Wolfpack Come From Behind to Beat Lightning 35-28

The Oregon Lightning headed North to Washington on Saturday night to take on division rivals in a clash for Pacific Northwest supremacy. Both teams looked to notch their first win this season. Oregon hosted Billings getting thumped 78-36, while Southwest Kansas headed West, throttling Washington 63-33. This will be the first of three matchups against each other. 

Both teams played a Jekyll and Hyde game. Early on, Oregon was able to apply pressure on the Wolfpack's secondary, but it stalled out after some defensive adjustments by Washington.

A combination of poorly thrown passes and Oregon’s defensive backs playing a sticky coverage was likely the difference in the first half. Washington’s defense was constantly on the field because the offense was constantly stalling. Late in the second, the Wolfpack created some offensive and defensive opportunities. Stealing all the momentum, Oregon tied the game up in just seven short minutes and, in the third, all but put the game away. Washington must have stolen all of Oregon’s electrolytes because the Lightning’s charge all fizzled out. 

Cole and Company

Dalton Cole and his wide receivers came out firing on all cylinders. Cole was spreading the ball around and connecting with multiple players. Kris Lewis was nearly unstoppable, collecting multiple long, spectacular touchdowns. Lewis made multiple highlight reel-level catches, but there were two that stood out. Stretching out due to an overthrown ball, Kris was able to just barely pull the ball in while being hammered into the wall, while also losing his helmet. The other catch, while reaching out again with a defender breathing down his neck, Lewis avoided the tackle. Sending the defender over the wall, Kris Lewis was able to gallop into the endzone. Richy Anderson II and Marquis Sampson also made some great plays, but ultimately, it was not enough. 

Adjustments Made

In the first quarter, Washington had no offensive or defensive answer. However, the Wolfpack finally were able to make some stops to hold down the Lightning. Washington was finally able to apply much more pressure on Dalton Cole, which slowed Oregon’s offensive game plan for the rest of the evening. Adam Kruse started the game for the Wolfpack, but JR Wells turned to Ed Crouch late in the second. While the Wolfpack didn't score in the first half, the offense was much more of a passing threat and worked into scoring territory. Coming out of the half, Crouch ripped a huge rush, juking multiple defenders. A few plays later, LeDarian McAllister was left wide open, and Crouch connected. The subsequent defensive play scored a touchdown off a botched snap. From this point on, Washington built so much momentum that even the seven-point lead early in the fourth for the Wolfpack felt much larger.

Turnovers

In the first quarter, Oregon was able to generate two fumbles which led to scores. This allowed the Lightning to have all the early momentum. Both fumbles came off a heavy pass rush, forcing Kruse to scramble and ultimately lose the ball. But after this point, Oregon was unable to create another turnover when they desperately needed one. 

While switching to Crouch helped turn the table, a lot of the credit should be given to the Wolfpack’s defense capitalizing on opportunities. Washington returned the favor in the third quarter with a pair of their own turnovers. The snap to Cole was off-line and bounced all the way back to the endzone, where the defense was able to fall on for a touchdown. Moments later, Cole, looking deep, had a man deep but left it short, and Caleb Brown was able to snipe the pass. The Wolfpack caused another fumble on the following kick-off but was not able to collect it. As well as another forced fumble of the first offensive play following the kickoff. Trevonte Carter, the very next series, finally was able to scoop up a forced fumble to bring the total to 3 turnovers to that point.  To start the fourth quarter, James Aragon collected another sack-fumble, which turned into another score, giving the Wolfpack four turnovers on the night.  

Tale of Two Halves

Oregon came out walking all over Washington. Offensively and defensively, everything went right for them in the first quarter. Dalton Cole and his wide receivers looked like they wouldn’t be able to be stopped,d and the game was over before it started. Whether it was sniffed out by the Washington defense or Oregon used up all their plays right away, the Lightning could not restart their engine. As if the sun had come out and cleared the clouds away, the Lightning failed to score since the first quarter. Oregon’s constant turnovers in the second half all but broke the camel’s back. Once they started, they kept coming and did not slow down. Even though they were not able to score much in the final three quarters, spectacular plays kept coming. 

Washington, on the other hand, grew into the game. Right before the half, Washington put Ed Crouch in at quarterback and everything changed. Couch was able to connect with McAllister multiple times allowing the Wolfpack to have some serious jolt. This also sent a message to the defense, causing four turnovers and another two forced fumbles.

With a final score of 35-28, the Wolfpack moved to 1-1, while Oregon moved to 0-2. Washington will host Billings on Thursday, April 3rd as they look to push their wins streak vs the division leaders. Oregon will head down to Southwest Kansas to find a way back into the win column. Fans can catch all AF1 games this season free on EVERGREEENNOW.