleges. That shared bond with teammates is something he’ll take with him long after he’s graduated from college.
When asked about what he would carry with him from the experience of playing at Western, Duckworth answered, “definitely the relationship with my teammates. The relationship with those guys, I feel like I’ll have a lot of lifelong relationships with, even though I’ve been here in such a short time.”
In the short amount of time he’s had on the field, he’s amassed 3,121 in passing yardage, and has nearly doubled his touchdown number, from 9 to 16, compared to last year.
Of course, last year he didn’t start a single game and only played six games total. The fact remains that he became ready when his number was called upon.
“Last year,” speaking on his first touchdown on Western soil. “Winter was not fun.”
And the recurring theme here is that he may just be warming up.
Duckworth had said that he would like to continue the profession of football, and wants to turn it into coaching at some point after college.
Speaking on the change from year one to year two, he said it has been quite a shift; “I’ve put on a lot more warmer clothes. I definitely can get used to it. The first year was very tough, but I think I’m more prepared now.”
Duckworth will have another chance to ready himself on senior day, when he and the Wolves look to sweep the season series against Simon Fraser on Nov. 11 — and where they will look to end a tumultuous season on a high note. But he’ll have more chances, during life after Western.
“I love the summers up here,” he said.
And perhaps, after next summer, a shot at the green — the golf course, of course, not the gridiron.
If there was another sport he was as equally as passionate about as football, it’s golf.
“I play golf a lot—that gets my competitive juices flowing,” Duckworth said. “I actually worked at a golf course last summer.”
And his favorite club: “Definitely the driver.”
Taking this into consideration, in the way he uses his club on the course, or his arm on the field, there’s a drive in him towards accomplishing a goal.
On Nov. 4, the Wolves go head-to-head in the homecoming game against Azusa Pacific. Azusa is currently ranked third in the GNAC with a conference score record of 3-3. The Wolves are ranked fourth, following right behind them at 1-5.
Though Western’s history with the Cougars isn’t long, it is torrid. The teams first played each other in 1999, with the Wolves missing the win by a mere four points. The next year, Western creamed Azusa to the sound of 44-14. That was the last time the teams would face each other until 2009, when Western won the battle yet again.
Looking at more recent history, Western has lost the past three games against Azusa and has lost at home for the past two seasons.
When the Wolves played the Cougars on Sept. 30, they lost 17-48.
To find out if the Cougars will pounce on the Wolves yet again, or if the Wolves will thrive at home, go to the homecoming game on Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. or read our coverage in issue 6, printing on Nov. 8.
Just before the Wolves football team were able to gain traction on Oct. 21, the Humboldt State University Lumberjacks were swift to put the first points up. Just before the Wolves were given the opportunity to have their prey in the crosshairs, the ‘Jacks were there to elude their momentum. And before the Wolves were able to see a positive outcome in the game result, there were the ‘Jacks chopping down at the adversarial Wolves to a 42-32 victory.
The away action in Arcata, California displayed a balance between such big and even short chops by both teams.
Less than four minutes into the game, two big offensive plays for touchdowns by the ‘Jacks would deal the Wolves the first blow, putting them at 14-0.
GNAC rushing leader in all-purpose yards, and ‘Jacks senior tailback, Ja’Quan Gardner would be the recipient of one of those touchdowns.k
But a big play made by the Wolves would swing things their way.
A fumble by HSU quarterback Robert Webber, recovered by Wolves redshirt freshman lineman Tayvis Passos, shifted such position. The Wolves’s hunt to get back into the game meant capitalizing on the turnover after a field goal was made.
Later in the second quarter, a 90-yard punt return for touchdown by senior wideout Paul Revis amounted to 17 unanswered points and a Wolves lead of 17-14.
The game took another swing after the ‘Jacks scored 25 unanswered for a big gap at 35-17.
The Wolves fought back valiantly, chipping away at the lead until midway in the fourth quarter where they would cut the deficit to 10 after a goal line-passing touchdown from Wolves senior quarterback Phillip Fenumiai to senior receiver Zack Suarez.
The ‘Jacks would prevail in the end, however, with a final score of 42-32.
The rematch proved exciting, with GNAC leaders on both ends providing contributions for their teams.
Gardner made his runs throughout the game, netting a total of 215 yards on 35 carries. While leading receiver in receptions, Revis would be a key factor catching six for a total of 89 yards including the highlight punt return.
Fenumiai got his start while the starting quarterback, senior Nick Duckworth, did not play due to injury.
Next on tap for the Wolves is opponent Tarleton State where they will look to end a two game slide. The away game will be played on Oct. 28th in Stephenville, Texas. Kick-off is set for 4 p.m.
Western got trampled in their second home game of the season. On Oct. 14, the Central Washington University Wildcats, currently undefeated in the GNAC and No. 10-ranked in the division, headed to McArthur Stadium to face off against the Wolves. The game ended 42-0.
