Undefeated Wolves Big Underdogs at Cal Poly

You can hear the game live on KPJC 1220 AM in Salem.

Former McKay High star running back Ben Kuenzi had 108 yards rushing on 23 carries, including 71 yards in the second half as Western Oregon with 19 unanswered second-half points to defeat Texas A&M-Kingsville 22-14 last Saturday. Photo courtesy: WOU Athletics

MONMOUTH, Ore. - Trailing 14-3 at the half, Western Oregon rallied with 19 unanswered second-half points to defeat Texas A&M-Kingsville 22-14 last Saturday in front of 7,500 fans at Javelina Stadium. With the win, the Wolves improved to 3-0 on the season.

Steppin' Up

Western Oregon will hit the road again this week, and even though they will be heading south, its opponent is north (up) on the collegiate football level ladder.

The Wolves will take on No. 24 nationally ranked Cal Poly, who plays in the Great West Foootball Conference and is a part of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA), one level above NCAA Division II.

Series history

This will be the first meeting between the two schools.

Arne's Assessment

"Cal Poly is without a doubt the best team that we have played since I have been here (mid 1980's). They are extremely fast, well-coached, disciplined and very talented. They recruit speed, and they have it in nearly every position on the field. Their 6-6 receiver (Ramses Barden) will be playing on Sundays in a few years. I will be interested to see how we stack up against one of the top programs in the FCS that has 64 full scholarships."

Poly Prognosis

Cal Poly began the year with tough road losses to Texas State (38-35) and to Idaho (20-13), but rallied with a convincing 47-19 win over Weber State in their home opener last week.

The Mustangs, despite a 1-2 record, are still favorites with the pollsters, ranked 24th this week in the FCS national rankings.

Cal Poly, under the leadership of Rich Ellerson, has posted four consecutive winning seasons and finished in the top 20 in each of those campaigns.

They finished 7-4 last season, which included a win over Division I San Diego State.

This year, they are led on offense by junior quarterback Jonathan Dally, who threw a school-record six touchdown passes against Weber State, and 6-6 wide receiver Ramses Barden who caught eight passes for 207 yards against the Wildcats.

First-team All-Great West linebacker Ryan Shotwell returns to anchor the defense.

The Mustangs are in the middle of a three-game home stand at Alex Spanos Stadium, before beginning Great West play on Oct. 13 at UC Davis.

Last Saturday against Weber State, Mustang fans set a school record by filling 11,075 seats at the newly constructed facility.

Witnessing

More people are witnessing the Western Oregon football team play in the early season than ever before.

On Sept. 8 versus Linfield, the second largest crowd to ever watch a game at McArthur Field packed the stadium and lined the sidelines to watch the Wolves top their valley rival (3,800).

Last Saturday in Kingsville, 7,500 were on had to see the Javelina's home opener, the second-largest road crowd that the Wolves have ever played in front of -- the largest was also at Kingsville in the 1975 NAIA playoffs (10, 357).

This Saturday's game at Cal Poly has the potential to set another chart-topper, as the Mustangs had 11,075 at last Saturday's game against Weber State.

Honoring

Two Wolves earned Independent College Athletic Association honors this past week for their work at Texas A&M-Kingsville.

JT Gilmore earned the Defensive Player of the Week nod after compiling a career-high 18 tackles against the Javelinas, including nine solo grabs.

Shaun Kauleinamoku was the Special Teams Player of the Week honoree after his 59-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter gave WOU its first lead of the game and proved to be the contest-winner.

The ICAA is a listing (not a conference) of the independent members of NCAA Division II.

More on JT's Tackles

The sophomore middle linebacker's 18 tackles is the most for a Western Oregon defensive player since Dave Morrill had 21 tackles at Carson-Newman in 2000.

Gilmore, from Taft High School in Lincoln City, had a previous best of 11 tackles last year against Humboldt State, which was a team-best for the Wolves in 2006.

