Nov. 15, 2003

Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Jake Carlyle (So., Olympia/Capital) scored on a 7-yard run with 10:55 left in the fourth quarter and the Western Washington University defense held firm on two stands inside the 10-yard line in the final five minutes as the Vikings defeated Western Oregon, 17-13, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest Saturday at Civic Stadium.

The triumph was the third straight for the Vikings, who finish 4-6 overall after a 1-6 start. It also gave Western Washington the GNAC championship outright at 3-0, the Vikings' fourth league title in the last five years and their sixth in the last nine seasons. Western Oregon finished the season 4-6, 1-2 in the GNAC.

The Wolves had taken a 13-10 lead on a 42-yard field goal by Andrew Keippela late in the third quarter. Early in the fourth period, Western Washington safety Rob White (Jr., Woodinville/Inglemoor) intercepted a halfback pass by Ivan McCrae and lateraled to cornerback Bryan Jarrett (Fr., Puyallup), who returned the ball 20 yards to midfield.

On the following play, Western Washington wide receiver Andy Olson (So., Chehalis/W.F West) threw a 31-yard completion to Carlyle. Carlyle rushed 12 yards the play after that, then scored on a sweep from 7 yards out to give the Vikings a 17-13 lead.

Western Oregon had two opportunities to go in front after that. First, a 42-yard run by Ivan McCrae and a 27-yard completion from Lucas Taroli to Brad Satran on a fake punt helped put the ball at the Western Washington 5 with three minutes left, but on third down, Mike Hinshaw dropped a pass standing on the goal line, and on fourth down, quarterback Ryan Thorson's pass went off the outstretched hands of lunging tight end Chad Steen in the end zone.

The Wolves then got the ball back at the Western Washington 40 with 1:29 to go, and three completions by Thorson put the ball on the Viking 6 with 29 seconds left. Thorson, who was 17-of-46 for 224 yards, threw three incomplete passes, then on fourth down threw over the middle to Satran, who had the ball squirm out as he made a sliding effort for the catch.

Western Oregon had a 367-336 edge in total offense, with McCrae rushing for 103 yards on 16 carries and Satran making eight catches for 109 yards and becoming the school's all-time leader in career receptions with 161.

Carlyle rushed for 68 yards on 18 carries for the Vikings. Running back Duncan Sherrard (So., Seattle/Roosevelt) added 57 yards on 15 attempts and 94 yards on three receptions, including an 82-yard touchdown catch, before leaving with an ankle injury late in the first half.

Western Oregon took a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter on a 46-yard field goal by Keippela that was set up when the Vikings failed to convert on fourth-and-inches from their own 40.

The Vikings came back midway through the period with their longest scoring play of the season to take a 7-3 lead. Sherrard leaked out of the backfield, took a swing pass from quarterback Steve Nichols (Jr., Stevenson) and sprinted down the left sideline, getting a crushing block from Nick Yoney (So., Arlington) at the Western Oregon 45 to rumble for an 82-yard touchdown.

Western Oregon regained the lead on the following series, going 59 yards in four plays, capped by a 7-yard pass from Thorson to fullback Mark Dreiling with 6:12 left in the first half that put the Wolves up, 10-7.

Western Washington evened the score at 10-10 four minutes later on a 26-yard field goal by Koenen.

The Viking triumph avenged a 23-20 overtime loss at Western Oregon on Sept. 13. Western Washington, which committed six turnovers in that loss, had just one turnover Saturday, to three for the Wolves, and was plus-9 in turnover ratio in the last four games after being minus-17 in its first six contests.

It was the final collegiate game for 15 Viking seniors, seven of whom were four-year letter winners, and marked the 99th career victory for Western coach Rob Smith.

SCORING SUMMARY
Western Washington  0   10   0   7 --- 17Western Oregon      0   10   3   0 --- 13
WOU - FG Keippela 46WWU - Sherrard 82 pass from Nichols (Koenen kick)WOU - Dreiling 7 pass from Thorson (Keippela kick)WWU - FG Koenen 26WOU - FG Keippela 42WWU - Carlyle 7 run (Koenen kick)Attendance:  2,771