Western Can’t Defend Itself In Title Game

Rob Smith figures coming in second isn’t bad for a school that nearly dropped football twice when struggling through nine losing seasons.

His Western Washington Vikings lost the NAIA Division II Championship to Sioux Falls 47-25 on Saturday in the team’s first appearance in the title game.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed in today’s game. We came here thinking we would win. We’re the secondbest team in the country, and there’s no shame in that,” Smith said.

The Vikings came in depending on their defense, which had been giving up 14.3 points a game. But Sioux Falls quarterback Kurtiss Riggs chewed through Western Washington’s secondary, throwing for 431 yards and five touchdowns.

“When you can’t stop the other team’s offense, you’re in for a long day,” Smith said. “And that’s what happened to us.” Western finished the season 11-2 in its fourth playoff appearance in five years. That followed a losing stretch between 1978 and 1986 where the Vikings lost 18 straight at one point, including 29 of 30. The losing was so bad that school officials thought about dropping football.

The Vikings led only once Saturday, 6-0 in the first quarter on 3-yard run by Ryan Wiggins. That capped a 16-play, 80-yard drive that ate up 8 minutes of the clock.

But Riggs countered with a 71-yard drive of his own that ended with David Ruter scoring from nine yards out. He added three TD passes in the second quarter, and Western was never able to catch up after that.

Playing from behind forced Western to keep passing, and Smith said that effectively took Wiggins out of the game plan. Wiggins finished with 22 carries for 88 yards.

The Vikings didn’t score again until Darren Erath hit Chris Nicholl with a 12-yard pass just before intermission to pull within 27-13.

Erath also ran for a touchdown and threw for one in the second half, finishing 27 of 41 for 350 yards.

“It’s difficult on a quarterback when you get down by a number of scores,” Smith said. “There’s no doubt about what you have to do. You have to put it in the air.”

Riggs completed passes to six different receivers. Tight end Jeremy Gardner said that versatility helped the Cougars win their first championship. He also gave credit to Western for a good season.

“You don’t get this far and give up. I don’t think they ever gave up,” he said.

Losing the title game will be a learning experience for Western, Smith promised. Wiggins and Erath will be back for their senior years, although the Vikings will lose several players to graduation.

Sioux Falls 47, Western 25

W. Washington 6 7 0 12 - 25 Sioux Falls 7 20 14 6 - 47

WWU-Wiggins 3 run (run failed)

USF-Ruter 9 run (Kuiper kick)

USF-Nelson 8 pass from Riggs (kick failed)

USF-Ruter 20 pass from Riggs (Kuiper kick)

USF-Ruter 64 pass from Riggs (Kuiper kick)

WWU-Nicholl 12 pass from Erath (Gebers kick)

USF-DeBoer 5 pass from Riggs (Kuiper kick)

USF-DeBoer 54 run (Kuiper kick)

WWU-Erath 1 run (run failed)

USF-DeBoer 19 pass from Riggs (kick failed)

WWU-Casello 39 pass from Erath (pass failed)

A-4,000 (est.)

WWU USF First downs 25 21 Rushes-yards 34-62 34-87 Passing 350 431 Return Yards 00 19 Comp-Att-Int 27-44-1 25-33-0 Punts 4-33.8 2-39.5 Fumbles-Lost 4-1 1-0 Penalties-Yards 6-60 6-65 Time of Possession 29:16 30:44

Individual statistics

RUSHING-W. Washington, Wiggins 22-88, Erath 12-(minus 26). Sioux Falls, Ruter 19-55, DeBoer 1-54, Westbrook 5-12, Gardiner 2-(minus 1), Krant 1-(minus 3), Riggs 6-(minus 30).

PASSING-W. Washington, Erath 27-41-0-350, Hanson 0-3-1-0. Sioux Falls, Riggs 25-33-0-431.

RECEIVING-W. Washington, Nicholl 9-108, Casello 8-167, Morin 7-54, Wiggins 2-5, Williamson 1-16. Sioux Falls, DeBoer 10-131, Gardner 6-133, Ruter 4-98, Nelson 3-29, Krant 1-22, Harrington 1-18.