Oct. 12, 2002

Box Score

BROOKINGS, SD - Nationally-ranked Western Washington University gave up 20 unanswered points in the second half and suffered its first defeat of the season, losing 23-19 to South Dakota State University in a college football game Saturday at Coughlin Alumni Stadium.

The Vikings, ranked No.15 in this week's AFCA NCAA Division II National Poll, held a 19-3 halftime lead. They fell to 4-1, suffering just their second loss in 12 games.

SDSU, which got a school-record 16 receptions from redshirt freshman receiver Josh Davis, improved to 3-2, snapping a two-game losing streak. Scott Nedved scored two second-half touchdowns on a pair of short runs for the Jackrabbits, who held a 449-254 yard advantage in total offense.

The 254 yards was a season low for Western, which had just 72 total yards in the second half, and committed three turnovers in the game after having a total of just five in its first four contests.

Trailing by three, 19-16, entering the fourth quarter, SDSU drove 85 yards on 15 plays, Nedved scoring on a 4-yard run with 10:18 remaining.

Western's best chance to regain the lead came on the following series, as a 34-yard pass from Josh Shimek (Jr., Pasco) to Greg Dykstra (Sr., Everson/Lynden Christian) put the Vikings on the SDSU 30. But on 2nd-and-seven, Shimek was sacked and fumbled, with Jackrabbit linebacker Chris Coauette recovering.

The Vikings had just one more possession the rest of the way. They were unable to pick up a first down, and Nedved, who had been held out of the first half because of an injury, ran the ball six straight times for 40 yards and three first downs, effectively killing the clock.

"We committed three turnovers in the second half and they converted them," said Western coach Rob Smith. "You can't win football games doing that. We made mistakes, they captialized, and we came up short."

Western had taken a 19-3 halftime lead by scoring 16 points in a 5:17 span of the second quarter. With the game tied, 3-3, a Michael Koenen (So., Ferndale) punt put the ball at the 1-yard line, and on the following play, Western tackled James O'Neill for a safety. After the ensuing free kick, the Vikings took the ball 54 yards in six plays, capped by a 4-yard touchdown run by Jake Carlyle (R-Fr., Olympia/Capital). Three plays after the kickoff, Jackrabbit quarterback Dan Fjeldheim fumbled. Western's Corey Gunnerson (Sr., Everett) recovered at the SDSU 17, and the Vikings scored on a 1-yard run by Nyle Chambers (Jr., Sumner).

SDSU took advantage of two Western turnovers to score twice in the third quarter. Following an interception of a Shimek pass by Coauette on the Western 46-yard line, Fjeldheim threw a 41-yard pass to Jeff Hesse, and Nedved rushed three times, scoring from a yard out. A 2-point conversion pass failed, making the score 19-9.

On the following series, a Shimek fumble was recovered by Phil Oksness and the Jackrabbits went 41 yards in nine plays, Fjeldheim hitting Davis from seven yards out to narrow Western's lead to 19-16.

Fjeldheim passed for 339 yards, completing 28-of-48 attempts with just one interception. Davis had 164 yards and a touchdown on his 16 receptions, and Solomon Johnson added five catches for 72 yards. O'Neill had 16 carries for 65 yards and Nedved added 15 for 50, all in the second half.

Shimek was 7-of-15 for 111 yards for Western. Running back Duncan Sherrard (R-Fr., Seattle/Roosevelt) had 17 carries for a game-high 86 yards, and Dykstra extended his streak of games with a catch to 33, making four grabs for 68 yards.

SDSU had 222-186 edge in total offense in the first half, but on three trips inside the Western 25, got only three points, a 26-yard field goal by Keith Witt, as Witt missed attempts from 35 and 39 yards. Western had opened the scoring on a 38-yard field goal by Koenen on the game's opening possession. Koenen also averaged 47.2 yards on five punts.

The safety was the second in two games for the Vikings, marking the first time since 1969 they had accomplished that, and the first time since 1994 Western had two safeties in one season. Linebacker Lann Olson (Jr., Chehalis/W.F. West) had 13 tackles, forced two fumbles and recovered a fumble for Western, and strong safety Rob White (So., Woodinville/Inglemoor) had 16 tackles and his third interception of the season.

Western is at arch-rival Central Washington University (7-0) next Saturday (1 p.m.) for the seventh annual Cascade Cup game and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener for both schools.