ST. GEORGE – Nineteen men sported the home red Dixie State jerseys for the last time at Hansen Stadium and hoped for a positive memory to tell future generations, but Central Washington's solid offensive execution of the running game and early passing touchdowns stifled the Red Storm in a 49-17 defeat in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
The Red Storm (1-9, 0-5 GNAC) had only two first downs in the opening quarter and that set an offensive trend that DSU could not shake. Conversely, CWU scored on their opening two drives to improve to 6-4 overall and 4-2 in league play.
 
After stalling DSU's first drive, Central Washington immediately went to work. Three rushes for junior running back Jordan Todd and a first-down pass completion from Jake Nelson set up the Wildcats at the Dixie 38. Nelson hooked up with Greg Logan for a 38-yard score for an early 7-0 lead.
 
An interception of the first pass of the night thrown by Storm quarterback Ben Longshore (Santa Clarita, CA/Canyon) set up the Wildcats on the subsequent drive at the Dixie 33. On third-and-goal, Todd channeled his inner Tim Tebow with a jumping pass to tight end Colter Clinch for a 14-0 Wildcat lead.
 
After the teams exchanged four punts, CWU had a drive apparently stall on fourth down and four. Instead of conceding possession, the Wildcats called a fake punt to Sean McDonald, who ran untouched 40 yards to continue the drive. Four plays later, Nelson found Kent McKinney for the first of his two scores and a 21-0 advantage.
 
Dixie State's first scoring drive was aided by a 19-yard run by Colton Peterson (Logan, UT/Skyview) and a critical third-down conversion by Myles Burton (Berkeley, CA/Rodriguez). Longshore capped the eight-play, 73-yard drive with a 10-yard pass to Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon) cutting the CWU lead to 21-7.
 
The Storm had another chance stalled on a fourth down sack. CWU took the ball over and added their fourth passing score of the half – Nelson to McKinney again, for 36 yards. The Wildcats intercepted a late toss by Longshore into the end zone in the 2^nd quarter to hold a 28-7 lead at the break.
 
The lead increased on the opening kickoff of the second half. Jesse Zalk initially fumbled the kick, but recovered at the Dixie 10-yard line. He blasted through a huge gap and ran 90 yards for a touchdown, drowning any momentum for Dixie State out of the locker room.
 
Midway through the third quarter, Alex Giordani (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan) booted a 30-yard field goal ending a drive that started at midfield for Dixie State.
 
CWU began their longest scoring drive with 4:59 left in the third quarter. They ran 14 plays to expire time in the third and set up a one-yard Todd scoring run on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 42-10 lead.
 
DSU handed the offense to Brody Garr (Taylor, UT/Fremont) on the ensuing drive, a successful one. Garr hit junior wide receiver Nate Stephens (Redding, CA/Shasta) three times for catches of 16, 9 and 6 yards before connecting with Groskreutz for a 21-yard score.
 
After forcing a CWU punt, Garr would make one mistake, leaving a pass up for grabs after being flushed out of the pocket. Wildcat defensive back Isaiah Davis picked off the pass and ran it back 66 yards into the end zone.
 
Stephens was the shining star for offense, accounting for more than half of the Storm's 290 total offensive output with 13 catches for 154 yards and five more rushing yards on two attempts. Longshore threw for 177 yards on 15-of-35 passing while Garr posted a 6-for-9, 61-yard night.
 
Peterson added 58 yards on the ground on seven carries.
 
Senior defensive end Jake Miller (Tremonton, UT/Bear River) posted 10 tackles on the night. Robert Metz (Tucson, AZ/Canyon Del Oro) had nine stops, including an 11-yard sack. Alshondre Smith (Stone Mountain, GA/Wesson HS) picked off a pass and has 25 return yards.
 
Dixie State closes out the 2014 season next week, Nov. 15, at Humboldt State.