2008 Woodie Awards
Gridders go down for Homecoming
Wolves pull to within 18-9 at half, but fall to Westerm Washington University in Homecoming battle
Amanda Miles
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The Western Wolves dropped a 38-16 decision to the Western Washington Vikings before 2,300 spectators on Saturday, Oct. 15, for the school's Homecoming game at McArthur Field.
The loss was the third in a row-all to Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents-for Western, and dropped its record to 2-5 on the season. The Wolves are still looking for their first win in the GNAC as well.
Western managed to keep the game close early, but couldn't maintain the Vikings' pace. Western Washington scored the first 12 points of the game in the first quarter, but Western answered back with a 43-yard run by junior running back Eliot Vinzant with 3:03 left in the first quarter. Vinzant went over 100 yards for the fourth straight game, this time leading Western with 144 yards on 21 carries.
Western Washington marched right back down the field, capping an 80-yard scoring drive with a one-yard run by Jake Carlyle with 12:28 remaining in the half. However, when the Vikings tried for a two-point conversion, junior defensive back Jamil Wynn intercepted the ball in the endzone and raced 103 yards to the other end of the field to give the Wolves the two points instead. The Wolves entered halftime down 18-9.
In the second half, the Vikings opened up their offense, getting two more touchdowns in the third quarter to lead 31-9 going in to the last stanza. Western answered back, however, when the Wolves drove 92 yards and junior quarterback Ryan Thorson hit junior tight end Kevin Boss for a 16-yard touchdown strike with 7:13 remaining to pull the Wolves to 31-16.
But Western could get no closer. Vikings quarterback James Monrean hit Nick Yoney for a touchdown from 14 yards out to cap the game's scoring with 1:25 left.
The brothers tandem of Mark and Ryan Thorson once again split time at quarterback. Sophomore Mark started and completed 11 of 21 attempts for 113 yards, while Ryan completed eight of 14 attempts for 87 yards; redshirt freshman Garrett Hubrich also complete five of six attempts for 60 yards. Senior linebacker Jon Apgar led the Wolves on defense once again with a total of 14 tackles.
Western's next game is on the road at Central Washington on Saturday, Oct. 22. The game is slated to kick off at 1:30 p.m.