ODESSA, Texas (October 19, 2024) – The University of Texas Permian Basin offense started off hot with touchdowns on two of its first three drives of the game, but from there Western Oregon University settled things down, turned to the run game and pulled out a 30-27 overtime victory during the Falcons' Senior Day on a windy Saturday night inside Astound Broadband Stadium.

After receiving the opening kickoff, UTPB come out on a mission to test the Wolves' secondary and completed three straight passes for 67 yards, the third of which from Issac Mooring to Deon Cook went 12 yards for a touchdown to open the scoring.

Then after a pair of three-and-outs by the Falcons' defense on the first two WOU possessions, UTPB went 40 yards in seven plays and capped off its second scoring drive with a five-yard touchdown run up the middle by Kory Harris to take a 14-0 lead.

A sack by Tristan Exline would wrap up another three-and-out on the next Wolves' drive, but WOU would be able to get on the scoreboard a minute and a half into the second quarter following a 51-yard touchdown thrown by backup quarterback Damon McCarty. It was a 10-play, 99-yard drive by the Wolves to cut UTPB's lead in half.

The Wolves then flipped the script on the Falcons with three-and-outs on the next two UTPB drives. After a nine-yard touchdown pass by starting quarterback Kainoa James to tie the game, WOU took the lead with 42-yard field goal by Keaton Emmett with the wind at his back and under two minutes left in the first half.

UTPB then failed to get into scoring position during its ensuing two-minute drive, and left time for the Wolves to get into scoring position themselves and kick a 48-yard field goal as time expired. That made it 20-14 WOU at halftime.

After allowing a 20-point second quarter for the Wolves, UTPB tied the game after a 33-yard pass from Mooring to Cook was followed by a 36-yard breakaway touchdown rush by Camden Tyler in the final five minutes of the third quarter. It was the second three-play scoring drive of the game for the Falcons, but the extra point attempt by Angel Diaz was missed with the wind at his back, a pivotal mistake that would prove costly at the end for the home team.

Heading into the fourth quarter still tied at 20-20, UTPB wrapped up a seven-play, 55-yard drive with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Mooring to Gunnar Abseck on third-and-nine, putting the Falcons up 27-20 with 11:20 left to play. It was an incredible play as Abseck was pulled down on top of his defender near the 30-yard line, but never hit the turf and astutely spun back up on his feet and took it the rest of the way for six points. It was the only score on the south side of the field all game long.

Three possessions later, WOU would start its game-tying drive with 6:29 remaining on the UTPB 44 and opened the drive with four consecutive Dominique Loggins rushes for 32 yards to get the ball down to the Falcons' 12. Four plays later, the quarterback McCarty rushed around the left side for a touchdown to tie the game with 2:48 remaining in regulation, capping an eight-play, 44-yard drive.

The two teams traded punts in the final two minutes and settled for overtime, where WOU won the toss and allowed UTPB to go on offense first.

In overtime, Mooring completed a pass to Abseck for 19 yards and a first down, but three plays later he threw toward Abseck again but was intercepted by Tyler Copeland in the back corner of the endzone, meaning the Wolves needed just a field goal to win the game.

After successful field goal attempts from 42 and 48 yards out earlier in the game heading in the same direction, Emmett was good from 29 yards to hand the Wolves the win in overtime.

Mooring was 15-of-31 for 197 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Abseck caught four passes for 80 yards and a touchdown while Cook had three receptions for 47 yards and a touchdown as well.

Mooring, Harris and Tyler combined for 105 yards rushing, but WOU used its ground game to control the clock and rushed for 212 yards on 62 carries as a team, led by Loggins with 137 yards on 25 attempts, which was good for an average of 5.5 yards per rush.

McCarty finished 8-for-12 for 71 yards and a touchdown passing for the Wolves while rushing for 20 yards and another score. The starting quarterback, Jones, was also 8-for-12 for 59 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 27 yards.

Emmett finished 3-for-3 on field goals (including a season-best 48 yards) while also going 3-for-3 on extra points.

Total offense was 342-302 in favor of Western Oregon, which forced the Falcons' defense to remain on the field for an impressive 86 plays. In addition, the Wolves maintained possession for over 40 minutes.

Jalon Rocquemore led the defensive effort with 11 total tackles, including nine solo tackles and two tackles for loss, while Ashton Hamby totaled 10 tackles and had a forced fumble.

Facing a tough task and often punting into the wind, Rafael Vargas averaged 35.8 yards per punt and put two of his eight kicks inside the opponents' 6-yard line while four of his five kickoffs went through the endzone for a touchback.

"It was a great job by the Western Oregon players and staff," spoke UTPB Head Coach Kris McCullough. "They kicked our butts and we didn't have enough guys fight back. I as the head coach have to do better. This is unacceptable and we will work to get it fixed."

Prior to the start of the game, UTPB recognized its 24-member senior class: No. 0 La'Quan Wells, No. 1 Jeremiah Cooley, No. 1 Jalon Rocquemore, No. 3 Dylan Graham, No. 13 Gunnar Abseck, No. 14 Deon Cook, No. 18 Ja'Juan Mason, No. 20 Dante Heaggans, No. 22 Yemi Oyesanya, No. 27 Ashton Hamby, No. 29 BJ Westmoreland, No. 31 Chanlor Johnson, No. 32 Dami Oluwoleajayi, No. 33 Tyler Cleveland, No. 37 Grant Gensemer, No. 39 Caleb Pierson, No. 44 Brock Johnson, No. 48 Rafael Vargas, No. 52 Max Johnson, No. 53 Chrishoun Roberts, No. 59 Tristin Willis, No. 77 Ramon Diaz, No. 78 Nour Chirchi, and No. 80 Josh Bolden.

UTPB continues to alternate between a win and a loss in every game this season, falling to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the Lone Star Conference while WOU (5-2, 5-0) wins its fifth game in a row and remains undefeated both in the conference and against Division II opponents.

UTPB will close out its 2024 season with three straight road games, starting at 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 26, at West Texas A&M University before the Falcons go into their bye week on the week of November 2.