MONMOUTH, Ore. – Dixie State held Western Oregon to three points in the second half, but the Red Storm could not take advantage of late opportunities as the Wolves escaped with a 19-14 Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory Saturday afternoon at McArthur Field.
 
Western Oregon running back Nathan Penaranda ran for 110 yards on 18 carries, while Wolves quarterback Trey Shimabukuro threw for 303 and two touchdowns in a game marred by turnovers and missed chances. Wide receiver Paul Revis made nine grabs for 121 yards.
 
Storm quarterback Ben Longshore (Santa Clarita, CA/Canyon) threw for 216 yards and a touchdown while Hayden Gavett (Corona, CA/Centennial) led the rushing attack with 27 yards on six carries. Nate Stephens (Redding, CA/Shasta) led the Dixie State (0-6, 0-2 GNAC) receiving corps for the second straight week with four catches while Brock Johnson (South Weber, UT/Northridge) netted the most yards with 61 on three grabs.
 
The Wolves outgained Dixie State 436-257 for the game, which saw WOU (3-3, 1-0 GNAC) hold the ball offensively for nearly 40 minutes.
 
Two first half touchdowns and a field goal gave the hosts a 16-0 lead midway through the second quarter. Dixie's first three offensive possessions ended with a fumble and two punts. Down 16-0 and on defense, the Storm's Trevor Oakley (Santa Ana, CA/Foothill High School ) forced a fumble that was recovered at the 11-yard line and returned for a score by Nate Perry. The defensive score cut the WOU lead to 16-7 heading into halftime.
 
Aided by a third quarter interception from Zac Christian (Plain City, UT/Fremont), the Storm offense used a short field for its lone offensive score. Longshore connected with Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) for a 34-yard gain on second-and 10 to set up DSU for a shot at the end zone. Three plays later, Conor Sklarsky (Norco, CA/Notre Dame) hauled in a seven-yard pass for his second touchdown of the season.
 
Western Oregon would miss on a field goal after eight plays on the subsequent drive, but Dixie State was unable to capitalize going three-and-out. WOU then went on another long, stalled drive. After twelve plays, the Wolves tried to pin the Storm deep, but a touchback gave DSU its second shot at the lead.
 
The Storm would falter to a three-and-out setting up WOU for a five-minute drive that closed with a 29-yard field goal to give WOU a 19-14 lead.
 
Dixie State regained possession with six minutes to play. A game-long 36-yard pass from Longshore to Brock Johnson (South Weber, UT/Northridge) put the Storm inside the WOU 30. A pair of incompletions that set up a critical fourth down for Dixie State followed a run of five yards from Myles Burton (Berkeley, CA/Rodriguez). Needing only five yards, Longshore decided to throw downfield into coverage. The pass was intercepted by WOU at the goal line and returned for small yardage. Western Oregon moved the sticks three times to drain the clock down to 0:00.
 
The Storm defense featured three players with double figure tackle totals. Christian led the way with 11 stops in addition to his pick. Defensive linemen Jake Miller (Tremonton, UT/Bear River) and Pauli Latu (West Valley City, UT/Hunter) each had 10 stops.  Miller totaled three tackles for loss including a pair of sacks. In total, the Storm had 13 tackles for loss accounting for 53 yards. Dixie State allowed its lowest point total to an opponent (19) since Oct. 26, 2013 – a win last season over Humboldt State.
 
The Red Storm remains on the road next weekend, travelling to Southern California to take on Azusa Pacific on Oct. 18 at 6:30 p.m. Pacific (7:30 p.m. Mountain)