FB: Dixie State forces six turnovers in 24-10 win over Wolves

DSC snaps nine-game skid with dominant second-half performance

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ST. GEORGE – Somewhere hovering over the intense atmosphere at Hansen Stadium on Saturday evening were lingering thoughts of last year's 56-0 shutout at the hands of the Western Oregon Wolves. Also lingering was a nine-game losing streak dating back to October of 2011.

Those elements became forgotten history – quickly.

Behind a stellar defensive and special teams effort that forced six Wolves turnover, Dixie State opened Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a stunning 24-10 win over Western Oregon in from of 3,855 fans at Hansen Stadium.

The Red Storm (1-1, 1-0 GNAC) amassed 352 yards of total offense, while holding WOU (0-2, 0-1) to 239 yards – including just 67 yards in the second half. DSC never trailed during the game.

Turnovers, which killed Dixie State in week one at Adams State – sparked the Storm's offensive output. After Cache Morgan (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan) returned an intercepted pass from Cody VonAppen and retuned it 58 yards to the WOU 16-yard line, senior quarterback Griff Robles (Spanish Fork, UT/Spanish Fork) found receiver Conor Sklarsky (Norco, CA/Notre Dame) wide open in the end zone for a touchdown. The completion marked the first DSC score inside the Red Zone in 2012.

Western Oregon responded in the second quarter with an 11-play, 63-yard drive. Kelly Morgan booted a field goal from 39 yards to cut the lead to 7-3.

The subsequent Dixie State drive sputtered, but the Red Storm gained a reprieve on special teams. Jake Duncan (Corona, CA/Notre Dame) stripped the ball from Lucas Gonsalves and Nick Largent (Escalon, CA/Escalon) recovered at the Western eight, setting up first and goal. Six plays later, Michael Meyers (St. George, UT/Dixie) connected from 24 yards for a field goal and a 10-3 lead.

Western Oregon tied the game with a wide-open pass connection from VonAppen (6-18, 105, TD, 2 INT) to running back Joe Harris.

After the half, the Red Storm seized control. The defense forced two quick three-and-outs. DSC drove seven plays for 77 yards culminating in Robles running through a seam for a 22-yard touchdown. Dixie State outgained the Wolves in the third quarter 136 to minus-8.

The Wolves looked to respond, but Tana Woodard (Honolulu, H/McKinley) recovered a fumble on the first carry from the line of scrimmage. That turnover set up DSC's final scoring drive. Sophomore quarterback Kaleo Nawahine (Fruitland, ID/Fruitland) fired a touchdown to Zack Fox (Spanish Fork. UT/Spanish Fork HS) for 23 yards increasing the lead to 24-10.

Defensive stops and turnovers highlighted the end of the third quarter and the whole fourth quarter. Nick Porrazzo (Rescue. CA/Ponderosa) picked off a pass in the next drive after DSC's final score. Matt Tanuvasa (Laie, HI/Southridge) forced Haynes into another fumble in the fourth, recovered by #K.J. Boyer#. The final nail came under the four-minute mark, when Daniel Moffett (Kaysville, UT/Davis) picked off Trey Shimabukuro and returned it 19 yards.

Junior running back #A.J. Johnson# tallied the first 100-yard rushing performance by a tailback since October 2010. Johnson carried the ball 19 times for 119 yards.

Robles closed the night 11-of-33 for 110 yards and a touchdown. He added 42 yards rushing on 12 carries. Nawahine finished 3-for-7 with a TD and a pick.

Senior safety Cameron Greene (Brigham CIty. UT/Box Elder) led all DSC defenders with six tackles. Duncan, Tanuvasa, Sean Gibson (Herriman, UT/Riverton) and Willie Townsend (Bennetsville, SC/Marlboro County) each added four tackles.

Dixie State hits the road for a GNAC test at Azusa Pacific on Sept. 15. Kickoff from Citrus Stadium is set for 7 p.m. Mountain (6 p.m. Pacific).

Score by Quarters     1 2 3 4   Score
-----------------    -- -- -- --   -----
Western Oregon...... 0 10 0 0 - 10       Record: (0-2,0-1)
Dixie State College. 7 3 14 0 - 24       Record: (1-1,1-0)

Scoring Summary:
1st 10:06 DSC - Sklarsky,Conor 16 yd pass from Robles,Griff (Meyers,Michael kick), 1-16 0:06, WOU 0 - DSC 7
2nd 12:25 WOU - Morgan,Kelly 39 yd field goal, 11-63 4:19, WOU 3 - DSC 7
    08:08 DSC - Meyers,Michael 24 yd field goal, 6-0 2:24, WOU 3 - DSC 10
    03:31 WOU - Harris,Joe 29 yd pass from VonAppen,Cody (Morgan,Kelly kick), 4-49 1:50, WOU 10 - DSC 10
3rd 08:37 DSC - Robles,Griff 22 yd run (Meyers,Michael kick), 7-77 2:50, WOU 10 - DSC 17
    04:54 DSC - Fox,Zach 23 yd pass from Nawahine,Kaleo (Meyers,Michael kick), 6-32 3:26, WOU 10 - DSC 24