Defense Rules Second Half

Western Oregon's defense was stifling again, allowing only 14 points to Texas A&M-Kingsville, including zero after the halftime break.

WOU gave up 100 yards on the ground and 226 through the air, but 119 of that air yardage came on two plays.

The Wolves had two sacks in the game, including a huge one by defensive end Victor Felipe late in the fourth quarter that also turned into a forced fumble and recovery by Casey O'Donnell that halted a Javelina drive.

Matt Cox also had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, while Danny Hart led the secondary with two pass break-ups.

Arne on The Defense

"Our defense was very solid against the run except for the opening drive of the game. Kingsville was big and very fast, and it took us some time to adjust to that. Other than some big plays that we gave up, I thought that the defense played very well."

Ben The Bruiser

Sophomore running back Ben Kuenzi had 108 yards rushing on 23 carries, including 71 yards in the second half.

The 5-10, 220-pounder now has 403 yards in three games for a 134.3 yard average. He averaging nearly five yards a pop (4.9), and his longest run is only 28 yards.

He had 89 yards rushing against Linfield, and produced a collegiate career-best 206 yards on 33 carries and two scores against Willamette.

In WOU's first two drives of that game, he packed the ball 10 times for 68 yards, and he had 84 yards rushing at the end of the first quarter.

The McKay High School alum's (Salem) previous best was 174 yards last fall against Dixie State.

His 206-yard total tops the 2006 best of former all-star Eliot Vinzant, who had 204 yards at Southern Oregon, and is the most by a WOU back since Jason Taroli's 242-yard effort against Humboldt State in 1999.

The school record is held by Bill Volk, who had 315 yards against Eastern Oregon in 1994.

Throwin' Thorson

Senior quarterback Mark Thorson was 18-34 for 174 yards, connecting with Isaiah Smith six times for 80 yards and a touchdown.

Brad Ching added five grabs for 42 yards.

Thorson, a three-year starter from Sandy, is now 61-for-102 for 650 yards and five touchdowns.

He has spread the wealth, with Smith catching 12 passes for 155 yards, Ching 12 for 131 and Shaun Kauleinamoku 11 for 123.

Sean Fullerton, who caught nine for 92 in the season opener, did not play at Kingsville because of an injury.

Tight end Cory Dickson had six catches for 44 yards and two touchdowns.

That's 50 Football Fields

QB Thorson inched past the 5,000 career passing mark in the Kingsville game and now has 5,006 yards in a Western Oregon uniform.

That ranks him third all-time on the Wolves passing charts.

Arne on The Offense

"We had a pretty rough first half and especially a poor first quarter on offense. But we kept plugging away and played pretty well after that. Like the defense, the offense took some time to adjust to the size and speed of the team we were playing, as we hadn't seen anything like that yet this year. In the third quarter, our offense took control and started to get into a rhythm."

Special Teams Were, Special

WOU's special teams played a key role in the win over the Javelinas.

The obvious notice goes to Shaun Kauleinamoku, whose 59-yard punt return for a score gave the Wolves the lead for good in the third quarter.

But also noteworthy was Bruce Voges' 62-yard average on kick-offs (he also had a 32-yard field goal), and DJ Jackson's 46-yard kick-off return to begin the game.

WOU's punt return defense allowed -9 yards on two punts, and the Wolves currently rank second in national Division II stats with -1.67 yards allowed per punt return.

Saturday Scores of 2007 WOU Opponents

Willamette (1-2) 14, Cal Lutheran 7

Linfield (1-1) 52, Hardin-Simmons 42

Western Oregon 22, Texas A&M-Kingsville (0-3) 14

Cal Poly (1-2) 47, Weber State 19

Humboldt State (0-3), bye.

#2 North Dakota 35, Central Washington (1-1) 28

Southern Oregon (1-2), bye.

#8 Nebraska-Omaha 45, Western Washington (1-1) 10

Montana State 61, Dixie State (2-2) 7

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