Washington football recap
MIKE MAYNARD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 months, 2 weeks AGO
The Wildcats’ Mason Jurgens (1) runs free during Central Washington’s game against West Texas A&M on Saturday. The Wildcats defeated the Buffaloes 52-6 in their first conference game of the season.
COURTESY PHOTO/NATHAN HERDE PHOTOGRAPHY/CWU ATHLETICS
The Eagles’ receivers Riley Rudolfo (14) and Wesley Garrett (13) celebrate a successful offensive play against Western Illinois on Saturday. Eastern Washington earned its first win of the season with a 52-31 victory over the Leathernecks.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, left, hands the Apple Cup trophy to Washington head coach Jedd Fisch, center, and school President Robert Jones, right, after the team's win in an NCAA college football game against Washington State, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Pullman, Wash.
MOSES LAKE – Local Washington college football programs have played another week of games on the gridiron. While the Cougs and the Huskies faced off in the Apple Cup, the Eastern Washington Eagles earned their first win of the season, see below how each team fared last weekend.
Central Washington vs. West Texas A&M
The Wildcats (2-1) were victorious 52-6 when they hosted the Buffaloes in their first conference game of the season. The Wildcats jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and would pile it on over the next three quarters.
Quarterback Kennedy McGill completed 10 passes for 217 yards and four touchdowns through the air. On the run, he also accounted for 62 yards and a touchdown. Receiver Mason Jurgens had two explosive plays, one a 55-yard pass reception and a run play that went for 78 yards and a touchdown.
“I'm incredibly proud of the effort and intensity that our guys put into this week of preparation. They really came out fast and never let up. Now it's time to get after it in preparation of a trip to Western New Mexico next week,” head coach Chris Fisk said.
The Wildcats play Western New Mexico at 5 p.m. Saturday.
BOX SCORE:
WTU: 0-6-0-0: 6
CWU: 21-14-14-3: 52
Eastern Washington vs. Western Illinois
The Eagles erupted offensively, earning their first win of the season against the Western Illinois Leathernecks, with a final score of 52-31. Eastern scored first, but the game was back-and-forth for the majority of the night, as the Leathernecks' offense kept pace with the Eagles.
In a statement by EWU athletics, Eastern posted 597 yards of total offense. The Eagles had 325 rushing yards, averaging 7.7 yards per carry. Nate Bell amassed 416 yards of offense and scored five touchdowns. He rushed 18 times for 144 yards and three touchdowns, while completing 11-of-29(37.9%) passes for 272 yards, throwing two touchdowns. Eastern outscored WIU, 25-14 in the second half to pull away and earn the home win.
“(Bell) is a playmaker. He goes at a different pace and it's not a fanatic pace. He sees things that are in his blind spots and has a feel for the game. I think the reverse with Wes (Garrett) got us going more than anything. In the return game, I'm trying to communicate with (Noah Cronquist) to be more aggressive. His returns tonight gave us a jolt, even with one being called back," Eagles head coach Aaron Best said.
The Eagles begin conference play Saturday in Bozeman when they face fourth-ranked Montana State at 1 p.m.
BOX SCORE:
UIW: 3-14-7-7: 31
EWU: 15-12-10-15: 52
Washington State vs. Washington
The Cougs and the Huskies faced off in the 117th Apple Cup game. The Huskies were victorious 59-24 over the Cougars on Saturday.
Demond Williams Jr. threw four touchdown passes and ran for a score, according to a statement from the University of Washington Athletics. Williams was at the heart of Washington's offensive success with 298 yards through the air and another 88 on the ground.
The Huskies’ 59 points are UW’s highest in Apple Cup history.
“I thought they came out ready to play,” Fisch said. “This is a game that we had to win; we had to come out and play our best football.”
The Huskies scored on every possession, extending their season-opening scoring streak to 21 straight drives. Washington scored touchdowns on seven of its eight scoring drives. The Huskies opened the game with a touchdown drive as Boston caught a 29-yard pass from Williams.
“We’ll grow from it, I know there’s a team in there that wants to respond,” Rogers said. “I felt like our best defense was to keep our offense on the field the way we were operating.”
The Cougars will head to Colorado State to play the Rams at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Huskies return home Saturday at 12:30 p.m. to host the Ohio State Buckeyes.
BOX SCORE:
UW: 14-10-7-28: 59
WSU: 0-10-14-0: 24
The Eagles’ receivers Riley Rudolfo (14) and Wesley Garrett (13) celebrate a successful offensive play against Western Illinois on Saturday. Eastern Washington earned its first win of the season with a 52-31 victory over the Leathernecks.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, left, hands the Apple Cup trophy to Washington head coach Jedd Fisch, center, and school President Robert Jones, right, after the team's win in an NCAA college football game against Washington State, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Pullman, Wash.ARTICLES BY MIKE MAYNARD
Correia reflects on making All-State team
COULEE CITY — Multiple basin athletes qualified to play in the All-State Baseball Series from June 27-28 in Yakima, with Almira/Coulee-Hartline graduate, Caden Correia being one of them. Correia said he was initially selected for a feeder game ahead of his state qualification. “I was at practice one day, and my head coach (Hunter Lee) came up to me and he’s like, ‘Hey, you got selected for an All State feeder game,’” said Correia. “I actually got invited to two, the Central Washington one and the Spokane one.” Correia said he decided to go with the Spokane feeder game since it was taking place at Avista Stadium and he had a desire to compete at that venue. Once he played there, Correia was informed that he was also selected to play for Team Baker in the All State games, an opportunity that he couldn’t pass up.
Quincy standout ‘Duckie’ Workinger returns home to lead Vikings womens wrestling
MOSES LAKE — Shannon “Duckie” Workinger was named the new head coach of women’s wrestling at Big Bend Community College on June 18, bringing one of the Basin’s own back to help build the next generation of women’s wrestlers. “I'm super excited,” Workinger said. “I spent some time wrestling at different places, and it feels really good to be able to come back to the community that I was born in and really establish more connections here and build on the ones that I already have, and just help grow our Basin into a great wrestling (community), even better than it already is, because we have some good wrestlers that come from here.”
ACH wrestlers earn All-American honors at women’s national duals
COULEE CITY — Karis Butler and Kyanna Garza from Almira/Coulee-Hartline earned All-American status after a strong showing in the 2026 Women’s National Duals in Westfield, Indiana that ran from June 16-20. “It feels really good,” Karis said. “It was very surprising last year when I got on here, and then this year they were like, ‘You can go to whatever weight class you want,’ and it made me feel very recognized for the hard work I've put in.” Wrestlers competed in freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman throughout the four-day tournament. Karis competed in both earning a 7-1 record in freestyle and 4-3 in Greco-Roman. Throughout her path in the tournament, she noted a lot of growth as a wrestler came out of it.