                                    WOU      DSC
FIRST DOWNS...................       13       24
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............    25-64   45-188
PASSING YDS (NET).............      175      164
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 35-11-3 40-14-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   60-239   85-352
Fumble Returns-Yards..........      0-0      0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............     5-34     4-35
Kickoff Returns-Yards.........    5-114     2-39
Interception Returns-Yards....     1-14     3-77
Punts (Number-Avg)............   5-49.0   9-37.7
Fumbles-Lost..................      3-3      2-0
Penalties-Yards...............    10-67    11-85
Possession Time...............    21:03    38:57
Third-Down Conversions........ 3 of 14 7 of 21
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   1 of 2   0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      0-1      3-5
Sacks By: Number-Yards........     3-19     2-16

RUSHING: Western Oregon-Haynes,Kenneth 14-53; Penaranda,Nathaniel 3-11;
Harris,Joe 1-2; VonAppen,Cody 7-minus 2. Dixie State College-Johnson, A.J.
19-119; Robles,Griff 12-42; Nawahine,Kaleo 2-17; Alisa,Kamuela 8-12; Aron,Andre
2-2; TEAM 2-minus 4.

PASSING: Western Oregon-VonAppen,Cody 6-18-2-105; Shimabukuro,Trey
5-17-1-70. Dixie State College-Robles,Griff 11-33-0-110; Nawahine,Kaleo
3-7-1-54.

RECEIVING: Western Oregon-Spencer,Royce 3-65; Williams,Tyrell 3-33;
Davis,Tyler 3-21; Harris,Joe 1-29; Gonsalves,Lucas 1-27. Dixie State
College-Aron,Andre 5-66; Willard,Randon 3-25; Fox,Zach 2-33; Hoskins,Beau 2-10;
Sklarsky,Conor 1-16; Johnson, A.J. 1-14.

INTERCEPTIONS: Western Oregon-Peila,Bryce 1-14. Dixie State
College-Morgan,Cache 1-58; Moffett,Daniel 1-19; Porrazzo,Nick 1-0.

FUMBLES: Western Oregon-Haynes,Kenneth 2-2; Gonsalves,Lucas 1-1. Dixie
State College-Aron,Andre 1-0; Robles,Griff 1-0.

Stadium: Hansen Stadium        Attendance: 3855
Kickoff time: 6:05 pm   End of Game: 9:12 pm   Total elapsed time: 3:07
Temperature: 95        Wind: 4mph ENE Weather: Partly Cloudy

SACKS (UA-A): Western Oregon-Drake,Gavin 1-1; Wells,Devin 1-0;
Benthin,Gustave 0-1. Dixie State College-Woodard,Tana 1-0; Townsend,Willie 1-0.

TACKLES (UA-A): Western Oregon-Tuigamalala,Sipili 3-6; Peila,Bryce 5-2;
Benthin,Gustave 3-4; Drake,Gavin 2-4; Vercher,Sherman 1-5; Wells,Devin 4-1; Foss,Scotland 2-3; Tepea,Patrick 2-2; Williams,Raymond 3-0; Coleman,Zach 2-1; Wilson,Gabe 1-2; Johnson,Leroy 1-2; Walton,Brian 1-2; Akins,Michael 1-2; Melson,Alex 1-2; Werhane,Kirk 1-1; Wafer,Antoinne 0-2; Mastenbroek,Coulter 1-0; Lane,Kyle 1-0; Kuenzi,Shane 1-0; Garrett,Roger 1-0; Moa,Glen 0-1; Plasker,Bryan 0-1; VonAppen,Cody 0-1. Dixie State College-Greene,Cameron 5-1; Duncan,Jake 4-0; Woodard,Tana 2-2; Townsend,Willie 2-2; Gibson,Sean 2-2; Porrazzo,Nick 3-0; Chapman,Ray 3-0; Moffett,Daniel 2-0; Johnson,Brock 1-1; Cracroft,Parker 1-1; Williams,Kris 1-1; Curtis,J 1-1; Tanuvasa,Matt 1-1; Tuiasosopo,Eldon 1-1; Raethke,Levi 0-2; Loveless,Brady 1-0; Ligman,Tommy 1-0; Morgan,Cache 1-0; Pututau,Alvini 1-0; Largent,Nick 0-1; Boyer,K.J. 0-1; Morton,Antonio 0-1;
Hoskins,Beau 0-1; McCray,Caleb 0-1.

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