It was a red-out event as the Wolves continued to try and play off of the momentum from last week’s game where they beat Simon Fraser 82-21. However, the Wildcat’s strong offensive line got the best of the Wolves.
Western racked up a mere 261 offensive yards, with Central Washington running 474 yards.
Sophomore linebacker Andrew Weber led Wolves defense with 11 tackles throughout the game, and senior wide receiver Paul Revis led with 96 receiving yards from a total of 8 passes.
The score was 28-0 at the half — 21 of the points were scored by passes from junior Wildcat quarterback Reilly Hennessey. Hennessey was the GNAC Athlete of the Week for the week of Oct. 8. The remaining 7 points were the result of an interception by Wildcat senior defensive lineman Bo Banner in the beginning of the second quarter.
The third quarter led to an additional two touchdowns on the part of Central Washington, leading to the final score of 42-0. No points were scored in the last quarter.
This loss places Western football at 1-4 in the GNAC, and 2-5 overall. On Oct. 21 the Wolves head to Arcata, California to face off against their longtime rivals, the Humboldt University Lumberjacks. The game is set to kickoff at 6 p.m. The Wolves lost to the Lumberjacks 48-49 when they played them at home in September.
Western’s volleyball team experienced a double loss at home against the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks and the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves.
The Nanooks travelled to Western’s campus for a game on Oct. 12. Though it looked promising after the first set, the Wolves played — and lost — a tight game. The final score was 3-1 in favor of Alaska Fairbanks.
Junior Mariella Vandenkooy scored 22 kills and three blocks for the Wolves, topping the Western leaderboard.
The first set leaned in heavy favor of the Wolves. Though Nanook sophomore Kim Wong got her team on the board with the first kill of the game, the Wolves followed with three kills and two attack errors — gaining five consecutive points. A kill by Nanook Maddie Davis interrupted the streak of points, which resumed with five more after Davis’s kill. The rest of the first set was a back and forth between the two teams, finally ending with a score of 25-14.
The middle two sets were both rounded out at 28-26, with the Nanooks taking the lead on both. While the Wolves completed their first set win with a series of consecutive kills, the Nanooks pieced their wins together.
The last set began with four consecutive points for the Nanooks. Their scoring took a brief break, allowing for Western to put themselves on the board with two points, and then resumed with a consecutive streak of five more. The rest of the set mimicked the first, resulting in a final score of 19-25, cementing the Wolves’s loss.
Western played Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 14. The team saw a similar fate as the match they played against Alaska Fairbanks three days prior — a 1-3 loss.
Vandenkooy led the board once again with a combined 18 kills throughout the course of the game.
The first set started out with four consecutive points on the part of the Wolves. What started out strong in the beginning of the set remained so, eventually resulting in a 20-8 advantage for the Wolves. After a timeout for the Seawolves, the Alaska team came back to score four consecutive points. The final score before the second set read 25-19.
The Seawolves kicked it up for the second set, putting themselves on the board with six points. As the set progressed, the Wolves consistently positioned themselves just behind Anchorage. The set ended at 25-23 in favor of the Seawolves.
Alaska Anchorage won the remaining two sets, boasting final scores of 25-17 and 25-21, respectively.
The Wolves go on the road next week, travelling to play Central Washington on Oct. 19 and Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 21.
The men’s soccer game on Oct. 13, ended with Western Oregon University getting their first win of the year, 2-1, over Portland State University. The first half was a defensive battle, and both teams went into halftime with zeroes on the scoreboard.
Western has been working on defending more as a unit, according to head coach Mark Jorgenson.
“We’ve been working on our shape, and just defending as a unit rather than individually and there weren’t, maybe a couple dodgy moments, but much better than last week. We didn’t really have too much panic tonight, which was nice to see,” said Jorgenson.
The game got off to a late start after only a few of the PSU players showed up before 6 p.m. and most of them arriving shortly after six. This caused a 15 minute delay in start time.
The scoring opened up 15 minutes into the second half with number Tatsuya Kobafor Western scoring off a deep pass from first-year left back Brent Walsh. In the 27th minute, Portland State tied the game up off a mistake by Western’s defense. The Wolves kicked the ball into an open middle field and the goalie had to run up to try and get the ball, which left the goal wide open for Portland State to score. This was the only major mistake the defense made.
However, this was the best game for the defense this year.
“We really worked well as a team. It’s a lot less stressful when we’re compact and moving as a unit instead of leaving a bunch of windows and open gaps,” said Walsh.
Western took the lead for good with 12 minutes left after striker Brandon Cortez managed to put a goal in past the goalie.
“It feels awesome to finally get a win, finally get a goal, been struggling with that all year and I feel like our team is finally coming together,” said Cortez.
Western Oregon travels to Corvallis on Oct. 21 to take on the Oregon State Beavers, and try and get a winning streak going.
