Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

The Wolves’ looked to extend their winning streak to two as they took on the Simon Fraser Clan at McArthur field on Sept. 20 for the first home game with school in session. Coming into this game, Western had been on the losing end for the majority of the season. The Wolves’ had yet to be in the winning column at home having lost the first three games of the year. On the road, the Wolves’s season had taken a turn for the better as they picked up the win against Humboldt State in the week leading into their game against the Clan.

Saturday’s game was over fairly quickly as Western jumped to a 54-6 lead at halftime. Western’s defense was nothing short of exceptional as the Wolves’ forced an astonishing 10 turnovers. Seven of these turnovers were interceptions which is a single game Western football record and tied the Great Northwest Athletic Conference record. Three of the turnovers resulted in touchdowns for Western.

The special teams took some inspiration from the defense as they scored some points of their own. With seven extra points, a field goal, a blocked a punt returned for six points and a blocked extra point returned for two points, the defense and special teams scored the vast majority of points.

This record-breaking effort was met with a dysfunctional Western offense. The offense of Western found the endzone the same number of times as their defense, totaling three touchdowns. However these scores came at a cost as they turned over the ball five times, one of which resulted in a Clan touchdown. While this game will go down as a 54-13 victory for Western, it was anything but for the struggling Western offense.

Contact the author at llarsen13@mail.wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Paul F. Davis